Not everyone needs to hire an architect to attain their project goals. Here are some signs that you probably DO want to hire an Architect: you want a completely custom home, you have a challenging piece of property (steep, oddly shaped, near a body of water), you want to use Building Science (formerly called Green Design) in the design of your home - like passive solar design, above-code insulation or air-sealing methods, daylighting & solar studies. Or you want something dierent than a traditional home, your existing home is quirky/challenging and you want to renovate or add on in a way that doesn’t create additional challenges, you want to build using non-traditional building methods (SIPs, Log Home, Steel Studs, etc), or your renovation entails a structural component - like removing a load-bearing wall or column.

The time to document the existing conditions, design options, narrow the options into a design, select materials, systems & xtures, and produce Construction Documents can vary widely. Some clients nd that the design process is quick, while others want more revisions - taking additional time. It also depends greatly on the size & scope of the project. How quickly the project progresses through each stage is dependent on your availability, ability to make decisions quickly, and Ink Works Studio’s current project load. This is a list of the average hours spent, broken out by project type:

New Homes = 155 hours

Residential Additions = 95 hours

Minor renovations (Basement or 1 area of home) = 40 hours

Major renovations (more than 50% of the home) = 165 hours

Construction Documents (plans/blueprints) are the final product of the design process. As such, we do not produce Construction Documents outside of a complete design package. The design, selection of materials & systems, and Construction Documents typically cost 7% - 13% of the entire Construction budget. Ink Works Studio will prepare a fee proposal based on our initial conversations with multiple options that fall into this range.

Current copyright law does not allow us to copy a plan that you found online.

There are; however, several options available within the connes of the law.

(1) You can purchase the plan you found online with a copyright release that will allow Ink Work Studio to legally modify the plan for your single construction use.

(2) We can analyze the plan that you like & use it as inspiration to create a plan that is 100% Custom for your family.

Yes, over the past 25+ years, Ink Work Studio has designed numerous plans that are available for your to purchase as-is, or that we can customize to your liking. Since we designed these plans, we are the copyright holder & can modify them to suit your family.

No. Our stock plans (see above) are not homes that were designed for previous clients. Your design will not be reused or resold to future clients.

As we get to know each other, throughout the design process, Ink Work Studio would be happy to introduce you to local General Contractors that would be a goodfit for you & your project.

Just one. Ink Works Studio will retain the copyright to your design, per copyright law. You may legally build your design on your land one time. Future construction of the same plans requires our written permission, and depending on circumstances, a re-use fee.

Ink Works Studio will reach out to your chosen General Contractor to discuss materials & construction methods once we have a design finalized. If your GC is open to the experience, we would love to have them involved in the design process. A cohesive team (Home owner, GC & Architect) produces the best possible product, and alleviates many of the typical questions that arise during construction.

If everything you have read here feels good to you & seems to t your project, then we would schedule a meeting - typically held at the project location - to discuss project specifics. After that meeting, Ink Works Studio will prepare a tiered-fee proposal for your review. If you choose to hire use based on our fee proposal, we will then schedule a project kick-off meeting!