We used Doug for several projects in our house. Most recently he designed plans and drafted prints to remodel the facade of our house and to add a front porch.
Let me start by saying this was a DIY project and I can be pretty picky and demanding (which, in my defense, I find you have to be or else things get screwed up). Also, we live in Oak Park, which can be a tough place to get a building permit. With the deck stacked against him like this, Doug far exceeded our every expectation.
We were very pleased with the quality of his work. The design he came up with is terrific. Stylistically, it fits our neighborhood and our personal taste. He took the time to drive around our community to get ideas for our project. The actual prints were great too. His prints are very detailed, which made getting the permit about as painless as possible. The prints were also very accurate too; we have not had to change anything on the fly. If we had to come up with a criticism, I would say he over engineered our porch. The porch is sturdier than the rest of the house. Our joke is that we built the Sandberg Architecture and Design tornado shelter.
His responsiveness and service are exceptional. I wanted to complete this project on a very short timetable, which gave him little time to draw up the prints. He did not push back at all, and finished a couple days ahead of schedule. He was flexible about meeting. He had no problems with me calling to brainstorm random ideas. He promptly responded to all calls and e-mails. He delivered the stamped prints in person on super short notice. I could not imagine a better working relationship than what we had with Doug.
I was most impressed by his handling of the village beaurocrats during the permit review process. The village gave us a hard time over several specifications for the windows and doors, which the manufacturers don't even test for (air infiltration rates). Doug did not complain about the village or overreact. He setup an appointment with the village plan examiner, worked his magic, and walked out with a permit.
He is very considerate of the client's needs. When we interviewed him, we like him more than the other architects because he designs projects to the needs and wants to the client and environment. Other architects we interviewed tried to push their own agenda and style, which could leave you with a project that does not fit your community or your taste.
We also found his rates to be reasonable. We felt like we got a lot of bang for our buck by using Doug. Some architects may quote you a lower rate, but they will probably take a longer time and don't have Doug's credentials. We also got proposals from some architects that broke down charges for overhead and other random expenses. Doug did not nickel and dime us over his time or his overhead. The service and quality of work we got from Doug was far and away more than what we expected for the amount of money he charged us.
After working with Doug over the past several months I can say he honestly loves the work. I would get e-mails from him at random times suggesting that he was always thinking about the project. He studied the architecture from the time period of our house and in our community to come up with a historically accurate design. He really seems to enjoy every aspect of the work. If you are looking for an architect who does great work, is easy to work with, and charges a fair rate, Sandberg Architecture and Design is for you. read more