Residential Architect Services by SketchHaus: Building Better Homes from the Very Beginning. An interview with Richard Taylor AIA.
Nearly every week, someone calls us after they've already
made the biggest mistake a homeowner can make: they went straight to a builder.
It's an understandable mistake. It's the obvious first move.
But going to a builder before you've got real drawings means you're standing in
your kitchen waving your hands in the air, trying to describe a vision that
only exists in your head. The builder does their best to capture it, but when
you ask "how much is this going to cost," the answer is going to be
vague, because there's nothing solid to price against.
A small investment with an architect first changes that
completely. It turns your wants and needs into measurable documents, drawings a
builder can actually use to give you accurate unit costs, cost per square foot,
real numbers instead of guesses. Those same drawings go out to their subs, the
framer, the plumber, the electrician, the sheetrocker, the trim carpenter, and
each of them can bid off something concrete. When the price comes back, it's
dialed in.
We also recommend bidding every project to multiple
builders, so you've got a range of prices and confidence that your drawings are
being read and estimated accurately. That's actually how the SketchHaus
Builders Network came about.
Why We Built the SketchHaus Builders Network
The most common question we hear when we hand over finished
documents is "do you know a builder?" For a lot of homeowners, that's
the frustrating part, finding a qualified builder isn't easy, and there are a
lot of them out there, good, bad, and everything in between.
We've worked with hundreds of builders over the years, so
we're deeply networked into that world. It made sense to share those contacts.
We tell homeowners upfront that we're going to bid their project to multiple
builders, which sets expectations early: we're looking for their best price and
their best service, not just the first number that comes back.
The SketchHaus Builders Network, SBN, connects each homeowner with
three builders from a short list that ranges from economical to very high end.
We use our judgment and experience to match the right homeowner with the right
builder, so you don't have to lift a finger.
The Real Math on Hiring an Architect First
Architects have historically had a reputation for being
expensive, serving mostly the most affluent clients. SketchHaus has made the
process affordable enough that it doesn't make sense to dive in with a builder
before seeing your ideas on paper.
Yes, a plan costs a little money upfront. But it saves you
many thousands of dollars on the back end, because when a builder bids on a
real set of drawings, there's no ambiguity about the scope of work. Enter a
project without a plan and you're leaving a huge amount of interpretation up to
the builder. Builders love drawings. Homeowners who show up with drawings in
hand get the calendar cleared for them, because it makes the builder's job a
million times easier. You save time and money, not just money.
What Actually Happens When You Work With Us
Start with a phone call. It's free, and we're happy to have
a hundred of them before you ever sign anything. When you're ready, you go to
our website, review the contract, and schedule an appointment.
From there, we either meet on site to capture a digital scan
of your property, or, for new construction, we run a programming call, where
our architects lead you through a process designed to pull every bit of
information out of your head and turn it into what we call a program.
Then it's a matter of days before we return your design. For
some projects, that's your permit set. For more complex ones, it's an initial
iteration. Either way, it's always enough for you to start getting real pricing
from builders.
How We Move That Fast Without Cutting Corners
We lean on the latest digital point cloud scanning and
building information modeling technology, and our internal process has been
refined to waste as little time as possible. We've also built a strong team of
architects with real capacity, so projects get captured, designed, and returned
quickly.
Because we have access to that technology, we pass the time
and cost savings on to our clients. We think of it as a wholesale play, we
don't make a lot on any one project, but we make it up across a hundred. That
speed doesn't come at the cost of creativity or professionalism. Every
architect has an ego and wants to see their vision built, but our real mission
is serving homeowners with smart, environmentally conscious, aesthetically
effective design.
What "Good Design" Actually Means
Your home is probably the biggest investment you'll ever
make, and we take every project personally. We don't design to code minimums.
Take insulation: the code sets a minimum, but we always push homeowners to go
beyond it, because nobody has ever complained that their power bill was too
low.
Orientation matters too. It costs nothing to be conscious of
sun angles and thermal gain, more windows on the north face means more ambient
daylight and less unwanted heat. We think about trees, about the existing
environment, about how a home sits in its neighborhood. Designing an ugly home
doesn't help anybody. Not the neighborhood, not resale value, not the
homeowner's own state of mind living in it.
One of the projects I'm proudest of came down to a few
dollars left over in the budget after we'd satisfied the homeowner's program.
Instead of minimal insulation, we widened the exterior walls to fit more
insulation into the walls, floor, and ceiling. About a year later, the
homeowner called to say that even after nearly doubling the size of their
house, their power bill had actually gone down.
Another client came to us with their own floorplan, long
dark hallways, poorly proportioned rooms. We told them we'd use it to
understand what they wanted and needed, but that our architects needed to
rework it for something better. Lines on paper are cheap. Great design doesn't
have to cost more.
Making Any Budget Work
Three things determine the cost of a project: size, quality,
and complexity. We could design a 10,000-square-foot shoebox with a single
pitched roof and keep the cost down. Or we could design a 1,200-square-foot
glass-and-steel jewel box for roughly the same price. There are always levers
to pull to make a program fit a budget, and a good architect helps you weigh
those tradeoffs honestly.
The Details You'd Never Think to Ask For
Architects are required to keep up continuing education, so
we stay current on materials, construction methods, and the kind of hardware
and technology most homeowners have never heard of. A good floor plan review
catches things others miss, extra storage tucked into odd nooks, a small
playroom, even a treehouse for the kids. Heated bathroom floors, heated towel
racks, automated wardrobe systems, the kind of plug-and-play amenities people
don't think to ask for because they don't know they exist.
Our electrical diagrams account for how you actually live,
so outlets and switches end up where you need them. Small things matter too,
like recessing a box into the wall behind your washer and dryer to house the
plumbing and ventilation. Skip that detail and you end up with exposed plumbing
sticking out of the wall, eating up space you didn't need to lose. There are
probably a thousand small things like that a seasoned architect catches before
anyone else even notices they were a problem.
Permits, Historic Boards, and Speaking the Language
We serve more than just Atlanta and Jacksonville, and every
municipality is a little different, greater Atlanta alone has more than 13 of
them. It's our job to understand each city's requirements and prepare drawings
accordingly. Permitting, historic board presentations, and variances are
routine for us because it's what we do every day. We speak the language, give
municipalities the right information the first time, and when comments come
back, we turn them around as fast as possible. We enjoy working with cities
because we're after the same thing they are: safe, comfortable,
energy-efficient homes that protect both the homeowner and the community around
them.
Start at the Beginning
If there's one thing to take from all of this, it's that the
beginning of your project matters more than most homeowners realize. A small
investment in real architectural drawings, before you ever call a builder,
saves you money, saves you time, and gets you a home that's actually well
designed instead of just code-compliant. That's what building better homes from
the very beginning really means.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have a firm budget before I call SketchHaus?
No. Phone calls are free, and we're happy to talk through your project,
sometimes many times, before you sign anything. Part of the first conversation
is helping you understand what's realistic for what you have in mind.
How long does it take to get drawings back?
Once we've done a site scan or programming call, it's typically a matter of
days before you get a design back. For simpler projects that may be your permit
set; for more complex ones it's an initial iteration to start the conversation.
Do I have to use a builder from the SketchHaus Builders
Network?
No, it's a convenience we offer, not a requirement. We connect homeowners with
three vetted builders ranging from economical to high-end because it solves the
"do you know a builder?" question, but you're always free to bring
your own.
What if I already have a floor plan I like?
Bring it. We'll use it to understand your wants and needs, but we'll also be
honest if we see an opportunity to improve it. Good design doesn't have to cost
more, and we've reworked plenty of homeowner-drawn layouts into something with
better proportions and flow at no extra cost.
Does hiring an architect first really save money?
Yes. A set of real drawings gives builders and their subs something concrete to
bid against, which produces accurate pricing instead of vague estimates. It
also means less interpretation, fewer change orders, and builders who move
faster because the scope of work is already clear.
Do you only work in Atlanta and Jacksonville?
No. Those are markets where we're currently running ads, but SketchHaus serves
homeowners well beyond them. We're fluent in permitting requirements across
many municipalities, greater Atlanta alone has more than 13.
Can you handle historic districts and variances?
Yes. Historic board presentations and variance requests are part of our regular
work. We understand what these boards are looking for and how to present
drawings that get approved without unnecessary back-and-forth.
Will a bigger addition always cost more?
Not necessarily. Cost comes down to size, quality, and complexity, and those
can be balanced against each other. A larger, simpler space can sometimes cost
about the same as a smaller, more complex one. A good architect helps you find
the combination that fits your actual budget.