FREQUENTLY ASK QUESTIONS ON HOME DESIGN

1. Why do I need drawings from Design and Graphics?
To many times home owners have entered into a building project with a contractor and only a sketch and many details either left out or only verbally communicated.  In these cases problems always arise.  The homeowner thought they were getting this and got that.  Something was left out that was talked about and now the contractor doesn’t remember the discussion.  Our drawings are what the contractor actually works from when they are building your house or addition.  As much of your information we can get on our drawings the fewer problems you will have during construction.  The bank will also feel much more comfortable with lending you the money if they can clearly see your project on a professional set of drawings.


2. Do you design anything besides custom homes?
Yes. I also create drawings for additions, attached and detached garages, sunrooms, decks and various other residential construction projects.  Please call or e-mail me with your specific needs and I'll be happy to let you know if I can meet them.


3. What do I get in a set of drawings?
The final set of drawings will vary based on what you want.  Maybe you want a complete set or just a simple floor plan and one elevation.  You choose.  Our complete set contains several basic drawings. They are:

Foundation Plan: will be either a basement plan, a crawlspace plan, a slab-on-grade plan, or a combination depending on your particular project.
Floor Plans: the first and second floor plans, showing all dimensions and structural framing information (joist sizes and spacing, beam sizes, etc.)
Elevations: the way the home looks from the front, rear, left, and right sides
Cross-Section: all sets of plans contain at least one drawing which shows what the structure would look like if you cut through it - joists, beams, sheathing, trusses, etc. are shown in detail.  The more complex the structure, the greater the likelihood that the builder would need multiple cross-section drawing sheets to adequately build the house.

These are the basic sheets that are required by many contractors to adequately bid and build your house.  There are other sheets that may be done for an additional fee, but are not required for permit.  They are:

Electrical Plans: these are floor plans that show the location of all switches, outlets, phone jacks, cable, and light fixtures.  In a high-end custom home, where the client has very specific lighting and/or electrical needs, it is helpful to do these drawings.  For the "typical" custom home, the homeowner usually just does a walk-through with the electrician at the framing stage, and points out where outlets and switches are desired.
Interior Elevations: if there are built-in cabinets or bookshelves integrated into your home design, I can do special drawings of these pieces of cabinetry.  This is generally not necessary because the cabinetmaker will create shop drawings on their own and build from those.
Drawings of kitchen and bathroom cabinets are best left up to the kitchen and bath experts.  They can develop their drawings based from our drawings showing them how much room they have.

4. What about a site plan?
For new home construction, the site plan may be helpful in some cases.  If you are asking me to do an addition to your home, and can supply me with a copy of your existing site plan (which shows the location of your current house, the property lines, and the building restriction lines).  From this I can create a site plan as part of your drawing set for the addition.


5. How much will this cost me?
The plans I create for your home design will not be sold to anyone else; they're for your use only.  These plans are NOT architecturally stamped, as we feel the contractor carries this responsibility, so our plans are much more reasonable.  I like to have an initial meeting with prospective clients to see what their ideas are, and find out their requirements, before I give them a price.  The price can vary widely depending on style and how much design development will need to be done to create a design they're happy with.  See pricing for a general price guide.


6. How long will it take before I have a set of drawings?
We normally try and get preliminary drawings done within two weeks for you to review.  Ask when calling because our time schedules change so much.  From then it depends on how long you take in the review or changing your mind process.  Normally a complete set can be done within 3 to 4 weeks.

7. Are your plans a complete set like I’ve seen from professional architects?
Our plans are NOT architecturally stamped prints.  We leave building codes, load requirements up to the general contractor for they are experts in this field.  Thus our drawings are much more reasonable in price.

8. What if I don’t like your ideas?
Our primary purpose is to create a home you will love and live in for years to come.  We will suggest ideas, however if you don’t like them that is just fine with us.  Many times different likes for different folks.  We will draw your plans to your requirements offering ideas and concerns at times.

9. Are your drawing done by hand or computer?
Our drawings are draw in AutoCAD which allows us to always be accurate.  We will keep the electronic file on hand in case you may want to plan a addition in the future.  You may also request the electronic file upon completion.

10. Do you do the plans all at once, or is the project broken down into phases?  How do I pay you?
The project is broken down into phases.  If you ask me to send you a proposal after our initial meeting, I will prepare it with the project schedule that best suits you.  I typically require a retainer and a signed proposal to begin the work.  Most projects are completed in the following phases:
Initial Preliminary Drawings: These will consist of the First Floor Plan, Second Floor Plan (if applicable), and the Front Elevation. Drawings will show overall dimensions of the main rooms, locations of doors, staircases, and windows on the floor plans, and will give you a general idea of where the design is heading.  I will present these drawings to you at a design meeting, and we will determine what changes need to be made to the design (at this stage there are ALWAYS changes!)  This review process can be done face to face or we can e-mail these preliminary drawings to you to review in Acrobat format (free downloadable software).
Revised (Full) Preliminary Drawings: Any changes you made at the last design meeting will be incorporated into the floor plans and the front elevation, plus I will now present to you the Rear and Side Elevations, and the Foundation Plan for review.  You will most likely have some ideas for changes at this level of project completion as well.  There is usually an additional payment due from you upon completion of this phase.
Pricing Drawings: You will get back all of the above sheets, but this time they will be heavily noted.  On the elevation sheets I will call out your exterior finishes and your trim sizes.  On the floor plans, door and window sizes will be shown, along with beam locations and sizes, and floor joist framing indications.  Foundation wall and footing information will be designate on the Foundation Plan.  I will also prepare a schematic cross-section through the structure.  This information is crucial for a builder to have in order to give you an estimate for construction.  Pricing Drawings are almost always presented to you on vellum, so they can be reproduced, and you can give blueprint sets out to various builders for competitive pricing.  A third payment is due from you upon my completion of these drawings.

Permit/Construction Drawings: After you've gotten back your prices and selected a builder, you will contact me with any final changes.  Depending on the feedback you got from your contractor, you may have decided to make such revisions as reducing the size of the house, eliminating the deck, increasing the ceiling height on the first floor, or making that unfinished basement a finished one after all.  I will incorporate these final changes into the drawings.  Also, if I had included additional Cross-Sections in your proposal, at this time I would draw them.  I will print everything out, based on your number of sets required, and deliver them to you so that you can give them to your builder.

I live 500 miles away, can you draw plans for me?
We have drawn many plans for people who live miles away.  In this day and age of phones, faxes, emails and cell phones our distance apart becomes very close.  We have drawn plans for people who give us their original ideas and we email plans back and forth, in Acrobat format, until the customer is happy, then final plans are mailed.

11. How do we get started?
Please call 989-588-9626 or e-mail frontdesk@hoopzonebasketball.com to schedule an initial meeting, at no charge or obligation, at your home or at my office.  If your project is an addition I will need to meet with you at your home so I can take some basic measurements, pictures and see the existing structure.  New home construction projects are more easily discussed at a meeting in my office, so that I have all my reference materials and example drawings of past projects handy.


12. What sort of information should I get together before our initial meeting?
It's helpful if you make a list of what rooms you need in your new house, and any minimum sizes.  An idea of your overall square footage requirements is also helpful.  Many clients drive around and take pictures of homes they've seen that they like; sometimes they like the windows of one house, but the porch columns of another, and the rooflines of a third.  This is all beneficial to me - I try to incorporate all of it into the custom design.  If you're creative and have some experience with design, you might want to get out some graph paper and do some preliminary sketching on your own, if you have very specific ideas of what you want.  I've prepared a list of Design Decisions which I encourage you to consider before our first meeting, click here.