FAQ

FAQ

HIRING SOMEONE TO DESIGN YOUR PROJECT CAN BE A TOUGH JOB. WE KNOW YOU DON’T ALWAYS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT, SO WE’LL WALK YOU THROUGH IT, EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. TO BEGIN WITH, BELOW ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE ARE OFTEN ASKED ABOUT.

 

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CONTACT YOU?
FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES, THE BEST WAY TO CONTACT US IS EITHER BY FILLING OUT THE CONTACT FORM OR BY EMAILING US AT info@jarch.net.

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, YOU MAY ALSO CONTACT US THROUGH OUR LOCAL PHONE NUMBER LISTED ON THE CONTACT PAGE. PLEASE NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT IT MAY TAKE US LONGER TO RESPOND TO PHONE INQUIRIES, THAN INQUIRIES MADE VIA EMAIL OR THROUGH THIS WEBSITE.

 

HOW QUICKLY WILL YOU GET BACK TO ME?

TO ENSURE OUR QUICKEST RESPONSE TIME, WE ASK THAT YOU CONTACT US VIA EMAIL OR THROUGH OUR CONTACT AND QUOTE REQUEST FORMS.
TYPICAL RESPONSE TIME FOR ELECTRONIC MESSAGES LIKE THESE ARE USUALLY BY THE SAME DAY. RESPONSE TIME FOR PHONE MESSAGES CAN SOMETIMES TAKE AS LONG AS 1-2 BUSINESS DAYS, AS WE NEED TIME TO SCHEDULE THE CALL.

 

HOW SOON CAN YOU GET STARTED ON MY PROJECT AND HOW DOES THE PROCESS BEGIN?

WE TYPICALLY BOOK PROJECTS A COUPLE MONTHS IN ADVANCE. YOU’LL WANT TO KEEP THIS IN MIND FOR PLANNING PURPOSES SO THAT WE CAN GET YOUR PROJECT SCHEDULED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
THE PROCESS GENERALLY STARTS OUT WITH AN INITIAL CLIENT MEETING OR PHONE CALL, AFTER WHICH WE WILL PUT TOGETHER A PROPOSAL/CONTRACT FOR YOU. ONCE YOU RECEIVE THE PROPOSAL, WE CAN DISCUSS IT FURTHER IN ORDER TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE, AND TO DECIDE ON THE BEST PLAN OF ACTION FOR YOUR PROJECT.

AFTER DECIDING THAT WE ARE A RIGHT FIT FOR EACH OTHER, A SIGNED CONTRACT AND 10% DEPOSIT SECURES YOUR SPOT ON OUR SCHEDULE. WE THEN WILL SEND YOU OUT A DETAILED QUESTIONNAIRE THAT WILL HELP YOU GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON PAPER SO THAT WE BOTH FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE DIRECTION THAT WE WILL GO. THIS CAN HAPPEN AT A PRELIMINARY DESIGN MEETING IN PERSON, OR YOU CAN FILL IT OUT AT YOUR LEISURE AND SEND IT BACK.

 

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO FINISH MY PROJECT?

THERE’S NO EXACT ANSWER TO THIS, AS THE TIME WILLVARY BASED ON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROJECT, HOW QUICKLY YOU RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR FEEDBACK, WHETHER OR NOT THERE ARE OTHER AGENCIES THAT NEED TO BE INVOLVED, AND THEIR SCHEDULE (I.E. HOA OR GOVERNMENTAL), AS WELL AS HOW LARGE YOUR PROJECT IS. THIS SCHEDULE WILL BE ROUGHLY SET AT THE TIME OF OUR FIRST MEETING.

 

HOW MUCH DOES YOUR DESIGN WORK COST?

THERE ISN’T A QUICK ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, AS THERE ARE SO MANY VARIABLES INVOLVED. EVERY PROJECT IS DIFFERENT AND  PRICES MAY VARY ACCORDING TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE DESIGN DESIRED AND THE LOT ON WHICH IT WILL BE BUILT.

 

WHAT DO I GET FOR THE PROPOSED PRICE?

THESE ITEMS WILL BE DETAILED OUT IN THE PROPOSAL / CONTRACT THAT WE WILL SEND TO YOU AFTER THE INITIAL DISCUSSION, FOR EVERY PROJECT WILL HAVE ITS OWN PROGRAM.

 

WHAT IS YOUR DESIGN PROCESS?

WE HAVE DEFINED FOUR PRIMARY PHASES IN THE PROJECT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. FROM GATHERING INITIAL INFORMATION FROM YOU, TO THE CREATION OF YOUR DESIGN, AND FINALLY TO OBSERVING THE CONSTRUCTION UNTIL THE KEYS ARE HANDED OVER. THESE PHASES ARE AS FOLLOW:
PRELIMINARY / SCHEMATIC DESIGN
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
CONSTRUCTION OBSERVATION

 

HOW AND WHEN DO YOU BILL FOR YOUR SERVICES?

WORK COMPLETED IS BILLED AT THE END OF EACH OF THE FIRST 3 OF 4 PHASES WITH THE 4TH PHASE BEING BILLED IN 4 EQUAL PAYMENTS. EACH PHASE IS BILLED AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL FEE. THE PHASES AND PERCENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

SCHEMATIC DESIGN – 30%,

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT – 30%

CONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS – 20%

CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION – 20%

THE INITIAL 10% RETAINER WILL BE CREDITED TO YOU OVER THE LAST TWO PAYMENTS. THE STANDARD WAY WE BILL IS TO SEND YOU OUT A PDF INVOICE.

 

WHAT PAYMENT METHODS DO YOU ACCEPT?

WE ACCEPT PAYMENTS BY WAY OF PERSONAL / BUSINESS CHECKS, OR CASH.

 

HAVE YOU WORKED WITH CLIENTS FROM OUT-OF-STATE AND HOW DOES THAT WORK?

YES, IN FACT, MOST OF OUR CLIENTS HAVE BEEN OUT-OF-STATE. FOR THE MOST PART, EMAIL AND CONFERENCE CALLS TAKE CARE OF THE DAY TO DAY DESIGN QUESTIONS BY WAY OF PDF FILES TRANSFERRED, BUT SOMETIMES IT IS GOOD THING TO HAVE MEETING FACE TO FACE, SO AS TO MEET WITH POTENTIAL CONTRACTORS, SUB-CONTRACTORS AND TO REALLY WALK THROUGH THE BUILDING TOGETHER SO THAT EVERYONE IS ON THE SAME PAGE. THERE ARE ALSO THE CRUCIAL MOMENTS BEFORE THE PROJECT STARTS BEING BUILT, AND ALSO THROUGHOUT THE BUILD AS WELL. TYPICALLY THE SELECTED CONTRACTOR WILL GIVE YOU A SCHEDULE ON THOSE CRUCIAL TIMES.

 

IS THERE A WAY I GET TO SEE MY PROJECT’S PROGRESSION DURING THE BUILD?

YES, TYPICALLY, IF YOU ARE NOT AROUND TO VIEW IT FOR YOURSELF, WE WILL TAKE PICTURES FOR YOU AND SEND THEM VIA EMAIL TO YOUR LOCATION. WE VISIT THE SITE REGULARLY EACH WEEK AND CAN GIVE YOU PROGRESS PICTURES WHENEVER YOU WOULD LIKE.

 

HAVE A QUESTION NOT LISTED HERE?

IF SO, PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO CONTACT US DIRECTLY. WE ARE ALWAYS MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, AND LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!