congratulations. my tips: just throw yourself into the work and get to that first design meeting. blow their minds. try to find a structural engineer who's young like you. find someone who will check your drawings for a small bit of cash. and have lots of fun. maybe make a profit.

i wish my first independent commission had been that cool, but i certainly did feel that apprehension. do NOT let it turn into self-sabotaging procrastination.

this is an incredible opportunity for you. good luck tends to happen to those who don't need it.

congrats - i was in a similar situation a when i started a couple of years ago.

no matter what act like you've been doing it for years, and you'll get the hang of it pretty quick

get a good set of working drawings for reference

Good for you!

The most important thing you can do for yourself and your client is to learn what the building code requires. I believe Palm Springs uses the California Building Code. Contact the building department for that jurisdiction and ask them which code and code year they use for single family houses. Purchase this code. It will be worth the money. You can purchase the code at www.iccsafe.org or sometimes through the building department.

http://www.iccsafe.org/e/category.html

The biggest stumbling block for you will be getting stuck on the details - how much space should you leave between the sink and toilet, how wide should the hallway be, how small can you make that third bedroom, how many electrical outlets should you put in the kitchen. The requirements for all these items, and more, are determined by the building code. When you learn what you are permitted to do regarding these questions, you will know the parameters you have to work with. You can concentrate more on designing a really spectacular space instead of worrying about things you really have no choice about. Plus it's no good if your soaring glass wall or mezzanine kitchen with no guard rail is prohibitted by earthquake or safety codes.

You might want to set up a meeting with the building code official and explain to them you are new to this and ask what kinds of things will they be looking for. The best thing you can do is be up front with them about your lack of experience. I guarantee someone will follow up this post telling you this is bad advice. I am a building plans reviewer as well as an architect. Trust me, this is good advice. Plans reviewers and inspectors would much rather you actively try to solve problems up front and learn from them than have to reject your plans (or worse, your already built house) multiple times. Rejections will also make you look very bad to your client and you want referrals for future projects!

Go to the iccsafe website I posted above and go the their bulletin board section. ICC (International Code Council) develops and publishes the building codes. Their bulletin board is a discussion group for all code issues and is very heavily visited. Someone there may be able to recommend an online crash course to help you learn the CBC. They will also be able to answer any code questions you have about practically anything you can think of.

Finally, in addition to ochona's advice above about paying a structural engineer to review your plans, you might want to hire another residential architect or builder to provide reviews and give advice by the hour. I know someone who paid another architect a retainer to be "on call" for advice when they were starting out.

Good luck!

thanks for the tips. i have decided to team with a colleague and friend of mine who has a few more years of experience under his belt. this means making less money, but i have the attitude of this project being a labor of love.

check back in 10 years

All i can say is many congratulations and i really envy you. i would be really pleased if someone i know entrusted me with such a project. Remember thatt if they have done so it means they think you will be up to the challenge so don't doubt yourself. i understand your apprehension though and i cant really offer any advice but if i were you i would try to immerse myself in the project and make it a worthwhile experience for future practice. it's a wonderful opportunity for you which will probably lead to bigger things, it might be painful and daunting at times but i think it'll be worth all the potential stress and hard work. best of luck

good going .... congrats !!..

hopefully will the first of many !!

dot, congrats.

i have an idea how you feel as i have also recently started work on my first commission. been on it now for 3 months and it is quite an experience. i have worked in offices for 6 years, but this is a totally different thing.

it is also a single family house, with clients that have good old fashioned modernist tendencies.

working with private clients i found it a real shock, normally i have dealt with professional clients, investors, housing associations etc,

private clients are soooo into everything, every detail, which i understand - its their house, and alot of their money, but they call me a couple of times a day and loads of emails. that i just wasnt used to.

but it is as others have said its a great experience, and if you are given a chance like that you just have to jump in!

good luck!!

teaming up with someone sounds like a great idea. not only for that person's experience but because it's always good to have someone there so you can bounce ideas back and forth. even when i practiced on my own, i would search out people (other designers, not just the client) to comment on what i was doing so that i wasn't working in a vacuum.

good luck!