Question & Answer

VINTAGE HOME DESIGN
LOCATED IN ALAMO CALIFORNIA AND SERVING
SAN FRANSISCO BAY AREA
925-575-0629

Q. Do I need to hire a licensed architect to design my new home or addition?

tate laws regulate the practice of architecture and residential

design.

esidential

design

is exempt from these laws and do not require

a licensed

architect

to design your

home or

addition

You should

consider the qualifications

of your residential designer.

Vintage Home

design is a member of the

AIBD

nationally recognized association of

residential building

designers whos

members

are required to follow a

strict

code of ethics

set forth by it's

governing body.

Q, I recently visited a friend

new

home that I really like. Can I copy their plans

and build my

own

house with them?

A. Building plans are typically meant for one time use and are the

intellectual

property of

the individual or firm that prepared them.

Unless you have

permission from the author or

firm that prepared the

building plans you would

be in violation of copy right laws that are

place to protect the author.

Q. I want to build an addition on the side of my house and my building

department

has set back

restrictions that will prevent me from building it as

large as I would

like. Is there process to

remedy

this?

A. Typically we try to design within the building restrictions set forth

by your

building

authority. There are times when this cannot be

achieved and your

improvements will

require

you to apply for a

variance.

example

if your

property lot size is

considered

substandard in such a way that would prevent

you from building as

others have

in your

neighborhood

. You as a

home owner

have the right to

enjoy your property as would your

neighbors

enjoy their

property

e would have

the

urden to convince your

building

authority

your

proposed project is not extraordinary in comparison

your

neighborhood.

Surrounding

properties will be given a chance

review

and comment

your

proposed

project.

Q. We waited until the winter was over and now ready to build our dream

home or

addition. We

called several contractors to give us a bid for

construction on our house.

All of the contractors

told

us we need complete

plans before they will bid on the job.

How long will this process take?

A. It is not uncommon for a home owner to under estimate the

complexities of

the design,

engineering and permitting process before

the first shovel hits the

dirt.

All projects are

ique

from each other. S

mall

jobs

may only take

couple o

months from design to

building permit, larger jobs can

take up to

ight

months and sometimes longer. It does not

prove a

good value

to the

home

owner to rush

the design and compromise the overall potential

your home.

Q. OK, now it is Spring and you have convinced me it will take much longer

than

anticipated to

start

work

o I need to wait until next Spring for

construction to

get underway?

A. Not necessarily, many times your contractor can get your house

weather

tight and

ready

for interior finish during the rainy season with

only a few rain

delays

(

inter of

200

5/07

AND 2009/10

being the exception

Q. I have a design program I bought from my local home store. Can I do my

own

design and have

you

finish the plans for permit approval?

There are some really good inexpensive and sometimes free (web based) design

programs a

home owner can use to get the design process started.

We prefer

to b

e your full se

rvice

residential design company and

provide you with

building

plans from preliminary design to the

finished

construction documents. A good

resource to help

you make this decision w

ould be

the

AIBD