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My wife and I are working with a designer right now. The experience is turning out pretty well. He is not an architect, though. He finished his bachelors degree but not the masters that is necessary here in Manitoba, Canada, to call himself an architect. You may be able to find a similar, competent design service in your area for a more reasonable cost than an architect.
One thing that we should have been more clear about at the outset of our project was the budget. I would encourage anyone whose means require them, to be very specific about what they can afford to spend and what happens with their agreement if the budget is blown. In our case I know that it’s going to be nip and tuck. I’ve thought a bit about what we’d do if the project we had worked with came in out of our reach. A good designer or architect should be able to tell you very early on in your process if your needs, dreams, and budget can all be brought together.
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My wife and I are working with a designer right now. The experience is turning out pretty well. He is not an architect, though. He finished his bachelors degree but not the masters that is necessary here in Manitoba, Canada, to call himself an architect. You may be able to find a similar, competent design service in your area for a more reasonable cost than an architect.
One thing that we should have been more clear about at the outset of our project was the budget. I would encourage anyone whose means require them, to be very specific about what they can afford to spend and what happens with their agreement if the budget is blown. In our case I know that it's going to be nip and tuck. I've thought a bit about what we'd do if the project we had worked with came in out of our reach. A good designer or architect should be able to tell you very early on in your process if your needs, dreams, and budget can all be brought together.
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My wife and I are working with a designer right now. The experience is turning out pretty well. He is not an architect, though. He finished his bachelors degree but not the masters that is necessary here in Manitoba, Canada, to call himself an architect. You may be able to find a similar, competent design service in your area for a more reasonable cost than an architect.
One thing that we should have been more clear about at the outset of our project was the budget. I would encourage anyone whose means require them, to be very specific about what they can afford to spend and what happens with their agreement if the budget is blown. In our case I know that it's going to be nip and tuck. I've thought a bit about what we'd do if the project we had worked with came in out of our reach. A good designer or architect should be able to tell you very early on in your process if your needs, dreams, and budget can all be brought together.
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In these parts, architects charge around 5% - 10% of the fihish cost of the house.
*I think your relationship with a good architect could be like the best parts of your relationship with your doctor, lawyer, and mechanic (understands your dilemna better than you do, looks out for your interests, handles the problems, and makes things happen). It could alternately be the like the worst parts (asks lots of personal questions but just doesn't get it, spends lots of your money, makes mistakes, and doesn't provide solutions that work for you. It's going to a working relationship with lots of details and back and forth. You've got to have someone that you can convey our thoughts to easily. During preliminary discussions is he/she quickly on board and responding in ways you understand clearly? If not, move on. When you find someone whose communication style, vocabulary, and thought process is compatible, check those references! When hiring employees or retaining consultants - cast a large net and discard readily.-David
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What is the best way to find a good architect? I am going to be building a house soon and would like to use an architect and not just order a plan from a magazine. What is the average price an architect will charge? Do they charge by the sq. ft. or what?
Thanks
glenn
*Glenn,There are many good ways to find an Architect. One easy way is to check your yellow pages. You can also try looking for your state chapter of the AIA - American Institute of Architects, but there are many of us out here who are great architects, but don't belong to the AIA. The AIA web page is AIA.org. The best way may be for you to check out new homes in your area, and ask the owners of house's you like who their architect was. If you have any contacts among builders or contractors, talk to them to find out which architects are good to work with, and can design within a budget.The most important thing once you are considering an architect is to see some of their past work and talk to past clients. Find out how the process went, and if they are happy with their homes. If you can, talk to contractors who have worked with the architect. Ask them how the process went, and if the had the information they needed in a timely manner. Sometimes if an Architect provides wrong information or not enough information to a contractor, cost can escalate, and a tempers will flare.Expect a wide range of fees, depending on the level of service that you wish to receive. Typically a fee is based on a percentage of construction cost, not sq. ft. costs. The assumption is that the more expensive the sq. ft costs, the more design and detailing that must go into a project. There are many ways a project can be designed, and different levels of services bring different level of costs. Some architects will modify a basic design, such as a mail order design, for a low fee, adding some personal touches to the stock design. If you have a good idea of your dream house, it may be easier for an architect to formalize your concepts for a good price. If you want a custom designed, artistic home, expect to pay a premium for the design. Things like lots of custom built-ins will add to the design time, and the price.The last thing to consider is whether the project will be going out to bid, and if so, how many contractors will be bidding. If the design is being bid on an open market, typically more information must go into the design documents to ensure every one is bidding on the same information. Check to see if the architect has contractors they typically work with, if they have done several projects together often times the level of drawings can be reduced, because the contractor knows what the Architect expects from them.I hope this helps, and remember just like anything else, higher fees do not necessarily mean a better design. Do your research throughly because the experience can be great, or it can be awful. Email me if you have further questions.