If you intend on hiring a design professional to prepare drawings for your renovation project, you should hire this person as early in the process as possible. Some design professionals will be willing to assist in evaluating potential properties, but others prefer to wait until you have a property under contract before committing their time.

Not all renovation projects require professionally prepared drawings. However, a design professional provides more than just drafting skills. The design professinal’s job is to help you through the daunting and sometimes frustrating decision-making process by suggesting proposed solutions and providing insight into potential problems. This is why the one you select should be experienced in your type of renovation project - ask for references and a portfolio of similar projects. There are issues specific to renovation that an design professional who specializes in commercial construction will not necessarily be familiar with.

Design services are typically broken down into the following phases: predesign, schematic design, design development, and construction documents. These phases, while somewhat fluid, proceed in a relatively straight line. Larger decisions and issues that affect the project as a whole are dealt with in the initial phases and grow increasingly detailed as it progresses.

Predesign

In no particular order, here are some key things to look for as you select an architect for your renovation project. You should decide on the relative priority of these issues before interviewing architects.

• Experience with your project type – Architects that focus on new commercial development may not have the specific expertise to take on a historic renovation.

Architectural design in any existing neighborhood is a complex and demanding process. In low to moderate income neighborhoods, these complexities are intensified by the presence of people who often harbor a sincere and justifiable skepticism of outsiders. Low and moderate income residents (particularly renters) are rarely paying clients, yet their lives are inextricably intertwined with the outcomes of development and construction projects in their neighborhoods.

A general contractor is someone you hire to coordinate a home improvement project. Although most will take on any sort of project, they are normally used for bigger projects or in cases where there are multiple projects to be completed. Traditionally general contractors will have some workers on their payroll to handle demolition, carpentry, electric, plumbing, and other basics; for everything else they will hire various subcontractors, or "subs" (the balance of subs to staff varies). Often times, they will have a relationship with certain subs that they know and trust.

The construction documents serve as the primary means of communication between the design professional, plan reviewer, inspectors, and contractors. They consist of a series of drawings and text that describe in detail the work to be performed on your building. The drawing and text are composed on sheets of paper, usually 24" by 36" and bound into "sets" that can be distributed to the people involved in your project. For some types of projects and in some situations, the City of Des Moines requires construction documents to be prepared and stamped by a licensed architect.

Not every renovation project legally requires the participation of a registered design professional.

Why Hire a Design Professional?

Architects and design professionals can provide a broad range of services that increase the finished value and make the renovation process easier.

One of your most important decisions will be the degree to which you want to be involved in the planning and implementation of your project. It is always advisable to have an experienced professional available - whether to run the entire job or simply answer the questions you will inevitably have.