Who do i need to talk to builder / architect / designer?
Angela Cook
6 years ago
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6 years agoRelated Discussions
Need recommendations on a builder/designer builder
Comments (11)Hi Vick, We are currently in the planning stage of knocking down our house and we have engaged with an architect who is pretty good. Let me know if you want her details. TC...See MoreBuilder or Architect/Design Ideas?
Comments (9)Hi Virginia, How did you go with your quest to find a designer for your house renovation? What a beautiful rock wall that is - and how wonderful to have river views that can be maximised by building up. A good designer will be able to take all your design priorities and combine these with strategies to maximise sustainable design principles i.e. lots of natural daylight and ventilation, material selections, correct orientation, good zoning within the house and opening up views, and direct access to garden areas from living areas etc. The real challenge is in identifying how to achieve everything you want with a budget that is realistic, and more often than not compromises may need to be made in your brief in order to match your budget, especially if that is a fixed budget. Go with a designer or architect whose work you like and with whom you feel comfortable, and the process should be rewarding. This is a big investment, and so its better to go with someone whose work you love and with whom you feel comfortable, who can also help you manage your budget and understand the whole project costs. On a final note, your ideas are lovely, and I can imagine a modestly sized new 2-level extension, which could link to the area above the rock wall, the garden below, and possibly the roof of the existing house (depending on where north is and where the views are!) would work really well. Good Luck!...See MoreCan you just get an opinion from architect but do most design yourself
Comments (8)"Architect-designed houses are not accessible to all." This is a myth championed by the building industry. Alternatively, why not focus on the key benefits architects bring to a project. Here are a few for you: • Appoint an architect to your project and you’ll gain a home designed for the way you want to live.The alternative is a builder-designed home that suits what the builder is used to building. Quality builders will ask for plans and specifications to be thoroughly documented so that they can go ahead and do what they do best, which is build. Working out with the owner what you’re going to build and why is the architect’s role. • An architect manages planning approvals. This process is complex, often arbitrarily applied by many Councils, fraught with pitfalls for the novice and is ramped up every year with new hoops to jump. If you want a professional on your side who knows the territory, will go in to bat for you and will forge a way through this minefield, you need an architect. • If you’d prefer to put the works to tender to a number of builders rather than having to accept the quote of the builder you started the process with, you need an architect. • If you’d prefer to protect yourself with a proper, architect-managed ABIC contract that works equally for both parties and is legally enforceable, you need an architect. • An architect will minimise costly changes during construction as he or she will produce a proper level of drawings (expect 20 x A3 pages for a new home, rather than the 1-2 pages you’ll receive from a drafting service.). The reasons for this are that you have on paper exactly what you want to build. Without this, you are entering a contract with a builder with none of the details resolved. You wouldn’t do that if you were buying a house, so why do it when spending an equally significant amount of money? Unfortunately, some builders see this approach as an opportunity to happily accept constant changes from ‘project managing’ owners because it’s just another variation that he can charge for. The longer he is there, the better for his margins, particularly when there’s no contract to speak of. Finally, an architect is a specialist with a professional duty of care, irrespective of financial gain. In other words, they’re there to support and protect you, without benefit to themselves. No one else in the building industry can provide this....See MoreArchitect or Builder & Drafter for extension/reno?
Comments (12)The bigger and more complex the project, the more you'll need the services of an architect. The architect should be doing the lot from the very start to the end when you get handed the keys to the finished project. The client only liases with the architect and they do everything on your behalf. If you only require design and plans, etc for approvals and your builder is very good then using a building designer or draftsman is more than sufficient. They need to be able to design well in this day and age otherwise it could be non compliant with thermal requirements, planning regulations getting tighter, etc.. The days of you telling the draftsman what to draw because they don't know how to design are long gone. Experiance with projects comparable to yours is what is needed. Choose the one that suits your project rather than the piece of paper with their qualification written on it....See More
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