ᐅ Is it beneficial to work with an architect together with a general contractor?
Created on: 8 Oct 2015 09:24
D
DerBjoern
This is how we proceeded. A friend who is an architect designed the house for us. Since she was unable to work for us due to her employment situation, we took the plans to various general contractors (GCs) and requested quotes for turnkey construction, including the planning services. In our case, the architect’s design was only used to obtain comparable offers from the GCs.
Hello!
A similar question has been asked before, so my answer will be similar to the one I gave some time ago.
I think the approach of taking an architect’s design to different general contractors is ideal; we did the same (We also have a construction blog: Google search: Baublog Budenheim).
Only if you go to the construction companies with the same architectural plans and detailed specifications for features can you get comparable offers.
Ideally, you have already specified as much as possible and included it in your price comparison: heating (gas, geothermal, solar thermal, photovoltaic, active/passive cooling), ventilation (central, decentralized, with/without heat recovery, automatic bypass control), stairs (open/closed, wood/concrete), sliding doors, windows (RC-2 security rating, French balconies, transoms, frame color), front door (automatic locking, motorized lock, fingerprint), shading options (electric shutters, blinds, Somfy), entrance canopy, terrace finish (paving, Bangkirai wood), parking spaces, floor and wall coverings (tiles, parquet, vinyl, wallpaper, paint fleece), electrical (number of outlets, e.g. 80 pieces), outdoor facilities (entrance stairs, driveway, carport, garage, bicycle and garden sheds), additional features (laundry chute, cistern),…
This also includes the ancillary construction costs that must be factored into the offer comparison (architect fees, structural engineering, soil survey, earthworks, construction power/water, construction waste disposal, utility connections, surveying, energy certificate, …).
All construction companies should be able to meet such detailed specifications as I have listed.
If you want to decide beyond that which building methods are used (which type of masonry? Which insulation? Ventilation system above or within concrete slab?) and which manufacturers and brands are employed (basement company, heating, ventilation, windows, front door, …), you need to build with an architect and individual contracts, because the general contractor will not deviate from certain tested and proven concepts.
On the other hand: if everything comes from a single source, the advantage is that one company alone bears the responsibility and can be held accountable if necessary. It won’t happen that the responsibility for construction delays or other issues gets shifted from one company to another. If you also have an external building inspector involved (who can advise you in choosing the construction company), you are very well protected.
Good luck and all the best with your build!
A similar question has been asked before, so my answer will be similar to the one I gave some time ago.
I think the approach of taking an architect’s design to different general contractors is ideal; we did the same (We also have a construction blog: Google search: Baublog Budenheim).
Only if you go to the construction companies with the same architectural plans and detailed specifications for features can you get comparable offers.
Ideally, you have already specified as much as possible and included it in your price comparison: heating (gas, geothermal, solar thermal, photovoltaic, active/passive cooling), ventilation (central, decentralized, with/without heat recovery, automatic bypass control), stairs (open/closed, wood/concrete), sliding doors, windows (RC-2 security rating, French balconies, transoms, frame color), front door (automatic locking, motorized lock, fingerprint), shading options (electric shutters, blinds, Somfy), entrance canopy, terrace finish (paving, Bangkirai wood), parking spaces, floor and wall coverings (tiles, parquet, vinyl, wallpaper, paint fleece), electrical (number of outlets, e.g. 80 pieces), outdoor facilities (entrance stairs, driveway, carport, garage, bicycle and garden sheds), additional features (laundry chute, cistern),…
This also includes the ancillary construction costs that must be factored into the offer comparison (architect fees, structural engineering, soil survey, earthworks, construction power/water, construction waste disposal, utility connections, surveying, energy certificate, …).
All construction companies should be able to meet such detailed specifications as I have listed.
If you want to decide beyond that which building methods are used (which type of masonry? Which insulation? Ventilation system above or within concrete slab?) and which manufacturers and brands are employed (basement company, heating, ventilation, windows, front door, …), you need to build with an architect and individual contracts, because the general contractor will not deviate from certain tested and proven concepts.
On the other hand: if everything comes from a single source, the advantage is that one company alone bears the responsibility and can be held accountable if necessary. It won’t happen that the responsibility for construction delays or other issues gets shifted from one company to another. If you also have an external building inspector involved (who can advise you in choosing the construction company), you are very well protected.
Good luck and all the best with your build!
Bauexperte schrieb:
Strictly speaking, you are not allowed to reuse the floor plan without the consent of the architect who created the design. It is protected by copyright! Where did my post go? Was that one link too many again? In any case, the bottom line is that a certain level of creative originality is required for a floor plan to be protected. This level of creativity is usually not reached with standard catalog floor plans. It is a different matter when an architect designs a house specifically adapted to unique conditions, e.g. for a single plot (split-level; integrated pool with waterfall, cantilevered, floating levels with optimal orientation to point xy, courtyard, etc.).
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Bauexperte18 Nov 2015 11:34Grym schrieb:
Where did my post go? Was it yet another link too many? You have really been around here long enough – didn’t Yvonne remind you about this recently? Just leave links out of your posts; it works fine like this, as you’ve done now. 😉
Grym schrieb:
The bottom line is that a floor plan needs a certain level of creative originality to be eligible for protection. This level of creativity is usually not met by standard catalog floor plans. It’s a different matter when an architect designs a house specifically adapted to individual site requirements (split-level; integrated pool with waterfall, cantilevered floating levels optimized to a specific point, courtyard, etc.). That’s correct; no one can reinvent the wheel, although no design is ever identical to the previous one.
*I* find it borderline; even in so-called standard designs, you can often tell which provider’s “signature” is behind the architecture. On top of that, the original poster actually wanted to have an architect design the house, but instead adapted a design by a third party.
Regards, Bauexperte
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