Construction Drawings (or building plans) are the actual blueprints of your house.  They communicate to the building department, the builder, and any subcontractors what to build. If the plans meet the proper standards, a building permit is easily obtained and construction proceeds smoothly and efficiently, with few problems. If the plans are garbled, sloppy, inconcise, or missing important information, problems will escalate from the start.

We specialize in being familiar with current building codes and expectations of the Northern California area building departments. We also provide clean, neat, concise drawings; which makes reading and using them much easier.
Download a sample set of plans here. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
From design to construction, the experience and expertise will benefit you more than any fees we may charge. But how do our fees compare to fees of others in our area?

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If this is your first time building or remodeling, we encourage you to be very cautious regarding the decision to hire a designer. Many builders will give the impression that “they can build it the way you want it, regardless of the quality of the plans”. This is simply not true.

Read more about potential problems…

John & Linda were setting out to build their first home. They met with several builders and eventually settled on one that seemed to fit their needs. He was knowledgeable, conscientious, and within their budget. At the very first meeting, he instructed them to “get the plans done as cheap as possible” so they could increase their budget for nicer appliances, lighting fixtures, and kitchen cabinets.

They complied, and found a draftsperson who charged $0.80/sf, about half of the going rate for the custom home they wanted to build. The plans took considerably longer than expected, about 6 months. Finally, they were ready to submit for a permit and begin construction.

What was the result?

1. The plans needed many corrections, which delayed construction even longer. On a positive note, they DID have extremely nice appliances! And after all, it is only the BIGGEST INVESTMENT most people make in a lifetime!
2. There were problems during construction due to poor quality plans, even requiring part of the foundation and several walls to be removed and reframed. This cost them much more in labor during construction, much more than the original drafting fee.
3. When complete, they were not happy with the design. Several doors, windows, and electrical fixtures were not located in the most logical places.  Some modifications they had requested were not included on the construction drawings.

While this may seem extreme to some of you, this is really not uncommon in the construction industry. We highly recommend that appropriate funds be dedicated to the construction plans, as they are the blueprints for the entire home that you will live in.