Our ultimate project

[yooperdave]

Hi Bill,

What kind of fees are you being charged? Most Architects that I know do not usually charge enough and end up working for minimum wage. Are you receiving a stamped set of design calculations from a licensed professional engineer? I have also seen numerous houses of all price ranges get sub-standard structural specifications and details. Make sure that lip service gets followed up by some action. This is a big investment, and you deserve some documented piece of mind.

Good luck with your project.

Dave

 

[RobS]

Bill, can't wait to see some pictures of your project. We're having a blast with ours /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[RocketJSquirrel]

Mark me down as also looking forward to hearing your installments on this project. I just received The Not So Big House and Creating The Not So Big House for my birthday. I actually liked the first one better than the second but they both are good. I have a lot of trouble learning and remembering to buy quality stuff instead of cheap stuff. When you buy for quality you only have to cry once, as they say.
/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[blurrybill]

Dave,

The fee will approach 12% of construction costs and includes consultation with a structural engineer. My dad was an architect and I know that he would turn over in his grave if we completed this dream without one. We will sacrifice size and perhaps some detail for a well-engineered and designed home that fits our lifestyle. Dad earned the AIA medal at Iowa State and had a strong engineering background. He constantly preached that people on a limited budget CAN afford an architect -- for what homes cost these days, we felt that the extra expense is worth it. Still, we worry about costs and hope we can lock in a loan by next spring or before interest rates rise.

Don't worry about this architect; she is well-known and commands a good fee; we signed the contract, so she'll get it!

Bill

 

[blurrybill]

Rob,

Glad to hear that your project is going so well. Let's keep in touch as we go along.

Bill

 

[blurrybill]

Don,

Your comments interest me, especially since we liked the first book better than the second, as well. I was educated with these concepts by my Dad. The books put a voice to what we had believed for some time, so we were really excited when we found them. You'll probably be interested to know that we have hired Michaela Mahady for our project. We don't have all that much money for this, but she loved my dissertation research about attachment to place and, even though she is doing MUCH more expensive projects, she decided to tackle ours. We are thrilled to say the least and she is an exceptionally warm, modest, and approachable individual. We think at this point that the fit is really good between Michaela and our family. We gave her a 36 page document with narrative and scanned pictures for the "programming phase." We're so excited we could burst, but we're taking things a day at a time and are experienced enough to know that lots of things, both good and bad, can happen. We'll keep you posted, if you're interested.

Bill

 

[JTD]

Bill, That fee is quite reasonable for a recognized architect. Many times they have to put in as much or more work for a smaller home than a large expensive one. On our project, quality in the basics comes first. I will be adding the finished surfaces over the next 5 or more years myself. Fortunately, our contractor encourages the homeowner to work along with his crew. I look forward to pics of your progress.

 

[Scott_F]

Bill,
That's really great. I'm sure you'll end up with a house you love to live in (and show off). As I mentioned in earlier posts in this thread, we used the "not so big" priciples in designing our house and we couldn't be happier with it.
Good luck and keep us informed on how it's going.
Scott

 

[blurrybill]

Thanks, Scott. We decided that an aggressive "form" wasn't as important to us as some detail and a clean design, so we're not following current trends, but the fit appears to be fantastic so far, as you can imagine with your interest in similar design principles.

I may start another thread, once I understand how to post pictures with the digital camera - it's been hectic lately and it's simply a question of loading the software and playing with it for a while. The Sony F707 has an email feature that creates smaller pictures along with the larger ones for easy posting. Can't wait 'till I figure it out.

Bill

 

[blurrybill]

I decided to post one picture of our land here, but posted several in the picts forum, if anyone is interested. Should be meeting with the architect in about a month or so for preliminary drawings.

Bill