Letter of Introduction

Thank you for your interest in Rafferty/Architects. As your Builder or Realtor probably mentioned, our practice is limited almost exclusively to custom single-family residential properties, most of which are located in the Barrington area, but we also have completed jobs in many other north and west suburbs of Chicago as well as Lake Geneva. We also have experience in special event "Parade of Homes" projects as well as working in the world of large tract development.

We would like to think that:

Through our university training, design awards and large body of satisfied clients, we consistently produce interesting and attractive solutions to people's needs. Unlike the bulk of our competitors, our plans continually draw as much or more praise from the Sub-Contractors and Builders who use them as from the Clients who commissioned them.

Through our association with the Villages of both North and South Barrington for whom we perform all building plan review and permit issuance work, we have seen and reviewed the work of literally hundreds of architects. We have a strong appreciation for the truly good sets of plans which cross our path, and we try to learn from them. The rest we just try to improve as much as possible and hope for the best. We know the Building Codes; the minimum standards which must be met; the minimum standards that should be exceeded. We know what separates a good set of plans from a bad set of plans; a good builder from a bad builder; a good project from a bad project.

Through our years of experience in the real world of actually building buildings rather than just drawing them, we know what drawings must go into a good set of plans, and what drawings are of little or no value to the Builder. We have experienced the joys of working with a good set of plans and we know what usually results from being forced to use a bad set. We realize that often times there is the need for drawings which go beyond that which is necessary to just get a Building Permit, in order to save time, money or possible misunderstandings later.

Buying architecture is much like buying a car - you can spend a little or you can spend a lot. Either way, you will wind up with transportation that will get you where you want to go. The only difference is the quality of the ride.

You will find that some residential design firms in the area charge up to 12 to 15 percent of the home's construction cost (a fee of $60,000 or more on a $500,000 home), while at other firms you will pay only a tiny fraction of that. Rafferty/Architects tries to fill the gap in the middle of that fee spectrum while producing plans that usually exceed the quality of those from the big fee firms. Most of our clients will admit that, of all the expenditures made during the course of their homebuilding project, the best value they received was the money they spent on our services.

Give us a call if you would like to discuss what we could do for you.