You need to light the fire under the architect.
Don't fire either one of them (esp the contractor). Did the contractor recommend this architect, or did you find them yourself?

The architect is legally liable for anything that isn't correct on the construction documents, unlike, say, a designer. If you just wanted a floorplan, a designer could have helped you with that. But, now that you have an educated architect with legal responsibilities due to their licensing,etc, it is going to take some time because they are going to want to be thorough.

Good luck.

You want to fire someone, fire yourself. You were the one who went into the project with incorrect expectations and an unrealistic timeline. Now, how to fix this.

First of all, exend the lease on your rental. The original timeline would never have been met even if you hadn't involved an architect. You'd have run into more problems than the contractor could see behind the walls. And, the architect should have been brought in at your walkthrough, not after you'd already been making plan. Better to start with the one ith the vision first, and who has to stamp the plans for you to get your permits.

Second, time for a threeway meeting to get everyone on the same page. You need to be able to express your ffustration with the process, and they need to get you to understand that this isn't HGTV. Real life rojects take longer and cost more. 5 months was always too ambitious for a complete second story rebuild. So, cry and scream in private if you must, but get over making that deadline. Ain't gonna happen. Not from anyone.

Fast, good, cheap. Pick two. All three is impossible.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, if I could fire myself, at this point I would. But IâÂÂm not sure how much more I could have done (I had the architect out at the house before we bid, as well, and he said the scope looked reasonable, âÂÂbut you never know until you open the walls upâ¦âÂÂ).

We donâÂÂt have options to move in later, so itâÂÂs not a matter of IF IâÂÂm screwed, but HOW screwed am I. IâÂÂm currently scaling back the project (the additional bathroom will likely get pushed off to the future). So itâÂÂs now a matter of dividing a bedroom and moving a bathroom. The crux of my frustration is the contractor is still telling me this should all be achievable if he can get some construction documents, but that in his opinion the architect is working extremely slowly. They have worked together in the past, and the contractor says this architect is always slow, but on this project he is slower than he has ever been. IâÂÂm gradually realizing they donâÂÂt like each other.

We are supposedly working on this in the âÂÂfast trackâ method; but the contractor is saying it is taking too long to get the âÂÂjust enoughâ plans to start work on the foundation level work.

I realize it may be impossible to estimate without more information, but if anyone has guidance as to how long it should take to produce initial construction plans for a project of this scope (once the layout schematics are agreed on) would be interesting - is it months or weeks?

Thanks for letting me vent.

You are not the problem. You are simply someone who hired professionals. If they are not advising you and managing the process, they are not doing their jobs.

"IâÂÂm gradually realizing they donâÂÂt like each other."

This stands out, imo. And while the architect may very well be slow, ? , I do not trust the motivations of your contractor, as there is a conflict of interest there. Is he your GC or just a bidder?

You were wise to bring in a design professional to get it "done right" rather than rely on a building contractor, someone with management and trade skills. They are not designers, as you have experienced. They are builders, vast difference.

And if they don't get along, make a choice. It will not get better. The outcome of your project is most important. Something you have to look out for.

You need to talk to the architect about the timeline.

Just a thought-I never, ever do business through e-mails. They are too easy to push aside and ignore. If you want to create a sense of urgency, use your phone or, even better, a personal visit.

Linda

Hold on a second. The architect says he needs the contractor to do some exploratory demolition so he can continue with the plans. You do not have a contract with the contractor. Why are you not following the direction of the architect and hiring the contractor to open up the walls?

It seems that you are causing the delay.

"architect ... has said the contractor needs to do some exploratory demolition before the architect can finish the schematics and move on to actual construction documents. The architect is slow to answer emails, and there just seems to be no sense of urgency."

hollysprings, why are you always so quick to blame homeowners for trusting the professionals who give them time and cost estimates that then turn out to be wrong?

You're constantly telling homeowners they don't know what they're doing and they need to hire professionals, and then when they do and trust said professionals' promises, you chide them for not knowing better.

Really? You can't have it both ways. If pros don't deliver what they promise, it's their fault, not the customer's.

Thanks for all the color. I actually hired the contractor a while back (I told him "you are hired") but we do not have a contract as yet. He says he is an old fashioned "handshake kind of guy". We shook hands. I realize I need to actually get a contract drawn up with him - I was hoping the architect could help me with that given we have brought the contractor in early in the design phase to speed things up, and it will be an unusual contract.

Last night I sent a very detailed, clearly frustrated email requesting all sorts of expected completion time information from the architect (when will various stages of planning be done and when can work begin etc).

Good news is, both were out at the house today, exploratory demo was done, and apparently they agree that things will not be as difficult as feared. We are back to the original timeline! They even thought maybe some of the other projects I had originally inquired about, but then abandoned when the timeline went crazy - maybe some of those can be reconsidered.

Spring is in the air...

"Just a thought-I never, ever do business through e-mails. They are too easy to push aside and ignore. If you want to create a sense of urgency, use your phone or, even better, a personal visit."

In this day and age, I really disagree with this.

A phone call or a personal visit can become a battle of "he says" vs. "she says", and neither might be 100% the truth.

A written letter of which there is no copy can be put aside, lost on purpose or destroyed.

An email remains in the senders sent file with a date that it is sent and I believe it can't be altered once sent without leaving evidence.

Call or make a personal visit but always have an electronic record even if it says "Per our personal conversion/per our phone conversation"