Building a New House - Initial Steps in Developing Plans in Florida and Other Areas

Building in Miami or any area of South Florida isprofessionals: an architect, an MEP engineer, and a
completely different from building in any otherstructural engineer. MEP stands for mechanical,
area of the country. While most of the easternelectrical, and plumbing. The mechanical engineer
seaboard of the United States, and much of thedesigns the air-conditioning, the electrical engineer
rest of the country, builds houses with wooddesigns the electrical, including the lighting, and the
framing and a finish of brick or wood siding, Southplumbing engineer designs the plumbing. The
Florida builds with concrete block and concrete.structural engineer designs the structure and
Quality vs. priceprovides the required structural calculations for
Because of hurricane winds the structures in thisthe building envelope. The architect designs the
area must be very strong. Where the rest of theentire house and coordinates everybody's work.
country looks down on us because they only useThe coordination of all the disciplines is probably
concrete block in their basements, for mythe architect's most important role as without
money, I really like concrete and blockcoordination there could be real conflicts in the
construction. Concrete blocks do not get termitesconstruction phase. Although it is legal to produce
and will not rot. Therefore, a concrete blockplans on his own in some parts of the county, it
structure will last for 100 years or more withwill be an insurmountable task to produce
almost no maintenance. Unfortunately, the vastconstruction drawings for permitting (unless the
majority of houses in Miami have wood trusseshomeowner has a background in construction with
with plywood sheathing for the roof, then roofingactual experience and the knowledge of the
paper and either shingles or concrete tiles on top.Florida Building Code and the local zoning codes).
This type of construction is not particularly goodWhat do these design services cost the
at resisting hurricane wind conditions. Although thehomeowner? They also vary greatly but there is
Florida Building Code has tried its best at improvingalso a range among good, established
the requirements for installing the roof sheathingprofessionals. This range would be from 6% to
and the roof finish, it cannot begin to compare to10% of construction cost for the permit plans for
the strength that the roof would have if aall the disciplines. The services during the
concrete slab were used for the roof structure.construction phase are usually charged separately
So why, if we know this, don't we build withon an hourly basis or in a separate package.
concrete slab roofs? Cost - the only reason isStyle of the house
cost. It is much more expensive both to designAnother important decision to be made early on is
and to install a concrete slab roof, especially on athe style of the house. There are basically three
slope to take a concrete tile finish.styles popular for home design in South Florida -
So one of the first things the homeowner needsmodern, Mediterranean, and Key West.
to establish at the beginning of the design processOnce the homeowner decides what styles he
for a new house is how much the owner wantswants, it is important to convey the style and the
to spend on the construction. There is the cheapdetails to the architect. The best way to explain
way to build a home and the expensive way. Thisto an architect what he wants is through either
is an issue that will come up many times duringimages from magazines or actual photographs of
the design and construction process.other houses.
The programChoosing an architect
But in order to determine a budget, theNow that you have the basic items together, the
homeowner first needs to establish the squarenext step is to pick your architect. This is very
footage of the new house. To establish the totalimportant as this is the person with whom you will
square footage, he will have to generate awork very closely during the next year.
program for the house. The program is a list ofTake the survey from the existing land from the
rooms with their corresponding sizes.time you closed on your mortgage. If you have
See the sample list as follows:lost it or it's too old or inaccurate, the architect will
Living Room 240 square feetarrange for you to get it updated or have a new
Dining Room 120 square feetone done.
Kitchen 170 square feetAsk to see photos of his/her work. Ask for
Family Room 240 square feetreferences. Ask questions. Ask him/her how he
Master Bedroom 240 square feetwould approach the project. Start to sense if this
Master Bath 64 square feetis someone you could work with. Do you like the
Bedroom No. 2 216 square feetpredominant style of the architect's work? Does
Bedroom No. 3 192 square feethis/her work appeal to you? Ask about the
Bath No. 2 36 square feetprocess. Ask what you should expect in the way
Laundry Room 100 square feetof his/her services. Ask him to show you the
Linen closet 9 square feetplans for a similar project.
A/C Closet 9 square feetPeople are individuals and everyone is unique. I
Total square feet = 1,636remember how many people have hired me
Circulation and walls at 20% = 1,634 square feetbecause they liked my "Mediterranean" or
= 327 square feet"Spanish" style or my modern or post-modern
Total = 1,634 + 327 = 1,961 square feetstyle. One person told me that she hired me
So now we have a basic idea of the majorbecause I returned her phone calls promptly.
spaces of the house and approximately howChemistry between people is meaningful. Do not
many square feet total homeowner will need fordiscount your initial impressions.
the house.The construction documents
Also, this is a good time to decide whether thereNormally, construction documents entail several
will be any outdoor spaces, such as coveredparts: the drawings, the specifications, the
terraces or pergolas. In Florida these areinstructions to bidders, and the addenda. Normally,
particularly good additions to the interior spaces.when the architect handles the construction bid
With wonderful temperatures during the winterphase for the owner, he selects the type of
there is no reason to spend all the time incontract the owner will have with the contractor.
air-conditioned interior spaces.This document is also part of the construction
The budgetdocuments.
So what will a house that is just under 2000The drawings are the major part of the work,
square feet cost in South Florida? There is nowhich along the specifications act as a
magic formula to determine this. The cost of thestep-by-step guide for the contractor to use
house depends on many things that have to doduring the construction. Sometimes on large jobs,
with the design, such as: the type of roof, thethe specifications are placed in a separate book
ceiling height(s), the complexity of the design, theand called the Project Manual. On most residential
finishes, whether it is going to be on a septic tankprojects, the specifications are normally covered
or sewer, and the type of foundations. Then,as notes right in the drawings. For elaborate
there are those costs that have nothing to dointeriors a separate package is done by the
with the design, like the location of the house,architect and charged separately.
how busy are the contractors in the area, howThe construction documents are generated in
well-known and reliable the contractor is, etc.phases from the general to the detailed. I like to
Although the price of a house can vary wildlydivide my projects into 4 phases: Preliminary
because of all the items discussed above, at thisdesign, design development, 50% construction
time a range of $150 to $250 per square footdocuments, and 100% construction documents.
could be used for a house that is not tooEach phase builds on the previous phase until the
elaborate with standard construction. So if we goarchitect feels that the drawings are all
back to the example. A 2,000 square foot housecoordinated among the different disciplines and
would cost between $300,000 and $500,000are ready to submit for permitting.
excluding the land.With careful planning and communication with your
The design teamarchitect, his good drawings and coordination and
The Miami-Dade County Building Department doesthe careful selection of a reputable contractor,
not require plans for a single-family residence toyour new house project should flow without
be signed and sealed by an architect or engineer.major problems. Although there are often change
This is not true for all municipalities in the area. Fororders due to unforeseen conditions or changes
example, Coral Gables does require all plans to bethe owner wants to implement, most issues
signed and sealed by an architect. But for allshould be resolved prior to construction.
practical purposes the volume of information thatFor more information on the role of the architect
has to be included in a set of plans in anyduring construction, see my other article on the
municipality within Miami-Dade County, most ofrole of the architect during the construction
the time, there is a need to hire severalprocess posted here.