Wow! The dream client who values the services of professionals.

Your top three on your design team should be architecture, landscape and interiors. Ideally all three should be on the team at the pre design stage. In residential construction HVAC design is usually done by the HVAC contractor though it's really nice to have engineering. Electrical and lighting is usually done by the architect along with a lot of input from the interior designer. Here again having a specialist is awesome.

I usually design the first pass at the kitchen then it goes to kitchen designers for fine tuning.

Engineers you will need are: surveyor, soils engineer and structural engineer. Check your local code for whether or not you will need an energy consultant.

Also, bring your builder in early in the process to get budget feedback.

Good luck with your project!

Floral designer?

Floral, of course! How could I have possibly forgotten her???

Wow! The dream client who values the services of professionals.

:-D

Thanks. *blush*

You hang out long enough on these forums, and you learn there's a *ton* of truth to, "You don't know what you don't know." I like to minimize regret due to my own ignorance, that's all, lol.

Your top three on your design team should be architecture, landscape and
interiors. Ideally all three should be on the team at the pre design
stage.

Okay, so I had already planned on having an architect and builder together during the design stage, so should I *also* have landscape and interior designers present, too? That seems like a bit of a logistical nightmare to get all of these folks together at the same time, but again, it may just seem this way to me because it's not widely known/talked about (even on the forum here).

ODD, are you starting to plan your custom build soon?

A good HVAC installer / person will probably want to design their own system and use the Manual J calculations that they run - you could, however, work with an energy consultant to get that done independently and provide that to the HVAC. The "weirder" you are, the more you need help.

If your build / construction methodologies / style is fairly straightforward, you'll need fewer professionals and to be honest, sometimes it's simply too many cooks.

We have an energy rater / consultant, a solar person, an HVAC installer, and electrician, and an electrical engineer, oh - and a backup generator installer.

No one knows the whole picture. At least the electrician says he'll "install whatever the engineer draws" and knows / trusts his limitations. HVAC not quite that easy - we don't have our blower door test done, and I haven't seen the Manual J - so I am suspect about the current HVAC system design and will have to push them to "show me". Add in an engineer husband with the internet, and it's a volatile mix.

We'd also relied on our architect to do some interior design elements, and just did an IKEA kitchen designer, and then tweaked here on Houzz. Again - sometimes it's too many cooks, and esp in the design area, they all may not have a cohesive vision.

ODD, are you starting to plan your custom build soon?

My list of local architects is compiled, I just need to organize/prioritize it, and start making first contact.

My wants (multi-generational family mini-village of up to 5-6 separate structures) are non-mainstream, so it may take awhile before I can even find suitable land. I have no idea how long this will take, so "soon" has to be fairly flexible. ;-) I am under no illusions that this can/should be done in less than 2-4 years.

If your build / construction methodologies / style is fairly straightforward, you'll need fewer professionals and to be honest, sometimes it's simply too many cooks.

Hmmm.... Kinda afraid of that. Perhaps this is why I hear more about interior designers and landscape architects being called in after everything's already done, lol.

Low Voltage/Technology Designer to plan the audio, video, alarm, security cameras and other home automation needs.

The above mentioned design team represents an ideal scenario that rarely happens.

When all the team members work together it's great. When the team members understand their role and do their best for the client it's more like the kitchen in a gourmet restaurant than "too many cooks". I personally like having interior design and landscaping involved to some degree early on so they can understand and be involved in the genesis of the design. They can also offer great ideas that help coordinate all the aspects of the design to create a cohesive vision.

I like working with energy consultants. They can add valuable insight into where to spend your dollars on energy efficiency. It's not always obvious.

Absolutely use an energy consultant. They’ll design and size your system correctly. We’re using a firm out of GA and reasonable. Our house is 3,000 square ft and it’s under $1K. It’ll be well worth it, think comfort and reasonable bills.

we are custom building right now and also needed a Hydrology and Grading/Drainage Plan...we joke that everything is $4k and 3 weeks...

Nuclear soil compaction tester.... the guy can't work on the weekends unless he has HAZMAT support and he has a special phone number just in case he loses the tester. He also gets tested for radiation once a month... yup - paid him - probably $4K - that sounds about right.

Structural Engineer

Soils Engineer

Surveyor

I think you forgot the General Contractor :-)

Or are you GCing this yourself?

I would imagine a good Architect can assume several roles that you mentioned. This is just my opinion and it is from my own personal experience - Architects are worth their weight in gold. Hiring a architect isn't a decision to take lightly. This person that you are going to hire is going to be the brains behind your project. He/She will be an invaluable problem solver and will be responsible to keep your project on track. The architect will also help you hire other people you mentioned also project manage the entire thing. So, hire a good Architect first and then worry about the rest later.

our custom build process:

first we had the land surveyed (property lines, etc) then we hired our architect ..soon after we hired our designer to review the plans for any changes, input, etc..from there our plans went to the structural engineer..and in the meantime we got a soil test , and a drainage/grading plan....then we had 3 GC’s bid for the job (all on recommendation from our architect and referrals)..you want to make sure you build a team of professionals that all work well together..i don’t think you will want too many cooks in the kitchen..at least in our case, we will pretty much be married to these three for the next 14 months!!

in order for plans to go to the city, the architect put in a landscaping plan..a landscaping architect doesn’t need to be involved from the beginning—i mean, your yard space is your yard space—that can be figured out later—it all adds up..fast!!!

our designer is all inclusive so she will work with us on our lighting plan, landscaping if we want, etc..

what we have found out is that there are a lot of costs up front..by the time the architect, engineers, city permits, demo permit, designer retainer fees, GC retainer etc..we were already 80k or so in before we knew it! lol and that doesn’t include the land or the custom build or actual designer fees and gc fees too!!

When you use the term "designer", do you mean interior designer?

"Architects are worth their weight in gold."

That's puts me at about $5,774,720.

I think you forgot the General Contractor :-)

Nope, lol. Didn't forget the GC -- I don't plan on relying on the GC for any design work. Consultation *during* the design (for construction costs), yes, but actual *design/aesthetic* input, no.

And for those who specifically mentioned an Energy Dude, thank you, I hadn't considered that yet.

If you have a special property other than a flat pancake suburban lot, the initial site visit of the architect should also involve a landscape designer in order to take advantage of a global site plan mentality. You want the massing, vistas, and connections roughly figured out before the structures themselves start to take shape.

Then the landscape architect doesn’t likely need to be involved again until the later stages. But such an ambitious project likely needs a master plan for the development of the property that can be accomplished in stages, with minimal backtracking. Think planned urban community with green space more than a typical home. That’s the value of the big picture there.

During the actual design phase of the buildings, the ID should be periodically involved at milestones before moving forward. Which milestones will be dependent on any special features or any deviation from “traditional” that needs to happen. The KD should give input about half way through, just in case there are any deal breakers being created. (Like you must have an island cooktop, but are doing a bedroom directly above, etc,)

A good architect should give thought to the mechanical spaces and chases needed to allow hvac and plumbing to function properly. If it’s a minimalist structure, lots of glass, or otherwise more complex than average, a consult during design is warranted. But they dont need a seat at the Justice League table.

A lot rests on the shoulders of finding the right architect. The right person will know when she needs to call the soils engineer lifeline for instance, and she doesn’t mind asking for assistance when needed. They should already have good contacts that can help to fill in when their knowledge base is light in an area without you having to source everyone yourself.

Unless you have an architect that you love/want and is a sole practitioner and has no connections, I'd go a different route.

I work at a small architectural company and when we have a client like you, we provide info on the many consultants that can be used and help the client select a team that is a good fit.

Just be careful, you do not want a team that can't work together (for whatever reason). It could happen that you have a team of many lose wheels running in different directions.

Most folks are quite content to engage an architect and maybe an interior designer early in the process. Everything else is relegated to competitive bidding, right? All other "professionals" are subordinate to the architect, aren't they?

I suggest you think about choosing and involving various professionals in rank order equal to the percentage of overall project costs their specialty will manage. Design and interior design = 10% +/- Landscape and hardscape = 5% +/- Builder = 80% +/- all others 5% +/-

So, involving the builder who--along with his/her trade partners will be responsible for 80% +/- of project costs-- early in the design process might be a good idea. Alternatively, you could "enjoy" the surprise that occurs when the reality of construction costs comes face-to-face with the design you and your architect have had so much fun coming up with.

Actually, depending on the skill and experience of the architect, the architect may be able to fill a number of these requirements. As others have said, it all depends on the specific architect and the scope of her/his practice.

Charles raises a good point: having an experienced and compatible builder as part of the early team may also be a good idea for cost control.