Chouinard Design Studio Architecture

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We got three bids from architects, because we wanted our addition to blend with our existing house. Jason Chouinard was the only architect who came prepared with measurements he pulled up on the tax assessor's site. He came knowing our setbacks, our lot dimensions and where our existing house sat on the lot.  He listened to our explanation of what we wanted and then we sat in the kitchen talking about more specifics to the addition. While in the kitchen, he recommended thinking about incorporating a few more changes in our existing home--relocating a half bath to a better spot and opening up walls to create a great room. He also recommended extending our back patio for a better outdoor space. We liked his ideas and incorporated them into our plans. We were very impressed with his ideas. He not only gave us what we wanted, but gave us what we didn't know we wanted, but now have, and LOVE!
His prices were competitive and included all construction documents. He was punctual, responsive and very conscientious. We hit a few snags during the construction process, of course, because when you open up walls and ceilings, unexpected items arise. Jason handled all these changes with proficiency and drew up the required changes the city of Scottsdale needed to keep the permitted project flowing smoothly forward.
I would highly recommend Jason Chouinard as an architect. You will not be disappointed!

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He is delightful. He has great ideas and great knowledge about building codes, building practices and materials. He is competent and creative. He is a good communicator. He does not run of with his ideas but rather gives me ideas unless I reject them or chose another idea.

Bidding: I contacted 5 architects for bids, received 3 bids. Jason delivered his bid ahead of the others. Jason's was both the lowest bid by a few percent, but more importantly, Jason's bid was all-inclusive. He explicitly agreed to deliver all required engineering without exception. All other bidding architects covered themselves by adding on the possibility of extra engineering time for electrical, structural, or even plumbing.

Jason drove all the way out to Gilbert several times to get the concept right. His ideas are wonderful. Very innovative and creative. When we had something that looked good and I thought we could afford, we completed the engineering and drawings and sent them to bid.

First major problem: The construction bids came back significantly more than anticipated. We could not afford to complete the job. The solution was to take the drawings back and make some simplifications on the more expensive parts of the project to get the cost under control. Unfortunately, all of the engineering needs to be recalculated and all of the architectural drawings need to be modified at great expensive. This was a vulnerable time for me, the customer, because I had to accept whatever bid Jason submitted to redo the work, or else I had to go somewhere else and start all over. Jason had a great opportunity to screw me and chose not to. Jason proposed an additional $2,000 fee to redo all drawings and engineering. The changes saved roughly $15K on construction costs. Jason completed the drawings and engineering as promised, and the project is back on track and within budget, if slightly delayed.

As the Owner/builder, it was my responsibility to make sure the cost was under control before we went to engineering and completed the drawings . . . I don't hold Jason accountable for that. He will make a structure that looks and features whatever you want, and if it's expensive, that's out of his control. His willingness to work with me after my big initial goof was what really won me over. If you select Jason Chouinard to be the architect for your project, you will not be negatively surprised. I think he is a great architect, but that is opinion. The hard fact is that he proved himself to be trustworthy at a time of crisis, and he delivered everything he promised.

We are only halfway through the process at this point in time.

I give them 5 stars. He was easy to talk to, and I liked their customer service.

From start to finish it was a wonderfully pleasant experience. Jason met with us a few times before creating the drawings. We had our ideas in mind, Jason drew up three sets of plans, one of which we had not even thought about but which was the perfect plan for us. Jason was very professional in all his dealings with us: he met with us on the weekends, and he responded to all emails and phone calls in a timely manner. Jason's plans were very well drawn and he got the permit from the City of Phoenix within 2 days of submitting the plans. Even after Jason received his final payment from us he was very keen to ensure that the contractor followed his plans. As needed, Jason came out to inspect and offer advice. Jason is very personable and knowledgeable. He takes great pride in his work. We highly recommend Jason Chouinard if you are thinking about hiring an architect to design a remodel or adddition or for new construction.