FAQ

· How much will it cost to have you design my home?

· How can I get a free estimate for my custom home design?

· What design services do you provide?

· What is included in your drawings?

· What is not included in your drawings?

· Other services you may need:

· How does your process work?

· What if I want to use one of your plans with another designer or builder?

· What if I use one of your plans without your permission?

· Do you have a planbook or catalog available?

· Will my home need to be professionally engineered?

· How long does your design process take?

· What sets Gravitas apart?

We have an extensive Schedule of Services and there are many variables that will contribute to the cost of designing your custom home indluding site, jurisdiction, what other outside services like engineers would be involved and most importantly what you need for an end product. We can answer many of the variables with an e-mail or phone call and provide you with a formal estimate.

Email or give us a quick call, and we’ll gather the required information to provide you with an estimate for our services based on the size and scope of the project. We can usually have an estimate back to you in a day or two.

We have a number of different services that range from conceptual design through permitting and visualization aids. They are all outlined here: Schedule of Services.  Gravitas is malleable and continually strives to suit our services to our client’s end need. We also team with talented professionals in the interior design, landscape, and engineering and energy design fields. With all the criteria know up front we can put together a package that will be as extensive as you, your jurisdiction or home owner’s association may require.

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What is included in your drawings?

It’s best to look at a graphic example:

Design Phase

-Click on link to download Design Phase Example

• Cover sheet w/Building Components, design data, all parties contact info, & 3D view
• Floor plans of each level with major dimensions and all the necessary features annotated
• Four Elevations fully developed and rendered with materials, shadows to show depth, and annotations
• Four 3D rendered views of the home from the most descriptive angles. This is invaluable to see how the home actually looks, not in a deceiving flat elevation view

Construction Documents Phase

-Click on link to download Design Phase Example

All of the above Design Phase Drawings with many more dimensions and specific construction notes Site Plan: We provide a general site schematic plan that will dimensionally locate your home on the site. We can coordinate with Civil Engineers and Landscape Architects as needed Floor Plans: Each Level fully dimensioned with structural bearing posts, headers, window and door sizes, detail markers, section lines.

 

• 3D log schedule: If the project is a log or timberframe home we provide a schedule of all the structural log components. We also provide 3D views of just the log components that are very helpful to the log suppliers who will be creating shop drawings as well as the contractors in the field assembling the product .
• Foundation Plan: All the pad footings, slabs, stem walls and reinforcing fully dimensioned with annotations, keys, schedule, and foundation notes.
• Floor Framing Plans: Full framing plan of each level and outdoor living representing size and spacing of all structural elements, floor joists, girders rims, ledgers, hangers, with annotations keys, schedule and framing notes.
• Roof Framing Plan: Full roof framing plan of home showing ridges, trusses, rafters, hips, valleys, barges and eaves with annotations, keys, schedules and framing notesRoof Framing Plan: All the ridges and rafters and trusses with annotations and schedule notes.
• Electrical Plans: A schematic electrical plan representing lights, switches, outlets, smoke and CO2 detectors. This provides a helpful template to discuss which actual fixtures you will need to pick out with your builder or interior designer.
• Building cross sections: We provide multiple full building cross sections based on the size and complexity of the home. Detailed building cross sections of important areas in the home will always includes one through the stairs but we provide as many cross sections as it takes to communicate effectively to the builder. Building the model in 3D allows us to create sections wherever they are needed with relative ease. If it takes seven sections to tell the story of how the home goes together, we will provide seven.
• All the unique details that it takes to show how the home goes together from the ridge to the foundation footings. Depending on the complexity of your home it might be a full page with 10 or 12 details or it might be three pages with thirty or more on a larger home.

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We will fit our services to include as much or as little as you need to get your project through permitting and construction and have you moved in. Our most common services are outlined above and include the Design Phase and the Construction Documents Phase. There is no one project that is exactly like another and requirements are not uniform across all jurisdictions. We have worked in some of the most demanding jurisdictions in the nation as well as places that don’t even require a permit. Whether it’s our in-house designers or we oversee work with our team of partners, we can help.

Other services you may need:

How does your process work?

Although we offer many services, with the majority of our projects we typically work with people through the Design Phase and Construction Documents Phase only. A more detailed outline of that process can be found here.

What if I want to use one of your plans with another designer or builder?

All of our plans are Copyright protected so you will need our permission in writing before you use them in any way. It is against the law to use our plans in any format as a base with your builder or another designer. If you want to use one of our plans without our involvement we have a simple standard plans-use licensing agreement and a small licensing fee of $.25/SF that will allow you to use the plan with your own designer or architect. This is an upfront fee, using the plans without permission will cost upwards of $150,000.00 which makes the licensing fee a real bargain. We encourage the use of our plans through this arrangement as it can save you a lot of time in the Design Process and it allows more homeowners access to creative, well thought out design.

What if I use one of your plans without your permisison?

The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act is lengthy, but clear.  You can read it here if you are interested: www.copyright.gov.  We are clear industry examples involving damages of $150,000.00 plus legal fees up being awarded for each infringement. Don’t assume that you can avoid copyright infringement if you “change it 10%” or “change it 20%”.  If you want to use one of our plans be safe and ask for the appropriate permission or design from a blank slate.

I'm a representative for a national log home manufacturer - How can I use one of your plans?

Call us at 877.881.8279 and let us know which plan your customer is interested in. We can then proceed in one of two ways; you can license the plan for a one time use from us for a small licensing fee through our Plans Use Agreement, or we can work with your client through the process of modifying the plans for their local jurisdiction. Also, see below for more info about marketing with our plans.

Do you have a planbook or catalog available?

We have over 25 plans ready to go in plan book format and most of them are online here.  If you are a representative of a log home manufacturer or a builder we can personalize the plan book to include your company logo on the plans themselves.  We require a Plans Use Licensing Agreement for use of our plans and renderings in this way. This basically says you will only use the plans on a licensing fee basis or with our services and not just use our plans as your own without our permission and credit. This is a free service that can increase your exposure and credibility in the industry.

Will my home need to be professionally engineered?

Every project is unique and each county and state handles their building permits and requirements differently. We design all of our homes to the current 2006 IRC (International Residential Code) which has been adopted for the most part across the country. Gravitas encourages professional structural engineering on all of our projects whether or not it is required. Our engineer is licensed for projects from coast to coast.

How long does your design process take?

After we have all the information we need to begin the Design Phase (Design Service Agreement, your ideas, the design program, fees for the Design Phase) it typically takes between 2-3 weeks for the Preliminary Design depending on the complexity. The time that you have the design for review is up to you; sometimes it is the next day, sometimes six weeks. Once we get drawings back in hands, it can take between 1-2 weeks on the subsequent design revision sets depending on the complexity until we have the Approved Design. Final Construction Documents can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks depending on the complexity and workload. We will discuss timelines at the beginning of each phase so that realistic expectations can be met. We are accommodating and are always open to discussing demanding timelines if the project requires it.

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What sets Gravitas apart?

We love what we do, and we are very talented designers. We approach each home with the goal of providing the best solutions for your individual design criteria. Look at the examples of our end product of both the design and the construction documents, we hope it speaks for itself in some regards. We put a lot of creative energy into our design and a lot of technical competency into our final plans so that the construction process is smooth with the builder in the field. Our price point for the completeness of our drawings is at the top of our field. Gravitas has found a niche between the $.50/SF “drafters” and full service architectural firms that charge 6%-12% of turnkey costs. Our end product stands up against the best design and CDs we have seen from some name brand architectural firms but at a fraction of the cost.  We get many comments from builders about how they wish all the drawings that they worked with were as detailed and clean as ours. If our drawings can save your builder time and money in the field our services can be an exponential return on your investment in a quality design process. Our design process is very informative; the 3D modeling in the Design Phase will bring you a clear understanding to your home will look and feel. Through the Design Phase we can fly around and through the home while viewing the model from any angle inside our outside.

If you have any other questions, please email us at design@gravitaslc.com