Process Without Pitfall

At Perth House Design we focus on design as part of a process and pathway to a successful new residential building project - the process with Perth House Design will be on point and relevant to the end outcome. Let us explore some pitfalls associated with typical industry models and how we avoid them.

The client experience scenarios portrayed below are based on actual experiences within the industry - Read on below.

1. When we received quotes on our design we found that the build cost was way over our budget - consequently, we had wasted a lot of money in design fees.

It is often that case the architects and new home designers do not work too or are not overly concerned with your desired price point. There are a number of factors that contribute to this, not the least of which is the fact that your designer or architect will be remunerated irrespective of whether or not the design materialises into an actual residence. This environment can create a design (or art) centric mentality, which is divorced from real-world factors relating to actual feasibility and the viability of construction.

At Perth House Design we are concerned with overall positive experience and outcome – it goes without saying that people do not commission design work for art sake, at least not intentionally. Provided we acknowledge each individual client’s price point and design to these price points, the pathway from conception plan to an actual residence is facilitated. At Perth house design our client’s price points are a crucially important part of the design brief – this will contribute significantly to an overall successful outcome geared towards the affordability and viability of the material build.

2. Our plans were not approved by the local government authority and required extensive modifications.

There are many instances where applications for development approvals and building licenses are rejected, resulting in the design requiring significant alteration, this can often be attributed to the designer or architect lacking in the necessary knowledge in relation to regulatory compliance and/or lacking in the desire or ability to conduct the necessary site-specific research in order to acquire such knowledge.

Amended drawings and resubmissions to local government authorities are costly, time-consuming and aggravating to the client as alterations are involuntary and contrary to that which was previously agreed upon, accepted and desired – such alterations also usually result in an increase in price as opposed to a decrease.

At Perth House design a combination of accumulated knowledge with the desire and ability to conduct appropriate and necessary site-specific research allows us to establish applicable parameters and design according to those parameters, thus avoiding the pitfalls mentioned.

3. We did not get what we asked for - the designer seemed to go off on his own tangent and drifted from the description we gave.

Will your designer listen carefully and establish a detailed design brief and honour that brief – a detailed and accurate design brief will serve as a solid foundation to the entire process and successful outcomes will hinge on its accuracy, the degree of detail and the degree to which your designer respects it.

At Perth House Design – our approach and process afford us a full creative license that allows us to deliver on your brief in the best way possible and one, which excludes us the independence to modify or ignore your requirements.

4. Some of the builders who quoted said that the design was not compatible with their construction methods and that the design would need to be modified – Of the builders that did quote, prices varied dramatically.

Building companies elect different positions in relation to the types of materials used and inevitably related construction methods. For example, in residential double story construction, builders will choose between the traditional double brick upper floor and lightweight upper floor – within the lightweight upper floor system, there is a spectrum of methods and related material use which further broadens the overall band of methods and materials available.

In order for a design to be cost-effective and technically compliant in relation to a specific method type, it must be sympathetic to that type. For example the traditional double brick upper floor method is very rigid with respect to the vertical dispersion of upper floor wastewater, depending on the location of the upper floor wet areas in relation to ground floor rooms, it is usually the case that ground floor bulkheads and dropped ceilings become necessary in order to facilitate waste plumbing.

Conversely, lightweight upper floor systems are far less restrictive concerning upper floor wet area locations and their relationship to the ground floor rooms, as the subfloor provides sufficient width and depth for fall to accommodate extended diversion of waste plumbing, usually to external wall ducts.

In many cases, the pot luck approach proposing a compatible marriage between the methodology reflected in a design not geared or considered to a specific method and the pre-chosen and fixed method of the quoting builder can explain dramatic differences in prices from different builders when quoting on the same floor plans and specifications. To expound on this analogy, it is of no surprise that in many cases there is no engagement between clients and builders.

At Perth House Design we have a sound an up to date knowledge of the various methods and associated materials – this enables us to produce designs that are technically compliant and cost-effective in relation to your preferred builder's building system, methodology and related materials.

5. Once the design was finalized we went on to pay around $5’000 for engineering and working drawings, the builders we spoke too advised that these documents were of no use to them and the associated costs would be duplicated and included in their quote.

Many design firms will encourage their clients to follow through with working drawings and engineering drawings in addition to the conception plans, formal design plans and possible development approval plans, in the majority of cases this will constitute a waste of time and money as the majority of project builders who will quote on the design will want to undertake their own working drawings and engineering drawings.

Project builders will want to arrange and commission their own drawings for reasons of attributing responsibility of accuracy relating to select typical details, familiar formatting and style and legal compliance.

While for owner builders, the commissioning of working drawings and engineering drawings is appropriate, it is not applicable and completely unnecessary for clients seeking to build with a typical project builder.

At Perth House Design, our overall knowledge of the residential building industry and related process enable us to advise our client on the best process that will include the extent to which we are engaged for our services. We will not recommend for any reason that costs associated with certain services that are mandatory with your shortlisted builders by duplicated with us.

Can you get the right answers to these 7 critical questions from your new home designer?

1. Will you listen to our specific requests and establish an accurate and detailed design brief?

2. Will the design brief include consultation and ratification in relation to the desired construction method and preferences in relation to the materials to be used?

3. Will the design be technically compatible and therefore cost effective with the builders that I have short-listed for quotations?

4. Will I be consulted in relation to my desired price point and will the cost to build be in line with those expectations?

5. To the best of their knowledge and ability, will the design be compliant with the ‘Residential Building Codes’ and local government policy?

6. In the event that neighbour's consultation is required, will the designer assist me in this process?

7. Will the designer allow me to commission concept plans and development approval plans only, or will I also be compelled to pay for engineering and working drawings?