Builder or Architect- Who Comes First?

Would you like to save thousands on your new home renovation or extension?
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Stupid question, right?..........

Designing your dream renovation or home extension is an exciting time and is a huge task that involves a lot of different people’s involvement.
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A home renovation or a home extension will involve the following people ….number one, and most importantly you as the homeowner, it will also involve a builder, an architect or building designer, a building surveyor an engineer and an energy assessor and potentially a few other professionals and plenty of sub-contractors.
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As a builder we get approached by clients asking us all the time if we can come out for a site visit to give them a quote for their potential renovations works, they want completed.
This is a great initial step, however, what we always recommend to our clients is getting a builder and your designer, whether that is a building designer or an architect both involved from the get-go. At the same time!
 
Why?.........

Well, did you know 60%+ of architectural plans never make it to construction stage?
An architect or a building designer focuses on what a home will look like. The design. The problem is, they rarely factor in the costs. So, what you end up with is a design that can quickly become…

Very Expensive to Build

Think about it: architects are trained to be visionaries. They ‘live’ to create the ‘perfect house’. That’s what you pay them for. But they are not always focused on the practicalities of building -- how much extra time and money certain design elements may take.

And the reality is, they get paid for the design they create whether you end up using it or not.
So, getting a builder involved at the same time while the design is underway can help save plenty of money on the construction costs.

When the initial design stage is underway the builder can provide a rough ballpark figure of what the initial renovation or home extension design may cost.

 After all, a builder costs jobs every day and that is his job to do so. An architects or Designers estimate of the renovation or home extension cost is a very rough figure that is in most cases 20-40% out.

 After all they are a Designer and not an estimator or builder. A builder works on site building from plans every day too, so he understands the time and effort involved in certain design aspects.
 
Builders may not be the best at designing but they can certainly give ideas on cost savings on certain design elements.

I have come across this a lot on the previous renovations and home extension Distinct Renovations have done here in Perth.
 
Examples of design cost blow outs….

The designer wanted to put in a cavity sliding door for an ensuite extension which would have been great from a design perspective and created more room.  However, being that the external wall of the home leading in to the new ensuite extension was double brick, it would have been a much harder job!

Putting in a cavity slider door in was going to cost that client near on $1,000 more than a simple 720mm swing door. Now a few little design changes like that over a full home renovation and home extension could save you up to $10,000 or more.
 
Another example of a building designer adding more and more $$ to a renovation cost was a home extension we did in Mount Hawthorn, Perth.

The designer suggested putting in a huge corner window that overlooked a courtyard for the start of the new extension section of the home. This would have involved extra demo work of a double brick wall and significant glazing costs. Distinct Renovations suggested leaving the brick wall where is was and just using a large window on the other side of brick wall in the new part of home, overlooking the courtyard in place of the corner window that would be a window into the new and also overlooking the courtyard.
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This design change alone, saved the total renovation cost by $10,000! Also, the owners were happy in the end as they all agreed the window would have opened it up too much and would have created less privacy for the extra living space in the old part of the home where the corner window would have been.
 

Conclusion…

So… please seriously consider when and how you engage your builder and your building designer or architect. It could save you significant amounts of money and will allow you to get more of those must have items in your home renovation like that dreamy pendant light you love or the entertainers bi-fold servery window!
 
Discussing budget with your builder may be a touchy subject and one you may shy away from but understand this- a professional builder will be on your side when working in with your budget.
 
At Distinct Renovations we are happy to provide rough ballpark figures at initial design stage to better help you make decisions. We help you to get all the preliminary tasks done by way of a preliminary agreements which entails a cost to you.
 
However, in exchange for that fee you will have all tasks completed along with a full itemised fixed price quote, constructions schedule and all your tasks done and ready for lodging at council for your build permit.
 
We like to hold your hand and take the stress out of building.
 
At the same time, we remain a third party to all professional we use so that your plans engineering, and all other construction documents are all your property and not ours.
 
If you are thinking of renovating and want to know more feel free to contact us, we are happy to help!