We also found our own architect for the drawings & avoided an extra $500-$800 markup. 

My mum's side owns a factory which sits on 3,300 square metres of land (35,521 square feet).My dad has told me that back in 2007 he spoke to the architect who helped to design the factory.

Your best next move is to find an architect who has a recent project in your area.

This keeps us within the setbacks and mostly overlapping the structure we're tearing down (limiting the disturbance).A few more thoughts on this whole thread:- My wife put together all these drawings -- she's not an architect, engineer or drafts-person, so there may be issues with the design that aren't obvious to us...that's the type of feedback we're looking for!

The Architect who developed the initial plans is working on "If we succeed" basis (She is my GF as well :) helps!)

I wanted to say Hi and give a brief introduction, I am currently an Architect that works for a medium sized firm in Boston.

Schooling: Lessons and mistakesNO to architect being your general contractor (get a real one!!

Thinking back now, I would have also liked to be an architect.

There are times when a very complicated solution is actually the simplest way to proceed.Also - a few states limit the use of Limited Liability Partnerships to professionals such as attorneys, accountants, architects, etc..., but not all.

If there ARE specific requirements for repairing them, a good contractor or architect can tell you what you need to do.