Solving the Mystery of the Licensed Residential Designer
THE STATE OF NEVADA’S’ BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ARE DIVERSE AND UNIQUE IN MANY WAYS COMPARED TO ALL OTHER STATES, WHY SHOULD ARCHITECTURE BE ANY DIFFERENT?
Amongst the many things that separate Nevada from all other States is the Profession of Residential Design. Nevada is the only State in the Country, therefore, the World that Licenses the Profession of Residential Design.
What is a Licensed Residential Designer?
An Architect is staffed and licensed to design everything and anything, whereas a Residential Designer specializes only in Residential and Multifamily projects. Their monocular experience, all things Residential, adds value to their clients by offering the experience of their craft, trending styles, and constant contact with new and innovative ways to build.
Nevada Law:
Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 623 is the Law that creates the Nevada State Board of Architecture, Interior Design and Residential Design, establishes the licensing of those professional and the how/who of the built environment. Not to get to complicated it states:
“All plans for construction are to be drawn by an Architect or Residential Designer”
However, there are three exceptions:
A General Contractor can prepare plans if they build it, limited to their bond.
A Professional Engineer can prepare plans limited to their licensure.
A Homeowner can prepare their own plans.
Why you DON’T want to hire a General Contractor
Simple, a contractor is licensed to build, not design. However, some use the exception in the law to offer cheap plans to unwitting clients not disclosing the design, the plans, the permits are owned by the contractor! If you want to part ways with the contractor during any phase of the project, you must start the design/drafting and permitting process over! Even if it’s an amicable separation, by law (NRS 623) prohibits the contractor to sell or bequeath the design/plans to his client. At that point the Contractor is acting as a designer. Remember, a contractor licensed build, NOT design.
Why you DON’T what to hire an Engineer
A Designer analyzing a work of Art on a wall. Beyond the act of evaluating the interpretation of it’s content, they will consider the size/shape, color palette, artistic style and how it works in concert with the surrounding environment.
An engineer looking at the same work of art will calculate the tensile strength of the canvass stretched over the frame, what the combined weight of the materials are, evaluate the most appropriate fastener be used on the frame, the shear strength and the connection between it’s total components and the wall structure.
Engineers to not create, rather respond to residential design. They are cerebral individuals specifically trained in the statics and strengths of materials, analyze building components; beams, trusses, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Although important, 98% of their work is buried behind the walls!
Why you DON’T want to prepare your own plans.
There is an old saying; “a man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client”, today that saying could be reworded and applicable to the planning and permitting of a house! With the adoption of the International Building Codes and the Southern Nevada Amendments, Residential plans submitted for permit can include the efforts of up to seven professional consultants. By the way, they all communicate by way of AutoCAD Drawings. A project (may) requires Geotech Report, Grading and Drainage plans, Arch. Design Professional, Structural, Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical, Gas piping, Truss Designer, Fire Suppression, Interior design schedules.
Why you CAN NOT use drafting services.
Nevada State Law (NRS 623) allows drafting service companies to ONLY prepare documents NOT to be used for permits/construction. However, the law allows for a draftsman to work as a W-4 employee to a General Contractor. Independent Draftsman may offer a low price for their illegal service to a homeowner, consider this. All the problems are yours to fix, you have NO recourse. Simple economics states you get what you pay for. If you are tempted by the seemingly low price, you should add a bit to your budget for mistakes and overruns. If you do that you might as well a licensed professional to start with.
Feel free to contact me directly with any questions! 😁
John Morelli, Residential Designer, MBA