Florida Architect Warren E. Barry offers a variety of service options to select from, all priced appropriately based on the quality of the plans and services provided with each. The Economy Services are for those who plan to build a very simple, single story home, under 2,500 square feet (including porches, garage, carport, etc.), have a floor plan that they want to use as is, and place a high priority on low cost services and low cost construction. These services quickly produce the minimum architectural drawings required for obtaining a permit, at the lowest cost possible.
The Economy Services are not appropriate for those looking to build a custom home, a large home, a complex home, a multi-level home, a home with a lot of curb appeal, a home that will be located in a flood zone, or for those who want a personalized service or thoroughly detailed plans. If you are looking to build a home that fits any of those descriptions, please review Warren’s Designer and Architectural service options as the Economy services are insufficient for such projects.
The plans produced using these services are comparable to those you would receive from most draftsmen and home designers. The benefit of obtaining this service from Warren, instead of a draftsman or home designer, is simple; the plans are being provided by an experienced licensed architect who specializes in residential projects, at a price competitive with many unlicensed, less knowledgeable, and less experienced individuals. When using this service option, the plans are drawn utilizing the “Economy Service Standard Materials and Specifications” (summarized below). The standard materials and specifications have been selected by Warren based on their common use in cost sensitive residential construction.
Click to View “Economy Service Standard Materials and Specifications”
The Economy Services require that you provide a single story floor plan locating all walls, doors, windows, cabinets, appliances, and plumbing fixtures as well as the ac equipment, water heater, and electrical panel. The floor plan you provide may either be one that you produced yourself, one of the plans Warren has designed for use with these services, or one that you have purchased the rights to use elsewhere which needs redrawn to comply with the Florida Building Code.
Warren begins the Economy Services by reviewing your floor plan to confirm that the design qualifies for this service. After Warren’s approval of the floor plan, he emails you a copy of the service contract for your review. If after review of the contract you would like to move forward with this service option, the service contract is executed and returned to Warren along with a legal site survey of the property the home will be built on. Next, the complete architectural drawings are produced and sent for your review. The plans submitted for review include a site plan, floor plan, roof plan, schematic electrical plan, one typical exterior wall section, four exterior elevations, foundation plan, and foundation details. Client requested changes to the plans produced by Warren are not included in the fee for this service given that the floor plan and specifications are pre-determined prior to starting work, but this review provides you with the opportunity to request any that you may wish to make at additional cost. Once you approve the architectural plans, Warren sends the plans to the structural engineer he works with (you must utilize the services of Warrens structural engineer when using the economy service for efficiency purposes). At this point the structural engineer arranges his fee and contract with you and then produces the engineering package. The engineering package includes structural material specifications, header schedules, nail spacing, hurricane straps, structural framing details, and so on. When the engineering package is complete, Warren picks up the package and three 24”x36” to scale copies of the architectural and structural drawings are printed, signed and sealed by Warren and the engineer, and then mailed to you. Warren also emails a .pdf copy of the plans to you for your use in obtaining additional printed copies, and for your digital records. This concludes Warren’s services.
Once the final Architectural plans are provided to the Client, the Client (or the Client’s Contractor) then begins the process of obtaining the remaining items required to obtain a permit. These items will all typically be gathered by your Contractor. However, if you will be building the home as an "Owner Builder", it will be your responsibility to obtain them. These items typically include: a pre-engineered truss package which is obtained from the truss company who will build and deliver the trusses, air conditioning design (also referred to a Manual J & D) which is obtained from the air conditioning sub-contractor that will install the system, energy calculations which are obtained from either the air conditioning or insulation sub-contractor, Florida product approval numbers which are gathered by the Contractor, and any local building department permit application forms that must be completed.