FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS

Every project that is not a single family home that doesn’t exceed two stories and a basement requires the services of a licensed design professional, also known as an architect. If you are designing a new single family home or remodeling your home you are not required to hire an architect to get the proper approvals from your local municipality.

Architects are uniquely trained and have the experience to take your requirements and compose that into a building that gives you satisfying and pleasing spaces, fulfill the technical requirements, and protect your financial investment.

A designer is not licensed and an architect is licensed by the State and must have completed a minimum of 8 years experience of education and internship, extensive testing and regular continuing education to receive and keep their license up to date.

What an architect provides to clients is a service. Part of the service includes drawing “plans” that architects call the “instruments of service” or also “construction documents.” The majority of service and of time an architect spends working on a client’s project includes design ideas, specifying products, meetings, correspondence, coordination, project management, administration, engaging contractors, working with municipalities, gaining approvals, advising, and ensuring that a client’s criteria are met.

All initial discussions will continue to be through phone and video conference. If a site visit is requested or needed prior to being hired as your architect, we charge for that service. We will tell you what is the current rate for a site visit during our initial phone consultation. Once we are hired as your architect, we will schedule a site visit to your property and will conform to our policies and State/County health orders. During construction, site visits will conform to the guidelines set by the health officer at the construction site, at minimum. We are holding most of our design meetings, conferences, and discussions via phone, email, and video conferences with our clients. In some situations we can schedule in person meetings with you. Our remote process has actually been in place for 12 years with our staff and was easy to transition our clients to work this way with us. Rest assured that you will receive the same high quality service our clients expect.

Construction Documents are the official drawings, specifications and product information that comprises the instruction manual so that the general contractor and sub-contractors can build the project.

I base our architectural fees on the amount of time it takes to complete a project. Most projects we offer a fixed fee. Some projects are hourly if I cannot specifically define how many hours it will take us to do the project because some parameters have not been defined. Our architect fees tend to be approximately 8%-12% of the construction cost depending on the size of the project (smaller projects will be a higher percentage, larger will be a lower percentage). Our current hourly rates are: $275.00 per hour for Principal Architect, $195 per hour for Senior Architect, $180.00 per hour for Architect or Production Team Member.

Our firm design projects primarily in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and we keep track of what past projects cost our clients to build and stay connected to our general contractor colleagues on current prices. As of Summer of 2020 costs for construction in this region start at $425.00 per square foot. Most small projects will exceed $525.00 per square foot with larger projects lesser per square foot.

Our firm is currently in high demand. So, we are scheduling Introductory Meetings and Feasibility Studies about 2-3 weeks ahead. Once a contract is signed, a new client’s project goes on a wait list which is approximately 30-60 days at current.

This can vary on the size of the project and whether the client is ready or needs time to process thoughts presented during client-architect meetings. I value that time is important to our clients and so I only take on a small number of projects so that my staff and I are not the ones keeping a project from proceeding to the next step. When we meet for our initial consultation, I will give you an idea of how long your project should take.

It depends on the size of the bathroom. The majority of our projects have a budget of at least $500K. On occasion we will do a bathroom or kitchen remodel with a smaller budget if the client was a referral from one of our trusted general contractors, networking partners, or a previous client.

Because of my 20+ years of experience, I provide a lot more information and value in an initial consultation than other design professionals. I call this initial consultation a Feasibility Study. During a feasibility study, I help with defining the scope of work, preparing budgets, give design advice, discuss zoning requirements, detail information on the process of design through permitting, customize services, share pitfalls that could impact the project, and other information customized to the your project’s specific needs. This information is yours to take to any design professional you meet and will give you a jump start on your project and help you define realistic goals. I still offer short phone and video consultations for free.

No. By doing the design, we ensure that our clients needs are met and that building codes are being followed.

Yes. We can customize our service to provide design services only. Clients are given the choice on how much detail the design needs to be before being transferred to another entity.

Some municipalities require that a project must be reviewed for its design quality and conformance to the zoning requirements before any other municipal department can review and issue permits. These architectural reviews may require notifying neighbors and speaking before a Planning Commission or Architectural Review board. If this review is required for your project, plan for an extra 3 months (on average) to be added to your project schedule.

At this time, J. Kretschmer, Architect does not offer construction. However, we work with many great general building contractors and can connect you with several to bid and build your project.

There are some advantages to design/build that appeal to many people. How we are different is that an architect, licensed by the state, has the duty to act as your agent during the project and to look out for your best interests. My experience at being involved in 100s of construction projects makes me your expert and advocate through the course of municipal approvals and construction.

Services performed by an architect during construction are called Construction Observation services. My staff and I have the experience to look out for you during construction. We can spot when the builder is not following the plans, has built something dangerous or is substituting quality products for cheap ones.

An owner-builder is a property owner taking on all the responsibilities of construction even if they have hired a general contractor to build their project. The owner-builder becomes responsible for all inspections including scheduling and ensuring that the project received final inspection and occupancy. The owner can also be considered an an employer and will be required to pay employment taxes. Don’t be fooled into signing a permit as an owner builder by your general contractor if you do not have construction experience.