Understanding The Cost Of An Architect In Charlotte, NC
The Fee Question
In Charlotte, most residential architecture fees run 6% to 15% of construction cost. Our minimum fee for permit-ready drawings for a custom home is 6%. Full service through construction typically lands between 10% and 15%. Continue reading to peek behind the curtain.
Fee as Percentage of Construction Cost
To make sense of those percentages, it helps to start with how architects actually calculate fees. This method is the easiest way to discuss and understand architectural fees and is the most informative. Here is an example: your new house will cost $1,000,000 to build and the architecture fee for a construction set of drawings is 6% of the cost of construction. So, $1,000,000 x 6% = $60,000. That is easy math. And it makes some good sense. When the size and cost of construction go up the fee goes up. When the size and cost decrease, you guessed it, the fee goes down. But there is more.
Typical Fee Ranges
The next mystery that you will encounter when researching architecture fees is that fees are defined as a range. You will see ranges like 8% to 15%, or 6% to 10%, of the cost of construction. So why the range and the difference? Let’s imagine you are buying a car. The criteria affecting the price are the manufacturer, model, age, and features. A similar list of criteria will affect your architectural fee.
Scope of Services Make a Difference
Architectural projects come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small and simple, some large and complex. Sometimes final design solutions are understood from the beginning, sometimes they are harder and more time consuming to discover. Architects offer dozens of services across a project lifecycle, everything from site feasibility studies to construction administration to help selecting a toilet. The full list is at the end of this post if you're curious. The specifics really don’t matter, it's the wide range and variety of services offered that hopefully help explain why there is a corresponding range of architecture fees.
Minimum Fee
I imagine you still want to know a number, a cost. Let me start at the easiest fee level to define - permit or construction drawings. On average our lower end, but still custom, design services are 6% of the cost of construction. This will get you a minimum set of drawings with which your builder can get a permit and build the structure. There are many decisions these drawings will outline, but there are many that still need to be made.
Full Service
Full service fee ranges from 10% to 15% of the cost of construction. This range involves adding more detail and decisions to the planning process. Kitchens have more detail, cabinets and appliances get defined, lighting and electrical plans are developed, as well as specifications on materials and finishes.
The simple answer is how many of the hundreds of decisions that go into a house design do you want or need help to make? This comes down to an honest analysis of your strengths and weaknesses and the time you have available to come up with answers. Most clients end up in this middle ground, and most toward the upper end of the middle ground.
Here in Charlotte, good builders are very busy, especially those working in Myers Park, Eastover, and Foxcroft. When you search for a builder to work with, remember they are also searching for good clients. We can help make your pitch to attract the best builders. The extra steps we take to assist you with your resume, if you will, will push you up the fee ladder, but we are confident it is money well spent.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. See our chart of fee and corresponding tasks:
How to decide on a fee and a level of service
I am going to guide you by example. Imagine we need to know what kind of toilet to install in the Primary Bedroom. A visit to the Kohler plumbing website for toilets delivered 139 results. There are options for smart toilets, continuous clean toilets, tall toilets, one-piece toilets, and two piece toilets. There are prices from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. If that list does not scare you or bring you to tears then you are a candidate for a lower level of service and less assistance will be needed from the professionals involved in your house project.
In short there are three categories of professionals involved in your project that could potentially assist you with decisions, the architect, interior designer, or builder. If you do not make the decision yourself, one of those professionals is going to spend time and energy helping you, and that deserves payment.
Before you panic that there are too many decisions and no way to know how much help you will actually need, let me offer the following process and words of encouragement. At least with our architecture firm, you can sign up for a lower level of service to get things going. Once you reach the point where additional help is needed we will sound the alert and you can regroup and decide how you want to proceed. The decisions you will be asked to make are much easier to digest in small bites. We don’t expect you to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in one sitting. Furthermore, we don’t expect our clients to have all the answers and know exactly what they want throughout the process. That would not be a fair or reasonable expectation. But we ask that you understand when you want and need additional assistance there is a fee associated with the effort.
Some Frequently Asked Questions on Fee
Does the fee include an initial consultation?
Our initial call is free. We do charge for additional planning and scope meetings, the fee for which is credited to your first payment once we are under contract.
What happens if the construction costs change during the project?
Our fee would then decrease or increase depending on the change. We base the costs either on a professional estimate or the builder’s estimate if the builder is part of the team (our strong recommendation).
Can we start at a lower service level and add later?
Absolutely - most of our clients do just that.
A Final Word
I hope we have helped you understand that architecture fees have a range. A range reflecting the variation of services we offer. Rarely, if ever, are two projects exactly alike, so to be fair, rarely are two fees exactly the same.
Every project is different, and cost depends on your site, scope, and finishes. If you're considering a project in the Charlotte area, we'd be glad to walk through what's realistic for your situation.
