HOW TO PICK AN ARCHITECT

What questions should you ask when interviewing an architect? How do you know if they will be good at their job? This article will answer these questions and more!

Explaining and Evaluating the Project

Preparing for the Meeting

1. I recommend creating a rough drawing of the floor plan or the building exterior you have in mind for the project. Use pencil and paper to draw simple boxes and create an easy visual reference for what you have in mind. It will help guide initial architect meetings. Using a free online tool like floorplanner.com is another for creating a rough draft too.

A Floor Plan I Created with Floorplanner.com

1. If you have floor plans from prior work or from when you purchased the home, send them to the architect in advance or have them on hand for your meeting.

2. Find the survey for your property to share with the architect, either in advance or during the meeting. You should have received a survey when you purchased the home or building (not applicable to condos).

An Example of What a Survey Looks Like

Contractor Relations

1. Ask if they will work directly with your contractor when making the plans to ensure that the plans are as cost-effective as possible from the contractor’s perspective and that the contractor is comfortable with the material choices, building methods, etc.

2. Ask if they are willing to create rough plans without full mechanical and architectural plans that you can use to get bids from contractors. Then once you have finalized a contractor choice you can finish the full set of plans with both of them together. Find out the cost for each of these stages of plans.

3. If you already have a contractor or two in mind, ask if they have worked with them before.

4. If you are still looking for a contractor, ask if there is anyone they would recommend for the job.

Zoning and Local Building Code

1. Confirm that what you have in mind will be feasible with your local zoning and building codes

2. Confirm if the scope of your project requires a permit or not.

3. Ask if there is any chance the project won’t be approved by the city zoning, and what happens then/what is the process.

4. Are there any changes that they think you will have to make to your project for it to be in line with the local zoning and building restrictions?

Costs

1. Ask what the architect charges for creating plans and filing permits

2. Find out what additional charges you should plan for from the city for the permits

3. If there are potential hurdles with zoning that are mentioned, try to find out worst-case scenario costs. Will there be potential extra charges with the city? Or extra charges for a zoning attorney?

4. Ask if there are any changes they would recommend to help keep building costs down on the project.

Timeline

1. How long will it take to get the first draft of the plans?

2. Once plans are finalized, how long do they estimate it will take to get the necessary permit(s) from the city?

Evaluating the Architect

Work History

1. Find out how long they have been in business

2. Ask them what type of jobs they do the most. (Ideally, they do a lot of work similar to the type of job you are doing).

   1. New construction homes

   2. New construction apartments

   3. Home renovations

   4. Apartment building renovations

   5. Commercial properties

   6. Other

3. If possible, ask if you can view photos or visit in person either current or prior jobs they have done.

4. Check online reviews

   1. Google

   2. Yelp

   3. Angie

5. Ask for references. Specifically, ask for references whom they have done similar types of work for.

   1. Questions you should ask the references:

      1. Did they stick to the estimated timeline?

      2. How quick was the turnaround time for changes?

      3. Did they have quick response times to emails and calls?

      4. Would you work with them again?