Design Consultants
This has been, and seems to continue to be, one of the hardest parts of the project for us. There are different designers who are able to submit approved drawings to a government body for approval. The two main ones I will talk about are architects and engineers. All can services can be as per the design professionals expertise and licensing.
Architects, as design professionals, typically complete more parts of the process. An architect may do only the design of the (in this case) house, without working on the site survey, grading and drainage, structural work design, etc. Some may be licensed in all, or have consultants, who can complete the design for submittal and approval. Most will do a series of design steps such as preliminary design (your conceptual ideas worked out on paper), construction drawings (complete drawings of all aspects of the design to be constructed) and governmental approvals.
I have found that the cost of hiring an architect is higher than hiring an engineer to design a house. In the Florida Keys many engineers consider themselves building designers as well. In a small community, professionals have to be jack-of-all-trades. An engineer, most likely a structural engineer, can design a structure not to fail but may not have expertise to design a house of a pleasing character, layout and finishes. I assume some of them have designers that they call on to provide the design services and they do just the structural design.
All of the designer’s contracts were different as to services provided as well as pricing. If things are busy you may ask how long it will take to get started on your project as well as completion of the design service.
To contract for land surveying services I called around and got prices from $700 to $1,300. A few calls were worth the savings.
As there are many villages, towns, cities and county planning and building departments. Be sure your design professional knows, and is up to date, on all planning and construction requirements for your jurisdiction. We asked a number of different design professional about a specific rule in our area and not one knew the correct answer to the design problem.
Either professional needs to be licensed to do and submit their work for approval. Check on the status of their license with the state and see if there are bad review on line. Other reviews like references, any complaints will help as well. Governments typically will not comment on the quality contractors or designers.
10 comments
Hi Martin, I came across your web page and find it very interesting, did construction started already? Did you get quote for piles installation? Thank you. Manny.
Well we are a long way from construction. We are working on construction drawings and trying to get preliminary bids. In the Keys we need to wait to get a permit and the wait is long. No quote on pilings, do you have info I could use?
Thanks,
Martin
Hi Martín
Just came across your blog and am also building on Duck Key. Just went through Rogó and just got approved. The group we used made the process seem less. The permit runner was great. Let me know if you would like her info.
Melissa Lopez
PS no relation to the Lopez above LOL there are just a lot of us in Florida
Thank you for reading my blog. I would love the name of the permit runner! We are not in the area now. Also, if you have picked a contract you can trust, I’d be interested in hearing about them. We are still a year or so away from building.
Thanks,
Martin
We have a Luis-Lopez friend too! If you have your permit runners name we would appreciate it!
My wife and I purchased a vacant lot on Duck Key.
Good info on your blog Martin.
Melissa Lopez I am also beginning the process. What was the group/permit runner? How long was your process for permitting?
Thank you,
Wayne
My wife and I purchased a vacant lot on Duck Key.
Good info on your blog Martin.
Melissa Lopez I am also beginning the process. What was the group/permit runner? How long was your process for permitting?
Thank you,
Wayne
We do not have a permit runner. I thought your wife did! We have had a lot of issues over the last year and have not submitted our plans for review yet. We are near the top of the list but developers keep buying more points and we keep dropping down in the list.
My wife is not Melissa Lopez. I mentioned her in the post, hoping she would share the name of the permit runner she retained. The coincidence is that my wife and I also purchased on Duck Key.
I am researching the process for development approval.
Hi Martin.
My brother in law is the county building inspector for your area. When we lived down there, my wife was the county assistant administrator. Between those two they know all the regulations, rules, and laws and the people in charge of the different departments you’ll need. My wife and I have a double lot on Big Pine and plan to build ICF. You can go to any architect or designer, but a PE (Professional Engineer) must review and approve your plans. There is only one PE for the Keys. He is in the government offices in Key West in the old Gato Cigar building. He also has office hours at the offices in Key Largo. My brother in law gave me many inside tips and tricks for design approval. You don’t have to use a Monroe County PE to review your design, you just have to have a FL PE who can approve Cat 1 dwellings. If you make changes to you design, don’t have the drawings redone or apply for a change. Too many changes and the county will flag you that it’s a completely new design and you will have to start the whole design, review, approval, processing, and even some permitting all over again. Have the engineer make amendments to the drawings. You can have as many amendments as you want. The engineer will charge you about $400 per amendment. Once you have a permit, it will have an expiration date, but if it expires you don’t have to file and pay for a new permit. You pay a reduced fee and the county will renew the same permit. Even if the permit was applied and paid for by a different person. Our lot already had plans and permits for a wood Cape Cod style home. We used the same footprint because the piers are already there and simply made amendments with the engineer. There is a price list the county has for how much you pay to renew a permit. I sent you a message, write me back and we can share information. Edsel.