The Design
What's In a Design? More Than You Can Imagine
After you figure out your rough budget parameters, the next thing you have
to decide is who's going to design the home. Will it be an architect, a custom
design/builder, or did you just happened to find the perfect plan in one
of the many home plan books? Many first time custom home customers think
they need to have an architect to design a home. In Kentucky a large
portion of the successful home projects are done by "non-architect" designers
in design/build firms. Generally it is a combination of all of the above,
but before pencil ever meets paper, (or mouse runs across the mouse pad)
you and the designer must agree on the home's size, the general specification,
and the overall budget for the structure and finishing items. All too often
people come to a homebuilder with a completed set of plans that were done
without any professional value engineering only to discover during this first
meeting that the design significantly exceeds their budget. It is not fun
to find out that the great plan you've put your heart, soul, time, and money
into can't be built. Making a last minute compromise like "we'll just
finish the basement late" doesn't fix a $300,000 problem.
Value engineering from the beginning
is a critical part of a successful project. Steer clear
of the "while
we are at it" impulse, or before you know it, that
extra bedroom, the larger kitchen with additional appliances,
or that steam shower in the master bath will put you way
over budget. No matter who you choose to design your home,
make sure the design team has the skills to manage your
expectations and keep you focused on the bottom line. If
you don't have or care about a budget, you are in a very
small minority. If, however, the budget is important, then
it is a good idea to include the budget in the design agreement.
If your designer will not commit to designing within your
budget, you might want to find someone else.
Many designers still make their drawings by hand, but
modern technology enables plans to be drawn on the computer.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) is not only more accurate,
but changes are a lot less painful to make with a mouse
than with an eraser, thus saving you time and money.
And remember, even though this design process is a series
of compromises, it is best to make them at the beginning
of the design and specification process not at the end,
where you may have to start over to meet budget constraints.
Dream Team: What to Expect from the Designer
Make sure you pick a designer that brings your vision,
not theirs, to life. Your designer should be able to
produce a home design that can be understood by the builder
and within the agreed upon budget. Be prepared to pay
$20,000 - $40,000 for "from-scratch plans" from
an architectural firm. An especially unique and complicated
home can cost much more. Some architects want as much
as 5% of the overall construction costs for a complete
set of plans. A design/building firm can many times do
it for less because their profit center is in building
the home and not in the design.
Many homeowners only want to initially
pay for very preliminary, very sketchy plans, and yet
want their builders to nail
down an accurate cost number. This is an understandable
position because who wants to finalize the plans until
the cost us known. This is a true "catch-22".
You cannot get accurate numbers without accurate plans
and (as a minimum) preliminary specifications. And, as
discussed before, you don't want to get days into designing
a home without cost parameters. "Garbage in - garbage
out". It is wise to get preliminary ballpark numbers
from a builder early in the design process but the numbers
will be as accurate as the plans and specifications provided.
Once a home size has been agreed
upon (see Budget and What is Cost per square foot) the
Owner should be prepared
to pay for enough preliminary plans and specifications
to give an estimator something to work with. A good set
of preliminary plans should be to scale (maybe 1/8" =
1') and show the first and second floor in reasonable detail.
The basement should also be included if the Owner intends
to finish it in the initial construction. A front elevation
is critical and views of the other three sides will be
needed to get any kind of a meaningful bid. In all the
preliminary plans, the designer should footnote what finishes
go where. Notes like "hardwood," "carpet," "tile," "brick," "stone," etc
are very helpful. Preliminary bids will vary with builders
but don't expect accuracy much greater than 10% or 20%
unless your preliminary plans and specifications are exceptional.
back
