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Bay Area residential remodel exterior with framing and natural light

Field Guide

Before You Hire an Architect, Understand Your Path.

A homeowner-friendly guide to architects, residential designers, design-build firms, permit drawings, ADUs, additions, costs, and the Bay Area cities where the rules get annoying.

By Bay Area Architect Editors

Field note

The ADU Decision Path: Architect, Plan Set, or Design-Build?

A practical story-style walkthrough of the choices homeowners face before starting an ADU.

By Bay Area Architect editors

Decision guide

Architect vs Residential Designer: Which One Should a Homeowner Hire?

Understand licensing, design scope, fees, permit coordination, and when each path is enough.

Guide desk

Project lesson

Before You Hire an Architect for a Home Addition

How to think about additions before buying a full architecture engagement.

Project notes

Comparison

Architect vs Design-Build Firm in the Bay Area

A homeowner-friendly comparison of independent architecture and one-team design-build delivery.

Decision guide

Local Notebook

Bay Area cities behave differently. The guide should too.

Short city notes, permit context, and neighborhood-level project paths. More local magazine desk than generic Yelp directory.

Decision Tools

Start with the path, then find the person.

Not sure? Take the quiz
ADU

ADU or garage conversion

Often starts with feasibility, site rules, and permit-ready plans before a full architect engagement.

 Addition

Home addition

Needs early scope control: structure, setbacks, city review, and whether design ambition justifies an architect.

 Remodel

Whole-home remodel

A designer may be enough for layout and finishes; structural moves push you toward architect or engineer support.

 Custom

Custom home

This is usually architect territory. Trying to cheap out here is how budgets learn violence.

 Plans

Permit drawings

If design is settled, you may need clean code-aware drawings more than a full design process.

 Quiz

Not sure yet

Use the routing quiz to decide who to talk to first before you burn weeks in the wrong inbox.

The decision desk

Architect is one path. Not the only path.

Homeowners get into trouble when every project gets shoved through the same professional category. Pick the path that matches risk.

Path Best for Watch out Ask first
Licensed architect Custom homes, complex additions, hillside lots, design-led remodels, high-value projects Can be overkill for simple permit drawings or budget-first ADU work. Will you be architect of record, and what is excluded from your fee?
Residential designer Remodel layouts, additions with clear constraints, homeowner-friendly design help License boundaries matter; structural and code complexity may need architect/engineer support. Who signs, stamps, or coordinates the permit set if the city asks?
Design-build firm Owners who want one team handling design, pricing, and construction Less independent pricing leverage. The same team is designing and selling the build. When do I get a realistic construction number, and can I keep the plans?
Permit drawing team ADUs, garage conversions, as-builts, small additions, settled designs Not the same thing as a full architectural design process. What city comments do you handle, and what requires outside engineering?

Profile framework

Directory cards with disclosure, not fake stars.

Launch profiles are shells until license, source, and service-area data are verified.

South Bay

Licensed architect profile shell - South Bay

Future slot for architect-led custom homes, complex additions, and design-forward remodels.

Type
licensed architect
Projects
custom home, addition, major remodel
License
Unverified profile shell; do not treat as a recommendation.
Profile shell
Peninsula

Residential designer profile shell - Peninsula

Future slot for layout-heavy remodels and additions where full architecture may be unnecessary.

Type
residential designer
Projects
remodel, addition, interior layout
License
Licensing boundary pending review.
Profile shell
Bay Area

Design-build profile shell - Bay Area

Future slot for owners who want design, pricing, and construction under one team.

Type
design-build
Projects
ADU, addition, remodel
License
Contractor and design responsibility pending review.
Profile shell
South Bay

Permit drawing profile shell - South Bay

Future slot for settled-scope permit drawing work and city comment response.

Type
permit drawing team
Projects
ADU, garage conversion, as-built drawings
License
Not an architect listing unless verified.
Profile shell
Find your path