Fees
A fixed figure per phase, agreed before that phase starts.
| Phase | Fee | Duration | You own |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Feasibility | $2,400 | 2 – 3 weeks | Hand sketches and a site diagram |
| 2Schematic design | $9,500 | 6 – 8 weeks | Plans, elevations, and one section, at 1/8 inch |
| 3Design development | $14,000 | 8 – 10 weeks | Plans and sections at 1/4 inch, plus material selections |
| 4Permit and construction drawings | $22,000 | 10 – 14 weeks | The full set: details at 1½ inch, schedules, and specifications |
| 5Construction administration | $1,900 a month | For the length of the build | Site observation notes, sketches answering questions |
Figures are for a typical single-family project and are confirmed in writing before each phase begins. Consultants — structural, survey, energy — are engaged by you directly and are not in these figures.
Also offered
- A single consultation
$450
Two hours, at the house or on the lot, for people whose real question is whether the thing is possible and roughly what it involves. No drawings, no obligation, and about a third of them end with me saying do not do it.
- Measured survey of an existing house
From $3,200
For an older house with no drawings. Measured, drawn, and given to you as a set you own whether or not you go on with a project.
Why not a percentage
- A percentage rewards a bigger building
- If my fee rises with your construction cost, every expensive decision quietly pays me. Phase fees remove that entirely.
- Nobody knows the construction cost at the start
- Quoting a percentage of an unknown number is quoting a range and calling it a fee.
- You can stop
- A percentage contract makes stopping a negotiation. Phase fees make it a decision you were always allowed to make.
- It makes the phases real
- If each one has to be worth its own fee, none of them can be padding. That discipline is on my side of the line, not yours.