Any architects out there? I’m unofficially helping with a restaurant expansion and redo and wanting a little advice. I don’t see it turning into a job for an architect but wanted to bounce some ideas off someone.
At a minimum I would like to know what an architect would charge by the hour to just sit down with me and play with some basic layout ideas.

Yes

I know one

I’m starting a group text thru phone

I would like to develop a contact with a local architect as well. We are commonly running into a need for stamped drawings. Not to hijack the thread

No problem with hi Jack. The best stuff on forum comes from hijacks.

With all the Doctors, Lawyers, money managers and life coaches on here, its a shock there isn't an architect! Whats the world coming to?

100% agree.
I did get a very nice offer to help but I need it in person I’m afraid(I’m in E Tx, usually). I haven’t zoomed before so maybe that’s an option.

If you’re looking for a more casual conversation without the commitment of a formal job, you might find an architect willing to provide some initial advice at a lower rate, especially if they see potential for future collaboration or if it’s a less complex consultation. Remember, these rates are just a general guideline and it’s always best to discuss directly with the architect to get a clear understanding of their fees and services. If you have some layout ideas in mind, I can also help you refine them or provide some creative input if you’d like!

Oh, I'm sure you-know-who did a stint as an architect and will be along shortly to help. He probably consulted on the new World Trade tower.

Architects suck ! They Make things up on paper that only a wizard himself could produce in real life ! Very unrealistic expectations .

Same guy that used to build engines from scratch, carried a 007 license to kill and was the biggest gigolo on record in the Orient, that guy?

Flemiis, thanks for the input and offer.
Creek, I know not who you refer to, unless its DQs guess.
Nick, I dont think architects suck.
DQ, good guess.
Everybody else, this is an older thread and I found exactly what I needed. I came up with an excellent plan for them to consider and then they were unable to close the deal on the extra lease space, which is likely a good thing for now. But Bresnan Bread and Pastry is still going strong for take out only in Historic Downtown McKinney.

Accurate. As a commercial Superintendent, I deal with this on a daily basis and it's beyond frustrating.

I was a commercial drywall contractor in DFW for many years. Mostly worked on medical and dental offices. I've have several conversations with architects, some were pretty good, but some had no idea. Like stated before, you can draw anything up on paper but building it is a whole other deal.

Have a buddy that's a residential designer, but that's as close as I have. Gunn Design in Ennis.

Did a stint? I guess if you call mentoring Frank Lloyd Wright, I. M. Pei, and several other of the world's greatest architects a stint then sure.

He's busy being an expert about prosecuting murder cases with DNA evidence at the moment.

Yup.

Last year we built our second "Engineered Building". We as welder/fabricators did manage to un-F what the engineers drew up. You should have seen the pile of scrap steel that the customer paid retail for. A damn shame.

The customer is going to want a second building one day. I said let us make the design and materials list. He said "Most definitely!"

That's the way to do it. Then just get an engineer to stamp it and stay out of it! I'm building a piano bar (Louie Louies) right now. Countless architect screw ups and some ridiculous decisions. One that comes to mind was when the architect spec'd L8x6x½" angle for the drink rail. Yep, a rail to set your beer or cocktail on. The drink rail welded to the handrail on the mezzanine. The hand rail is 2x2x⅛ sq tube posts with smaller pickets, and 1.5x3x⅛ rectangular tubing, at top and bottom, and now we welded a couple thousand pounds of massive angle to the top for a place to set your drinks. There are a million better ways to have built that drink rail that would have been exponentially cheaper, and significantly easier. It was also a PITA to lift those huge pieces of angle on top of the mezzanine. We might have been cussing him a bit...

Yup the pain trickles down to the tradesman . And speaking of bars and architects there the worst for us . Little suites/buildings usually want a overhead door or security shutter around or over the bar .tucked up in the ceiling with a million things there that nobody anticipated it’s a nightmare at times but we’ve managed to get thru most of them .

Hell we did a security shutter I think it was in a Louie vutton store . And the whole thing got encased in like marble or stone of some sorts . (High dollar either way) and the shutter broke and needed to be Maintance a while after instillation . Well they wouldn’t pay to demo anything for what would be a simple fix and it became rendered useless . That’s architects for you in a nutshell🤣

my old carpenter boss told me one day that all architects should have to build houses for 10 years before they could become an actual architect. I agree with that but not that time span. There are some good ones though.

The nightmare scenario is bad architect + bad construction workers. And the final outcome is overpriced lol

Well, earlier I said architects dont suck. Based on the responses I should clarify. In my experience, the few I worked with did OK. Im sure that many are bad and many or good and it depends on specifically what they are doing.
In my experiences I only needed them to do finish out work on restaurant interiors. I did the layout myself but I needed them to pretty it up and prep for city etc. Evidently the guys that are expected to build sky scrapers etc are viewed differently by many on here.
Of course, many on here throw stones at just about every profession, so theres that.....

I actually aspired to be an architect in my late teens . If you were on the receiving end of those blue prints my friend you would be humming a different tune . It’s not “fun” most of the time

Shhhhh, let him sleep, I got enough "fantasy" watching "Fallout" the guys talked about last night lol

I’ve never owned anything nice enough to facilitate the need for an architect. I’m okay with that.

Are you a struggling homebuilder?