We recently had a new home built in northeastern Queens. After speaking to several Architects we came to understand some of the problems we were going to have with our ""wish list"". The Codes and Zoning regulations in NYC were a complete mystery to us. Most of the Architects we spoke to seemed to think we couldn't get the house built the way we wanted it. Then we spoke to Mr. Norm Davis. He was extremely patient and explained each step of the approval process. He even gave us several options that we hadn't considered, all this before we had even hired him to do the work. We knew we were going to be happy with his attention to our needs.\r
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He gave us a very decent fee estimate and we started designing the house. His patience was really commendable, we had so many questions! By the time we had a design we were in love with, it was a mix of our original ""wish list"" and a lot of new ideas Mr. Davis brought to the table. We looked at quite a few of his finished projects, they were all different. Mr. Davis explained that each of his home designs were unique to their owners, and ours certainly was. We were so excited to get construction started.\r
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We selected a Contractor and in the beginning things went smoothly, but then the Contractor began making changes we hadn't agreed to. Mr. Davis stepped in and made the Contractor correct some things that weren't right. In the end, the house turned out gorgeous but we've heard horror stories from other people. We couldn't be happier. \r
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Here's what we learned - do your homework!! Your Architect is working for YOU, not the other way around. Don't get offended if your Architect advises against doing something - ask him why! Even when Mr. Davis got extremely busy he always took time to explain what was going on with the project, and what the next steps were, and what we should expect. In the end, he delivered exactly what he promised, in spite of the problems we had with the Contractor. We love our new home!
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