Our Services

  • Planning & Architectural Services

    From concept to construction, we provide guidance through all phases of the project to ensure your goals are met. While we focus on residential design, we can assist you with any type of project in any stage.

    Planning

    Conceptual Design

    Project Development

    Construction Drawings

    Construction Oversight

  • Permit Coordination

    The permit process can be challenging. We can help with the following steps.

    Building permit submissions

    Planning Board approvals

    Zoning approvals

    Architectural/Historic Board approvals

  • Energy Consulting

    Whether you are planning a renovation or building new, considering your energy consumption is a way to ensure long-term value and comfort. Trained in Passive House, we use their principles to guide our practice.

    Existing building evaluations

    Current project consultations

    Systems coordination

    Material recommendations

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Cost Estimates

Williams ReCraft offers Architectural services for projects of all scales whether its a site plan for a new shed or the development of your mountain estate. Most of our Architectural services fall into the 3 categories listed below dependent upon Client involvement, relationship with your contractor and the needs of your specific project. We strive to define your needs at the beginning of our conversation to provide the most effective service for your project.

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Permit Assistance

Basic Design services for obtaining a building permit. In today’s environment, responsibility for the safety and compliance of your project is the responsibility of the design professional involved with the project. Building departments rely on the expertise of Architects and Engineers to ensure the safety and legality of your project. Most projects require a design professionals approved stamp simply as a matter of liability. While we are always required to do our due diligence and cannot just stamp approval of your project, we can assist when all that is needed is a review and approval of an existing design and documentation for a permit. This level of service requires the client to have a good relationship with their contractor, or to be very familiar with the construction process as it only covers the minimal legal liability required for permitting. It does not include construction detailing. You can expect to pay anything from the baseline fee for stamped documents up to about 3.5% of construction costs for basic permitting services.

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Construction Documentation

The next tier of Architectural detailing is construction documentation. This tier of documentation is sufficient to allow a contractor to provide a reliable price for construction with no additional information and guidance. The client will still have to work with their client to select fixtures, finishes, colors etc… but the type and quality of each element will be specified so a contractor can price the project up front. This is the typical level of service for a project that does not have a preselected contractor and is looking to receive multiple bids or estimates before construction. Costs for bid ready Construction Documentation typically run around 4.5-5% of construction costs.

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Architectural Detailing, Interiors and Landscape Design

Included

Permit Approval Gaurantee

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Construction Administration

Once the basics are covered of permitting and bidding, Williams ReCraft can help as much as needed to complete your project as envisioned. We can fully specify interior finishes, assist with the selection of final products, select appliances and fixtures and even landscape your yard. We can work with the client or their selected interiors team to fully decorate and detail the interior with visuals and renderings before construction. This level of service typically runs from 7 up to 15% or more depending on the clients needs for their project.

Williams ReCraft gaurantees all stamped projects for approval with the building department for your building permit. Every department is different and they will always push back on something, but Williams ReCraft will work with the jurisdiction to make any alterations requested by the building department for the purposes of Permit Approval. Note: Zoning and Planning Board review are separate from typical Architectural Services.

Once the documentation is complete the project is handed over to the owner and the contractor. Williams ReCraft always works with the contractor to make sure they have a good understanding of the project, but the ultimate compliance with the drawings and the realization of the owners vision is the owner's responsibility. Williams ReCraft can assist with this through the process of construction administration. Please note, it is not the inspector or building departments job to ensure compliance with the construction documents. They are only inspecting for code compliance. If the client would like assistance ensuring the documentation is followed for proper implementation of the design Construction Administration services are available. This is typically negotiated on a case by case basis dependent upon the projects needs and is typically a time and material agreement. Note: while it is obviously beneficial to have been the designer, we can help oversee other projects as well. Also note, this is not the role of the Construction Manager or General Contractor. This service is to ensure compliance with the design, not to plan or contract or manage the work.

A note on “Construction Costs”

Construction costs refers to the direct costs of building the physical structure of the building. You can think of this as anything within 5’ of the exterior walls and not beyond. This is often discussed on a per square foot basis with a number such as $250 per sf. This number does not typically include site costs or soft costs. Site costs can include purchasing the lot, clearing trees, grading the site, bringing in utilities, installing a driveway or installing a septic field. Soft costs include design fees for the architect, site engineer (septic), permitting fees and even insurance premiums, interest or taxes.

Establishing a base square foot cost for a project is always everyone’s wish. This is very hard to do, particularly in the post covid inflation era. While things have settled down considerably and are not nearly as volatile as they were a few years ago, typical prices have still not settled down to a norm. If you are a scaled developer, you might still build at $125/sf. Typical building used to start at $200 for a no frills build and typically began around $350 for a custom home build. There is literally no top end to how much construction could cost. You can always find someone who will build it cheaper. You can always find someone who will cost more. Neither guarantees a better or worse job. I encourage my clients to be prepared for $300/sf and we can work towards a higher or lower goal if necessary. This is not a guarantee of costs though.

Projects are a complicated matrix of tradeoffs. Every builder has things they are good at and do efficiently, and things they are not and don’t; or conversely they are so good at it, their skill costs more, so pricing is always a negotiation between your contractor, your architect, and the client. It is best to have all three at the table during the design process to work together towards a common goal. Money spent wisely at the design table can often save considerable headaches in the field. The cheapest cost today is rarely the most cost effective solution down the road.

So, be sure to consider your site costs and your soft costs when figuring out your project budget. Also, remember to keep your expectations in check and get your team together as soon as you can.