Frequently Asked Questions

• I am a residential designer who specializes in designing custom homes, and I have over 22 years of experience working with clients and contractors. I am a CPBD (Certified Professional Building Designer).  This certification is offered by AIBD (American Institute of Building Design) by a separate self-governing board called NCBDC (National Council of Building Designer Certification), which maintains and administers accredited certifications for professional building designers.  The certification requires a background in education, extensive experience, preliminary testing, and annual CEU (Continuing Education Units) requirements to remain certified.  It allows Reggie to apply this certified stamp with his name and unique CPBD certification number to all of my designs as proof of my knowledge, experience, and continual efforts to improve and excel in the professional building design profession. I also have lots of "hands-on" experience as a project manager on-site.  To help me succeed, I have taken all classes and passed all exams that would allow me to be a Licensed Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Contractor in the state of TN.  Although I have no desire to be a contractor, this gives me a special niche in the residential design field due to my in-depth understanding of the process.  In a sense, I am more like a project manager or contractor who designs plans for your project based on all the details of your project.  I continue to stay up to date on current codes and construction procedures, which allows your home to be built to the latest and greatest specifications.  This knowledge has helped me build a successful design business with customers and contractors over the past 25-plus years.  I think you will find that whatever you spend on a set of plans from R. Allen Design, you will easily save the cost back by using my knowledge of the process.  I work with you and your contractor to reduce costs during the design, as well as help with the optimum placement of your home on your property.  You can easily recoup the cost of your plans by using my knowledge to create a detailed set of plans that will get you an accurate estimate and eliminate extra labor and possible errors during construction.  There are always plenty of things to contend with when building a new home.  Let me help you and your contractor eliminate as much of this as possible up front with a premium set of plans.

• My schedule is based on the current workload when you contact me.  I am a small individual business that does a limited number of custom designs each year.  It does take a bit of time to get through the process, but I give each person the same high-quality attention and time for each design.  In most cases, it normally takes me between 2 and 6 months to get you started, depending on clients in process. Initially, we agree on a price and sign a contract based on that price.  This contract, along with a 50% deposit, holds your place in the schedule until I start.  After I officially start the drawings on your home, it normally takes me 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the home size and complexity, to have your preliminary design ready for you to review.  At this stage, you will be put in the driver's seat on the timeline.  If it takes you a day, a week, or a month to review, it will be your decision.  On average, it takes most clients 3 to 5 days to do the preliminary review.  After the preliminary review, we will make minor modifications to areas you may want to change. Depending on the number of modifications, this is typically 1 to 2 weeks.  After the modifications are made, you will get a final review.  At this point, if plans are approved, then you will submit the final 50% payment of your contract, and I will release a digital file to you that will allow you to email or have unlimited copies made for the bank, contractor, suppliers, etc.  If all goes smoothly from the day I start the drawings until plans are completed, it is 4 to 8 weeks, with the average being 6 weeks.  You would add this time to the wait time for me to start your project.  So if my schedule has me finishing plans in process for 2 months before I start your plans, then it would be 2 months until I start, then 4 to 8 weeks till finished.  Summer months often get booked up in early winter, so I can be 6 months until start time in certain times of the year.  I can't always promise things faster, but I can promise the same quality for your job that I did for the jobs that you had to wait for.  The worst mistake is not getting in line for your design.  

I respect my design peers, whether it be residential designers, architects, or engineers, so I am very sensitive to "copying" others' designs and expect the same from them as professionals.  This is something that I do not promote.  As a customer, we know that you have to get ideas from somewhere, and many ideas are typical, so it is not plagiarism.  As an example, if you spend any time on Pinterest, you will see many of the same designs in many plans from many different sources.  If you have a picture or sketch of a floor plan of a kitchen that shows the sink in an island and a stove in a certain location, or other typical items such as this, it would not be plagiarism.  We can work on creating your custom kitchen similar to this.  If you see a home with stone on the front porch and wooden posts, I can create this in my way to be similar.  If you have a floor plan from a magazine and you like the way something is laid out, we can work with that idea, but I don't approve of copying other professionals' work.  If there is a specific design that you want to look like another professional's work, but you would rather work with me on your design, you can always purchase the internet plans, which in most cases will allow you to build one residence "like" or "modified" with the exact looks or elements.  I have had several clients do this, and it is the proper route for letting me do your design drawings and respecting someone else's work.  There is a set of plans in my office I am estimating a price to design that a customer purchased from an online website.  The customer now owns the right from the Architect for us to re-design this house with modifications (or not) for one-time construction.  I have found several ways to improve the plan from a design and cost perspective, so it is worth the customer purchasing a one-time use and allowing me to modify some areas to keep him in budget. If you are unsure, please consult with me so I can determine if you need to purchase the rights to the design or if you are just using an idea that is not "copyrighted" to that design.  I will be glad to help make the right decision in regards to whether or not something is plagiarism.  If you see a design on this site that is one of my custom designs, I will be glad to sell it to you if there are no restrictions in the contract, but if it is a design that originated from another source, you will have to purchase their plans first.  I respect my associates' work and try to make sure I stay in a safe zone and do not copy their designs without permission.

• This is where I do most of my designs, but I have completed designs in many states, whether for my business personally or for other companies that I still currently do home designs for.  East TN and Western NC are within driving distance, and it allows me to do site visits to help determine design needs when necessary.  With that said, I have lots of designs that I have never been within 1000 miles of, but I have been able to work via pictures, email, and contractor information.

• I design all types of residential construction from wood, brick, stone, etc.  With that said, I do enjoy heavy timber and log-style construction projects. Unfortunately, that is less than 10% of the construction types in the US.  Early in my design career, I was a full-time project designer and project manager for Hearthstone, Inc. in the 1990s. They design, sell, and manufacture Heavy Timber Frame and Log Home projects.  If you look at their website, you will see many projects that I designed and worked on in the past and some recently.  After 22 years, I am still thankfully designing Timber Frame and Log style homes for this company through my business.  You will note this if you see some of the photos throughout my site.  I still have a great relationship with Hearthstone, Inc. in Newport, TN.  I am also a licensed provider to sell timber components for my designs through the company to contractors and clients.  Please feel free to ask me about special pricing options that Hearthstone, Inc. offers to my clients during the design phase of your project.  With all the above said, I am happy to design any style or type of home. I love the variety of styles and types that people request.

• This question is asked often due to the misunderstanding of what is required for the design and construction of a customer's home.  Are you a licensed Architect or Engineer?  The answer is "No".  I am a CPBD (Certified Professional Building Designer). The next question is, what is CPBD?  A CPBD (Certified Professional Building Designer) is a certification offered by AIBD (American Institute of Building Design) by a separate self-governing board called NCBDC (National Council of Building Designer Certification), which maintains and administers accredited certifications for professional building designers.  The certification requires a background in education, extensive experience, preliminary testing, and annual CEU (Continuing Education Units) requirements to remain certified.  It allows me to apply this certified stamp with my name and unique CPBD certification number to all of my designs as proof of my knowledge, experience, and continual efforts to improve and excel in the professional building design profession. This, along with my education and experience to be a Residential Designer or a Licensed Contractor, offers me the skills and opportunity to do professional residential designs.  I have no desire to be an Architect or Professional Engineer. With that said, I have no desire to be a Licensed Contractor in that my expertise and enjoyment is designing homes.   However, I do have great respect for all three professions; I have worked for all of them in some capacity in the past, and I still use them as valuable resources on projects when needed.   The majority of county building departments only require a professional "stamped" set of plans by an Architect or Professional Engineer for a home with very large square footage in heated space or if the structure is more than three levels in height or is very complex in structural needs.  Please check your county building department for the requirements, or better yet, allow me to do so for you when I prepare your estimate for your home design.  Most county building departments and banks require general plans to be submitted for loans and building permits.  Then they rely on your Licensed Contractor to fulfill the commitment of making sure things are constructed to proper building codes, safe living, and standard architectural practices.   A perfect example of this is that many internet plans are not even designed for the environment or location you plan to build in.  If so, they would have to have many different designs for the same plan.  For example, concrete foundation footings here in East TN only need to be buried 12" for frost protection, but the northern states are up to several feet due to the cold weather.  This information is not on the general plans that you purchase online.  Also note that most states use the IRC code for architectural design and construction, but many county building departments have an addendum to the code for their particular county.  An example of this is a county I live in requires that railings on porches be 42" in height vs. 36" in height as the standard code recommends.  Most homes in this county are on hillsides, and the county building department voted in an addendum for higher rails for safety in their county, so the contractor must install per this addendum, or a certificate of occupancy will not be granted (you can't move in otherwise). Therefore, most plans are more so a general design that a licensed contractor must make work with the local codes, possible addenda, and code requirements. Some county code departments accept a general sketch from the person wishing to build. This is slowly going away as most county code authorities now require more detailed sketches so that the common person is not knowledgeable enough to provide these, nor get approval from a local building department with a general sketch.  This leaves the homeowner buying a plan off the internet that doesn't match exactly what they want, hiring an architectural or engineering firm, which is typically more service and more expense than they need or can afford, or relying on a contractor to try and fill in the blanks.  As a CPBD or residential designer, I fill this void by supplying the contractor and local building department with the required drawings that meet code for your building location. The contractors and companies I work with prefer a good set of working drawings to do construction by, and that is what I provide.  My drawings become part of the construction contract because they show what you are getting, and contractors can generate an actual cost estimate based on these detailed plans.  This in itself can save you the cost of your plans, in that the contractor is not having to guess (guesstimate) a price for your home.  With all the above explained, please understand that if there are structural items in your design that require more than normal design techniques and knowledge, I have access to engineering firms that will review your plans and give us the professional advice and approval for a cost. When I review your design, if this is needed, I will recommend it.  If the job is out of the reach of my experience and knowledge, I will recommend that you surpass me and start with one of these professionals.  In the last 25 years, I can count on one hand the times an engineer has had to approve or stamp a project.  This is simply because I always refer you to a higher level if your home exceeds standard design practices.  In short, I do not even start a design that I am not capable of properly completing.  I always recommend a higher level of service if necessary.  Most standard residences fall into simple design practices. I have designed over seven hundred homes successfully, with this in mind, not to mention remodels and additions. My experience has exceeded a thousand projects, which has provided invaluable experience.