Houses and businesses can become outdated over time and need a refresh. When your exterior looks tired or your kitchen just doesn’t cut it anymore, it might be time to hire an architect.
You can hire an architect at the beginning of a building project to create the plans and get it off the ground. Or you can hire one to help improve the structure of your building. Either way, it’s important to hire an architect that you can trust. If you’re starting work on a building here are five things to consider when hiring an architect.
1. Type of Project
Before you go out and hire the top architecture firm in your area, take a minute to look at your project. You want to ensure you hire the right type of architect for your project.
You may be able to complete your project with an architectural designer if it is a smaller scale. If it’s a larger project with many intricacies, you’ll want to hire a full-fledged architect. The difference between an architect and an architectural designer is a license.
Architects have licenses and many years of experience under their belt. You may also need to hire an architect due to the rules in your area. For certain projects, a licensed architect is required by the town or state. So take a look at your needs, do a little research, and then decide what type of architect you need to hire.
2. Hiring an Architect Firm
Many architects work as part of larger architecture firms. Working with a firm comes with the benefits of having more people in-house that can help on your project. If you need a building team, an architectural firm may have an in-house team they use for all of their projects.
You can also hire an independent architect to help advise you on projects. This just means you may have to outsource your builders, contractors, and materials. Most architects work with firms, so you will more likely end up working with a firm.
3. Interviewing Your Architect
Before hiring an architect to work on your home, you should have a ton of questions to ask. Don’t be worried about interviewing for the right architect. You and this person will be working closely on bringing your vision to life. So you want to make sure that the relationship works well. Besides just getting your questions answered, interviewing an architect will help you see if you will work with them well. Working on a building project is stressful enough. You don’t want to but heads with your architect too.
4. Commonly Asked Architect Questions
When you interview your architect or simply talk to them about your project, there are some common questions you should ask them. These questions will help reveal how much experience your architect has and if they are the right fit for the project. Consider asking your architect the following questions:
- What experience do you have with projects like mine?
This question should drum up some great examples of your architect’s past work. When you see their portfolio and past projects, you’ll know if they’ll be able to create your vision.
- What is the estimated timeline for this project?
A great architect will be able to create a possible timeline for your project. They should also be able to explain their process and why a timeline may be the length it is. You don’t want to hire an architect that keeps pushing your timeline back. Not only is that frustrating but it can end up costing you more money.
- What challenges or issues do you see?
You want your architect to be real with you about your project. A good architect will lay out any problems they may see in your project, and offer you solutions or suggestions to fix them.
There are so many other questions you can ask your architect, you can find more in this comprehensive guide for finding an architect.
5. Project Costs
One of your biggest questions when speaking to a potential architect should be how they charge for the project. There are a couple of different ways architects can charge for a job.
These include taking a percentage of the total budget of the project. This can range anywhere from 5-20%.
An architect will also charge fees. Some fees are fixed at the beginning of the project. Other architects will charge a fixed fee per hour during the project.
This fee can differ if you work with a firm with multiple people, they may all charge different rates. Overall you want to make sure you are finding someone that can work with you and your budget without breaking the bank.
Conclusion
Hiring an architect can be a big undertaking. But it’s important to find the good people to work with you on your building projects. After asking all of the right questions, you should feel confident working with your architect to make your building dreams come true.
