Jeff Parshalle Architect

We began with a vague idea of a room addition in the back yard consisting of a bathroom and bedroom.  Prior to having Jeff come out I contacted a couple of contractors to get an idea of the approximate cost and size of the project.

They all had different ideas about how we should proceed and what the final project should look like.

With that preliminary thought in mind, I met with Jeff and he looked at the property and made a few notes and took a few pictures.

With a few days, he had checked on the actual property line (we DO own the chunk behind our wall that I was told belonged to the HOA.  That investigation changed the plans and the size of the addition to a much lager and better plan.
Jeff took our ideas and created a plan at least 5X better than my thoughts.

Once we had the basic idea in place, we signed the contract and he got to work.  Most of our interactions were over email and I found him to be very responsive.

Our first step was getting HOA approval and he provided the documentation we needed to get through that hurdle (it took two months to get through the HOA).

He then drew up final plans that we discussed and made a few adjustments based upon our looking at the plans.  I've had to deal with architects professionally as part of my work and as a general rule I find them to be arrogant snobs who question the owner's desires and thoughts as if nobody should question their ideas.  Jeff is the exact opposite.  I found that he listened to our ideas and made changes based upon our ideas.  Conversely, we listened to his ideas as we worked through the various editions of the plans and his suggestions were almost universally better.  But it was a conversation not a dictation.

Since this addition is on the first floor and all our full bathrooms are on the second floor we wanted to plan ahead and put a fully ADA bathroom into the room addition.  Perhaps the most help came as Jeff rearranged the bathroom to make it ADA compliant.  I am also very happy that we changed the order of the shower and toilet so the shower waste water flows past the toilet which should help keep that sewer line clear.  A small but subtle change that will pay off in the future.

He then walked the plans through the City of Oceanside planning department and water department.  When the plans were ready almost a month later, I went down and paid for the fees and secured the plans.  

We are now in construction and the contractor has reported that all their questions have been answered quickly and professional by Jeff.

Overall, I was extremely pleased and would give him the highest recommendation available.

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I was so pleased with Jeff's help. I started with several ideas of my own,some more clear than others, and Jeff was able to take these and add ideas of his own which brought the whole project together. Althought the project was small I never felt Jeff treated it that way and was always available to discuss the plans, both before the construction started and during. He worked well with the contractors I selected and also helped with reviewing their contracts and work quality. He made the experience painless because everyone was on the same page, with his terrific plans. I would use him again anyday.