Hiring architects and GCs

10 years ago

I have plans for kitchen/bath remodel drawn by my KD, which involves removing non-load bearing walls in my 1915 bungalow. More detailed drawings are needed for city permits. I've been talking to 3 GCs who have done work for neighbors:

GC #1: Gave me an estimate within my budget, seems good to work with. He referred me to an architect to do drawings as a next step.

GC #2: Walked through the KD plans and my house but wouldn't do an estimate without the structural drawings and referred me to his architect. He thought my budget sounded tight. He seems like the highest quality, though I'm worried he will be too expensive, and I won't know that until I get the drawings and he does the estimate.

GC #3: I'm waiting to get his estimate.

It seems like the next steps are deciding on a GC and getting drawings--does it matter what order I do it in? Are there any issues if I hire GC #1's preferred architect, but end up wanting to hire GC #2 or #3? I'm happy with the KD's design, so not anticipating needing the architect to do much more than drawings.

Featured Answer

Katrina Tate

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

How are the GC's giving you estimates based on these plans? Did they all visit the site? I ask because the KD plans have only a couple of measurements. I picked my GC first after interviewing like 15 GCs. My GC and architect did not know each other. I picked my architect based on a referral from an engineer friend.

Here are my architectural drawings. We are knocking down several non-load bearing walls. My renovation had to be filed with the department of buildings.

Demo

Renovated space

Electric plan

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Comments (7)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
10 years ago
Focus on vetting and hiring the best GC for you then follow their recommendations for architects.
Fori
10 years ago
It shouldn't matter which architect you use, and you'll get better estimates once you have drawings. Sometimes a GC will have a good relationship and work well with a particular architect which can be nice, but if everyone is professional any architect should be able to work with any GC. (But you have to LIVE with the GC so if yours has a preference, it might be good to go along with it.)

Are you sure you need an actual architect to do these drawings? It sounds like you might be able to get by with a less expensive source of drawings. If your city's permit office is helpful, ask them if an actual architect is required. This just doesn't seem like a job for one, and they are not inexpensive!
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caligirl5
Original Author
10 years ago
I did go to the permit office yesterday to ask about what is needed. They said my KD drawings are missing some necessary detail, but that anyone can do the drawings--it doesn't need to be an architect. Looking again at the referrals from the GCs, 1 is an architect and the other is some kind of designer.
User
10 years ago
You will get better, more accurate, quotes if you are pricing out the architectural drawings to the contractors instead of doing it in the reverse. All you are getting at this point are non binding guesstimates. Which are probably 20-30% low, as is fairly standard without detailed plans from which to bid.
caligirl5
Original Author
10 years ago
Could you guys give me some examples of what the architectural drawings include that affect the pricing? I know they would have the framing details, which the city needs--does the GC need those if they're not load bearing walls?

Below are some pages from the KD plans, to give you an idea of what I'm giving the GCs now. For materials, we talk about the bigger expenses in the meeting (cabinets, countertops, flooring). I realize there's other small stuff that can add up--my budget is $100K, so I feel like if the estimate is accurate for labor, framing, and the major materials, that would be close enough even if they underestimated the rest. I'm working on a spreadsheet for fixtures, lighting, etc.

Thanks in advance--not sure what I would do without all the advice on this forum!

There's an elevation like the one below for each wall. Also 3D visuals.
caligirl5
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for sharing! Yes, they all came to the house. The elevations have all the measurements, though I see they're not on the aerial view like in your architectural drawings. The aerial view is to scale, I just accidentally cropped the scale when I cropped out my name and the KD's to post here, oops :)