Homing in on Home Building
Constructing a Residence Takes Many Forms

by Janet O’Mara

There are at least four ways to approach building a home. One is to throw caution to the winds and build it yourself. Another is to get some help with plans and cost estimates, but work as your own contractor. A third is to go to a contractor who offers both design and construction at one source — the so-called “design-build” company. And a fourth is for the owner to hire an architect, not only for design, but also to provide other extensive assistance and oversee construction as well.

Advantages and disadvantages can be found for each.

“If you’re just looking for a standard house plan and a standard lot, there’s probably no reason to go to an architect,” advises David Hall of Henry Klein Partnership Architects, Mount Vernon. “But if you have a unique site or a tight budget, an architect can help you through the process and keep it affordable.”

The opposite is true, too. “People with higher-end budgets also benefit,” Hall adds.

People don’t always run into trouble if they try to handle it all themselves, believes Allen D. Elliott of La Conner, “but they must set aside a great amount of time to go through all these processes and issues.

“There are a lot of regulations, which add to the frustration level for owners who are not used to dealing with it; so that’s one reason you need a professional involved,” he says. “For most people who don’t deal with this every day, it’s simply overwhelming.”

Ted Carney, manager of U Build It, Mount Vernon, relates that his company helps the owner oversee construction, acting as his or her own contractor, doing all the scheduling and subcontracting.

“We show them how to do all that,” he explains. “We have meetings and give them task lists of items to be aware of — if you can read and dial a telephone, you can do this yourself.”

The biggest controversy within the industry is between the design-build approach and the team led by an architect. “One advantage to using design-build,” observes Cynthia Richardson, Richardson Architects, Anacortes, “is that there’s a single point of responsibility to everything.

“The disadvantage is that there’s only one point of contact for the owner and there are fewer checks and balances,” she says.

“I think it’s an advantage for the owner to start with an architect,” states Peter Carletti, Carletti Architects, Mount Vernon. “But design-build as a partnership between the architect, contractor, engineering team and owner is a method of project delivery that I feel gives a higher level of quality to the project — because you’re not working in a vacuum.”

 

Design-build advantages

Architect Jamie McNett, co-owner with her husband of Soto McNett Construction, Inc., Burlington, remarks that although her company works with outside architects, she likes the in-house, design-build approach for many of her clients. “We’ve found it has advantages of cohesiveness between design and construction.

“I watch everything and I am available for our crew and our subcontractors to ask questions,” she explains. “Our integrated system saves time and money. There aren’t many breakdowns, and when there are, they’re handled quickly — owners don’t have to worry.

“We say we have one-stop-shopping accountability,” McNett says.

Choosing an architect, either in-house or independent, involves more than looking at the list in the Yellow Pages, cautions Hall.

“We definitely recommend they come in and let us show them some of our projects to make sure they feel comfortable with what we do,” he states. “Architects can be quite different, and good architects have a philosophy and an approach to design.”

“Ask to see what projects they’ve done,” agrees Elliott. “In residential design, there’s no substitution for experience.”

McNett advises that communication is the most important when choosing an architect. “First, you need the ability to communicate,” she points out. “Clients must feel comfortable with the architects they choose because it’s a very intense process — you have to be able to say what you think.

“Next is the process they use: do they give a lot of options and choices Sometimes people think they’ll save money by picking something out of a magazine, but I would suggest that if an architect does the job well, it’ll save you money in the long run, in lots of ways,” says McNett.