General

While not necessary, it is beneficial. Unfortunately dreams sometimes do not match reality. It would be unfortunate to create your dream home, only to have to shelve it because it is out of your price range. If you know roughly what the square footage of your project will be, you can do a web search […]

Yes, there is. A home designer creates construction quality drawings that can be taken to a contractor. Interior designers look at current trends and create a ‘look’ for your space. Typically, they are specialized fields. DHD does not provide this service, although they network with companies that do. Please see our affiliates page for more

While this can vary from designer to designer, at DHD we want you to be happy with your design. We will listen to you and work with you to achieve your desired outcome. We will make modifications until you are satisfied with it. There is no additional charge for this.

Unless money is no object, no. Things like soil make-up, possible wetlands and local design requirements can affect what you are able to have designed and execute.

While it is not necessary, the benefit of having a property already is that a design can take advantage of views, the layout of the property, and potential design requirements of an HOA or other covenants.

Typically, no. DHD works with a structural engineering firm as needed, and these costs are in addition to the fee charged by DHD. Upon request, DHD can provide a best guess estimate of what this charge may be.

Unless the design follows ‘prescriptive design’ requirements as laid out by the AHJ, it will. A prescriptive design is a design which follows a specific set of requirements for design and structural member sizes. These requirements are often seen in projects such as decks or simple garages.

While this may be an additional charge by other companies, DHD will make the necessary revisions free of charge.

Although this varies from the authority having jurisdiction (also known as an AHJ), a rule of thumb is anything that is over 200 square feet in size will require a permit.

While the short answer is no, the benefit is in the experience and knowledge (i.e., you get what you pay for). A professional knows the building code, what should and should not be in a layout, as well as current design features and standard sizes of rooms. While anyone can purchase design software and create