The Architect

Embarking on a major remodeling effort can be very daunting.  Admittedly, we were very naive about the entire process.  Do we hire a contractor first? Do we need to have plans before hiring a contractor? Do contractors even do plans?  If so, how do you compare contractors that come up with different plans?  And, do you have to pay all contractors for the plans up front?

So we decided to work with an architect first.  Fortunately for us, Monica has a teacher friend at school (shoutout to Kara) whose husband happens to be an architect.  His name is Ryan Conway and his firm is Ryan Conway Designs (214-251-5742).  We even went to their wedding in Syracuse, NY a few years back and were treated like family!  So, it was an easy decision!

A quick plug for Ryan.  Every contractor commented positively about the quality of the plans that Ryan drew up for us.  If you need an architect in the Dallas area, we highly recommend Ryan.


For us, hiring an architect was probably the best thing we could do.  Having an architect allowed us to explore and create independent of any contractor.  Then, when it is time for bids, all contractors work from the same plans.  Of course, each contractor will still make their own interpretations and assumptions based on that plan but at least they are all working from the same base ideas.  This makes it easier to compare bids.

It seems to me that being an architect is a constant "exercise in patience".  We kinda had a hazy idea about what we wanted to do and had absolutely no idea how to go about it.  Except for the kitchen.  Most of the kitchen design was already set in concrete since we had already purchased the cabinets.  So, Ryan had a challenge.

During the first round of planning, Ryan came up with several concepts that we refined over time and ended up with a set of plans for the second story that we sent out for bidding.  Then the bids came back!!  Wow... sticker shock!!  Man, was it expensive.  So, on to plan B.

Ryan patiently worked with us on Plan B which did away with the upstairs and just enclosed the patio and reconfigured the core of the house.  He turned those plans around quickly as we really needed to get them out to bid so we could perhaps get finished before the wedding in Oct (more on that in an upcoming post).  Back out for bidding and, again, sticker shock!  Plan B really wasn't all that much less expensive than adding the second story.

So, after our minds stopped reeling, we decided to do the only sensible thing that we could.  That was to throw common sense out the window and just go for the big kahuna.  We, (when I say we, I really mean Ryan) combined Plan A and Plan B to add the second story and to enclose the patio.  As it turned out, combining these two was really a wash compared to Plan A by itself.

Having an architect to make sure that things are designed correctly is indispensable.  There are a thousand little details that have to be accounted for.  Ya know, like the roof and how the addition will affect that.  Structural supports to hold up a longer span that supports said new roof.

In any case, you will be paying for the plans whether you do that through the contractor or whether you hire an independent architect.  I say go for the independent architect.

So our thanks to Ryan for helping us through this process.  And to Kara for sacrificing Facebook time to let Ryan hog their computer late into the wee hours of morn to work on the may iterations of our plans.