Home Building Questions

If you already know the contractor you are going to use I would see if they have someone that draws the plans there. A lot of companies offer this at no charge if you are building with them. The other benefit is they know prices so they can keep your design on budget. I used a separate designer from my contractor and had to make several changes to get back on budget.

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I guess my question could have been "architect vs home designer & why?"

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I just posed this in another thread on the OT. I don't know where you are located, but this is a run down of a lot of the guys in Baton Rouge:

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What are you looking at building/where? Location and style matter.

Draftsmen are typically cheaper unless you go with someone like John Guillory. John probably has the most complete set of plans I've seen from anyone in Baton Rouge including architects. There are tons of other draftsmen like Madden, Acadiana, Bonacorso, Pelican, Kabel, etc. Kabel, I believe, is still drawing by hand. Just my personal taste, but I would make sure someone is using a cad software. It's easier to make changes and the plans are a whole lot cleaner.

I don't know of many in Baton Rouge, but it's even better if you can find someone that is using 3D software. It's a hell of a lot easier to visualize your house when the architect/draftsman can essentially fly you around it or walk you through a virtual model of your house. A major drawback of a lot of draftsmen is they will try to push you to some existing plans as opposed to designing something from scratch for you.

If you want an architect, Mark Mathews designs nice houses. Kevin Harris is real good, but you'll pay for it. Dwayne Carruth is pretty good if you like his style.

Good Luck!

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There are pros and cons of both designers (draftsman) and architects. It really depends on what YOU need. In my experience, you'll have more of a need for an architect on larger projects. Home designers are usually perfectly capable of handling smaller houses and in many cases they are better at it than architects. Most of the designers I know are more cost conscious than architects. I've seen architects add a lot of bloat on smaller homes that aren't necessary and can blow a budget pretty quick.

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We are on the northshore

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There was a thread on here last week that might help you

LINK

I'd check with these guys, Clark's Design. They are Nationally Certified Building Designers which is a step up from just a regular home designer.

Andy McDonald is also pretty good. I believe he is still drawing by hand. He designs some nice looking places, but being able to see the house in 3D is a huge plus for me when you are paying for a custom design.