You can certainly build a habitable dwelling without hanging around the site 24/7. Spec homes by builders are built this way every day. But, even a spec home follows a certain formula that the builder is familar with, and it involves choices that were very very narrowed down in the beginning planning stages. Any questions that arise during the build are answered by the builder with economy and resale in mind. Spec homes can be quite nice homes, but they aren't very individual. To build what you term a dream home requires a LOT more personal involvement. Those are usually one off designs for that builder instead of being a plan he's built 8 or 9 times. It may even be a totally custom unique design. But, it won't involve ABCs repeated again and again. Unique situations involve unique challenges that require input from the one who is paying for the vision if that vision is not to fall short in some way. It might be as simple as finding a LOT of rock unexpectedly during excavation and figuring out if the budget can withstand the extra equipment necessary to blast it, or if it's simpler to reorient the home on the land. That one decision could either blow the budget, or create a home that you always feel is "wrong" by how it takes advantage of the view. Your build could be planned to have 9' ceilings on the first floor, and 8' for the second, but once the framing is started, the "feel" of the second is too confining and you want to switch to 9' on the second as well. If you aren't there on site to get that feel and arrive a week later after the entire second floor is framed, you'll either have to live with it or spend a lot of money correcting it. Some decisions on a build can only be answered by the person the build is designed to please. Hiring someone to stand in your stead will only work if that person is very very close to you and shares your same aesthetic taste exactly. That's a rare person to find, and usually, they are a family member. Involving a family member or friend in a build in that type of decision making for you is a quick way to make them an ex friend or non speaking family member. They aren't emotionally invested in the decisions. You are. When the inevitable conflict occurs, they won't understand the depth of emotion that the error arouses in you. After all, "it's just a house". The only way that I'd let someone stand in for me for a custom home build is if I were also OK with a matchmaker picking out a mate for me! (After all, you can grow to love a person, right?) It's THAT important! A custom house is that much of a personal fit.

Sophie Wheeler: You're assuming way too much. What makes you say that I don't seem to take into account the associated costs of removing bearing walls, when I clearly stated above: "I hate surprises, especially big ones. That's the reason we would like to know BEFORE we commit to this project just how many dollars we'll be spending on putting in beams, RELOCATING PLUMBING, ELECTRIC, DUCTS, etc." All the affected rooms will need new flooring that's not a news item for us. We also know we will need to spend money on floor matching if we enlarge the narrow opening between the kitchen and dining room. How much we will spend on this kitchen reno will not be limited so much by our finances but by the value increase that a large family kitchen will add to our 3000sqft , 4 bedroom house that has one big problem: A tiny, 60's kitchen more befitting a small cottage. We just simply don't want to overspend. The estimated size of the value increase will mostly inform our decisions.

Or if you don't want a house that's a disaster because there aren't strict codes; codes that protect people from shoddy work or bad engineering. For example, I'm in FL. After hurricane Andrew, codes became much stricter and thankfully so since most of the homes that blew apart in Homestead wouldn't have if they were built to stricter codes with things like hurricane strapping. So you want to double your cost so that it shows hurricane strapping on the plan? You don't need an architect to add hurricane strapping, your builder can easily accommodate that. If you receive shoddy work, I recommend finding another builder. We're getting ready to do a whole house remodel and addition to our one story home. We've found a builder that we like and will be working with an architect to prepare our plans. I'm anticipating that working with an architect will give us the cohesive exterior look we want, as opposed to an addition that looks like it was just an afterthought slapped on to the original house. I'm hoping for a finished design that looks like a beautifully renovated farmhouse that was added on over time. I'm also hoping to achieve the most ideal layout, since the current footprint is so lacking. I know what I want but need help translating that into a workable design. I think you're making the right decision.

You raise a good question, and fortunately you have years to sort out the best answer. All other things equal, I would be looking for an architect who had a successful track record as a successful residential architect, since even single family custom residences have a learning curve as a project type. Since you may be doing your first custom home, it will be a great help to work with someone who has successfully worked with such projects over many years. The second issue to sort out is the scope of services which would best fit you, your family, the type of house you envision, your site and your budget. Said differently, architects who do this sort of work, do so in phases of service: 1) Schematic design; 2) Design development; 3) Construction documents; 4) Bidding assistance; 5) Construction contract administration. In addition, many architects offer additional services for such things as site analysis and planning; interior design; landscape design; custom design of special built-in items, etc. Remember: you get what you pay for. So many consumers, if they commission an architect at all, scrimp on services and fees, thinking of them simply as extra expenses, over and above the cost to construct the house. The reality is often that minimal efforts and minimal documents result in tens of thousands of dollars of extra cost items (or do over items) during construction as a result of lack of critical information, open-ended allowances for items not designed or specified and the like. You may see yourselves as "pretty decisive people and don’t expect to need much hand-holding", but how many custom homes have you built? The third issue is the location of the architect: close to and familiar with your site, with builders, local officials and regulations vs. a "friend" who lives and works in the Chicago area. This is an issue which could go in either direction, but needs a strong degree of trust and good communications between and among all parties for success. Hope this helps. Good luck on your exciting journey!