Architectural Services During Construction
Once the builder has been signed to a contract and can start, the architect’s job is to monitor the progress of the work and to stay touch with the builder. Particularly with renovation work, there are always surprises that pop up. For example, a wall gets opened up or a ceiling is removed, only to reveal a messy structural condition.
These kinds of surprises may call on solutions well beyond the builder’s ability to resolve. It is left to the architect, who understands the interconnection between structure, design and cost, to come up with a solution.
Before any work gets done, the architect has field samples made of important systems for the owners’ approval.
How confident are you when paying the builder’s invoice? Because most owners aren’t knowledgeable about construction costs, they look to their architect for help. The architect is acting as the owners’ advocate, and gets to vet any requests for payment.
How well can you tell what’s been built? At each stage of the work, the architect reviews the work on site: excavation; foundation; framing; plumbing, heating and electrical; insulation, and on to the finishing stages.
The architect’s job is to point out to the builder any omissions or discrepancies with the plans, and to alert the builder if the work is off-schedule. What do you do when the builder has finished and left for another job, and the heating won’t turn on?
For a full year after the work is complete, the architect is there on the owners’ behalf to have the builder fix any lingering problems.
As a custom house architect, Harry Lay works with experienced engineer consultants to bring structural design, heating and cooling systems and energy efficiency to his design work.