There's another important issue to consider for folks who buy stock plans for several thousand dollars and then expect a local architect to "tweak" these plans and sign them so that a building permit can be issued. Of course, not every jurisdiction requires house plans to be stamped by an architect, but many, many do for the obvious reasons of direct responsibility for experienced design, health and safety, not to mention code and regulation compliance. The important issue is this: most state architecture and engineering regulations make it mandatory that all drawings and specifications stamped by an architect be "prepared by that architect or directly under the supervision of that architect". Failure to do so is punishable under the state regulation and, depending on the state, may include a fine, loss of license and/or jail time. Thus, no one should expect a licensed architect to take plans from a house plan factory, stamp them for $1,000 and go to lunch! Such plans will have to be completely redrawn, all local site and regulatory requirements will have to be met. In far too many cases, examination of the stock plans by an experience architect will reveal numerous deficiencies, omissions and errors. For example, stairs are often calculated incorrectly, there may not be any space allocated for HVAC, water heater, main electrical panel,etc. It may not be possible of feasible for HVAC duct distribution if the system is forced air. Passive energy strategies and "tight" energy conserving construction and proper insulation may not have even be considered. The square footage of windows may be an issue in many states. The list goes on and on. In addition, just about every owner wants "a few changes" made (it's always much more than a few, as it turns out, as owners become more and more fammiliar with the design and as they constantly change their own priorities for needs and wants). Often more changes are needed once the initial bids come back over the owner's expectations. And then there's the saga of allowances and change orders that are often part of the bidding phase and the construction phase, resulting in substantial cost increases to the owners. This forum is full of threads on these topics. This is why, in many cases, owners get far more beneficial house designs, custom designed to their needs and wants, but simply commissioning an architect at the outset, rather than playing with their own CAD software and/or downloading a "stock" plan from an Internet house plan factory. To each their own, of course. It's just that this situation--owners wanting to save money at the outset of their project (when the major decisions are always made)-- comes up so often on this forum that these questions and answers should be a "sticky" for all to read who are not sure about the options for designing, bidding and building their house. Good luck on your project!

Thanks for all your inputs. I will be getting a few more estimates this week. I did call the company that gave me the estimate for $6350 and told them I won't be going with them as the price is too high. He came back and said he'll do it for $5600, which would include the hotmop. I still declined. itsallaboutthefood- thanks for your estimates... based on yours, I think the price of $3800 is around the right price. Bill - wow! What a steal of a price... where are you located? Like others have stated, I wish I can fly you in, out you in a hotel and have you do my tilework! It would still be cheaper! Just got a quote for $4500. This would include floating the floors and walls, including the shower pan (with some plastic membrane or something...poly...) Just a bit more info, my shower stall will be 3'X 4' with a bench of 16" (part of the deck that is 20" high). Tub is a 66" drop-in with some tile work along the top and 8'X 20" of tile along the side. Any thoughts on this? Around the right price to pay for my area?

Go on down to Home Depot with your kitchen measurements in hand and get them to draw up a design in a middling cabinet line. Ask them for a middling suggestion. Home Depot doesn't pay their people on commission so you aren't costing the employee money by taking up his/her time when you probably aren't actually going to commission that particular kitchen. If there are things you know for sure you want like all lower drawers, a super susan, space for wall ovens or MW, etc., be sure to specify those. This will get you in the approximate ball park. Once you have a number, say $25,000, you can make a decision about whether or not this ballpark will work for you. If the answer is "ain't no way that's happening," then you can go ahead with future planning while you wait to save up some money. If the answer is "that's possible," then you can get more serious about what you actually want and where you want to get it. For instance, if the number you get is within reach, but you'd like to see what local kitchen/bath places or local custom shops have to offer, you can go see them and not be afraid of massive sticker shock. If you liked the person/cabinets at HD, you can look more seriously at their options. Depending on where you are on the available cash scale, you could also price out Ikea, Barker, and those other guys - Sch-something (?). Or, if $25,000 is a drop in the bucket, you could go have a look at Poggenpohl and get an entirely different number (!). Having a tentative baseline will make you feel a little more secure. FWIW, we did an InnerMost kitchen approx. 13x13 with a 4x5 island for approx. $14.5K, cabinets only. We did our own install. Granite counters were around $4K.

The contract I use says this about the responsibilities of the Contractor: " 8.1.2 The Contractor shall carefully study and compare the Contract Documents with each other and with information furnished by the Owner. Before commencing activities, the Contractor shall (1) take field measurements and verify field conditions; (2) carefully compare this and other information known to the Contractor with the Contract Documents; and (3) promptly report errors, inconsistencies or omissions discovered to the Architect." Those unfamiliar with construction contracts or who like to be cynical will say this clause is for the protection of the Architect and other consultants of the Owners, but its purpose is to protect the Owners since the they are directly responsible to the Contractor for the errors of their design consultants. It does not relieve the architect or other consultant from responsibility for their design documents; it attempts to make it less likely that errors are discovered too late to be corrected without requiring additional cost and time. Its basically enforced collaboration between the Architect and Contractor. As I said before, most of the contractors I deal with do not need to be told to check existing condition dimensions. This essential contract protection is weakened when the architect is not part of the construction phase team and it is usually eliminated when the Owner allows the Contractor to write the contract. Arguments about contract responsibility will never end but I believe it should be the goal of all contract writers to provide reasonable protection to the owner and all owners should have their architect, in addition to a lawyer, advise them before signing the construction contract. I'm curious to know if the architect was involved in the contract negotiations and reviewed the contract. I wish the OP luck resolving this issue but be aware that in accusing your consultant of errors you are acknowledging your own responsibility to the Contractor for those errors. The Contractor can simply send you a bill for correcting the errors but it will be more difficult for you to recover from the architect since you have terminated your contract with him. The architect may be unwilling to correct the errors for free because that could be seen as an admission that he bears full responsibility for the errors rather than sharing it with the Contractor. I'm not defending the architect; I'm just telling you how he might see the situation. In a negotiation you need to understand the motivations of all parties. Check the drawings and specs carefully to see if there is any mention of the contractor verifying dimensions. In addition to being required in my contracts, Its occurs repeatedly on the architectural and structural plans as well in the Structural General Notes. "STRUCTURAL GENERAL NOTES EXISTING CONDITIONS: Verify in the field all existing conditions, dimensions and structural support systems ... Any discrepancies from what is shown on the structural and architectural plans shall be brought to the Architect’s or Engineer’s attention for proper resolution."