Short answer: schematic design decides what you are building: which rooms go where, what stays, what is added and how the house sits on the lot. Design development decides what it is made of and how it works: the structure, the mechanical, electrical and plumbing layouts, the windows, doors and materials. Construction documents are the full drawings and specifications a builder prices and builds from, and the basis for the plans the city reviews.

Who this is for: an owner planning a remodel of $750,000 or more. On October 15, 2026 I read the AIA best practice on basic services (dated November 30, 2023), the AIA summary of its B101-2017 agreement, RCW 18.08.320 and SDCI Tip 101 (updated June 30, 2026). Confirm any city step with your city. AIA publishes its best practices without endorsement or recommendation; none of this is AIA’s view of my firm.

The phases at a glance

The American Institute of Architects’ standard owner-architect agreement, B101-2017, divides basic services into five phases: schematic design, design development, construction documents, procurement and construction. Washington’s architect licensing law lists most of the same stages: the practice of architecture includes predesign services, schematic design, design development, preparation of construction contract documents and administration of the construction contract (RCW 18.08.320).

Two cautions. AIA says its deliverable lists are examples that members are not required to produce, so your list of drawings is whatever your agreement says. And firms name phases differently: AIA’s best practice says bid or negotiation, B101-2017 says procurement. Ask any architect, including me, to put the names and deliverables in writing. Two primers, what schematic design is and the design phases explained, cover the basics.

Before design: feasibility and the house as it exists

Two checks come before design. The first feasibility check is free and takes about a day: does the plan fit your lot, the city rules and your budget at a basic level. If you want more depth before paying for design, the in-depth analysis is $1,500 and takes 2 to 3 weeks.

A remodel is drawn on a house that already exists, so the first drawings show what is there. SDCI’s Tip 101 says site plans show both what currently exists on the site and the changes you want to make. SDCI’s screening standards for single family additions and alterations (the copy I read is marked revised January 1, 2016, so confirm the current one) ask for a demolition plan showing what is removed and what remains and floor plans that label new work against existing; SDCI’s companion checklist adds a licensed survey to document nonconformities and contours for height calculations. Ask any architect, including me, where this work sits in the schedule and the agreement; my page on how long a whole house remodel takes covers the timeline.

Schematic design: what you are building

AIA describes schematic design as the phase where the architect consults with the owner on goals and requirements, which often sets the program, then produces study drawings, documents or models that show the concept, the spatial relationships, the scale and the form. AIA also calls it the phase where zoning and jurisdictional limits are found. It ends with a design the owner agrees to and a cost estimated from overall project volume.

On a whole house remodel, the decision that matters most here is the line around the scope: what is opened, what is added and what is left alone. That line can change the review path: in Seattle, new and replaced hard surface drives stormwater review, and a remodel that substantially extends the life of the building can be classified as a substantial alteration, as the building official determines. My Seattle hiring page and the guide on when a remodel counts as a new house cover the triggers.

What you decide: the program (which rooms, how large), the scope line, and whether the family stays in the house, which changes how the work is built (see living in the house during a remodel). What you approve: the schematic design. What to treat with care: the cost estimate. It rests on overall volume, so it is a planning figure; only a builder’s bid on finished drawings is a price.

Design development: what it is made of

Design development takes the approved schematic documents one step further. AIA says it lays out the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural and architectural details, and that the drawings often specify material types and the location of windows and doors. The phase often ends with a formal presentation to the owner and the owner’s approval.

On a remodel, this is where the structure gets worked out. SDCI’s Tip 101 says complex architectural and structural designs for alterations to existing homes are developed by an engineer. It also says the Seattle Residential Code typically does not require licensed designers for single-family plans. If you want to open a wall, add a story or dig out a basement, my page on when a remodel needs a structural engineer lists the moves that bring one in and what the engineer delivers. Where an engineer is involved, the engineer’s sheets are part of the permit set, so that work sits inside design to permit submission, which typically takes me 2 to 4 months.

What you decide: the materials, the windows and doors, and the choices that depend on the structure, such as whether a wall comes out once the engineer has seen the framing. What you approve: the developed design. AIA’s text has the construction documents begin once the owner and architect are satisfied with this set, so settle the layout before you approve it.

Construction documents: what the builder and the city work from

In AIA’s description, once the owner and architect are satisfied with the design development documents, the architect produces drawings with greater detail, including specifications for construction details and materials. The set holds everything the contractor needs to price and build the project. AIA says this phase results in the contractors’ final estimates of cost, where bidding is part of the contract.

The city’s review works from drawings of this kind; ask whether your permit set and your bid set are the same. SDCI’s Tip 101 says plan review is done at the same time by a team of examiners, engineers, specialists and planners, that zoning and addressing reviews are always required, and that a project may also need ordinance, structural, geotechnical, shoring, fire, energy and tree reviews, among others. The set therefore carries more than architectural sheets: structural plans, energy code documentation and any drainage plan the scope calls for (see the energy code and Seattle stormwater guides).

What you decide: the remaining selections the drawings must show for a builder to price them, and the go-ahead to submit. What you approve: that the set matches the design you approved.

Where the permit sits

The AIA text I read does not name a permit as a phase of its own, so ask where it sits in your agreement. On my projects, the permit application is the end of design: design to permit submission typically takes 2 to 4 months from a signed agreement, and a Seattle remodel permit can be obtained in about 2 to 3 months after that. That is roughly 4 to 7 months to an issued permit, my arithmetic and not a city figure. Other cities publish their own steps and review times, which my timeline page collects.

SDCI’s Tip 101 adds the city’s side. It recommends starting the pre-application two or three months before you will be ready to submit, says intake usually follows within 2 to 3 weeks of a complete upload, and says SDCI rejects an application with missing documents or an incomplete plan set. It gives 2 to 4 weeks for initial review of an addition or alteration, which can double in heavy volume, and says to plan for multiple rounds of reviews. An incomplete set means a new intake appointment.

Bidding

AIA’s best practice describes this phase as preparing the bid documents, sending them to builders, and evaluating the bids with the owner. Any negotiation on price or scope should be finished before the construction contract is signed, and the deliverable is the signed contract. Piper Cole does not build; AIA’s bid set includes an owner-contractor agreement, so the construction contract is between you and the builder.

What you decide: which builder and on what terms. I suggest every builder bids the same finished drawings and gives a written schedule with the bid, so the bids can be compared line by line. Bidding can run while the permit is in review, as my timeline page shows.

Construction administration

AIA says construction administration is provided at the owner’s discretion and defined in the owner-architect agreement. It starts with the construction contract and ends when the final certificate of payment is issued. The architect’s core job is to help the builder construct the project as the approved documents specify.

Washington law defines the service narrowly. Administration of the construction contract means periodic observation of the materials and work to observe general compliance with the contract documents. It does not include responsibility for supervising construction methods and processes, site conditions, equipment operations, personnel or safety on the worksite (RCW 18.08.320). Piper Cole designs and administers construction and does not build. Ask each architect, including me, what the agreement lists beyond the statutory baseline. City inspections are a separate process, and SDCI’s Tip 101 says you will be required to apply for revisions if the completed work does not match the approved plans.

What changing your mind touches, phase by phase

I give no multiplier for the cost of a late change. I found no source that states one for a house, so a number from me would be invented. What I can show is what each stage of change touches.

What to ask any architect at each handoff

These are the questions I would ask if I were hiring. Put them to any architect, including me.

• Before you sign. Which phases and deliverables does the agreement list, and does it name the permit submission? My fixed fee covers the anticipated scope to design and permit. Ask any architect, including me, what happens to the fee if the scope changes.
• After feasibility. What did you check, and what could you not see without opening the house?
• At the end of schematic design. What is the cost estimate based on? Which city rules did the scope trigger?
• At the end of design development. Which engineers and consultants have contributed, and what do their sheets look like? What happens if I want a change after I approve?
• Before submission. Is the permit set the same as the bid set? Who prepares each document on the city’s checklist?
• During city review. Who answers corrections, how fast, and what does a revision cost me?
• At bidding. Will each builder price the same drawings with a written schedule? What happens if the bids are high?
• During construction. What does administration include in writing: site visits, reports, answers to builder questions, review of payment requests?

A word on credentials. I have been an architect since 1996, an AIA member since 1992 and an NCARB member since 1996, and I take on 20 to 30 projects a year. The Carr residence was featured in Above The Lake and Lux magazines.

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