The Architect, A Code Compliance sherpa
As you embark on your first real estate renovation journey; you will find your guide to be an invaluable resource critical to achieving success. Along your journey, you will need to map out your path and plan your project, get permission from the local powers that be, find vendors to support all building functions, schedule project tasks, and control payments for completed work. Luckly, we humans have been building things for thousands of years, and the professions that come together to form the real estate industry are literally everywhere people build homes.
When it comes to architects, the stringent licensing and educational requirements should provide you some comfort that you are working with a professional that knows their stuff. (Many states have public databases to lookup professional licenses.) Moreover, you will likely find an architect readily accessible in even the smallest of rural towns. If people need to build something to live there, they need architects to get it done. In their primary capacity, architects are there to make sure the building is a safe and healthy environment to live in. They do that by making sure that all designs follow the law. Lighting, ventilation, temperature controls, and egress are but some of the many rules developed over centuries to ensure that the living condition in the building are healthy and safe. Like all professions, there are sleazeballs, but that is for another blog post.
The good news is that when it comes to architects, you generally have more options than you can shake a stick at. The bad news is that the more options you have the harder the selection process becomes. Picking an architect for you project is no easy feat. Like all professions, architects tend to specialize. The first step in your selection process is finding a professional that does a lot of projects similar to yours. You are hiring an expert, so the more experience they have with similar projects the better. I am sure that an architect that does corporate mid-price hotel builds can also do a 2 family house, but you want someone with experience of what works and doesn’t work for your specific project type. The rules for building a hotel have both significant and nuanced differences from those of a 2-family house.
Competence is important, but excellence is better business. Sure, a competent architect can do what you ask, draw up the plans, and get approvals, but an excellent architect will bring a vision and artistry that can elevate your product from a plain white T-shirt to a dress shirt with French cuffs. Both accomplish the same basic objective, but customers will pay much more for the dress shirt.
Architects don’t build things; they give instructions to the people who do. Whether you want a T-shirt or a dress shirt, you will need a pattern maker to instruct the seamster on how to make the garment. In that same way the architect instructs the builder. That is why having the ability to translate the project vision into a set of building instruction is the second critical skill. Attention to the smallest detail can save tens of thousands of dollars down the line. Small mistakes in measurement or planning can compound into very expensive repairs. On one of our projects, an architect specified a flat roof that was built and completed. Upon inspection, the department of buildings informed us that our architect was a knucklehead and should have specified a sloped roof. Adding that roof blew our budget by $25,000.
As our experience has shown, it’s not just about load calculations and a neat design. Architects that are not fluent in the section of the building codes and regulations can cause significant losses to a project. But, for those that are fluent in the regulations and have an understanding of the community, the options they provide their client can even stretch the boundaries of those regulations. In many communities, there are processes for asking permission to do something different than what is strictly allowed by regulations. For some communities, projects of community value can receive a variance. That means that a good architect knows their communities well enough to know if, and when, permission may be available to vary from the rules.
For example, there may be an opportunity to turn a factory into loft apartments. Some projects start out with zoning that would not allow the type of improvements desired. In such cases, asking for variances from a zoning board is like playing a game where you can ask for the rules to be changed to increase your odds of success. Of course, just because you ask, doesn’t mean the zoning board will say yes. A good architect should know the community and zoning board well enough to understand what kind of request are usually approved and which are usually denied. This is but one example of how an architect can add tremendous value beyond simply creating drawing the conform to building construction codes.
Most of us lack the exposure to the number and variety of projects that a professional architect has. They see a variety of structures, interact with a wide variety and selection of vendors, and deal with different challenges in each project. So, while an architect’s primary role is tied to ensuring that the building is a safe and hospitable place for people to live, they gather up a lot of very valuable experience along the way. On top of that, their local relationships can save you far more than they charge. The two most frequent reasons real estate deals fail is buying the wrong property or hiring the wrong vendors. A good architect will know reliable vendors but almost as important, has numerous relationships in the community to ask for recommendations.
Once you have leveraged your architect’s knowledge and connections, you now have a number of vendors lined up to provide services. As you start to plan out your project you need an intimate knowledge of construction dependencies and reasonable timelines to completion. For example, the foundation must be completed and cured before framing can begin. How long does a foundation take to cure? All rough-in plumbing and electrical work must be completed and inspected before the walls can be closed up with drywall. What happens if you fail and inspection or two? How tightly can you safely schedule the different trades? Successful execution means construction stays on-schedule, on-budget, within code, and within-scope. This is another layer of expertise that an architect brings to the table. While we have done six major construction projects so far, architects have an order of magnitude more experience.
Embarking on your first real estate renovation journey is an exciting yet complex endeavor. As we've explored, the role of an architect extends far beyond mere drawings and calculations. They are your guide through the labyrinth of regulations, your connection to reliable vendors, and your expert in construction dependencies and timelines. Their experience can be the difference between a project that stumbles and one that soars, potentially saving you from costly mistakes and opening doors to opportunities you might never have considered.
Remember, the success of your project hinges on more than just technical know-how. It's about finding an architect who understands your vision, knows the local landscape, and can translate that into a reality that not only meets code but exceeds expectations. Whether you're aiming for a simple renovation or a complex transformation, the right architect can elevate your project from functional to exceptional.
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