Have any of you come across plans or know where I could start searching for plans for a house very close to this:
I am guessing if I had to get this designed from scratch it would be many tens of thousands of dollars? I am hoping that maybe someone already has a similar plan done that could be purchased for somewhat less.
Thanks
These are reasonably priced:
You do not want to short change yourself on using an architect because that plan will be site specific, take into consideration your personal tastes and needs (For example, I have a proprietory method for extracting design specific issues that takes into consideration things you might never thought of before a line gets drawn or an item gets speced.), use today's technology as well as replica or salvaged historic materials, be environmentally safer than the original and allow you to lead a normal life and/or family life within it and have a flexible enough design that some spaces can potentially fulfill various frunctions or needs - all while meeting local and other applicable codes and standards and other standards you might want to impose on YOUR building/house (ex. living Green, lower energy cost strategies, multi-use) and a whole buncha other things including thinking outside the Victorian or Las Vegas mentality.
You will save money in the long run using a professional. But I'm not going even get into that at this time.
Sarcasm, Galina?
Yes and no, It is absurd that people willing to spend a couple hundred thou plus on a house or office building or whatever assume they can just forego the normal design process and actually come ontoa newsgroup of mostly professionals and ask how they can cheap out. I figure different people on the newsgroup could take turns stating the obvious once in a while. Figured it was my turn. Of course, I coulda spelled checked for the typos, but then, for someone who wants to cheap out on an architect.....
On behalf of the group, I salute you!
I really should have been a little clearer. We plan to be on site during construction and do most of the finish and detail work ourselves. I don't know how this would fit in with the normal 10% to 15% fee that an architect needs for a new design.
What you pay for isn't just drawings. It's the experience that goes along with those drawings. Knowing which details go where. And, here's the kicker, knowing how to design and detail so that the various elements can withstand the ravages of mother nature. It's the experience knowing to properly proportion the various elements. It's the ability to give you the feel of an historic style with the elements required for a 21st century lifestyle (you're not going to have a parlor , a sitting room, the kitchen for servants only, right?).
And...for the record, I'd love to get 15% for a fee. But in our neck of the woods it doesn't happen. If you want custom design, find somebody who has experience in that kind of design.
Put yourself in your own clients shoes... if somebody wanted you to design something very unique, detailed and intricate, how much would you charge?
In TO the top (couple of) dogs can get it once in a while, after of years of establishing their "brand."
Using his analogy, if a client wanted you to design a supercomputer to do a very specific task, would you still send them to Costco or Dell (and I put together computers myself, I would never send someone to either of those places). If you want a Dell for a house, I am sure there is plenty of tract housing where you live, go buy one of those.
Ah, so you put together computers yourself and yet are an architect? How dare I try and put together building plans as a EE!
I don't want some portfolio carrying architect designing me some artsy fartsy new age block house with stainless steel toilets. I want to take an existing design from the late 19th century and modify it a bit, bringing it up to today's standards in safety and building materials. This is the part I figured I would need to pay an architect to help out with. I realize they have experience calculating loads for modern construction materials and the epensive software to assist them in doing this. I could probably learn all of this myself but I doubt it would be worth my time unless I really got into it and enjoyed it.
So what I was asking for was a copy of existing plans that might have been drawn up 30, 50 or even 100 years ago. I didn't really know where to find such plans..most of the online plan sites you detest so much steer more toward modern practical cookie cutter houses.
Anyway, obviously I am not going to get any ideas or help from this newsgroup so sorry to bother you and hope you had a good flame fest.
cheers
Why are you so offended? You asked for info, we've given it to you. You started out by offending those who you seek to get help from.
Look, do some of your own research. Google it. Amazon it. There are books out there. If you came to me with this type of project, it's the first thing I'd do, if I already didn't have something in my library. After some research, I'd then start designing.
There aren't any "stock" plans for what you want. You're going to have to go to historical design books...not plan books. This is a research project, then a design project. There aren't shortcuts for what you want. Either do some of the up-front work yourself, or find an architect who specializes in historic structures (they exist). Somebody like that won't design you a glass box you don't want.
You've made far to many assumptions about architects and how they work. Check them and start over. An lighten up... You're far to grumpy.
Another satisfied customer! Dover has a few pattern books. Beyond the 'pattern books' there wasn't a lot of drawing for dwellings in those days. The details were almost always worked out by the trades and "a verbal", and that's what really makes this stuff. No we'd have to reverse engineer the work.
I used to traditional dwellings a lot, and one style I was never asked to and would love to research is something that might be called "Queen Ann" in brick, stone and tile, or "Shavian", after Norman Shaw, like this one:
I almost said I build computers, but it wouldn't really be the truth. I said I put together, practically cobble them together from off the shelf parts, I do no engineering whatsoever, and never claimed I did. I respect what our consultants do, but most of the time they have little respect for what we do.
As for the architect, you are HIS client, if he is not going to give you what you want, then take your money elsewhere. If you are clear and concise about what you want, and it sounds like you have a good idea of what you want, then he will tell you up front if he will do it or not. On top of that there are architects that specialize in this sort of thing that would give you exactly what you want, AND make it to modern codes (not 50 or 100 year old codes). And yes you are overestimating what we make.
Again your analogy to a computer is weak, and I just pointed it out for you. A house is much more than just a sum of parts, the computers I put together are nothing more than parts any guy with some info can put together, which is why I can do it, but I can't for the life of me put together a rickety old chair. You are comparing apples to oranges. One simple example for you, the plans you will buy pre-made will have no bearing whatsoever to the site, climate, and local codes of your property.
Like others have said, we are being honest and trying to be helpful, but you are taking it as an insult, while at the same time you come in here and reduce OUR profession to nothing more than a google search (which if you would have done one you could have just simply avoided all this mess in the first place). Take the advice as you will, but just remember us when you need to find an architect to modify your perfect plans.
Rick.
After all the BS - one eng to another.
Everything depends on your site, climate (AK, CO or TN), views or lack of etc. Besides yourself you must satisfy the local building dept!!! Assuming you have all the $$ you need.
You can determine exactly what you want through std research. You then go to a LOCAL "designer" - (need not be an AIA or even licensed in most cases) to prepare a set of "code" plans for permit purposes. Then get a LOCAL civil eng to review and prepare calcs as needed.
Do any revisions and start looking for contractors. You may then do more revisions .
Lots of luck and keep the faith.
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