Whether you’ve been considering updating your kitchen and bathrooms, adding on a sunroom and new deck, or building a two-story addition, all major home remodeling projects benefit from the expertise of a licensed architect.
Talk with almost anyone who’s ever tried to do a construction project without pro help, and you’ll likely hear one statement over and over again: “I wished I had hired a designer.” Even in smaller projects, like a one-room remodel, once you open up those walls, situations arise for which only an experienced professional can apply his or her creative problem solving to save time and money.
Why Hire a Designer?
You’ll save time. You may not know how structural choices can impact the installation of the mechanical system. Or about options for new materials or technologies that might be cheaper, better or more appropriate than what you are familiar with. Figuring those things out takes time, and lots of it. A skilled professional will have this information at the ready for you.
Plus, with advances in technology, new building envelope techniques are coming on the market with increasing frequency, and new, tougher energy-efficiency requirements are transforming how walls are constructed and bringing an end to many traditional building practices. So it’s more crucial than ever to have someone on your team who understands how your building assembly meets current building code requirements.
A well-informed designer with up-to-date knowledge of building science can get building projects through with the minimum number of revisions. Since each revision takes time to be completed, having fewer revisions will allow you to get your permit faster. Low-quality or incomplete documents can delay your construction. Hiring a designer will help ensure that your project meets relevant codes so it can progress smoothly through your municipality’s process.
These codes are typically complex texts that are difficult for those outside the building industry to understand. When designers submit drawings to the building authority, a plans examiner reviews them and issues a revision notice to address any variances from the current codes and construction standards.
This could save you many sleepless nights and potentially weeks on your project trying to determine what is needed to satisfy the code requirements.
Seeing Your Dreams Come to Fruition—A licensed residential architect has the training and expertise to translate your wants and needs into a detailed design scaled to proper proportions. Years of experience provide architects with the skill and foresight to not only see the big picture, but also all of the steps to get there. He/she will discuss and evaluate aspects of your lifestyle that impact your home design—for example, your desire for privacy, plans for family, traffic flow, entertaining needs, and your hobbies and interests. In addition to your immediate requirements, an architect will consider your expectations concerning future uses of your home.
You’ll get their expertise and understanding of the overall construction process. The basic function of a designer is interpreting your needs and coming up with a professional plan for any building project. Although you may hire him or her only for this task, the designer will also provide a wide variety of other resources to make sure the whole building process goes off without a hitch.
Depending on your needs and budget, a designer / architect can guide you through the relevant building application process, research planning legislation, assist in the hiring of surveyors and general contractors, recommend subcontractors and manage the construction phase of a project on your behalf to ensure that building plans are accurately followed.
Trying to do this yourself would mean hours and hours of research and potential delays.
You’ll get their design sense and attention to detail. A designer translates your needs to functional spaces but also makes them beautiful. Good designers are consummate three-dimensional thinkers and can use their abilities to find special opportunities in a design that might not easily be understood in two-dimensional drawings. Additionally, they are always keeping up-to-date on trends in local and international design.
If you want a space that has lasting appeal and adds to the value of your investment, you need to hire a designer. They have the skills to include the features that will maximize your house, while making sure your project runs smoothly.
You’ll get access to other skilled pros. Being in the design business means meeting lots of other pros who also work on residential projects. From structural engineers to painters, your designer probably has quite the network of skilled contractors who can get the job done within the given budget.
And, again, the point here is that the additional cost for a quality design team can mean savings in the long run. I think one of the contractors we are working with said it best with a quote at the bottom of the company letterhead, which reads, “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”
It is important to take the time to interview with several architects or engineers to guarantee your specific needs will be met. Each professional has their own design and style methods, so it’s important to find one that fits your own unique style needs. Interviewing will give you an opportunity to meet and source the right person for the design results of your project. Hiring a qualified team can help make the homeowner’s life easier as building is a long and complex process
