Find the expensive questions before your builder does.
I go through your construction drawings the way a builder and every trade will, and find the unanswered questions before they become variations, assumptions, or that sinking feeling on site.
You fell in love with a design. Then someone handed you 40 pages of drawings.
Here is something the industry does not tell you.
Even excellent drawings from excellent architects arrive with decisions still open. Little notes that say confirm. Client to confirm. TBC. Or similar. Allow for.
I recently reviewed a construction set from a genuinely top firm. It had a question mark printed on it. On a for construction issue. A structural question, sitting unanswered, on the exact drawing the builder was meant to build from.
None of this means your architect did a bad job. It means drawings are a conversation, and right now you are the only person in that conversation who does not speak the language.
Every open note becomes one of three things. A question a trade has to stop and ask. An allowance in your quote that was quietly a guess. Or an assumption someone makes on site, in your home, without you.
I make sure it becomes none of those. It becomes a decision. Yours.
The Plan Review
Before your drawings go out for pricing, or before you sign a contract on them, I review every sheet through three sets of eyes. The builder pricing it. The trades building it. And you, living in it.
What I check:
The whole set as a package. Missing sheets, mismatched revisions, referenced documents that do not exist yet, and every confirm, TBC and or similar hiding in the notes.
How you will actually live there. Furniture against power points. Door swings against vanities and robes. Whether the fridge opens, the dishwasher clears the walkway, and the wet towels have somewhere to go.
The decisions with deadlines. Everything that is only cheap while the concrete is unpoured or the walls are open. Niches before waterproofing. Supports before linings. Ducts before frames. I give every one a date.
The schedules, cell by cell. Because your windows and doors get ordered off them, and a blank cell means someone guesses.
The edges. Does the structural set exist and match? Is the energy report actually in hand? Who is documenting the cabinetry? I do not review engineering. I check that it exists, is current, and agrees with your architectural drawings.
What you walk away with:
Your drawings, marked up. Every finding noted on the actual sheets, ready to hand to your builder.
A written review in plain language, so you understand the why behind every note.
Three lists. Questions for your architect. Questions for your builder. Decisions for you, each with a deadline tied to your build stages.
A walkthrough call together, so at your next builder meeting, you are not holding my notes. You are holding your answers.
This is for you if
You are building or renovating and you have drawings, or they are close.
You have a strong vision and you want it protected, not redesigned.
You want to walk into builder meetings feeling informed, calm and prepared.
You would rather ask the expensive questions now, on paper, than discover them on site.
You want someone in your corner who speaks fluent construction and reports only to you.
This is not for you if
You want a full interior design service, endless options and mood boards. This is strategy, not styling.
You are looking for someone to fight your builder. I work with your team, not against them. Good builders love a prepared client.
You want the cheapest possible path through your build. This review exists to protect the biggest purchase of your life. It is not a shortcut, it is insurance you can read.
You are not planning to act on it. The review only works if you take the questions to your team. I hand you the tools. You still swing them.
Why me
I have a Master's in Architecture, I have built and renovated my own homes, and I have stood on site as the client, the designer and the only woman in the room, sometimes all three at once.
I built this service because it is the one I needed. Someone to look at my drawings and say, here is what is missing, here is what to ask, here is what to decide before it costs you.
I sit between your vision and the site. My whole job is making sure nothing gets lost in between.
Common questions
Do you review engineering plans?
No, and I am upfront about that. I review architectural and interiors documentation. What I do check is that the engineering exists, is named, is current, and matches what your architectural drawings assume. Missing engineering is one of the most common and most expensive findings there is.
Is this a certification or approval?
No. Your certifier and consultants do their jobs. This review does not replace any of them. It makes sure they are all telling the same story before you pay for the ending.
When is the best time to do this?
Ideally before your drawings go out for builder pricing, or before you sign the building contract. Second best is right now, whenever your right now is. There is a version of this review that helps at every stage before the walls close.
Will my architect or builder be offended?
Honestly, the good ones are relieved. A client who turns up with resolved decisions and clear questions makes their job easier. Every open item I find is one less assumption they have to make.
What do I need to send you?
Your current drawing set as a PDF, plus anything it references that you have. Finishes schedules, selections, the energy report. If you do not have some of them, that is a finding in itself.
Before it gets built, ask better questions.
Your drawings are about to become your home. Every note on them either got decided by you, or assumed by someone else.
Let's make sure it was you.