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bobbbieg

Choosing an architect for a cheap/expensive build

bobbbieg
9 years ago

Confused, so am I :)

The basics, building in the Pacific Northwest and while there are plenty of architecture firms locally, as I scroll through their portfolio of projects, I see beautiful (but very expensive homes). I understand that when most people are spending the extra dollars to do a custom home, many are willing to splurge on fat trim, custom built ins, and architectural details that really makes their homes uniquely theirs.

As for us, we want to splurge on things like ICF, great windows, green technology (we can argue ROI, if you want, but it's worth the money to me) and an ADA bathroom.

Do I pick architects who specialize in green building, do I assume that most architects can trim their plans to be cheaper to build and can/or do know about things like geothermal/mini splits (haven't decided between those two)?

Heck, do I only stick with local architects, or can most professionals figure out how to make sure the plans are local code compliant and that the design will be able to handle local climate and seismic issues?

If it matters, looking to build a 3 bed, 2 1/2 bath, plus office, oversize double garage and have an unfinished space all this for around the $400k mark (plus 20% contingency fund), with permits and design fees, but excluding land.

Haven't even began the process and am already lost, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Comments (14)

  • mushcreek
    9 years ago

    We're building the way you want to- modest house, with the money put into the things that count. Our small house is ICF, detailed air sealing, heavily insulated attic, good windows, careful siting and orientation, etc. I'm building the house myself, and designed it myself with a lot of help on this forum. That being said, our budget is less than 1/3 of yours.

    As for finding an architect- I have no idea. I would recommend asking the same question on greenbuildingtalk (dot) com. It's an excellent site to learn about green building and making good design choices.

    There is a pay-off beyond ROI. Our house is so easy to heat and cool with a couple small mini-splits. During our hot SC summer, a single 12K unit has no trouble keeping it cool and comfortable. With an ICF home and careful air sealing, the temperature is amazingly even and steady throughout the house.

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    BIG difference between semi-rural Southern location and all DIY and a super expensive area of the country and all paid labor. Night and day.

    Which is to say, you're not going to get anything any cheaper than the custom homes being built around you. In fact, yours will cost more per square foot for less fancy finishes because you want to put it into the invisible---but costly---bones. Take the usual cost of a local custom X 1.5 as a starting point for your budget. When local custom entry level builds start at 800K, 400K might get you less than half of what you're looking for spacewise with all of your wished for upgrades---and still pretty basic finishes.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    Go with an AIA architect as at least you will know s/he has proper credentials.

    Beyond that it's a matter of interviewing them to see who you can work with as you will be sharing your inner most secrets with them like how you like to sleep, details of bathrooming, etc. We selected an architect who was willing to work with us, our tastes, our timeframe and had the flexibility to accommodate our specific needs. He was not as well versed in going green and he certainly learned a lot by working with us. This meant that I did a lot of our own research in terms of materials and products. I found our solar installer, we worked directly with the guys who installed our geothermal, I researched and chose our insulation, etc. However, he and I were sympatico when it came to taste, style, design, and balance of form vs. function. (He didn't balk when I handed him a swatch of fabric and said, "this is my library.") He also was willing and able to balance design and budget to get the house we wanted. (A big factor for being green was building small, and so many of the architects simply couldn't or wouldn't do it. Our guy was a fan of Sarah Susanka and also had interior design in his background so was great at making the house work inside and out.

    So you are selecting someone for their knowledge, experience, taste, creativity, compatibility and cooperative nature to create what is probably your most expensive asset...so interview carefully, choose wisely.

  • Mistman
    9 years ago

    The PNW is relatively expensive to build. We did a custom 2400 sq with an unfinished walk out basement on land we owned. We did add a fair amount of custom finishes and paid attention to the efficiency of the space, not necessarily green but probably a touch beyond 'standard'. Just finished up last July (took 14 months), we were over $600k when all was said and done (and it really isn't done yet). There are a number of local architects and as you probably have found out some are geared toward green building (it is the PNW after all). For us the cost was a beyond what we were comfortable with so went with an independent arch. that had done a couple of my friends homes and just steered him toward our goal. If you go this way you will need to do some of upfront work to present him w/your criteria and the things that are important to you. We're fortunate around here that we don't experience the extreme weather that other parts of the country deal with so going green (efficient) comes at less of a premium than some other places.
    Good luck, hope it all works out the way you intend.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    I'd try to find a young hungry architect who needs a job like yours for his portfolio. This isn't plastic surgery.

  • amberm145_gw
    9 years ago

    I would like to point out that the homes with fancy trim and cabinetry make for fabulous website pictures. A guy might have great experience in green building, but that doesn't usually photograph well. So you really are going to have to talk to them.

    A piece of advice we were given when we bought our land was to not look for an architect, but to look for an architectural technologist. As a gross generalization, architects usually do office towers and shopping malls. The technologists do houses. When an architect does houses, they tend to be huge showpieces. As a result, not only are the technologists cheaper, but they are better with the details of houses seeing as it's their specialty, and they have a lot more experience with more modest houses. We ended up with an architect, because we found one that actually likes doing houses, and his price wasn't much more than an AT. I kind of regret hiring him, though, because he's so busy with his commercial buildings that we're an after thought. He tends to forget that we're trying to be economical here, and he spec's crazy things that people don't put in houses. Like 4' wide exterior doors. We went to get quotes, and found that we'd have to have all our doors custom made. We asked why the doors were so wide. Because DH made a comment that he wanted to ensure that we could get furniture in the house. So even the man door on the garage is 4' wide. There's also a 16' wide garage door into the same space.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    Amberm, that is not my understanding. Some architects do commercial some do residential, some do both. Ours did both. A technologist is trained in the technology of building design and often are employed by architectural firms. I would think they do more commercial where building costs can be much higher and technology more critical to design.

  • virgilcarter
    9 years ago

    Is "architectural technologist" a term common to Canada? It's not a term legally used in the U.S., where any use or variation of the term "architect" is limited by most state laws to a licensed architect.

  • amberm145_gw
    9 years ago

    Yes, it's a common term here. It's the name of the college program that these professionals graduate from. "Engineer" is also a title controlled by the provincial engineering body, but there are "engineering technologists" and "engineering technicians". I happen to hold an "electrical engineering technologist" diploma (but haven't worked in that industry for over 15 years). I can't legally call myself an electrical engineer, but I do have a background in engineering technology.

    "Draftsman" is the term more people are familiar with. But that tends to imply someone who just draws the blueprints and they are actually more skilled and experienced than that.

    Also, even though I hired an architect, I was still required to hire a separate structural engineer to design the footings and tall walls.

    Maybe it's not an option in your jurisdiction. But I'd look into it.

  • bobbbieg
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    MushCreek, as one of the few ICF builders on this forum, I've been following your posts, hope that doesn't sound too stalk'erish :)

    I like green building forums, though the posts tend to get very technical very quickly, but you're right I should post something there too, thanks for the tip.

    To everyone else, thank you very much for the posts, great information and I've already read what everyone has said, twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. As a long time lurker hopefully someone else will get some of their questions answered.

  • mushcreek
    9 years ago

    bobbieg- I correspond with a number of people building or contemplating ICF. Stalk away! If you have more specific questions I could talk about this stuff for hours- ask my long-suffering wife!

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    "We asked why the doors were so wide. Because DH made a comment that he wanted to ensure that we could get furniture in the house. So even the man door on the garage is 4' wide. There's also a 16' wide garage door into the same space."

    All college, no nalin'.

  • amberm145_gw
    9 years ago

    His dad is a builder. He was nailin' before he was college'n. He just took the comment too literally.

  • LE
    9 years ago

    There's a large area considered as Pacific NW, depending on who you ask. Building costs vary considerably, so it's hard to say anything about that without knowing where you are. An island with no ferry access? ($$$$) or rural Eastern OR (less so.) Labor is the big variable, isn't it-- materials seem expensive everywhere.

    Our architect has quite a few what I refer to as Trophy Houses on his web site. They are very photogenic. I know he does much more modest houses and remodels as well, but you wouldn't know that from the web site alone. He also doesn't emphasize green building on the web site, but knows a lot about it. So it's hard to judge suitability from web sites alone-- maybe just use them to decide who to talk to.

    We found hiring an architect was a great way for us to get the smaller house we wanted, but one that is not ordinary. It's thoughtfully designed, it's not just a large house with some rooms chopped off. And it could have been cheaper had we not decided not to scrimp on the materials we wanted.

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