If you did renovations to your house...

...how long did it take from the time you decided to do the renovations, until the time the work started. I'm not talking about the time it took to complete the work - obviously that depends on the type and amount of work. But if you got an architect, did plans, filed for permits, found a contractor, and had the contractor start - what did that time frame look like?

I'm asking because I am getting so frustrated at this point that my architect is taking MONTHS to do plans for a simple renovation - we are doing a minor expansion of 2 rooms and some outdoor demolition and deck building! We first met him in early February and even though I know it snowed throughout most of February and March (which delayed measuring, etc.), he is STILL not done after about 5 meetings. He is doing blueprints, etc. for the Town and he seems to know what he is doing skill-wise but come on.

At this rate, with filing and waiting for permits and then getting a contractor, it's looking like this won't get done until late Fall and I'm aggravated because we wanted it done before Summer. Is this normal, or should we just start over with someone new?

Re: If you did renovations to your house...

What town are you in and who is the Architect?

If you did renovations to your house...

we met with our architect last March and the plans were ready for submittal by May. He told us up front that he was a little busy and that he wouldn't be able to get to our plans for another 2 weeks. So that brought us to April. He sat with us and went over his preliminary design, we made some changes and had final plans to submit to the town in May. This was a full second floor addition and porch.

Getting the permits however…the town dragged it's feet just a bit and we submitted the plans in May/early June and we received our permits in October. They lost a set of plans so we had to resubmit, then they needed something else from us, so we had to submit that…..We should have had our permits in August or early September instead of Late October.

My opinion is your architect is taking WAY too long to do the plans. Unless he told you upfront he was going o be a bit busy, there's no reason it should take him this long to get them right.

I also work for an architecture firm in NYC, so I know about how long things should take.

If you did renovations to your house...

We met with our architect in August or Sept (can't remember) and he had plans ready for us in early November (but, the plans were just a modication of a neighbor's plans).

They were presented to the town in January and construction began in Feb.

Re: If you did renovations to your house...

It took us almost a year to get permits; the architect I think only took a couple of weeks.

Re: If you did renovations to your house...

Oh my goodness I cant believe it can take a year to get permits?!

We were told Huntington takes about 4-5 weeks?!

ETA: I guess this is why many people do it without permits and just get them later when they sell. Our mistake. :(

Message edited 5/28/2015 11:17:17 AM.

If you did renovations to your house...

In your case though, you are doing exterior work as well - the town can shut you down without having a permit. I know the inspector came by a few times and our permit was always displayed in our window. In order to make sure things are done correctly, you need to have those inspections done and signed off on, otherwise you never know. Electric could be mishandled, plumbing could be off…..peace of mind….and you won't be slapped with back fines should you do the work and then get permits down the road.

Re: If you did renovations to your house...