The five phases
Each one draws something different, and each one is a place to stop.
Phase 1
Feasibility
Hand sketches and a site diagram
$2,400
Phase 2
Schematic design
Plans, elevations, and one section, at 1/8 inch
$9,500
Phase 3
Design development
Plans and sections at 1/4 inch, plus material selections
$14,000
Phase 4
Permit and construction drawings
The full set: details at 1½ inch, schedules, and specifications
$22,000
Phase 5
Construction administration
Site observation notes, sketches answering questions
$1,900 a month
Phase 1
Feasibility
$2,400
2 – 3 weeks
What is drawn
Hand sketches and a site diagram
Can what you want happen on this lot, under this zoning, at a size that makes sense. Setbacks, height, lot coverage, and where the sun is.
If you stop here
You know whether the project is possible, which is worth knowing before you buy the lot.
Phase 2
Schematic design
$9,500
6 – 8 weeks
What is drawn
Plans, elevations, and one section, at 1/8 inch
The arrangement. Where rooms are, how you move through, where the light comes from. Two or three schemes, then one of them chosen and developed.
If you stop here
You own a set of drawings a builder can price roughly and another architect could pick up.
Phase 3
Design development
$14,000
8 – 10 weeks
What is drawn
Plans and sections at 1/4 inch, plus material selections
The scheme becomes specific. Wall build-ups, window schedule, structural coordination, and the decisions about materials that change the cost.
If you stop here
You have a design that is resolved enough to price properly. Some clients stop here for a year and come back.
Phase 4
Permit and construction drawings
$22,000
10 – 14 weeks
What is drawn
The full set: details at 1½ inch, schedules, and specifications
The drawings a jurisdiction reviews and a builder builds from. This is the largest phase because it is where every unresolved decision has to be resolved.
If you stop here
You can permit and build. Most people who stop here manage the construction themselves, and some of them are right to.
Phase 5
Construction administration
$1,900 a month
For the length of the build
What is drawn
Site observation notes, sketches answering questions
Site visits, answering the builder's questions, reviewing submittals, and checking that what is being built is what was drawn.
If you stop here
You can skip this. Plenty of people do, and the ones with an experienced builder usually get away with it.