The project was NOT my idea at all as we were empty nesters & the home was already 4300 sq ft.My wife had 6 GC's over & we visited some of their previous work sites & most took the architectural drawings & we didn't hear back.

That is what I need, just basic drawings since I am not making any architectural changes.

I always found architecture to be so interesting and I loved interior design as a teenager.

My background is in hospitality management/tourism and now finishing up the interior architecture program at UCLA extension (this summer!).

To get permits you need architectural drawings, at least one land survey, and engineering work. 

That applies to pretty much everything and every scale.PS - A little disclaimer, I work in the architecture profession, so I might be a little biased towards architects BUT I do my best to provide bias free suggestion and views.

If you meet most of these, but are deficient in some, then you'll need a variance.4) You might also need a special permit5) You'll possibly need architectural drawings6) You'll definitely need a class 1 survey. 7) Then, you go through the process.

I am 22 years old, currently in my final semester of architecture school at Alfred State College (two hours south of Buffalo) and I will be attending UB for a Masters of urban planning in the fall of 2019. 

Hi Kirk,If it were me, because the roof line really defines it (being 50% of the front), before I'd make any major decisions on what to spend on the exterior  I would talk to a local architect about colors and material selection, and also outdoor plantings.Not to have him General Contract the job, just to provide architectural advise about possible re-styling and colors.I've seen these spruced up by painting the wooden shingles and also by replacing them with metal.

He has architectural drawings, but doesn't have the financial means to fulfill them.