It depends on the project. Not every addition needs the same team, and hiring every professional you can find doesn’t automatically result in a better project.
The important thing is making sure somebody is responsible for the design, somebody is responsible for the structural questions, and somebody is thinking about how the thing is actually going to get built.
Those can be different people.
Let’s start with us. The builder is responsible for turning the project into an actual building. That means understanding foundation, framing, roofing, windows and doors, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, insulation, exterior finishes, interior finishes, scheduling, subcontractors, inspections, cost — and how all of those pieces interact.
But I think a builder should be involved before construction, not handed a finished set of drawings at the end and told to put a price on them.
Why? Because drawings have consequences.
Move a bathroom here and the plumbing gets easier.
Move it there and we may have to tear into half the existing house.
Change the roofline and we may eliminate two valleys.
Add another four feet to the addition and maybe the room works dramatically better without increasing certain fixed project costs proportionally.
Those are construction and cost conversations. They belong in design too.
An architect can take a much broader design role. Layout. Proportion. Exterior architecture. Circulation. How spaces relate to one another. How the addition relates to the original house. Detailed construction documents. Coordination with consultants. And depending on the project, involvement during construction.
For a complicated addition or a house where architectural design is a major part of the project, that can be extremely valuable.
Maybe you’re substantially changing the character of the house. Maybe the addition affects multiple floors. Maybe you’re reworking a large portion of the existing floor plan at the same time. Maybe you’re trying to solve a particularly difficult site or design problem.
That’s where a good architect can bring a lot to the table. But not every residential addition automatically needs a full architectural process.
There’s a lot of residential work that falls between a sketch on graph paper and a major architectural commission.
A residential designer or experienced draftsperson may be able to develop floor plans and construction drawings for certain projects, depending on the project and applicable requirements.
The terminology gets loose here. Someone who knows how to operate drafting software isn’t necessarily a good building designer.
I care less about what software somebody uses and more about whether they understand houses.
A pretty floor plan isn’t enough.
This is a different job. The structural engineer isn’t there primarily to decide whether your kitchen should be 14 feet wide or 16 feet wide. They’re answering questions like:
This becomes especially important when we’re making significant changes to an existing house. A second-story addition is an obvious example. We’re putting another structure on top of a structure that already exists. I don’t want to make assumptions about what the house underneath can carry.
This sounds simple, but I think it’s an important distinction. There are things builders know from experience. And there are things that should be engineered.
I don’t see engineering as some annoying piece of paper we need to get through permitting. If we’re removing a major bearing wall or creating a large opening between the existing house and addition, I want to know what needs to carry that load.
Guessing isn’t craftsmanship.
Knowing when something needs to be calculated is part of doing the job correctly.
On our two-story addition in Selinsgrove, the engineer spec’d 8x8 pressure-treated posts and 2x10 framing. We built it with masonry piers on poured footers, LVLs spanning the perimeter and 2x12 joists instead — overbuilt, approved by the engineer, approved by the permitting department, and it passed its framing inspection. Engineering answers the structural question. The builder still has to decide how to build it well.
No. You shouldn’t assume that every residential addition in Pennsylvania requires you to hire an architect.
Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code governs residential construction statewide, while most municipalities administer and enforce the code themselves or through certified third-party agencies. The permit documentation and professional-design requirements can depend on the project, building, scope and authority reviewing it.
That’s why I wouldn’t give somebody in Lewisburg an absolute answer based on what happened on a project in another municipality. We check the requirements for the actual project.
The same goes for engineering. Certain structural conditions may require engineered information even when the entire addition isn’t being designed by an architect.
This gets mixed up constantly. An architect may be focused on the building as a whole. An engineer may be focused specifically on how portions of that building structurally work. Those jobs overlap in places, but they aren’t the same.
For example: an architect might design a large opening connecting your new family room to the existing kitchen. The structural engineer might determine the beam, posts and connections required to make that opening possible. The builder then has to actually construct it and coordinate everything else running through that area.
That’s why good projects are collaborative. No one person needs to pretend to know everything.
This is where I really want the builder involved.
A roof can look perfectly reasonable on a floor plan and become a mess once somebody has to frame and flash it. Valleys. Low-slope areas. Roof-to-wall connections. Existing windows. Gutters. Drainage. Chimneys. Mechanical penetrations.
All of that matters. We’ve talked about this in making an addition look like it was always part of the house.
I don’t want the builder seeing the roof for the first time after the entire design is finished. By then, changing it can mean going backward.
Early. I’m obviously biased here, but I’ve seen enough projects designed without construction cost being part of the conversation.
The homeowner loves the plans. They’ve already spent money getting them developed. Then contractors price the project. And everybody realizes the design costs considerably more than the homeowner expected.
Now we’re redesigning. That’s frustrating for everyone.
The budget should influence the design while the design is still easy to change. Not after you’ve fallen in love with it.
That’s especially true with additions because relatively small design choices can create expensive structural consequences.
You can. But I don’t think you need to.
If you already have plans, great. We can work from there and figure out what the project involves. But if you’re starting from scratch, I’d rather have the conversation before you’ve spent a bunch of money developing a design.
We can look at what you’re trying to accomplish, the existing house, the property, your rough budget, potential addition locations, likely structural issues, mechanical considerations, and whether the project makes sense in the first place.
Then we can determine what level of design and engineering the project actually needs.
Don’t buy a complete solution before you’ve properly defined the problem.
At minimum, I want a decent handle on a few things.
Once those things start making sense, detailed design becomes much more productive. That’s why I’d read how big of an addition do I actually need and can I build an addition on my property early in the process.
Maybe — and it’s something I’d want evaluated rather than assumed.
Remember, the wall on the back of your house didn’t stop carrying loads just because we decided it would look better as a 16-foot opening.
Depending on the structure above it, roof configuration, opening size and existing framing, we may need a substantial structural solution. Beam. Posts. Connections. Potentially foundation support below those posts.
This is exactly the kind of condition where engineering can become important. And there’s another lesson here: the opening between the old house and new addition can be one of the most structurally significant parts of the entire project. It’s not just demolition.
I’d expect structural evaluation to become a much bigger part of the conversation. We’re adding load to an existing building. That load needs a path all the way down.
New roof to new walls. New walls to existing structure. Existing structure to foundation. Foundation to soil.
If something in that chain isn’t adequate, it may need to be reinforced or redesigned. That’s one reason building up isn’t automatically cheaper than building out. We covered the full comparison in building up vs. building out.
Then the process may be considerably simpler.
A straightforward bedroom or family-room addition off a simple section of the house is a different design problem from adding an entire second floor and rebuilding half the first.
That’s why I don’t like one-size-fits-all answers. Use the amount of professional design the project actually requires. Don’t under-plan a complicated project. And don’t make a straightforward project unnecessarily complicated just because somebody told you every addition needs a giant design team.
This should be established before the project begins. For our projects, I don’t want the homeowner being handed a set of plans and told to figure out the construction approval process on their own.
Permits, required documentation and inspections are part of building the project.
But zoning and permit requirements vary by location. That’s another reason we identify the municipality and property conditions early. We went deeper into this in can I build an addition on my property.
This is probably my biggest point.
The best-looking addition in the world isn’t very useful if it’s unnecessarily difficult to build. The easiest addition in the world to build isn’t very useful if the floor plan is bad. And neither matters if the structure isn’t properly designed.
Design tells us what we’re trying to build.
Engineering makes sure the structure works.
Construction turns it into a house.
Those three conversations should overlap.
You don’t need to show up to the first conversation with finished architectural drawings. Start with the house. The property. What isn’t working. What you want to add. And roughly what you’re comfortable spending.
Do I need an architect for a home addition in Pennsylvania?
Not every residential addition automatically requires a homeowner to hire an architect. The appropriate design professionals and documentation depend on the project, structural work and applicable requirements where the property is located.
Do I need a structural engineer for a home addition?
Some additions require structural engineering while others may have much simpler structural needs. Large openings, significant structural alterations and second-story additions are examples where structural evaluation can become particularly important.
Should I hire an architect or builder first for an addition?
You don’t necessarily need completed architectural plans before talking to a builder. Getting construction and budget input early can help keep the design aligned with what you’re actually prepared to build.
What’s the difference between an architect and structural engineer?
An architect generally deals with the design of the building more broadly, while a structural engineer focuses on how structural components safely carry loads. Both may be involved in the same addition for different reasons.
Can my contractor draw the plans for my addition?
That depends on the project, contractor and documentation required by the applicable jurisdiction. The important thing is that the plans are adequate for the project and any required professional design or engineering is provided by appropriately qualified professionals.
Do I need plans before getting a price for an addition?
You usually need enough information to define the project before receiving a meaningful construction price, but you don’t necessarily need fully completed construction drawings for an early budget conversation. Establishing a realistic budget before completing the design can prevent expensive redesign later.
Fifteen minutes on the phone. You’ll have a realistic range before we hang up — and if we’re not the right people for it, I’ll tell you.