BR Area Architect for a home addition

Lionel Bailey does excellent work. He's not cheap, but he does a great job. Designed our house for us when we built over a decade ago.

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Lionel Bailey does excellent work. He's not cheap, but he does a great job. Designed our house for us when we built over a decade ago.

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What should be expected to pay an architect? What's not cheap?

Dwayne Carruth, The Front Door
Reasonable and experienced

I also endorse Lionel Bailey. He designed a home for us currently under construction. The turnaround was quick from first meeting to final set of plans. He listened to all of our ideas and took lots of notes (some architects don't always do that); very personable and easy to work with. However, I recently heard from my builder that after Lionel finished our plans, he became extremely busy.

Good luck! BTW, Lionel (and I assume most other architects) charge by the hour, as do their associates and/or interns.

$23K-ish.

$23K for an architect to make plans for an additon???

Lionel Bailey is a premier architect in BR, so of course you'll be paying premium.

If you have a million $$ home, then yes you'll be paying premium to design this addition. If you have a $200k home, then you can expect a much cheaper fee but also won't be employing a premier architect as they likely won't want to touch the job.

As DellTronJon stated, for an architect you'll be looking anywhere from 4-10% of the total construction cost depending on your scope of work.

Here is how I advise people here. I recommend that you interview and decide on a GC before any design occurs. In my area, it is harder to get on a GC's schedule than an architect's. I like working with GCs during the design because they are going to have really good information for me on how to design to meet a budget.

Many GCs also can operate with less information in drawings. Some GCs want as many drawings as possible, others just want only the pertinent information, so if a GC is on board, I can fine-tune a design fee based on what the GC needs. There is no need to draw more than needed.

HOAs with architectural review boards also set the drawing list. Often, they require more drawings than a GC would, so if you are in an HOA, see what the process is and provide it to your architect.

It may not be a big issue in flat-land LA, but out here, I will not work on any project that does not have a survey with topography and trees identified. At the very least, you should have a survey that has boundaries, utilities, the existing house, easements, and setbacks identified. If any portion of your property is in the floodplain, identify that too.

FYI,
12 feet seems a bit narrow for a master bedroom addition. 12 feet is a minimum clear dimension, in my humble opinion, for a master bedroom. 16x14 feet is where I would start for a master in a 2,200-square-foot home. You need a minimum of 12 feet clear for a king-size bed and nightstands. Also, most building supplies come in 4-foot increments, so if you say you want a 12x50-foot house addition, you are technically paying for a 12x52-foot addition and throwing away 2 feet of it. Maybe a 16x48-foot addition may be on paper the way to go, but I also understand if those dimensions are guided by the existing structure.

quote:

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Here is how I advise people here. I recommend that you interview and decide on a GC before any design occurs. In my area, it is harder to get on a GC's schedule than an architect's. I like working with GCs during the design because they are going to have really good information for me on how to design to meet a budget.

Many GCs also can operate with less information in drawings. Some GCs want as many drawings as possible, others just want only the pertinent information, so if a GC is on board, I can fine-tune a design fee based on what the GC needs. There is no need to draw more than needed.

HOAs with architectural review boards also set the drawing list. Often, they require more drawings than a GC would, so if you are in an HOA, see what the process is and provide it to your architect.

It may not be a big issue in flat-land LA, but out here, I will not work on any project that does not have a survey with topography and trees identified. At the very least, you should have a survey that has boundaries, utilities, the existing house, easements, and setbacks identified. If any portion of your property is in the floodplain, identify that too.

FYI,
12 feet seems a bit narrow for a master bedroom addition. 12 feet is a minimum clear dimension, in my humble opinion, for a master bedroom. 16x14 feet is where I would start for a master in a 2,200-square-foot home. You need a minimum of 12 feet clear for a king-size bed and nightstands. Also, most building supplies come in 4-foot increments, so if you say you want a 12x50-foot house addition, you are technically paying for a 12x52-foot addition and throwing away 2 feet of it. Maybe a 16x48-foot addition may be on paper the way to go, but I also understand if those dimensions are guided by the existing structure.

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This is fantastic insight , appreciate this advice!

I currently live on 4 acres, the land is awesome and in a great location so we want to stay here. No HOA to deal with and plenty of room to expand on.

I would actually be connecting a small bedroom to make it much bigger in the addtion. A large nice master bath, big walk in closets, and adding a mudroom in the back where it connects to my laundry room. I have it drawn out and it's not a complicated build out at all. My wives concern is that the astectics in the front of the house make sense and look better than before , so we need some help there.

Reading this advice, what GC's are recommended for this line of work in the BR area?

what is the current expected cost of sq/ft for an addition (if not getting crazy) ? I'm assuming $200/ft range?