There is a request that I receive a few times a week that I thought I would finally talk about in an effort to shed some light on a fairly taboo subject. Those requests typically start off something like this: “I have already designed my house but since I am not an architect, I don’t […]

There is a request that I receive a few times a week that I thought I would finally talk about in an effort to shed some light on a fairly taboo subject. Those requests typically start off something like this:“I have already designed my house but since I am not an architect, I don’t know how to create the technical drawings I would need to give to a contractor. Is this something that you would do, and if so, how much do you charge"”With 100% certainty, I know that I am not alone in receiving these sorts of inquiries. Years ago, in the days before I spent an hour or two each day responding to emails, this is the sort of question that would work me up and, depending on my overall mood, I might even have become irritated at this reduction in my abilities. I’d think to myself, C’mon, I am not a drafting service! I am a highly educated, extremely experienced, and thoroughly licensed professional architect.  But I rarely react like that anymore, mostly because most people (who aren’t architects) don’t really understand the myriad of moving parts to their request and they don’t know how long it takes to simply “draw up s...