Custom Home Design

General Information

For everything from designing your dream home, creating some extra space on your existing home, or building an economical custom home or cabin, we have the experience to help you through the entire process. Bring us your specific ideas, or just a general concept, and we'll work with you step by step to come up with a final set of plans to take to your builder.
 
We are centrally located in Minnesota, just a short drive north of Minneapolis and St. Paul, but we offer design services throughout all of Minnesota and North Dakota. Via email, and PDF's, we can easily send drawing samples as often as necessay as we progress through the deisgn stages. We normally hold all meetings at our office, but can travel to your location anywhere within Minnesota or North Dakota for meetings at no additional cost when the distance to our office makes it difficult to meet here.
 
We have over 10 years of experience in residential design. We have been directly involved in the start to finish construction of two of the homes that we have designed, including one on which we acted as the builder and general contractor, co-ordinating all construction activities and working directly with all sub-contractors. We use this first hand construction experience to help guide us through the design process, to ensure that what works well on paper will also work well in the 'real world'.
 
All of our plans are created using the latest AutoCAD software, and are 3D enabled, allowing us to show you an interactive 3D model of your home at no extra charge. Our service also includes support after the plans are completed. We are always available to clarify questions or deal with design issues during the construction process.
 

Pricing

For new home construction, we quote a fixed price for our Standard Residential Design Package once we have completed an initial consultation to determine some details about the home being designed. Our quote is typically based on the complexity of the home being designed - not on square footage or number of plot sheets, which is how some other drafting services charge. As a rule of thumb, a simpler house will typically cost $1200 - $1600, with the more complex and/or larger designs ranging from $1700 to $2500.
 
All 'as-built' drawings (where we take measurements of your existing home and create blueprints to match) are billed at an hourly rate for both measuring time and drawing time.
 
Plans for additions or renovations are typically quoted based on complexity, with any required 'as-built' drawings billed separately at an hourly rate.
 

Standard Residential Design Package

The standard residential design service consists of three meetings:
 
  1. Initial Consultation and Quote
    • Be prepared to explain in detail the house that you want designed. Be sure to review our design checklist for things you should consider.
    • Bring rough floor plan sketches if you have drawn out a particular layout that you have in mind.
    • If a particular exterior style is desired, bring sketches or magazine photographs to illustrate.
    • At the end of the consultation, we will quote a price based on the size and style of house being designed. A $400 down payment will be required before the design work begins.

  2. Preliminary Design Review
    • After the initial consultation, preliminary floor plans and elevations are created. Once created, a design review is scheduled in order to review the preliminary plans to ensure the general layout and style meet your expectations and to specify any necessary revisions. Note: Significant structural changes can still be made at this point.
    • Any preliminary prints provided at this meeting are for design reference only - absolutely no construction shall begin based on preliminary prints.

  3. Final Design Review, Approval & Pick up
    • After any corrections and/or revisions from the preliminary design review are complete, a meeting is scheduled in order for the homeowner to review and approve the final plans.
      • Additional revisions can still be easily accommodated. Corrections and minor revisions are made immediately during the final review meeting before the final plans are printed. If there are any additional significant revisions at this point, they may fall outside of the scope of the standard residential design package and therefore they may be subject to an hourly billing rate which is in addition to the originally quoted price.
      • Full payment of the remaining balance is due at the time that final approval is given. Construction blueprints are only provided after full payment has been received.
      • Before building, be sure to read our blueprint notes for things you should be aware of during the building process.
 

Additional Prices

  • Included in the quoted price:
    • One set of 18 x 24 construction blueprints for the builder. If square footage is too large, then 24 x 36 blueprints are provided.
    • One set of 8.5 x 11 blueprints for the homeowner. Hint: make copies that you can hand out if necessary, and carry a copy with you for reference while picking out flooring, lighting, paint, etc.
  • Additional sets of 18 x 24 construction blueprints can be ordered at any time for $15/each.
  • Additional sets of 24 x 36 construction blueprints can be ordered at any time for $20/each.
  • Any additional requests that do not fall within the scope of the Standard Design Service may be subject to an hourly billing rate in addition to the originally quoted price.