Years in the fields of design, building, and high-end materials, coupled with my natural gift of visualizing space, amount to one-of-a-kind designs that express the owner’s taste and give their home the right feel.
Mark Groody
About Mark
For 30+ years I offered my services to Clients in the North Bay Area and other communities from Carmel to Red Bluff. I have many repeat clients, most have become good friends.
In September of 2020 I relocated to Chico where I hope to continue to create dozens of projects that range from small-scale and short-term projects such as kitchens, baths, decks, shops, accessory dwellings (granny units), exterior face lifts, or just a single room as well as large high-end custom, historic and traditional style homes.
My years of hands-on work in most of the building trades and materials supply has helped me to produce easy to read practical plans that cover all construction phases and details from rough to finish. I judiciously incorporate the latest codes, including the State mandated fire safety, and energy usage.
I am a great alternative to the typical ego-driven large firm. I always look for ways to save costs and still get the best outcome without using a cookie cutter style. I also work with several Engineers as needed so I can streamline the structural. Most allow me to do their drafting which helps me coordinate all aspects of the plans efficiently and avoid the back and forth which can cause delays and mistakes.
Approach
I look for unique ways to enhance and improve the existing home’s natural character, or impart to it a new personality, whether through simple interior wall changes or expanding outside the box. I like to impart a sense of grandness as people enter each room, while offering areas of cozy comfort.
Difficult building sites and restrictive community standards are no problem for me; I’ve worked successfully in Tiburon, Sausalito, Carmel, the S.F. Peninsula, as well as the historic, coastal, and vineyard areas of the North Bay.
Perhaps most importantly, my clients get the full service of a firm, with the added personal attention, economy and experience of an individual. I support the project from start to finish – from submitting the permit application, to attending meetings and making site visits during construction.
SERVICES
Design & Consultation
I offer full residential design and building plan services, for small, partial, or large projects, ranging from brand new homes, remodels or additions, to focusing on single areas such as Kitchens, Baths, Master Suites, Decks, Home Offices, Entryways, Lighting Design, Cabinets, Built-ins, Media Rooms, Music Studios, Exterior Facelifts, Outdoor Living Areas Stables, Cabanas, Shop / Craft / Hobby Buildings, and Meeting / Performance Halls, Public Address Systems. Other past projects have included lot splits, condo conversion projects, minor subdivisions, review of third party plans, site evaluations, and objective review of projects under-construction.
I employ an economical two-phase approach that helps avoid running up large fees, they are: the Design Phase, and the Working Drawings Phase.
Preliminary Design Plans
This phase provides an accurate map of the existing building, and scale drawings of some design options. While the design work is underway, I always account for the effect that the Building Codes and the structural elements, such as beams, columns and framing will have, so that time is not lost in having to redesign down the road. I usually find clever ways of incorporating and hiding the structural within the design.
Basic Building Plans
Basic plans include fully dimensioned construction details with code notations for obtaining a permit, but leaves the task of selecting the finish materials to the Client.
Comprehensive Plans
Comprehensive plans include my help with selecting and creating a list of the finish materials. By specifying the doors, windows, cabinets, flooring, fixtures, appliances, trim, paint, right on the plans, the bidding Contractors will be pricing the same things, making it easier to compare them, and set a budget. The landscape and hardscape can be addressed also.
Planning Department & Design Review Plans
Some communities require ‘Board’ approval for a project before the building permit is applied for. I assist with the application, and create plans that show the exteriors, and indicate how the proposed usage of the parcel fits the Zoning District guidelines. I have successfully represented and won 100% of the reviews I have submitted, often with very minor modifications to the design.
State Licensed Services
When plans require licensed ‘stamping’, structural calculations, or engineering, to satisfy the City/County Building Department, an economical “in house” licensed Architect and Engineer are available as needed.
Projects