Services
Architect services for Florida projects, grouped by what you are trying to get done. Each one has a page explaining the scope, the documents and the permit context.
Services
Drawing sets, sealed documents and review responses that carry a Florida project through a building department.
For owners and builders
A permit plan set is the drawing package a building department reviews before issuing a building permit. It combines site, floor, elevation, section and framing sheets with the code information a plans examiner checks. Owners and contractors order it once the scope is fixed and the work has to match the drawings.
For owners and builders
Sealed drawings carry an architect's signature and stamp, which Florida accepts as the licensed design professional's responsibility for the work shown. The seal goes only on drawings the architect prepared or directly supervised, and a sealed set is ordered when a building department or lender requires one.
For owners and builders
Construction documents are the drawings and written specifications a builder prices and builds from, developed further than a permit set. They fix dimensions, materials, assemblies and detailing so one scope can be bid by several contractors. Owners order them where permit drawings leave too much to interpretation.
For homeowners
Window and door permit plans document a replacement opening by opening: the size being removed, the size going in, the product approval for each unit and how the new frame ties into the wall. Counties ask for them because a changed opening affects wind resistance, egress and water intrusion. They are ordered for single replacements and for whole-house swaps.
For owners and builders
After a building department reviews a submittal it issues written comments, and each comment has to be answered. This work reads those comments, revises the sheets they apply to and prepares a written response for resubmittal. Owners and contractors ask for it when a permit is held up by review comments.
For owners and builders
Demolition permit plans show what comes down and what is protected while it does: the structure or interior scope, the sequence, the utilities being disconnected and the measures that keep the site, the street and the neighbouring buildings safe. Some counties also ask for a survey and a debris disposal plan before they issue. Owners, contractors and developers order them before a teardown.
Services
Design and documentation for houses, additions and small multifamily buildings, from first layout to permit drawings.
For homeowners
A residential architect designs houses and small residential buildings and prepares the drawings they are built from. In Florida the work covers layout, structure, moisture detailing and the wind provisions that apply to the site. Homeowners hire one when they are building, adding on or reshaping a house.
For homeowners
New home design is the full design of a house that does not exist yet: arranging the rooms, placing the footprint on the lot, then producing the drawings a builder bids and builds from. It starts from the owner's program, the survey and the setbacks local code allows, before any permit application is filed.
For homeowners
A garage conversion turns space that was built for a car into a room someone lives in, which changes how the floor, walls, ceiling and openings have to perform. An ADU goes further: it adds a kitchen, a bathroom and a separate entrance so the space can stand on its own. Both are drawn from measurements of the existing structure and permitted as a change to a building already standing.
For homeowners
Addition plans show how new space attaches to a house that is already standing: the new footprint, how the roof ties in, and what changes in the existing walls and framing. They are drawn from measurements of the real structure so floors, ceilings and roof slopes line up with the new work.
For homeowners
A kitchen remodel moves the three things a kitchen is built around: the sink, the range and the refrigerator. Changing any of them touches plumbing, gas, ventilation and electrical, and moving a wall can touch structure. The drawings set the new layout, dimension the cabinets and appliances, and show the county what is changing before work starts.
For homeowners
A bathroom remodel is mostly a plumbing and waterproofing project wearing a finish. The drawings fix the fixture positions, the slope and membrane of the wet area, the ventilation and any framing change behind the walls. Small rooms hide the most surprises, so the set starts from what is actually in the wall rather than what the last remodel promised.
For homeowners
Renovation plans document changes to a house that stays standing: what is removed, what is rebuilt and how new work meets what is kept. They start from measured existing conditions, because walls in older Florida houses rarely match the original drawings. They cover kitchens, baths, storm damage and layout changes.
For homeowners
Outdoor living work covers the rooms a Florida house uses most: lanais, screened porches, covered patios, decks, pergolas and outdoor kitchens. The drawings resolve how the new structure attaches to the house, how it sheds water, how it is framed against wind, and where power, water and gas reach it. Homeowners order them before a contractor is called.
For developers
These are drawings for residential buildings with more than one dwelling unit: duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and small apartment or townhouse buildings. The work covers unit layouts, separation between units, shared egress, parking and site layout. Small builders and investors use them for permit and construction.
For homeowners
A historic renovation changes an old house while keeping what makes it worth keeping. That usually means two approvals rather than one: the building permit, and a design review by a historic board or district that judges the work against the building's character. The drawings document existing fabric, then show the alteration, the repair and the new work beside it.
For homeowners
A coastal home is designed around water: the base flood elevation it has to sit above, the wind speed and exposure of the site, the debris protection the openings need and the corrosion the salt air causes. The drawings carry the foundation type, the elevation, the envelope and the detailing those conditions demand. Owners building or rebuilding near the shore start here.
For homeowners
Pool and screen enclosure plans place a pool, its deck and its cage on the lot and show what the building department reviews: distance to the property line and the house, the safety barrier, the screen structure's attachment to the deck, and the electrical bonding. Most Florida counties require them before a pool is dug or a cage is framed.
For homeowners
An accessory building is a second structure on a residential lot: a detached garage, a workshop, a barn, a garden shed or a carriage house with a room above. The drawings place it against the setbacks and impervious limits, size its slab and framing, and show how power reaches it. Many counties review it as its own permit even when the house is untouched.
Services
Architect services for offices, restaurants, retail and other non-residential spaces, including tenant build-outs.
For businesses
Restaurant work starts at the cooking line and works outward: hoods and make-up air, grease interception, hand sinks, three-compartment sinks, refrigeration, then seating, exits and restrooms. The drawings also carry what the health and fire reviews ask for. It applies to new build-outs, takeovers of an existing kitchen and conversions of other commercial space.
For businesses
A change of use is the moment a building's occupancy classification changes, and with it the rules that apply: exits, fire separation, restrooms, accessibility and sometimes sprinklers. The work compares what the building is against what it is becoming, lists what has to change, and draws those changes for permit. It is also the route that brings unpermitted work back into the record.
For businesses
A commercial architect designs non-residential buildings and prepares the drawings and specifications they are permitted and built from. Scope runs from shell and core through accessibility, egress, fire separation and wind provisions. Developers bring one in for new buildings and changes of use in existing ones.
For businesses
Tenant improvement plans cover the interior build-out of a leased space: partitions, doors, ceilings, lighting, plumbing fixtures and the exits serving the suite. They work inside a base building that is already permitted, so the drawings show how the new layout connects to the shell's structure and systems.
For businesses
Office work is about fitting a program into a floor plate: workstations, private offices, meeting rooms, a break area, storage and the circulation that connects them. The drawings show partitions, doors, ceilings, lighting and the exits serving the suite, and coordinate the mechanical, electrical and plumbing that follow the new walls. It covers new suites, refits and whole-floor reconfigurations.
For businesses
Retail design serves two audiences at once: the customer who has to see in and want to walk in, and the code official who checks exits, accessibility, restrooms and signage. The drawings lay out the sales floor, stockroom, fitting rooms and counter, then show the storefront, the sign and the lighting that carry the brand. They cover new build-outs and refreshes of trading space.
For businesses
Medical office work follows the patient: check-in and waiting, the path to the exam or treatment room, the staff and sterilization side, and the equipment that has to be built in. It carries the plumbing, medical gas, ventilation and shielding that clinical equipment requires, and the accessibility a public-facing health space is held to. Suites are usually fitted into an existing shell.
For businesses
Industrial buildings are planned around movement: how trucks enter, turn and dock, how pallets and racking fill the floor, and how tall the clear space has to be. The drawings carry the structure, the slab, the fire protection and the small office pod inside the shell. They cover new distribution buildings, manufacturing space and expansions of existing plants.
For businesses
Hotel work is built from a repeated room: the guest room prototype is designed once, then stacked along a corridor with the core, exits and services that make the building work. The drawings carry the room mix, the accessible rooms, the back-of-house route and the shared amenities. It covers new hotels, motel conversions and buildings for short-term rental use.
For businesses
A facade renovation changes how a building meets the street: cladding, storefronts, canopies, signs and the size or rhythm of its openings. Because those changes are visible from outside, they often need design review as well as a building permit, and the drawings have to show the elevation as clearly as the details. It covers refresh work and full re-cladding.
Services
Structural drawings, framing analysis and wind-related documentation for Florida buildings and their components.
For owners and builders
Structural drawings show how a building carries its loads: foundations, framing, beams, columns and the connections between them, with the sizing behind each member. In Florida they also address wind uplift and the continuous load path that ties a roof to its foundation.
For homeowners
Removing a wall that carries floor or roof load means the load has to be carried elsewhere, usually by a beam, header or post sized for the span and the weight above it. This work determines whether a wall is load bearing, designs the replacement and documents it for the permit and the builder.
For homeowners
A wind mitigation inspection records how a Florida building resists wind: roof covering, roof-to-wall attachment, roof deck attachment, secondary water barrier and opening protection. The report goes to insurers and at property sale, and a roof certification states the age and condition of the covering.
Services
Site drawings, measured existing conditions and the documentation that establishes what is on a property before design.
For owners and builders
A site plan shows the property as a whole: lot lines, setbacks, the building footprint, driveways, parking, drainage and easements. Florida reviews also look at impervious area, stormwater and flood zone elevation. Owners need one for new construction, pools, sheds, additions and lot changes.
For owners and builders
As-built drawings record a building as it actually stands, including work built without permits. They are measured on site and drawn to show current walls, openings, systems and dimensions. Owners, buyers and contractors order them to correct the record or answer a code enforcement notice.
Services
Reviews, code analysis and second opinions for owners, contractors and design teams who need an architect's reading.
For owners and builders
A code compliance review compares a design or an existing building against the Florida Building Code and reports where it does not conform. It covers use and occupancy, egress, accessibility, fire separation and wind provisions. Owners and design teams ask for it before a purchase or a change of use.
Send the project details once and you will get the scope, the drawings it needs and a price.
Prefer to talk it through? (321) 462-5592 or ask@floridaarch.com