Hi all,

We are currently looking for an architect to help us design an addition to
our house. We are interested in 2 firms. Both are small, one is a purely
architectural firm, the other a design/build firm. The problem is that
estimates for the fees to design the addition are VERY different. I want to
know if I was missing something?

The architectural firm's estimate is about $3000 for what they estimate is
66 hours of services to design a 3 story ~500sq' addition (which we are
estimating will cost $80-100K to build). The design/build firm is charging
10% of construction costs for the design portion. With an estimated
$80,000-100,000 to build, their costs would be $8,000-$10,000. Up to 3x the
architecture firm's price. Of course we could be vastly overestimating the
cost of construction, so the cost of the design would be less.
Unfortunately, my experience is that one rarely OVER estimates the cost of
construction.

Am I missing something here? Is one vastly over or under charging? I
suppose we could get a 3rd quote to "break the tie"

We are in central Virginia.

TIA

Bart