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Exterior designer

Joe Macker
4 years ago

I am looking for a designer who can design the exterior of an existing home under construction. Specifically, pick the right design for the foam stucco around windows, exterior stone at the bottom, the right stucco and trim color, and any additional molding enhancements to improve curb appeal.


Is there such a designer? Most designers I come across seem to be interior designers and don't have much opinion on how the facade can be improved. Any specific questions I should ask to evaluate the person?

Comments (35)

  • PRO
    HALLETT & Co.
    4 years ago

    Keep looking- lots of designers do both, obviously some don't. Ask around who your builder has worked with in the past or go to the stoneyard and ask them what designers they are familiar with.

    Joe Macker thanked HALLETT & Co.
  • suezbell
    4 years ago

    Not a pro.


    You might post an image showing the size and shape of the house for suggestions, including roof lines if they've been determined.


    You should also indicate the style of the home you are trying to create. Do you want an uncomplicated look or do you want elaborate and/or intricate details.


    Remember, too, that landscaping will make a huge difference in curb appeal -- even where your driveway is located and from which side/end your entrance to any garage, if you have one, might be..

    Joe Macker thanked suezbell
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  • PRO
    JAN MOYER
    4 years ago

    What Cooks Kitchen said!

  • PRO
    Patricia Colwell Consulting
    4 years ago

    Your architect is who gives you the options and of course we can’t give you anything without pictures

  • Joe Macker
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    @The Cook's Kitchen, I was expecting that, but it hasn't panned out that way. My fault too as I put it off till stucco was done. I was expecting it to be just something that I decide at the end. But I am not getting much from my architect (who is also the GC). So I need to look elsewhere.

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    4 years ago

    If the GC is not licensed by the State in which practice as an architect they are not an architect. Please do not refer to anyone that is not an architect, as an architect.

    Joe Macker thanked Mark Bischak, Architect
  • worthy
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    "Architect" has become like kleenex.

    I met a self-described "architect" near us. He's actually designated a professor of architecture at a nearby College of Arts and Technology. However, he is not a member of the Ontario Association of Architects, which licenses and registers all architects in the Province.

    Joe Macker thanked worthy
  • cpartist
    4 years ago

    But I am not getting much from my architect (who is also the GC). So I need to look elsewhere.

    If he's not licensed as an architect by your state, then he's no architect and you got hoodwinked.

  • PRO
    ProSource Memphis
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Is he at least licensed as a builder? Because all of those details should be described in section details to be sure that they are done correctly. Faux stucco and stone are going to be easy to get wrong and funnel water into the house.

  • RES, architect
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    You are apparently involved in a Design-Build project. Some contractors are able to do this by hiring an architect to do the design or sometimes the contractor is an architect. Whatever the credentials of the designer, you must make sure that most of the design occurs before the construction begins and is properly documented so you know what you are buying.

    What is the extent of the design documents and what is the nature of the Owner-Contractor Agreement?

    How would you now hire another designer without causing a conflict?

    There are too many important issues that you have not described.

    Joe Macker thanked RES, architect
  • PRO
    Charles Ross Homes
    4 years ago

    @Joe Macker,

    You have asked so many design-related questions here on houzz.com of fundamental nature that I concluded you were designing and building your own home with no prior experience and no professional help. If you need to ask the kind of questions you've asked here on houzz.com--and as many of them-- you haven't hired professionals. I don't care if they have credentials or licenses or not; they're simply not the right professionals for your job. You need to hold them accountable to provide the expertise you are paying them for and not rely on input from houzzers to fill in the blanks.

    Joe Macker thanked Charles Ross Homes
  • cpartist
    4 years ago

    What Charles said.

    Joe Macker thanked cpartist
  • Joe Macker
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    @ProSource Memphis, yes he is licensed as a general contractor. I am not as much concerned on quality problems such as water funneling into the house as I am about the aesthetics of the house.


    @cpartist what you say may be true. I checked his GC license but not his architecture license. One of my concerns at that time with hiring separate architect and GC was the fear that a GC and architect may finger point to each other when there is a problem, so I went with the same person for both. Now, even though I feel the build itself is quite good, the shortcomings on aesthetics concerns me.


    @RES, architect, I really don't know how to hire another designer without causing a conflict. But the things I am looking for such as stucco molding etc should not cause much of a conflict, I think.


    Will try to post some photos here to get an opinion.

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    4 years ago

    Did your GC represent himself as an "architect"?

    Joe Macker thanked Mark Bischak, Architect
  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    Did your foundation include 5-7” foundation for stone? If not you probably can’t do stone without this ledge. The architect would normally do this as part of the foundation design. Stucco trim would also be identified early in design so proper windows could be selected. By avoiding conflict, you have no advocate for your position. Architects and builders have different skill sets. Architects and builders often also have structural engineers and HVAC system specialists on contract for reviewing and verifying designs to meet codes and help builder defend work to local inspection entities. Look here on Houzz for ideas to add trim around windows with stucco type trim. Give that to your builder to price out to add to your design.

    Joe Macker thanked Flo Mangan
  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 years ago

    To worthy's point, I would seriously question a college who would hire a "professor of architecture" who does not have an architecture degree nor was a licensed architect. How can you teach a subject in a program that licenses a profession if you aren't that profession yourself???

  • worthy
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    ∆∆∆∆

    He has a very high score from his students! (And none of the administrators have evidently heard of oh, say, Google.) But he now claims to have a Master's in Architecture from a Middle Eastern university. But he's still not licenced, according to the Ontario Association of Architects.


    In any case, the builder scrapped his two designs--that's one of them above--that were to go in across the street from us. Instead, the builder is using two prominent licenced architects.

  • Joe Macker
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    @Mark Bischak, Architect yes he did represent himself as an architect. When I first started, I was considering another person who was only an architect. I was having some trouble with her as she was not willing to deal with the city directly for the permitting process, but wanted me to do that legwork. That was a deal breaker for me. Since the GC candidate represented himself as an architect and I got references that he has dealt with the city for permitting I went with him.


    @Flo Mangan, yes I do have the 5-7" foundation to do stone

  • PRO
    Mark Bischak, Architect
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Check his license with your State's licensing agency. Anyone representing themselves as an architect without possessing an architect's license is most likely violating State law.

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 years ago

    Hi Worthy, consider yourself lucky that the "professor's" design was rejected.

  • RES, architect
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I'm reading some odd ideas about architects.

    A "College of Arts and Technology" would not be likely to offer a professional architectural graduate degree so they should be able to call their courses and professors anything they like. What the professor can't do is call himself an architect without a state license which s an entirely different matter.

    An architect doesn't normally do the "legwork" to get a building permit; that's normally the work of a contractor since he would need to submit proof of his license and insurance to the building department in person anyway. Why would you insist that the architect go to the building department as well? What a ridiculous reason to not hire an architect.

    If you had zoning or special permitting issues to resolve before applying for a permit, that might involve an architect with the planning department for zoning or historic issues. You won't see too many architects waiting at the building department counter.

    As for checking licenses, it's not necessary to check a builder's license since he can't get a permit unless he has a license but you should always look up the license of an architect. Its shocking how many people pretend to be architects.

    A contractor did that to my son in Denver and I could tell the contractor had no professional training from the drawings. The contractor later confessed he had only taken an architectural course as an undergraduate at a school like the one Worthy mentioned.

    I suspect Worthy and the architect the OP did not hire are both lucky.

  • worthy
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    To be clear, I've only employed licensed architects and licensed architectural technologists.

    An architect doesn't normally do the "legwork" to get a building permit.

    Interestingly, my current architect is doing that.

    I started. But the new mandatory "improved" process of submission and revision of building plans on-line I've found impossible to navigate.

    Joe Macker thanked worthy
  • RES, architect
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I was referring to personally appearing at the building department.

    I agree online permitting is much harder and the architect might be more accustomed to using arcane software but I don't like paying the permit fee with my credit card. This is not a normal professional service and should not be a condition of employment.

    There's something goofy going on here.

  • PRO
    Charles Ross Homes
    4 years ago

    @RES,

    Requirements of building departments vary from one locale to another. That's true even here in VA where they are all supposed to impose the exact same requirements. In the municipalities where we build, we are required to show a copy of our contractor's license only when applying for the first permit in a calendar year. If our contractor's license were subsequently revoked, the building dept. wouldn't know that until we attempt to apply for a permit the following year. They don't ask to see proof of insurance.


    Anyone hiring a home builder or remodeler will be well served to check with the state or city's contractor licensing board to ensure the builder's license is valid and get a copy of the builders's certificate of insurance directly from the builder's insurance agency.

    Joe Macker thanked Charles Ross Homes
  • Kristin S
    4 years ago

    In my case as well the architect managed the permitting process. He didn't stand in line himself, as he subcontracts with a permit facilitator to do the legwork, but he tracked the progress, coordinated the submission of additional documents as requested by the city (including coordinating the work of the various engineers), called permit reviewers when things got bogged down, etc..

    That said, I'm puzzled by both the GC representing himself as an architect (our actually does have a graduate degree in architecture, but as he's not currently licensed, he doesn't claim to be an architect and is very careful to defer to the architects with whom he works), and by the claimed architect not handling the exterior design. As others have said, something here isn't adding up.

    Joe Macker thanked Kristin S
  • Joe Macker
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Looks like I don't fully understand the scope/responsibilities of the roles, but I would like to be educated. When an architecture is submitted to the city for permit, they would give a set of comments. The resolution of the comments is the job of the architect. Correct? The comments sometimes are not easily resolvable and require meeting the city planning department, discuss in-depth the code and how to resolve them. This is what I was referring to as legwork. My earlier architect said that it is my responsibility to submit plans to the city and she would not deal directly with the city. So I (or may be even a GC I hire) would have to deal with the city and go back-n-forth between the city and her. Around the same time I was interviewing some GCs and they refused to take up the job until there was an approved permit. So I didn't understand how to break this chicken-n-egg problem. My workaround for this was to hire a single person who would be an architect and a GC, but it does feel that I was shortchanged for at least the architecture aspect. How do people generally solve this problem?

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    I am so sorry you have not been served well by people you trusted. There are many ways building a new home can evolve. I prefer hiring my own architect because I don’t want confusion of roles. And my architect helps me put my vision into buildable” plans that will be approved by local entities. My architects have working relationships with governing approval bodies and they know what is required and make sure those requirements are in the design. General Contractors (Builders) do the physical work and generally subcontract structural engineering, and design of specific craft work such as heat/ventilation/air conditioning. Their craft (subs) implement plans and GC/Builder coordinates craft, orders materials, pays craft (labor), get inspections and permits as well as helps in problem solving along the way and in general oversees the build. Because you appear to be new at this, you are high on the learning curve. I would question paying this so called architect. You may have been deceived. At this point, it is hard to guide you because one would need to have full information and understanding to figure out a successful path forward. I hope you can figure that out. Wishing you the best.

    Joe Macker thanked Flo Mangan
  • jmm1837
    4 years ago

    I'm certainly no pro, but I have built two houses, and in both cases the GC got all the permits. When there were problems, the GC and the architect got together to find a solution and resubmit the paperwork. A couple of times, they ran alternatives past us, but we never dealt with the local council at all. So I don't understand the comment about GCs refusing to "take up the job" without an approved permit. I can certainly understand them refusing to bid if plans hadn't been drawn up, but in my admittedly limited experience, their job includes taking those plans and getting them permitted.

    Joe Macker thanked jmm1837
  • Joe Macker
    Original Author
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    @jmm1837 I too was surprised when the GCs refused to bid for the job without approved plans. I talked to 3 GCs and all of them said, "come to me when you have plans approved by the city". Probably my fault too and I should have kept looking harder. I do hear a couple instance from @Kristin S and @worthy and @Flo Mangan where the architect gets the permits. Whereas @RES, architect thinks it is ridiculous that an architect is rejected for not getting the permit. So i guess it is not cut and dry as to who is responsible to get the permits and deal with the local city council.

  • jmm1837
    4 years ago

    OP - were those GCs actually licenced? If not, that may been the issue. Otherwise, assuming you already had plans to show them, I don't get the reluctance at all. As for architects dealing with permits, mine did phone council once to clarify a specific issue, but it was the builder, not the architect, who did the actual legwork for both our houses.

  • Joe Macker
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Yes, all the GCs were licensed. I had detailed plans that had gone through some rounds of the approval process with the city but had some outstanding comments. The GCs were even reluctant to look at the plans, since the permit was not yet issued.

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    Where is this property? GC's around here would caveat their estimates but be glad to start a relationship in hopes of a deal. It is hard to get a firm bid until all your selection details are nailed down anyway. They all know what will get through the city permitting process so if they don't, they haven't built much in your area.

    Joe Macker thanked Flo Mangan
  • Kristin S
    4 years ago

    I’m wondering if part of your problem was that you had started the permitting process. It’s often much harder to take over a project midway than to run it from the start, so perhaps that was their reluctance?

    My other thought is to wonder whether your jurisdiction, like mine, is know for particularly difficult permitting. If so, it’s possible that in a booming economy, the GC’s simply have enough work that they can chose not to take jobs dealing with difficult permitting jurisdictions. I know in our case, our architect has declined all projects dealing with out city since ours. He has lots of work coming his way, and he’s simply decided it’s not worth the headache when there are other options.

    Joe Macker thanked Kristin S
  • Joe Macker
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    yes this is a jurisdiction where GCs have a lot of work. So getting one in a timely fashion is hard.