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Yes — please submit hand-drawn sketches or photos of your plans. We prefer them because they clearly show your intent, eliminate many assumptions about layout and design, and reduce back-and-forth questions. That clarity helps us deliver accurate work faster and keeps costs down by avoiding guesswork about how you want your home to look and function.
We provide construction drawings for custom homes, home renovations, and additions, backed by over 30 years of experience.
- Custom homes: Full sets of construction documents including site plans, floor plans, elevations, building sections, framing and roof plans, exterior details, and typical wall/assembly details tailored to your design, site, budget, and local code requirements.
- Home renovations: Existing-conditions documentation, demolition plans, revised floor plans, structural modification details, updated electrical layouts, and permit-ready drawings to reflect the new scope while integrating with the existing structure.
- Additions: Site layout and foundation plans accommodating the addition, floor and roof layouts that tie into the existing house, structural details for new openings and connections, and coordination drawings for utilities and grading.
We accept PDF scans, common image formats (JPG, TIFF, PNG), or physical copies—you may mail or drop off printed sketches. Please ensure scans/photos are clear, full‑size, and include any notes or dimensions.
No — there are no strict size or resolution limits. Submit drawings at whatever scale and size best convey your design. High-resolution scans or photos are preferred so lines, notes, and dimensions are clear; larger/full‑size sheets are fine. If a file is extremely large, we may ask for a compressed copy or a link to download it, but otherwise send whatever best shows your intent.
Yes. We welcome multiple sketches for a single project — many clients submit separate sheets for different floor plan options, exterior ideas, detached garages, or site plans. Keeping elements on separate sheets helps avoid clutter and makes it easier for us to interpret and incorporate each component into the final construction drawings.
Please include as many measurements as you can. Dimensions help us understand the relationships between spaces, confirm room sizes, and address exterior height or setback restrictions. If some measurements aren’t available, we can estimate certain dimensions during the design stage and provide documents for your review and approval.
Short answer: generally no. We do not produce fully rendered 3D perspectives with finished materials and lighting — we provide 3D massing views only when needed to communicate the form and important dimensional information of your proposed design.
Many clients supply their own rendered views (SketchUp is a common, free tool). Using this tool allows them the unlimited time to communicate their design as they see fit instead of us being on the clock for us to do so. We used to offer full renderings, but that service adds significant cost; our focus is on producing accurate construction drawings needed to build the home.
Turnaround varies with project size, number of plan options, how detailed/legible your sketches are, and our current workload. Typically we can convert sketches into CAD drawings within a week, and often sooner.
Yes — all CAD drawings are produced to standardized architectural scales used in the building industry. We deliver plans at the appropriate scale for the discipline (architectural, civil, structural, or fabrication) and are experienced working with the common scales each industry employs.
That depends on your contract, but typically yes — revisions are expected and we work through as many design iterations as needed during the design phase to achieve the desired outcome.
You can expect the same level of detail provided by a design firm without the unnecessary bloat often found on bid sets. For 20 years we prepared full residential and commercial construction‑document bid sets for design firms and local and state approval boards. Our full sets have ranged from about 10 to 180 sheets and include comprehensive details, notes, and coordination required for permit review and accurate bidding—significantly more detailed than typical spec‑home builder sets.
Some may find this level of detail excessive for house plans, however our past clients have been greatly appreciative to the detail and commitment of our drawings because it reduces time and cost by minimizing questions and misunderstandings between the client, the builder, and our team.
Costs vary with project scope—size, complexity, number of plan options, level of detail, and required permit/consultant coordination all affect price. Renovations and additions typically cost more because documenting the existing structure (measurements, as‑built conditions, and integration details) is required before designing the proposed work.
COST PER SQUARE FOOT METRIC
The cost per square foot pricing metric is regarded as unfair because it simplifies complex projects. For instance, if you have a 2,000 square foot home and the fee is $1 per square foot, the cost would be $2,000. However, this approach overlooks the intricate planning, design, engineering, and detailing required for custom-designed homes of the same size. A custom home demands meticulous diligence, which cannot be adequately captured by a flat rate. While others may offer drawings at a lower cost per square foot, they often result in hastily prepared plans that may not meet building department standards, use recycled outdated content, and require additional clarifications with the builder. We uphold higher drawing standards due to our professional training and commitment to quality.
COST PER DRAFTED SHEET METRIC
Adopting the pricing metric of cost per drafted sheet presents inherent challenges due to the diverse nature of construction drawing sets. Within such sets, one may encounter pages with sparse content, serving merely as placeholders, juxtaposed with meticulously detailed sheets that demand extensive time and resources to develop. Attempting to average out the cost per sheet overlooks these inherent disparities in complexity and effort required for each individual page. Therefore, this approach fails to accurately capture the true value and intricacies involved in drafting construction documents.
LUMP SUM COST METRIC
The total lump sum pricing metric is considered unfair due to its inherent unpredictability. Let us examine a hypothetical scenario involving an architect who charges clients a 7% fee based on the estimated construction cost. For example, if a client plans to build a $2,000,000 custom home, the architect’s fee would total $140,000 for designing, planning, and providing construction drawings. If the architect completes the project in just 40 hours, they stand to make significant profits. However, if the project extends over 16 months of intensive work, the architect may face losses, necessitating exploration of alternative cost-reduction strategies. This unpredictability exposes architects to substantial risks, where they may either reap significant profits with minimal effort or incur losses if the project scope changes frequently. Despite not claiming to be architects, we acknowledge that the same principle applies.
HOURLY RATE METRIC
This type of pricing is the most honest straight forward approach to any project regardless the size of the project or the amount of revisions! Rough estimates on your plans can be provided for free, keep in mind the final cost may come in cheaper or more expensive depending on the amount of time spent designing your dream.
- Fairness for variable scope: Residential plans often change in scope (client revisions & unforeseen site issues). Hourly billing ensures clients pay only for actual work done rather than an underestimated flat fee.
- Transparency: Hourly rates make it easy to track work and provide itemized invoices showing time spent on meetings, drafting, revisions, and coordination.
- Compensates complexity: Different houses and details require vastly different effort (custom features, structural challenges, site constraints). Hourly billing aligns compensation with actual complexity.
- Flexibility for iterations: Design is iterative. Charging by the hour allows for open-ended collaboration without repeatedly renegotiating a lump sum.
- Encourages clear change control: When changes arise, they’re handled through hourly updates or change orders, preventing scope creep from undermining project viability.
- Covers all tasks: Time-based billing includes non-drawing tasks that are essential—client communication, code research, consultant coordination, permit application—which flat quotes may omit.
- Risk reduction: It reduces financial risk from under-priced projects and ensures continuity of service when unforeseen challenges extend workload.
Yes. Pricing depends on the level of service you want — from rough conceptual floor‑plan help to full, permit‑ready construction drawings. Tell us which deliverables and level of detail you need before work begins so we can provide an accurate estimate and scope.
A down payment is required to start work, with periodic invoices issued throughout the project; final payment is due on completion of the construction drawings.
Yes — we offer discounts for repeat work and multiple projects. We frequently work with professionals, builders, and contractors on an ongoing basis and can provide preferred pricing for continued or bulk work.
All project drawings are delivered in PDF format.
No. Electronic CAD files are considered instruments of service and remain the author’s copyrighted work under U.S. copyright law; we do not release original source CAD files. On occasion we may share drawings with contractors working on the project, but a PDF is provided for client use and is compatible with common CAD software (AutoCAD, Revit, etc.). There have been rare instances where individual plan layouts were released for archival purposes, but never the full set of electronic drawing files. These conditions must be known prior to beginning any work.
We typically deliver files by email or via a time‑gated download link. If you prefer another delivery method (secure cloud transfer, FTP, or physical media), let us know and we’ll accommodate when feasible.
Yes. We respect client privacy: we only display exterior or interior images on our site, and your sketches and designs are shared only with you unless you explicitly authorize us to provide them to others.
We own them. Under U.S. copyright law, the CAD drawings are instruments of service and the copyright remains with the author (the creator of the drawings). You receive the deliverables (PDFs) and a license to use them for the project as specified in your contract, but the underlying electronic source files and copyright are retained by the author. This response may vary if working for a licensed professional.
We have produced construction drawings for new homes and renovations across numerous U.S. states. With modern email and file‑sharing systems, geographic distance is no longer a constraint; however, most of our projects remain concentrated in Central Indiana.
No. I’m not a licensed architect, and I make that clear. Architecture and drafting are distinct professions: architects focus on design and code responsibility, while drafters (my role) produce detailed construction drawings. Occasionally architects prepare full plans, but many firms rely on experienced drafters for execution—each role brings different strengths.