An architect will add another 12 to 15% to the cost. Despite being good at what I do, contracts are rare, I mean hard to find. A $100,000 renovation would net me $10 to $12 thousand after probably two or three months of work. I charge a modest hourly rate when I'm on the job and a percentage of those subs that I provide and supervise. As a contractor, I make about 10 to 12% of a project's total cost. I must have demeaned architects too much in an earlier post which was basically, are they worth the money? My Scottish background makes it an issue for me. If you are familiar with such programs it can be a lot of fun playing on the computer with option after option.

If you are unfamiliar with such programs the learning curve can be steep. It is often the case that owners will see and ask for further changes after that. In most cases, the design professional will have to redraw and do some remedial work, depending on the knowledge you have in your plans/elevations. Just don't expect that your designs will meet code and work completely satisfactorily. The small dimensioned drawings that you could produce could be the basis for a design professional to prepare the necessary drawings and specifications at the proper, required size. That said, if you like to play with computers the Chief Architects series will let you prepare plans, elevations and sections in 2-d and 3-d. Special site conditions can usually be accomodated, but the standard set-up assumes the building will be built on completely flat ground plane. So using these programs means that the user has to understand design and construction, as well as have a thorough knowledge of the applicable building code, zoning and climatic conditions. Deborah also makes an important point that the programs aren't automatic and they have no building code or zoning information in them. More expensive versions print larger, but I'm not sure they will allow 1/4' scale plans and elevations to be printed on the large sheets common for design and construction. The less expensive versions only print up to a 11 X 14 size sheet, I believe. Deborah is correct that, in most versions (but not all) of the home design software from Chief Architect you cannot print large enough for drawings to be used for permit, bidding and construction.

Basement floor plan for mac