By Katherine Salant
You've decided the only way to get the house of your dreams is to hire an architect to design the house for you. But once you've made that decision, how do you find the right architect?
Designing a house may seem very straight forward, especially when compared to designing a technically complex building type like a hospital, but doing design well takes at least five years' experience in a practice that specializes in residential work.
Such a person and firm will have taken a design from a quick sketch to a finished house many times and will be familiar with the intricacies of local residential construction costs and residential building codes. Even more important, the architect will know qualified home-building contractors in your area.
Virtually no two architects work in exactly the same way or charge exactly the same fees, so be prepared to shop around and talk with several to find the one that's right for you. Get the names of at least three residential architects from friends or the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Don't hesitate to ask about fees during your first phone call to each candidate. You'll quickly learn how differently every architect calculates compensation. For residential work, many architects charge an hourly rate but will estimate their fee as a percentage of the total construction cost. The fees can vary anywhere from 5 to 15 percent, depending on the complexity of the design and the total cost of the project. Some firms will charge more than others for the same job.
Well-known prestigious firms generally charge more. Within a given market, the architects based in the outlying suburbs often charge less than those whose offices are located in the higher-rent central business district.
Some architects charge an hourly fee, but will cap it at a specified percentage of the estimated construction cost. For example, if your construction budget is $300,000 and the architect charges 15 percent, his or her fee would not exceed $45,000.
Your next question might be: "What does the architect do and why does it cost so much to hire one?"
The biggest part of the architect's traditional full-service package is not the creation of a design concept, but its elaboration (called design development) and the preparation of extremely detailed construction documents. These documents instruct a builder how to build what the architect has designed. They specify the materials to be used and form the basis for competitive bidding to get a firm construction price.
After the contract is awarded and construction has begun, the construction documents serve as an outside check on the builder's performance. The full-service architect also supervises the bidding process, helps the homeowners select a builder and monitors construction on your behalf. If you have a dispute with your builder, the architect acts as your advocate in resolving it.
In addition, an architect may spend many hours developing a design that is expressly tailored to both your needs and your building site. During the initial design phase, the architect is likely to meet with you frequently and explore different design options if you're not sure what you want. The architect also may build a scale model or painstakingly transfer the design to a CAD (computer-aided design) program that allows you to view a three-dimensional rendering of the design from many different vantage points.
The design development phase, when the initial concept is further refined and customized and the preparation of construction documents is completed, is even more labor intensive. Supervising the bidding, helping to select a builder and monitoring construction also demand time.
To keep the design fees down, some architects offer a limited contract rather than a full-service one. For example, the architect may carry the project through the bidding process, but won't monitor it during construction.
That may be a sensible course if your design tastes are simple. But if you want anything unusual, you're better served by having the architect on board for the entire project.
Back to that first phone call: Be sure to ask about liability insurance. Some architects don't have it because the premiums can be very expensive. But even the most experienced architects can make mistakes and you are engaging one to design a never-before-built-house, so you should make sure that your architect has both liability and errors-and-omissions coverage. In addition, ask whether all designs are routinely reviewed by a structural engineer, another safety check that protects both you and the architect.
The next step is meeting face-to-face. While you're talking, assess the personality mix. You will be working together closely for at least a year, so it's important that you get along. The architect who did a great job for your best friend or your neighbors down the street might not be the one for you.
Other points to consider are how interested the architect is in your project and how soon can he or she start? If the firm has a lot of work, will they be able to devote enough time to the kind of residential project you are contemplating?
When the portfolio of completed work is brought out, check it for both style and substance. Style-wise, does the architect seem versatile and comfortable with any number of styles? If you want Spanish Mission or Tudor and he's never done it, do you think he can? Is she trying to shoehorn you into a style she prefers rather than one you prefer?
Substance-wise, has the architect worked with a variety of site conditions? This factor is especially important if you're considering a site that has an odd shape, a steep slope or problematic soils. If you want something really unusual such as curving walls, steel post and beam construction, or walls made of straw bales, look for an architect with experience in that particular type of house.
If things still seem promising, go to look at several of the architect's completed jobs and talk with the owners. Although the architect may want to take you, the owners will be more candid if you go by yourself. Don't worry about intrusive questions -- most people are eager to talk about their home-building adventures and will be forthcoming on matters such as how well they got along with the architect, cost overruns and whether they felt what they paid was sufficient for what they received. Since the architect is supposed to resolve any disputes between the owners and the builder, ask how well the architect handled that aspect of the job.
Next, talk to the builders the architect has worked with, especially the ones who built the houses you saw. Ask each how many houses they've built with this architect. If they've done a number of jobs together and know each other's working style, there's less chance for miscommunication and errors.
Other builder questions: Were the architect's drawings and written specifications useful and informative, useless and confusing or somewhere in between? During construction, was the architect responsive to field questions? How often did the architect visit the site? How well did the architect handle client-builder disputes?
Once you've selected an architect, established a construction budget and are ready to go, don't lose sight of the three factors that constrain all projects, whether you use an architect or not: Budget, quality and quantity.
You can have any two of these, but not all three. If you want a 4,000-square-foot house and Brazilian cherry hardwood floors throughout, the budget must be very large. If you still want the cherry hardwood floors, but can only spend $100,000, be prepared for a very small house.
If you want a large house, but your budget is fixed at $100,000, you'll have to settle for builder-grade carpet and a base-grade sheet-vinyl flooring for the kitchen and bathrooms.
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