What is the difference between hiring a Contractor and an architect. I mean the contractor can give you a “design” and build-it too! Both Contractors and Architects have different strengths and training and together they can make a great team, if both recognise their strengths and weaknesses and work together.
Architects...
1. ...are trained and practice for many years in the art & science of design. Design is complicated. It’s a puzzle that you need to put together without having the picture as a guide. It is about balancing budget, site, regulations, needs, style, construction method, energy, future growth, structure, HVAC, and many more factors.
3. ...attended school for 5+ years to study “architecture” followed by 3 years of internship and exams. From ancient roman architecture to modern design, architects have a history of education backing them up to ensure your design is beautiful, proportioned properly, and styled with accuracy.
4. ... can be your best friend during construction. Having an architect involved in the construction phase of the project as well as design helps ensure that your vision is executed to your liking, without costly changes or unsightly mistakes. An architect puts construction knowledge on your side and allows you to be confident about construction quality.
5. ...are trained in energy efficiency, sustainable design. They are also trained to design to reduce energy costs both with equipment, and with good design, like improved R-values in the wall, or taking advantage of free heating from the sun, or integrating green technologies like geothermal.
6. ...are trained and most practice design to improve the quality of spaces, with lots of natural light, good views, and comfortable sizes. Many are also trained in sustainable design (like myself) to reduce energy and water use.
7. ...are trained to think about everything, and I mean everything! From every screw to every paint colour, to how big your family might get! Planning all the details ahead of time with the architect keeps unsightly mistakes like bulkheads to a minimum. It's much cheaper to plan on paper than with real building materials!
8. ...can give you an hourly or fixed fee based on your budget rather than percentage of construction cost. A good architect will design within that budget so you are happy. With no mark-up based on the cost of your house, they can design what is best for you, not what makes them the most money.
9...has worked with many contractors on many sites, and many clients. This diversity allows them to bring creative solutions to the project and work with the contractor to expand his vocabulary.
10...work to make your project special to you. Architects always dig to discover who you are and what is special to you. These become diving factors in your project. Whether you have a special property with views to take advantage of or you want a net-zero energy house, they will work to make your project absolutely unique to you.
Contractors...
1. ...are trained and practice for many years on constructing buildings. Note that constructing is different than designing. Construction is about putting all the building pieces together from foundations to trusses. They know every kind of screw you can buy, the best tool for the job. When the architect and Contractor work together from the drawing stage, they detail and design something that is easily built, and can be achieved within your budgets.
2...contractors are very efficient at doing what they have already built before. They learn a certain style of construction and they can execute it quickly over-and-over. Each project with minor tweaks, but overall very similar. I often walk into barns and know exactly who built/designed it because of the style of construction. This is an advantage and disadvantage. The architect can work with the Contractor to design a unique project for you, not just like the last house they built with a few tweaks.
5. ...Contractors are aware of the newest construction techniques out there, the costs, and can more accurately ensure the project comes in at your budget for your needs. Working closely with the architect, they can give you good design within your budget!
6. ...the bigger and more expensive your house the higher the mark-up/profit for them. The contractor takes a mark-up (5-10%) on every item that gets installed in your house. Not that I’m saying all contractors would do so, but there are instances. Having an architect around can keep your Contractor honest with you.
7. ...drawings are not free, despite the contractor’s ability to give you a “free design”, they have built the drawings costs into their overhead and the mark-ups on your project. They say you get what you pay for. Therefore you are paying for drawings regardless of whether a trained architect or a builder from a contractor prepares your design. Or even better both!
8. ...are great at co-ordinating an efficient construction process. The contractor has connections to trades, and previous experience makes him a great manager of the construction process, co-ordinating plumbing at the right time, and making things happen quickly and efficiently. And it doesn’t hurt to have two brains (the architect and the contractor) coordinating the construction as it is a massive undertaking with millions of details to co-ordinate!
As you can see the architect and the contractor are trained and excel at different aspects on the design & construction process. Use them well and appropriately and you can have that much better of a project!