Building in Miami or any area of ​​South Florida is completely different from building in any other area of ​​the country. While most of the eastern seaboard of the United States, and much of the rest of the country, builds wood-frame homes with a brick finish or wainscoting, South Florida builds with cinder block and concrete.

quality versus price

Due to the hurricane force winds, the structures in this area must be very strong. Where the rest of the country looks down on us because they only use concrete blocks for their foundations, for my money, I really like building with concrete and blocks. Cinder blocks do not have termites and do not rot. Therefore, a cinder block structure will last 100 years or more with almost no maintenance. Unfortunately, the vast majority of homes in Miami have wooden trusses with plywood sheathing for the roof, then paper roofing and shingles or concrete tiles on top. This type of construction is not particularly good at withstanding hurricane wind conditions. Although the Florida Building Code has gone to great lengths to improve the requirements for installing roof sheathing and roof finish, it cannot compare to the strength the roof would have if a concrete slab were used for the roof structure.

So why, if we know this, don’t we build with concrete slab roofs? Cost: The only reason is the cost. It is much more expensive to both design and install a concrete slab roof, especially on a slope to take a concrete tile finish.

So one of the first things a homeowner needs to establish early in the design process for a new home is how much they want to spend on construction. There is the cheap way to build a house and the expensive way. This is a problem that will come up many times during the design and construction process.

The program

But to determine a budget, the homeowner must first establish the square footage of the new home. To establish the total square footage, he will need to generate a schedule for the house. The program is a list of rooms with their corresponding sizes.

See the sample list as follows:

Living Room	240 square feet

Dining Room	120 square feet

Kitchen 	170 square feet

Family Room 	240 square feet

Master Bedroom	240 square feet

Master Bath	 64 square feet

Bedroom No. 2	216 square feet

Bedroom No. 3	192 square feet

Bath No. 2	 36 square feet

Laundry Room	100 square feet

Linen closet	 9 square feet	 

A/C Closet	 9 square feet

Total Square Feet = 1,636

Traffic and walls at 20% = 1634 square feet = 327 square feet

Total = 1,634 + 327 = 1,961 square feet

So now we have a basic idea of ​​the main spaces in the house and approximately how many square feet the homeowner will need for the house.

Also, this is a good time to decide if there will be outdoor spaces, such as covered terraces or pergolas. In Florida, these are particularly good additions to interior spaces. With blissful winter temperatures, there’s no reason to spend all your time indoors with air conditioning.

Budget

So how much will a house just under 2,000 square feet cost in South Florida? There is no magic formula to determine this. The cost of the house depends on many things that have to do with the design, such as: the type of roof, the height(s) of the ceiling, the complexity of the design, the finishes, if it is going to be on a septic tank or sewer and the type of foundation. Then there are those costs that have nothing to do with the design, such as the location of the home, how busy the contractors are in the area, how well known and trustworthy the contractor is, etc. Although the price of a home can vary greatly due to all of the items discussed above, a range of $150 to $250 per square foot could be used right now for a home that isn’t too elaborate with standard construction. So if we go back to the example. A 2,000 square foot house would cost between $300,000 and $500,000 excluding land.

the design team

The Miami-Dade County Building Department does not require an architect or engineer to sign and seal plans for a single-family residence. This is not true for all municipalities in the area. For example, Coral Gables requires an architect to sign and seal all plans. But for all practical purposes, the volume of information that must be included in a set of plans in any municipality within Miami-Dade County, more often than not, requires the hiring of several professionals: an architect, an MEP engineer, and a structural engineer. MEP stands for Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing. The mechanical engineer designs the air conditioning, the electrical engineer designs the electricity, including lighting, and the plumbing engineer designs the plumbing. The structural engineer designs the structure and provides the necessary structural calculations for the building envelope. The architect designs the entire house and coordinates everyone’s work. The coordination of all disciplines is probably the most important role of the architect, since without coordination there could be real conflicts in the construction phase. While it is legal to produce plans on your own in some parts of the county, it will be an insurmountable task to produce building plans for permitting (unless the owner has construction experience with actual experience and knowledge of the Florida Building Code and local zoning codes).

How much do these design services cost the owner? They also vary a lot, but there is also a range between good established professionals. This range would be 6% to 10% of the construction cost for permit plans for all disciplines. Services during the construction phase are generally charged by the hour or in a separate package.

house style

Another important decision to make early on is the style of the house. Basically, there are three popular styles for home design in South Florida: modern, Mediterranean, and Key West.

Once the owner decides what styles they want, it is important to convey the style and details to the architect. The best way to explain to an architect what he wants is through pictures from magazines or actual photographs of other houses.

choose an architect

Now that you have the basics together, the next step is to choose your architect. This is very important as this is the person you will be working closely with over the next year.

Take the survey of the existing land from the time you closed on your mortgage. If you have lost it or it is too old or inaccurate, the architect will arrange for you to update it or have a new one made.

Ask to see photos of their work. Ask for references. Ask questions. Ask him how he would approach the project. Begin to feel if this is someone you could work with. Do you like the predominant style in the architect’s work? Does his job attract you? Ask about the process. Ask what you should expect in terms of their services. Ask him to show you the plans for a similar project.

People are individuals and each one is unique. I remember how many people have hired me because they liked my “Mediterranean” or “Spanish” style or my modern or postmodern style. One person told me that he hired me because I returned his phone calls quickly. The chemistry between people is significant. Don’t discount your initial impressions.

construction documents

Construction documents typically consist of several parts: plans, specifications, instructions to bidders, and addenda. Normally, when the architect handles the construction bid phase for the owner, he selects the type of contract that the owner will have with the contractor. This document is also part of the construction documents.

The drawings are the bulk of the work, which along with the specifications act as a step-by-step guide for the contractor to use during construction. Sometimes on large jobs the specifications are placed in a separate book and called the Project Manual. In most residential projects, the specifications are normally covered as notes on the plans. For elaborate interiors, the architect makes a separate package and is charged separately.

Construction documents are generated in phases from general to detailed. I like to divide my projects into 4 phases: Preliminary Design, Design Development, 50% Construction Documents, and 100% Construction Documents. Each phase builds on the previous phase until the architect feels that all the drawings are coordinated across the different disciplines and they are ready to submit for permitting.

With careful planning and communication with your architect, good drawings and coordination, and careful selection of a reputable contractor, your new home project should flow smoothly. Although there are often change orders due to unforeseen conditions or changes the owner wishes to implement, most issues must be resolved prior to construction.

For more information on the role of the architect during construction, please see my other article on the role of the architect during the construction process posted here.