We found our houseplan online, contacted the architect firm that drew it, and hired them to "tweak" the plan (over 20 changes). The firm was over 250 miles away, everything was done on the phone and through me illustrating some things with MS Paint on the original.

Then we took our plans to a local structural engineer for a foundation-footing-framing plan.

If you're looking for the architect to take part in the construction, then look at design build firms and contact as many former clients as possible and have a real estate attorney look over any and all contracts prior to signing.

We are in the process of building a lake house 100 miles from where we live. We have worked with the builder on a design and it has really been enjoyable working this way. We are building a log home and he understands the construction techniques necessary plus we didn't have to pay additional archetect fees. He has sent all of our designs and changes to his designer who draws the plans up in CAD form for both of us to review. It has worked really well and we are thrilled with the design that we have come up with. It has given us a one of a kind home in an area where many houses are quite similar.

From posts I have read on this forum, we think going back to the designer makes most sense for us. One of the budget-killer things I read about is changes/problems cropping up once the building proces begins. Our goal is to get every single change on the plan so that when the builder begins, he works off the plans. And, all subs have the same copy of the plans.

bdpeck-charlotte,
Your situation sounds similar to what we are going to do. What is the company you bought your plans from? We have found a Don Gardner plan and need quite a few changes and I'm wondering how much those changes will cost - I think possibly quite a bit.

I talked to a builder in SC last week and he quickly looked over the plans and saw that we need to move a load-bearing wall. At that point, he said, go back to Don Gardner for that change.

We will be building south of Charlotte, NC in Chester County, SC on some land we purchased a couple of years ago.

Thanks,
Nan

Our land is up in Fort Mill, so we're just a stone's throw away from you.

I highly doubt that you need to move any walls. Even though we modified the plan significantly (and have some big spans, the Structural Engineer had no problem with the plan... we do have three steel beams in the plan though.

We worked with Garrell Associates in Atlanta. We found a plan that we liked and noticed their watermark on it, then contacted them directly. We made about 20 changes, and our final total was about $3,000 for a full set of originals.

Then we went to a local Engineer (I won't give you the name because they're mostly commercial buildings and took waaaaay too long to do the work) to have a framing plan drawn up on a copy. That was about $2,000. With the lack of training and experience of most framing crews today, we wanted a plan for them to work from. And we can hire them to come back and verify that the plan was followed.

I talked with lots of area builders before going down the OB path, so if you'd like comments on any of them or links to information about them, let me know and I'll get you my e-mail address.

Brian

Brian,
My sister lives in Fort Mill, off Gold Hill Road! Small world, isn't it?

Yes, I'd like to know any builders you talked to. My sister has worked with the one I mentioned in my post (she GC'ed her home and addition) and he sounds terrific, but it never hurts to talk to several.

My profile is set up to email me from this forum - just go to My Page and click on send me an email. Thank you for your offer of assistance!

Nan

Hi Brian and Nan,

I am building in Mint Hill, NC. We are currently trying to get plans drawn up. We actually saw a floor plan that we liked and have been in touch with a draftsman. Hopefully things will move along quickly now. I would love to talk with you all for more info on subs, etc.