Help! Does my architect suck?

I'm a newbie to renovation, so I don't know if this is normal or if I should be concerned. I bought a studio loft and hired an architect to help with the sleeping loft area and bedroom space below it: close up the bedroom; reconfigure the stairs so they make more sense; add storage, maximize the space, that sort of thing. It took him about four weeks to send the initial sketches of three proposed... [more]

I'm a newbie to renovation, so I don't know if this is normal or if I should be concerned. I bought a studio loft and hired an architect to help with the sleeping loft area and bedroom space below it: close up the bedroom; reconfigure the stairs so they make more sense; add storage, maximize the space, that sort of thing. It took him about four weeks to send the initial sketches of three proposed designs--just basic floor plans (wall here; door here; desk here; new stairs here). I gave him feedback, asking for only minor changes to one of his proposals. It took him another week to send me his revised sketch. And at this point, I also noticed that many of his dimensions were off. For example, he had the living room length off by two feet, the width off by a foot; one bedroom wall off by two feet; a structural column off by a foot; my closet off by several inches, and the list goes on. I'm not an architect, so I don't know how much an inch or two off in dimensions matter on construction proposals, but this strikes me as ridiculous. What makes things worse is that the whole time he was doing his designs off these wrong dimensions. Now I feel like I need to double-check all his other dimensions and his work in general. The whole point in hiring him was so that I didn't have to do all this oversight and paying attention to every detail. As if this wasn't frustrating enough, I had also hired him to handle the construction bids and oversee the gut reno of the kitchen and bath, which I designed myself, so he didn't have to do that part of it. When it became clear how long he was taking on the living area, I suggested to him that we at least send the kitchen and bathroom details to the contractors for bidding, so at least that part of the reno could get under way, especially since kitchens and baths can take a long time to renovate and reveal unexpected problems. Then he could take his sweet time designing the living area. He made the point that contractors prefer to get all drawings at once, so deferred to him. But it's now been almost 1.5 months since I hired him, and we still have not submitted anything to the contractors for bidding. I'm know it'll take time for the contractors to submit bids, then back and forth regarding negotiating a contract, then submitting to the co-op board, etc. At this rate, I feel like a hammer won't be swung until the end of October, if I'm lucky. It's upsetting because am currently still living in my old rental and had to extend my lease longer than I thought I would due to this architect. So I am paying double living costs for much longer than I had anticipated. So I guess I am wondering if it usually take an architect this long to come up with drawings for this type of project? And should I be upset that he got so many of the dimensions wrong? I totally understand we're human, and I should add that he is a very nice guy, but this gives me great pause. And what makes me also concerned is that I still have no idea the details: e.g., what will the stairs be made of, the railing, the closet door, etc. It's all just a sketch of placement right now. I can only imagine how long it will take for him to figure that out. Sorry for the long post. I'm just so frustrated and don't know if I just need to chill or are my fears valid? Thanks for any advice! [less]