The pursuit of designing and developing your dream home can be a long one, but our process is easy to navigate and we are working with you at each and every step from our first meeting to when designs are handed off to your builder. In the case of a remodel or addition to your existing home, Studer is ready, willing, and able to consult with you and draw up home addition plans for your Kentucky home or in the Greater Cincinnati Area.
The initial meeting is held at our office in Cold Spring, Kentucky with Mike or Paul Studer or Mike Frimming. You can plan on 2-2½ hours and be prepared to explore your needs, budget and design ideas in this first meeting. To expedite the process it is helpful to bring with you any site/plot plan information, development restrictions and collection of ideas you may have. Builder and interior designer participation is always welcome. After meeting with you and considering your needs we will offer a pricing bid for our design labor.
The preliminary design showcases the front elevation with exterior materials, as well as first and second floor plan layouts with room sizes, closet locations and utilities shown. Although the preliminary design may lack detail, many of the construction elements, basic structural components and code requirements are worked out at this stage of the design. Any questions, modifications or unresolved options should be addressed and clarified during the preliminary design process.
The working drawings contain graphic as well as written information. The specifications contain important information on, but not limited to, soils, concrete, foundation, structural steel, carpentry, glazing, dryvit, flashing and code compliance. Read the specs and discuss with your contractor. A home is constructed using many products and systems manufactured by different companies. It is important that you and your contractor discuss and comply with the manufacturers' specs to insure the performance on your home that they were designed to deliver.
There is a certain amount of engineering included in our design programs and is a standard part of the drawing package; however, there are occasions when lot specifics and extraordinary design elements may result in the building department requesting additional engineering. In this case we consult with a structural engineer outside our office to provide all requested engineering. The engineer will bill us for his services and we in turn will bill the customer/builder at the same rate. There is no upcharge on our part for this
Our design labor will vary depending on the size of the house and the scope of the job based on the anticipated time expected to complete the project. Note: modifications to the original design will add additional time and cost to the plan.
Members of our design team are available to the customer and/or the builder to answer questions or concerns that may arise during the construction process.