We offer a wide range of architectural planning, design, and building services. From spatial design and material selection to producing a full set of architectural plans to building your ideal home, we do it all.
If you already have an architect for your project, we would love to work with them!
We’re happy to split up work with an architect in any way you choose. Just make sure you have a full set of plans before bidding!
Of course, we hope you’ll be happy with our work; however, you can stop working with us at any time during design process, and any designs up to that point, are yours to keep.
Our hours are from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.
We value our work/life balance and don’t like to make a habit of answering calls off hours unless planned.
Emails are always the best form of communication but may not be answered until the following business day.
All billing is sent as an invoice through QuickBooks, and you will be able to pay online using an electronic check or credit card. We do apply a surcharge of 3% if paying for an invoice for build services by credit card. The 3% surcharge does not apply to design services.
Other than a nominal retainer for design services and deposit for build services, we never ask for pre-payment during the build process. We do however, ask that all invoices are paid upon receipt. Invoices that go beyond 72 hours without payment will incur a late fee.
Invoices are sent on a weekly basis (usually on Friday) for the work performed and materials purchased that week.
We’ll share a budget spreadsheet with you so you can see where we are at any given time in the project.
all design services are $100 per hour. We are able to give you an estimated number of design hours needed to accomplish your project before we start.
We require a 5-hour retainer ($500) on design along with a signed Design Contract before starting any work or advising on any project. The retainer is nonrefundable if a client decides not to move forward with design and has already signed a contract and paid the retainer. the retainer is applied to the last invoice for design services. If the invoice is smaller than the retainer, the difference will be refunded.
Once a client signs off on a design, we will be able to generate an estimate for that work. our bids are detailed and broken into two portions. The first is a detailed estimate for labor and then a second section for allowances on finishes. If a client would like to move forward, we would then go on to sign a build contract and collect a nominal build deposit before we can place your project in the build queue..
Updated 1/30/2021: Due to a high volume of emails and calls requesting new work, we are having to limit some of that volume. We highly recommend that you send us an email to info@quarterlab.net with a scope detail of your project. We will answer all emails to let you know if your project is in our wheelhouse. If it is, we are happy to arrange a 30 minute call to talk about the scope of your work. If the scope of work seems to be a good fit for us both, will ask to schedule an on-site visit. Because of the high volume of interest, we do charge a nominal fee for a 1hour site visit. In that meeting, we will dig a little deeper in scope and make a rough determination if the scope of work is doable, considering applicable building codes. We will also discuss the overall potential timeline of a project your size and a look into ballpark costs. The site consultation fee is nonrefundable but will be applied to your first invoice for design services if you contract with our company. The best way to initially contact us is by sending an email to info@quarterlab.net
We have three preliminary steps:
1) Investigating
Including, but not limited to, researching floodplains, improper property subdivision, building setbacks, and any other legal obstacle preventing the proposed construction.
*Any city fees for waivers, surveys, or other documentation will be billed separately.
2) Digital rendering
Detailed measurements will be taken so the data can be entered into our architectural software to build a digital version of your home plan.
You’ll receive a spatial layout, a 2D floor plan, and animated 3D renderings.
3) Brainstorming
We’ll collect groups of images you like via Pinterest or Houzz to help give us a clear idea of your style and aesthetic. We will also supply a client with questionnaires about project priorities, scope and space use. From this data will build a comprehensive design.
When a client has signed off on a final design, an estimate will be generated for the work. If that is accepted, we enter into a build contract. When that contract is signed and the build deposit is paid, the engineering for your project will be ordered and then the full plan set will be submitted to the city for permitting. While we wait on a permit, we will share our in house suite of project tools which helps us track the budget and finishes throughout the build process.
Making a change to the plans after they’ve been signed off on is possible, but discouraged.
Any and all changes to the plans during the build process will incur a flat fee of $125 per occurrence plus $85 per hour to update plans.
It’s important to stick to your original plans and only changing them if absolutely necessary.
