Architect Number of Site Visits & Fees
Sophie
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoSophie
4 years agoRelated Discussions
I Met with an Architect! (Budget Question)
Comments (76)I LOVE the idea of a well designed home that could be added on to in the future - without LOOKING like it was added on to! Start with your budget, live a few years, then see if you want to stay and improve, or if your job / life changes and moving is a better option. I think that the millennial generation is eschewing "too large" homes - and embracing a simpler home with less expense on "things" and more on "experiences". (those $6 lattes aren't gonna pay for themselves...) But look at the tiny house movement - granted taken to an extreme (and sometimes ridiculous, IMO- seeing $80K for a TRAILER that isn't built to housing code - because it's, er.. a TRAILER... but I digress) Keep your house well designed, with a plan for the future, and enjoy the journey. Giving an architect a challenge with a smaller space should allow him / her to rise to the occasion. And, hopefully, that design can live much larger. Keep us posted. Have some friends that might be in that general area as well - horse people - and the photos they post of their farm and the landscape in general is GORGEOUS....See MoreArchitect recommendation in NC? Remote architects?
Comments (42)I don't have the courage to be responsible for a house that was too far away to visit during construction. I've simply found too many construction errors in buildings, even when I knew and trusted the builders. I just reviewed a window order and found the supplier had omitted 9 of the 29 windows although he had an error free window schedule that gave him all he needed to know including the window count. I have never found a building inspector to be of much assistance although some try harder than others but they're understandably concerned with code issues and that represents less than half of the potential problems I am concerned about. I am in Boston and designed a large condominium building in Minneapolis. I flew to the site every 2 weeks during design and construction. The owner was sued by a neighbor for not providing adequate foundation drainage and flooding his property. When his lawyer asked me if I had proof that the foundation drainage system was installed as designed, I said "just the photos"....See MoreHelp with architect fee distribution
Comments (16)Thank you architectrunnerguy - unfortunately I know that all too well having just also gone through and GC'd my own flood restoration (pipe burst) on our current home as well as doing a lot of the work myself which is part of this crazy mess. July looks like it will be calmer as of now and we won't be starting work with anybody until our current house is done and known work has calmed down. Part of leaning towards this architect is that he is local and will do site visits to allow me to pay for help as needed. Unfortunately my work can be very random and calm for a while and then there are times, when everything happens at once. Edit: Oh and the only permit we need is to show we are not in a floodzone. No code checks either so we will hire our own inspector to help. The architect said he does the HVAC, plumbing, electrical to ensure that there are no surprises that could detract from the final envisioned product....See MoreHelp Choosing an Architect/ Builder for New House Construction
Comments (25)@John Hrivnak, ArCH, AIA, MBA, NCARB, LEED AP - This is a problem with anecdotal evidence. You are not going to architect your way out of a bad builder. When we look at the advantages and disadvantages of design/build firms in aggregate it is pretty easy figure the trade-offs inherent in the model. This is not rocket surgery, it is a simple backward or forward vertical integration business combination and they have been happening a long time now. Somewhere deep in the past a wine maker said. "I think we would be more profitable if we grow the grapes." THE GOOD Every combination requires synergy, so the two parts being better together than they would be apart. In the case of the winery owning the grapes it is a change in the decisions around growing and harvesting grapes. Essentially you can tailor your wine to your grapes and your grapes to your wine. In design/build firms plans will be tailored to take advantage of builder proficiencies and enhanced communications. The designer will be able to anticipate areas where the builder may struggle and will design away from that when possible and communicate more clearly when not. Plans are more likely to hit cost targets as the design process is automatically designing to efficiency. There will also be more communication between the builder and designer during the design phase when they are in the same office. THE BAD Every combination has a sacrifice because of the exclusive nature of the combination. In the case of a winery, if you own the fields and have a grape harvest that is not particularly fantastic while a competing grower has a fantastic harvest, you are still required to use your grapes. If you sell your grapes and buy the others you have destroyed all of the value in the combination. In design/build firms that tailoring of plans to building efficiency will limit creativity. An architect for a design build firm is not going to design towards something the builder is not good at doing. They are going to design to strengths and away from weaknesses. Those strengths and weaknesses might not be shared by every builder. This is a tangible weakness and should be given serious consideration (e.g. If a builder has a preferred window supplier the designer is likely to find a way to incorporate those windows in the design even if a different window would be better). --- This entire thing assumes that quality is equal across the board, which it is not. I can assure you that the answer above is correct, yet it is also meaningless in your decision. Your decision is going to be based on your needs and your market. In your market you may well have several architect driven design/build firms (forward vertical integration), or you might have cost conscience builders providing design services (backward vertical integration). Do your due diligence and then pick the arrangement that you are most comfortable with. I would advise that you take pricing quotes with a grain of salt, the best value is not likely to depend on a quoted upfront price. Also I personally would not look at portability of plans from a design/build firm. This seems like the worst of all worlds... You limit design to strengths of one firm and then don't use that firm. Just my 2 cents... Good luck....See MoreSummit Studio Architects
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoSophie thanked Summit Studio ArchitectsSophie
4 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoCharles Ross Homes
4 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoCharles Ross Homes
4 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoJeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
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4 years agoSophie
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoJeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoSophie
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoJeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
4 years agoSophie thanked Jeffrey R. Grenz, General ContractorSophie
4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoSophie
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agoSophie
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoSophie
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoVirgil Carter Fine Art
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoSophie
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beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally