Plan the work and work the plan - Architects
June 10, 2009 by Chris.
We’re currently doing a full gut rehab on a three-unit building near Andersonville. One thing I’ve realized is that a good architect is worth every dollar (or should I say thousands of dollars). While the price tag can be tough to swallow, a good architect can help you achieve the following:
- Force you to figure out what you want upfront - this saves you money and time (which is ultimately money) in the long run. Forcing you to decide the specifics upfront allows you to get more accurate (and generally cheaper) bids from a general contractor as their are less unknowns (i.e. risk) for the GC. You also save time by not changing direction mid-construction because you hadn’t totally decided everything upfront.
- Makes all the little decisions that you would probably screw up - would you really think that putting a toilet a couple feet farther from the main plumbing stack would cause you to have to drop the ceiling in the unit below? Or how about making sure your master bath door doesn’t open up to hit your master bedroom door?
- Feng Shui - as an accountant, harmony is when my debits equal credits. I never would have thought to find harmony by placing the toilet out of sight so I don’t see it when I first walk into a bathroom. Even if you don’t agree with this WC placement, you can at least feel cool telling someone your property is very Feng Shui.