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A simple phone call to your Architectural designer in Hamilton or email to us will provide you with a lot of architectural design information at no cost. Just call, and we can discuss your current thinking, dreams, and ideas. We usually like to physically look at the building site to ‘read’ it for its attributes and opportunities.
Once we have a clear understanding of your building project goals and your site, we are able to begin the creative exploration of a range of solutions for your project and your budget. You will receive a written fee proposal, split into several stages, the main ones being the sketch stage and the working drawing stage. Our Fee structure is based on the degree of complexity of your luxury house plans and the council requirements to build it. Depending on if your site is flat or sloping, a single or two story home, near the sea or not can affect how much time we need to put into the building project.
Be careful of “one-price fits all” quotes, as you will normally need to pay for extra costs later on. Once your 100% happy and we have answered all your questions, a contract is signed.
If you decide to accept the estimate we will start the plan preparations. It all begins with your wish list and we put together several scheme home plans, which includes Site, Floor Plans, Elevations and 3D sketches of possible design solutions. As any true professional architectural designer will tell you, this can only be done after talking to you. Then a soil report is obtained if not already held. It pays early on to solve all the unknowns. Most of the time this stage is a relatively quick exercise of about a month. From here we start narrowing down (refining) the best options based on budget, site, and the overall look and feel desired for the project. Other factors come into account such as council zoning (density, height control plane) and Local Planning Issues. We like to obtain “Cost Estimates” from builders and contractors as soon as possible, to put your mind at ease. Some of the steps at this stage include investigating site services – sewer, storm water disposal, material selections based on wind zone and durability requirements, looking up existing council records for the property (if any) and obtaining district plan requirements from the council. Do not worry there is ample opportunity to add and change your ideas into the final house design while all this work is happening.
From the confirmed concept house plans, you will set your budget for the project. We then prepare all the full working drawings and documentation for tenders and council permits/consents. This involves creating plans in greater detail using custom home design software that the builder can build with, such as cross sections and elevations, as well as specific details for each cladding junction point. There are over 200+ design and building elements we tick off at this stage in our internal processes, the main ones being Engineer structural design (if any), preferred builder construction techniques (by this stage we usually have a good idea of which builder will probably get the job – they all have their own preferences), survey information (peg locations, site slope and stability), bracing calculations, deck and stair design, thermal efficiency calculations (required by council), fire and sound reports (if req.), storm water and sewer design by approved engineer for council (if rural site) and a lot more …
From the architectural working drawings all documentation is prepared ready for the local council. This includes the permit application form and specification documentation. This is important as it defines the minimum standards that all contractors must perform to when undertaking their subtrade.
You can have us to liase with the local council to obtain the necessary consents during the build process. This makes sense as we know their systems – why should you learn and waste time? For most extensive renovations this is recommended, as it is sometimes required to modify the final building house plans based on new information at hand, which was not known about until after deconstruction of the existing building has commenced. We act on your behalf as independent advisors and can help with project tenders, assisting in the selection of a builder, home interior design and contract administration. The success of your project relies on your chosen designers continued involvement throughout the building process.
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