How much does it cost to design a fully custom house?
Design fees usually start at $4000 to $6000, and can go up from there, to $12,000 or $15,000. It varies so much because sizes, expectations, and clients themselves are so unique. Some of our clients have a lot of experience with design and/or construction, and do much of the legwork themselves. Some less-experienced clients want a designer’s involvement in most phases of the project, including selection of interior fixtures and finishes.
Is it possible for a local architect to get electronic copies of the plans in order to do simple modifications without having to redraft much of the work?
Yes, however, we need to charge the same for this as we would charge for reproduce-able printed plans. The cost for either is (2)times the amount of the original order, or $1000 for houses and $600 for studio-garages. The reason for this is that our “intellectual property” is out in public, and multiple copies could be made, even for resale, without our knowledge. This is our way of protecting ourselves from fraud.
Are you a registered architect (AIA)?
No we are not, we are residential designers. In Wisconsin we do not need to be registered to design a one or two-family house. We also do design drawings for remodel/additions and new houses in Illinois, but refer our clients to local architects to do the construction and permit documents.