Small Project Design

It isn't apparent to most people just what they have bought with those stock plans...very often not accurate enough to build with..floor to floor dimensions, roof slopes and stairs almost never are worked out.
So the builder makes up the difference in the field.

Those of us who do renovations...clients finally realize that their house "doesn't work"  .. get to repair and replace those terrible deficiencies.   Most houses have been build to look at the front door only....no care or scale to the interior space planning.  The American public needs to be educated to the fact that they have been sold a  house by the realtor and builder that is defective....take it back to the seller for repair or pay the architect to get it right in the first place.
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Ann Dunning AIA
President
Ann M. Dunning, AIA, Inc.
Chagrin Falls OH
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I've made a good living doing residential renovation design. For all the reasons you listed, there is a huge need for professional Architects when it comes to residential renovations. 9 out of 10 renovation projects I take on either already had a horrific renovation that needed fixing or the "builder-architect" or "unlicensed architect" had no idea how to solve the problem. After around 200 of these little projects I've yet to get stumped. I think it's even more dangerous to let an unlicensed designer design a home renovation than a new house. The renovation requires x-ray vision and an understanding of construction from that time period. The builder has the luxury of removing the plaster, but when the design is implemented, you don't have that luxury. The capabilities of these people are so all over the place. Most of the time they really don't understand wood framing design, nor do they understand how to think outside the box (literally). Every once in a while you'll meet a residential designer of decent talent and it's because they work for other Architects and are most likely pursuing their license. They've most likely made a vested decision to take their career seriously. The rest want to call themselves Architect without doing the work and I find that incredibly offensive. If you want the title, do the work!