Expert: Nazim Nice - 7/12/2011

Question
Hello Nazim,
My home is currently an early 1950's ranch located in Boston, Ma.  I would like to expand it by building a second floor.  I am considering a gambrel style roof - resulting in a dutch colonial.

I have talked with an architect however my budget is an issue and the deciding factor towards this project.  The architect has proposed a rough sketch drawing for a nominal fee to solicit some general estimates from builders before committing to full fledged construction documents.  This does make sense, but I hate to spend a fee for the sole purpose of soliciting "ball park" estimates and then having to pay for blueprints additionally.

This project is pretty straightforward (the architect has admitted himself), so I am now considering a designer (design/build professional).  

My first question:  is the rough sketch for a nominal fee usual practice in the architectural process?  Do you agree it would be a good first step?   And secondly, for this type of project do you think I would be just as well off going with a designer for a substantial lower cost of blueprints?

Thank you in advance for you help,
Dave

Answer
Hi Dave,

Re: the rough sketch for a nominal fee, yes that is somewhat typical. We would actually start by measuring your existing house, drawing that 'as built condition' and then start design and usually come up with multiple options. After we've agreed on one design then we start working with contractors to get initial estimates. It sounds like he is doing less work than this, but I do always think it is best to meet with contractors and have something to show them, so at least when you are comparing contractor estimates you know that all the contractors are visualizing the same thing.

Regarding working with a 'designer' versus an architect, that depends on how good each of them are. I do know that many projects we've done that are introduced to us by the owner as 'simple' turn out not to be. I also know that when owner's suggest an idea of what they want, I usually come up with something better that they like more. In the end, I think even though a good architect will likely cost more than a designer, you may end up with a better end product, and therefore that should make the home more desirable. Those are the kinds of homes that either sell for more money or they sell quicker than other homes.

Also keep in mind with the design/build setup, they may sell you on lower up front costs, but then they just include them in the 'build' portion of the project as higher markup. In the end you may not being paying any less, and you may not have the ability to shop around for general contractors.

Nazim Nice
Principal / Architect
http://www.motion-space.com
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