Good to know

Frequently
asked questions.

Process & scheduling
How do I get started?
Book a free 15-minute call online at a time that suits you: book your call here. You can also call (231) 252-2537 or send a message through the contact form. On the call we talk through your project and, if we're a good fit, schedule your Design Discovery.
Is the first call free?
Yes. The first call is free and takes about 15 minutes. Our team answers your questions, talks through the project, and makes sure we're a good fit before anything is booked. Book it online, call (231) 252-2537, or use the contact form.
How do I book a consultation?
Use the contact form — submit your project details and preferred appointment times and we'll confirm within one business day.
What do I need for the design discovery?
The more you bring, the more productive the session. Helpful items include: your property survey or lot information, inspiration images or sketches, a sense of your construction budget range, preferred style and must-have spaces, and whether you have a builder selected. You'll receive an intake questionnaire when you book — filling it out beforehand saves significant time.
Do you visit the site?
Yes. For additions, remodels, and as-built drawings, our team measures the existing home on site and documents it in CAD before design begins. For new homes we work from your survey and site information and visit the lot when the design calls for it.
How long does a project take?
Timelines depend on the type of project. New homes, additions, remodels, and as-built drawings typically take 8–13 weeks, depending on size, complexity, and how quickly decisions are made. Other drafting and rendering work is usually completed within 7 business days. We provide an estimated delivery timeline at consultation and keep you updated throughout. Rush turnarounds are sometimes available — ask at consultation.
Do you work outside Traverse City?
Our primary area is Northern Michigan — Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska, and surrounding counties. For projects further afield, we can often work remotely — drawings are delivered digitally and consultations can be conducted by phone or video. Contact us to discuss your specific location.
Pricing & payment
What does Design Discovery cost, and what does it cover?
Design Discovery is a $250 flat fee. It covers the design consultation session itself — your time with our design team to scope the project, establish goals, review site conditions, discuss packages, and put together a fee proposal. This fee is a standalone charge and is not applied toward or credited to your project total. It is due at booking and required before any design work begins.
What payment methods do you accept?
Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, electronic bank transfer, or cash. Contact us for specific details on any method.
What is the payment schedule?
Phase 1 — Design Discovery$250 flat fee paid at booking. Not applied toward the project. Covers the scoping session itself.
Phase 2 — Rough Draft Deposit50% of the estimated bid, which is approximately 50% of the total design fee (40–60%), is due when the rough draft is approved and final scope confirmed. May adjust depending on final scope.
Phase 3 — Final DeliveryRemaining balance due on delivery of the completed drawing set. The final price may differ from the original bid, depending on the final scope of the project. Files are not released until payment is received in full.
How do the deposit and final price work?
Before design begins, we give you an estimated bid for the project. Your deposit is 50% of that estimated bid. For homes, additions, and remodels, the deposit is due when the rough draft is approved.

The estimate is our best judgment of the work at the start. Projects change as they're designed: rooms get added, layouts get reworked, details get more involved. If the scope grows or shrinks, the final price changes with it.

That means your deposit is half of the estimate, not necessarily half of the final price. If the project ends up larger than first estimated, the balance due at delivery will be more than the deposit you paid. If it ends up smaller, the balance will be less.

For example, on a $6,000 estimate the deposit is $3,000. If the finished project comes to $6,900, the balance due at delivery is $3,900. These figures are an example only, not a quote.
Is there a minimum fee for a new home?
Yes. New home design has a $4,000 minimum design fee, even if the home is small. Above the minimum, every home is quoted on its own scope, with an estimated bid in writing before design begins.
How are additions and remodels priced?
Both require as-built drawings of the existing structure first — on-site measurements, then CAD documentation quoted per scope in three detail tiers. Once as-builts are complete, the new design work is quoted based on scope and complexity. Additions are priced similarly to new construction applied to the new area.
How are changes billed after the layout is approved?
Revisions within the agreed scope are part of the project. Changes after the layout is approved, or new work outside the original scope, are billed hourly at the rate in your design agreement, and we tell you before that work starts.
Do the surveyor and engineer cost extra?
Yes. When a project needs a survey or structural engineering, those firms bill you directly. We often recommend Latitude Planning & Survey for surveys and Trison Engineering Group in Traverse City for structural engineering. You're welcome to use any qualified firm.
Can I order a 3D rendering or materials list without a full design project?
Yes. Drafting and 3D rendering and materials lists are available as standalone services, separate from a full design engagement. Drafting and rendering work is quoted by the sheet, by the view, or by the hour depending on the job. Materials lists are quoted based on the level of detail needed and whether drawings already exist for us to work from. Reach out and tell us what you're after — we'll scope it and send a fee estimate.
Scope, code & engineering
What types of projects can you design — and what's outside your scope?
What we can design
  • Detached single-family homes with under 3,500 sqft of living space
  • Detached two-family homes (duplexes) within the same limit
  • Additions and remodels on the above
  • Site plans and surface grading for residential properties, built from survey data you provide
  • Landscape design
  • Interior design
  • As-built documentation of existing residential structures
What we cannot design
  • Homes where living space exceeds 3,500 sqft calculated floor area
  • Multi-family buildings — triplexes, apartments, condominiums
  • Commercial buildings of any type
  • Adult foster care homes or licensed residential care facilities
  • Land surveying or establishing legal property boundaries
  • Stamped civil engineering — drainage calculations, stormwater design, septic system design

If your project approaches or exceeds the 3,500 sqft living space threshold, we'll tell you at consultation — before any fees are collected — and help you understand your options.
When would my project need a licensed engineer?
Most standard Northern Michigan custom homes on normal lots with conventional wood framing never require engineering involvement beyond what the code's prescriptive tables already cover.

Engineering is only required when a specific design element exceeds the IRC's prescriptive limits — for example, a beam span larger than the code tables allow, or a hillside lot with a grade slope steeper than 1:5 (20%). When that happens, it's only that specific element that needs engineering — not the whole house.

Common triggers in Northern Michigan:
  • Open-concept great rooms where wall bracing lines are more than 25 feet apart
  • Hillside or waterfront lots with significant grade change
  • Large spans — floor beams, ridge beams, or oversized headers
  • Cantilevered structures beyond prescriptive limits
  • Retaining walls over approximately 4 feet of retained height
  • Non-conventional systems like ICF or SIPs
When any of these come up, we identify them, note them on the drawings, and flag exactly what needs to be engineered. From there, the builder or homeowner engages and pays for the licensed engineer directly — we don't act as the intermediary. This is standard practice for residential designers and it keeps costs contained — you're only paying for engineering where it's actually needed.
What's included in a completed drawing set?
It depends on the project, but a new home set typically includes floor plans, a foundation plan, exterior elevations, building sections and wall details, a roof plan, an electrical layout, and a general notes sheet, plus a site plan when one is needed. Additions and remodels show existing and new work. The set is delivered digitally, ready for you or your builder to submit, and files are released on final payment.
What snow load and frost depth do you design for?
Snow load is set locally and changes from county to county. In Leelanau County the ground snow load is 60 psf, and in Grand Traverse County it is 70 psf. For Antrim, Benzie, and Kalkaska counties we confirm the value for your parcel with the building department. Footings are designed to a 42-inch frost depth.
What code do your drawings comply with?
The Michigan Residential Code (MRC) — Michigan's adopted version of the International Residential Code. This covers all aspects of single-family residential construction: structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and energy compliance. It is the standard building departments throughout Michigan review against. We design to full MRC compliance and stay current with code adoption cycles.

Local jurisdictions sometimes have amendments. We research local amendments for each project area before producing drawings.
Do your drawings call out what needs engineering?
Yes — every drawing set includes a general notes sheet that clearly identifies our scope and flags any elements that require review by a licensed engineer or specialist. Nothing is hidden or left ambiguous.
Other services & local permits
Can you just draft my plans without a full design contract?
Yes. We offer standalone CAD drafting: hand sketches and PDFs converted to clean drawings, existing plans redrawn or updated, and redlines picked up. You get a written quote before anything starts.
Can you make a 3D rendering from plans someone else drew?
Yes. If you have a drawing set from another designer, a builder, or an architect, we can produce 3D renderings from it without redrawing anything. For an exterior rendering we typically need floor plans and exterior elevations.
Do you draft for land surveyors?
Yes. We provide CAD drafting for licensed land surveyors: boundary, mortgage, topographic, and ALTA/NSPS surveys, property splits, and site plans, drafted from your field data. You remain the licensed professional of record; we produce the drawing for your review and seal.
Are the drawings ready to submit for a building permit?
Yes. The completed set is formatted for the building department and delivered digitally, ready for you or your builder to submit. Applying for permits is up to you or your builder. Our county guides list which offices are involved in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim, Benzie, and Kalkaska counties.
Who issues the permits where I am building?
It depends on the county and the township. Zoning is local, building permits usually come from the county, and septic and soil erosion permits come from other offices again. Our county guides list who does what in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim, Benzie, and Kalkaska counties.
Are you hiring?
We hire the right person when we find them, in design, drafting, rendering, landscape, survey drafting, and office roles. See our careers page to send a resume.
Licensing & credentials
Are you a licensed architect?
No — and we're straightforward about that. Empyreal Home Design is a residential building design firm. Michigan law (MCL 339.2012(1)(d)) exempts a person who is not a licensed architect or engineer from licensure when planning and designing a detached one- or two-family home of up to 3,500 square feet of calculated floor area.

In plain terms: Michigan allows residential building designers to prepare full construction drawings for single-family and two-family homes within that limit, and the architect and engineer seal requirements don't apply to those plans (Michigan Attorney General Opinion No. 7208, 2007). We operate fully within that legal framework, and our principal designer is a Professional Member of the American Institute of Building Design (AIBD), the national professional association for residential building designers. If your project ever falls outside that scope, we'll tell you immediately and connect you with a licensed architect.
What is the Michigan law that allows this?
The controlling statute is MCL 339.2012(1)(d) — part of the Michigan Occupational Code, Act 299 of 1980. It reads:
MCL 339.2012(1)(d)"A person not licensed under this article who is planning, designing, or directing the construction of a detached 1- and 2-family residence building not exceeding 3,500 square feet in calculated floor area. For purposes of this subdivision, detached 1- and 2-family residence building does not include an adult foster care home licensed under the adult foster care facility licensing act, 1979 PA 218, MCL 400.701 to 400.737."
This is your assurance that our work is entirely legal. Current as of June 2026 — the full statute is publicly available at legislature.mi.gov — search "339.2012."
Does "3,500 square feet" mean my whole house has to be under that?
No — and this is one of the most important things to understand. The limit is based on calculated floor area, which under MCL 339.2012(1)(d) means only habitable space — rooms used for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking.

The following do not count toward the 3,500 sqft limit:
  • Basement — finished or unfinished (confirmed by Michigan Attorney General Opinion No. 7208, 2007)
  • Garage
  • Attic
  • Bathrooms and toilet rooms
  • Closets and hallways
  • Heater or utility room
  • Crawl space
  • Open porches, decks, balconies, terraces, courts
  • Storage spaces
A 4,500 sqft home with a finished walkout basement and 3-car garage might have only 2,400–2,600 sqft of actual living space — well within our scope. The vast majority of Northern Michigan custom homes qualify even when they're very large.
Do my drawings need an architect's or engineer's stamp?
For single-family and two-family homes within our scope, no stamp is required. Michigan AG Opinion No. 7208 (2007) confirmed explicitly: "Unless the plans were prepared by a licensed architect or engineer, the seal requirements for architects or engineers set forth in Article 20 of the Occupational Code do not apply to plans prepared for a one- or two-family residence not exceeding 3,500 square feet in calculated floor area as defined in that act."

Permit applications are submitted by you or your builder. The building official reviews the drawings against the Michigan Residential Code — no architect's stamp required for projects within our scope.
Are your drawings done to code?
We use the Michigan Residential Code — Michigan's adopted version of the International Residential Code (IRC) — as the design standard for our drawings, and we design for buildability from the start. The building department's plan review makes the final call on code compliance, and we'll revise the drawings to address any review comments within our original scope. Applying for and obtaining permits is up to you or your builder.
Do you manage construction or supervise the job site?
No. Empyreal Home Design is a design-only firm. We produce your complete construction drawing set and deliver it. You work with your builder, general contractor, and subcontractors of your choice. We're happy to answer design-related questions that come up during the build, but construction management, site supervision, contractor hiring, and installation are entirely outside our scope — that's your builder's domain.
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