Question on House Construction - Inital Stage

[maheshv]

Hello,

We are in preliminary stage of planning and looking for some input from both experts and people who have already gone through the process of building their own home.
Some of the questions might sound stupid as this is a new domain to me, please excuse.

Site is located in BBMP limits. Plan is to build Stilt+G+2 on 30x40 site. Information that I am looking for,

1) Is Architect service is required or can I go with civil engineer. If I go for Architect what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Say I go for either Civil Eng or Architect, my next questions are,

2) Did you tell him your need and he came up with floor plan or you had a plan in mind and with assistance from him you finalized it?
3) Is he expected to provide structural engineering service (either directly or through his contacts) as part of the job?
4) There must have been two plans 1) for approval 2) actual construction. Did he gave both plans to you?
5) What service I should expect from him (like site visit during construction, material quality check, checking accuracy of costs billed by contractor etc.,)
6) What was the fee? Is it based on %age of building cost or fixed fee
7) Is there a legal contract that you sign with him for the work promised and fee to be paid?

Any other information that you would like to share which might help me and rest of the forum users on this topic

[OldWorldCharm]

Hi Mahesh,

I too am in the planning phase of my house construction and have met a few architects in this regard. My comments inline -

1) Is Architect service is required or can I go with civil engineer. If I go for Architect what are the advantages and disadvantages?
=> You can always go for a civil engineer if he is known to you from long and you have credible information on his past records. However, in my humble opinion, it's best to opt for an architect's services since there are many aspects that an engineer/contractor may take for granted or give less imprtance to and those could prove costly later. One of my friends had this experience when the stairs to the first floor landed up a bit short than they should have (No architect was involved in the project) and the top of the turn at the stairs was low to an extent that tall people had to bend and go!!

2) Did you tell him your need and he came up with floor plan or you had a plan in mind and with assistance from him you finalized it?
=> You need to explain your needs (not necessarily a floor plan). It's best to let them know what you are looking for in each floor and leave the rest to them. Choose from the designs that he/she proposes.

3) Is he expected to provide structural engineering service (either directly or through his contacts) as part of the job?
=> Yes, most of the architects have a tie up with structural folks and involve them during construction. The fee is part of architect's paycheck.

4) There must have been two plans 1) for approval 2) actual construction. Did he gave both plans to you?
=> Two architect told me that they will only give working plan. The approval plan we have to get done ourselves from someone else. But one of them was ready to give both. So no set rules here.

5) What service I should expect from him (like site visit during construction, material quality check, checking accuracy of costs billed by contractor etc.,)
=> All of the above

6) What was the fee? Is it based on %age of building cost or fixed fee
=> It's usually a percentage of the total construction cost (civil construction). It ranges from 4% to 6% usually. This is, if they are involved end to end. Else, just for design, they charge a fixed amount or 1 to 2% of the total cost.

7) Is there a legal contract that you sign with him for the work promised and fee to be paid?
=> Even I am not sure about this. There is an agreement yes, but not sure if it is legally bound. Other members may comment on this.

Regards.

[nagarjunkatta]

Hi Guys,

Do you really get the plan approval for Stilt+G+2 on a 30*40 site? Please clarify

[maheshv]

thansk a ton @OldWorldCharm!

7) Is there a legal contract that you sign with him for the work promised and fee to be paid?
=> Even I am not sure about this. There is an agreement yes, but not sure if it is legally bound. Other members may comment on this.

For this question, i got answer from another source, yes we can go for legal contract between the two parties

@nagarjunkatta, I saw in other posts where people are building G+3, i will update on the same once i get my plan approved

[meharnath]

Hi,
You will get sanction for stilt + g+2 floors or
G + 3 floors.
I prefer to go with g +3 if there is a small house to be constructed in ground and 3 independent house in + 3 floors.

[ardesarchitects]

HI OldWorldCharm ,
The contract between architect and owner can be a legally bound depending up on your choice .Generally it happens in govt works.
Legally bond contracts are made in large scale projects since the risk factors are high.There are very clear guide lines mention in "Council of architecture "
Most of the time i wonder why people are worried about the legal contract with architect where the total amount paid will be 5-6 % of total project cost and they are ok with out legally bound contract with the contractor risking 95% cost of the project
I have seen even in large scale private projects they under value the building contract to save taxes ,so don't you think there is much risk and loss involved there.
This is just my thought many may differ it ........

Regards
Ar.Praveen.n
Ardes Architects and Interior Designers
ardesarchitects@gmail.com

[nagarjunkatta]

Thanks Maheshv & Meharnath

[maheshv]

Thanks for the insight Praveen, I was thinking that it is better to have complete agreement (plan and contruction) with Architect alone. Architect can hire contractor of his choice. Is such agreement possible?
Below link which was shared by one of the members here gave me this idea.
http://www.hasayana.net/Rumblings/const ... ou-control

[tvsh]

To Hire or not to Hire an architect depends on the type of Individual and his/her expectations of the home/house being built.

If one is a person who pays attention to details, have strong opinions about how certain things should be, then it is better not to hire an architect. On the other hand, if one is more a hands off person, who would not want to get into nitty gritty details of every aspect of building a house, he or she is better off going for an architect.

I met with a few architects and decided to build my house on my own with my own floor plan, hiring an engineer. The advantage was that I had full control on the design and could change the plan as and when needed. Architects take all the requirements from the home owner and designs a house which meets all his/her needs, however, I found sometimes, the focus of the home owner and the architects differ. In our case, I am more concerned with functionality and comfort of the home rather than the looks. I would compromise on the looks to improve the comfort/functionality of the house, where as the architects focus is in providing a house that meets the requirements and impresses a visitor.

So if you need a house that is great looking and meets all your requirements and willing to pay more ( architects not only get the fees, but there are some who also gets a cut from the vendors, so beware ), go for an architect. On the other hand, if you want a decent looking functional house and willing to invest the time needed to get everything done, skip hiring an architect.

[blrsiteseeker]

Hello,

We are in preliminary stage of planning and looking for some input from both experts and people who have already gone through the process of building their own home.

Good luck, hope everything goes well for you.

Some of the questions might sound stupid as this is a new domain to me, please excuse.

Site is located in BBMP limits. Plan is to build Stilt+G+2 on 30x40 site. Information that I am looking for,

1) Is Architect service is required or can I go with civil engineer. If I go for Architect what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Say I go for either Civil Eng or Architect, my next questions are,
architect is not exactly required. But given my recent experience, I recommend it. They not only give you a good design and supervise your project, but they also help in getting materials at a decent cost.

2) Did you tell him your need and he came up with floor plan or you had a plan in mind and with assistance from him you finalized it?
if it is an civil engineer/contractor, then yes, you just give them your design and they adjust it just for structural integrity. But with an architect, even if you have a design, they tend to interview you and determine your lifestyle and needs that influence the plan. our architect did not even look at our plan, but designed it based on our interview - and we love the design.
3) Is he expected to provide structural engineering service (either directly or through his contacts) as part of the job?
most architects have a structural engineer in their team, or hire one for consultation. Our home had the structural engineer review every plan and also at different stages such as foundation, pillar, beams, roofing and so on.
4) There must have been two plans 1) for approval 2) actual construction. Did he gave both plans to you?
most people do that one for approval and one for construction. but I recommend that you have both the same. I don't see why one needs to deviate from the approved plan. we did not.
5) What service I should expect from him (like site visit during construction, material quality check, checking accuracy of costs billed by contractor etc.,)
Architects provide different levels of services. I think ardesarchitects has detailed that quite well. But my recommendation is - if you are local and can supervise daily, you may not need all the services, on the other hand, if you cannot be there suffienctly, best to go with all the services you mention in your question.
6) What was the fee? Is it based on %age of building cost or fixed fee
it is generally based on a %age of building cost, varies from 2% to 8% depending on the architect and also on the services.
7) Is there a legal contract that you sign with him for the work promised and fee to be paid?
the contract is quite well laid out and they provide it to you upfront, so you get a chance to review it early on.

Any other information that you would like to share which might help me and rest of the forum users on this topic

Architects provide very good plans and designs, but don't let them take complete control and experiment with your house. Use their services, but be interactive and take good part in the design, selections of colours and materials etc. I really had a lot of say in everything, and we love the way our house turned out. Not just us, even the architect seems to like it - in spite of having given us that much flexibility in the design and selections.