Engage an architect or designer with whole-house remodel experience

Hiring the designer is the highest-leverage decision in the whole project. A designer who has finished several Seattle whole-house remodels has muscle memory for SDCI's review pattern, knows where the substantial-alteration threshold trips, and can tell you in one walk-through which of your "while we're at it" ideas are realistic. That's most of what you're paying for.

Architect vs. residential designer

For most Seattle whole-house remodels you have a real choice:

• Licensed architect. Required for projects above certain occupancy thresholds; rarely required for single-family work, but many architects work in this segment. Higher fee, broader scope, fuller construction administration.
• Residential designer. Not licensed as architects but typically L&I-registered and experienced. Most Seattle whole-house remodels under $700K use this path. Lower fee, narrower scope. Best ones have produced dozens of permitted remodels and know SDCI reviewers by name.

For projects in the $350K–$650K band, a residential designer is usually the right fit. For projects pushing into band 4 ($700K+), an architect's broader scope earns its fee back through better coordination.

What you're hiring

A designer's scope on a whole-house remodel typically covers:

1. Schematic design — preliminary plans, elevations, kitchen layout study.
2. Design development — refined plans, sections, exterior materials, basic specifications.
3. Construction documents — the full permit-set drawings.
4. SDCI submittal — application, response to corrections.
5. Construction administration (optional) — periodic site visits, response to GC questions, change-order review.

Construction administration is worth it on a project this size; cutting it to save 10% on design fees is a false economy when the GC has a question every other week.

Fee structures

Three common structures:

• Percentage of construction cost — 8–12% for design only, 10–14% with construction administration.
• Fixed fee — a single number tied to a defined scope. Good if the scope is well-bounded.
• Hourly with cap — for early phases when scope is uncertain.

For a band-3 project, fixed fee with a clearly-defined scope works best.

Where to find a designer or architect

Three reliable channels, in order of how the founder would actually shop:

1. Recent permit history. The SDCI Permit and Site History Research Tool lets you filter recent residential addition + alteration permits in your neighborhood. Designers of record who appear repeatedly are your local specialists. Single best discovery channel.
2. GCs from your feasibility walk-through. Builders know designers they like to work with — biased toward designers who collaborate well, which is what you want.
3. AIA Seattle directory. AIA Seattle maintains a residential referral list — useful when you specifically want a licensed architect (vs. a residential designer).

What to look for: recent SDCI submittals on similar project types and price band; finished projects you can visit; clear scope and fee structure; willingness to describe what's NOT in the design fee (construction administration is the most commonly excluded). Three meetings, three proposals, one hire — pick the designer who asked the best questions about your house and your budget, not the one with the most polished portfolio.

Initial payment ("deposit")

Most architects and residential designers ask for an initial payment of 5–15% of their fee before producing drawings. Per AIA standard practice for architect compensation, this is a non-refundable initial payment held on account against the final invoices, not a refundable retainer — if you cancel mid-project, it's gone. Trades that order custom materials (cabinets, windows, specialty doors) also typically require a deposit at order time — often 30–50%, because those items aren't returnable.