Arktek LLC

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND CAD DRAFTING SERVICES

The Design Process – an overview for Homeowners

Whether you begin your project by starting your own unique design from scratch, from an existing book plan or from another architect or designer, Arktek can accommodate your needs in a timely and professional manner.

Designing a Set of Plans from Scratch

For a truly custom set of house plans, it is a good idea to establish a few design parameters in advance: for example, the size of your new space (square footage of rooms or room sizes is a useful way to start), construction budget, design style, the flow of the interior spaces, and the project’s relation to the site and neighborhood. It is often useful to have a builder involved early on, especially for budgeting purposes and site and grading considerations.

Generating Custom Floor Plans from Book Plans

Another popular way to start a home-design process is to purchase a book plan. Many are available from providers like Southern Living and Frank Betz and Associates. Typically, you might like 60-90% of a plan and decide to customize it. Once you have selected a plan and the changes you would like to make, Arktek will proceed with the customization process, generating design drawings and construction documents. This helps to keep design costs down and can add speed and efficiency to the process.

Working with Another Designer or Architect

Arktek can also take existing plans that have been designed to a certain level by another architect or designer and finalize the drawings using CAD software. In other words, you may already have invested resources, time, and effort in creating a design that you like with your designer/architect and now need a final set of drawings, with further modifications, prior to applying for a building permit and building the house.

CAD Plans

Final design and construction drawings are created with CAD software (Computer Aided Design). CAD drawings allow the designer/draftsman and client a simple and flexible way of making changes, re-using repetitive elements, and printing the final drawings. If you like your basic plan but need it wider, no problem: the plan can be stretched using the CAD program. If you need to flip the plan so the garage is on the other side, this is easily done. If you like a certain layout but want to put it somewhere else on the plan, it’s as easy as “copy/cut and paste” using CAD.

Construction Drawings

Once your design has been finalized and you’re ready to build your house, Arktek LLC will turn your design plans into construction documents for your builder or for multiple builders bidding on the job. These will include dimensioned floor plans, a dimensioned foundation or basement plan showing footings and framing information, and building elevations showing the exterior appearance of the house or addition.

These construction drawings can be as detailed or as simple as needed but will usually include, at a minimum, a typical wall section and at least one building section. These details are usually required in order to obtain a building permit, although you may want a fully detailed set of drawings as well. Sometimes it is easier to figure out how something is going to look or work on paper rather than trying to figure it out in the field. Additional interior or exterior elevations, drawings or details are sometimes necessary and will help to streamline the overall construction process, keeping unexpected costs and unwelcome surprises to a minimum.

As-Built Plans and Field Measurements

Sometimes, when the original plans aren't available or have subsequently been modified, it is necessary to generate As-Built Plans of an existing home by taking field measurements. This is especially necessary for additions to existing homes or for renovations with design changes. It is also sometimes useful to have plans in order to sell a house, for an appraisal or for other historical reasons. Whatever the need, Arktek can come to your house with a tape measure, take the necessary dimensions, and generate plans from the field information.