How To Build Your Own Home - Draftsman/ Designer Vs Architect

By Author: Taurus Inspro
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1. The Draftsman/Designer

Draftsman/designer has experience in interior design, carpeting, furniture, painting, etc.; draftsmen follow the directions of an architect, engineer, or designer to shape the designs. They’re not licensed, as an architect is, to stamp plans to receive city building permits - More on this later.

If you select to hire a draftsman/designer, make sure to find one that contains a good working knowledge of building. I knew a draftsman/designer who designed beautiful country homes, but you're going to tell this designer that the industry was relatively new because some of her designs couldn't be built the way they were designed. This is often because designers often don't understand how the construction process works. This is often a key difference between draftsman/designers and architects. Choose someone that has had experience creating drawings that are successfully built from by homebuilders, and who comes highly recommended.

Another source for a qualified designer is the Taurus Inspro of Building Design. You’ll locate a member in your area by visiting their web site. If you see ...
... a home that you like, ask the owner to examine if they know who designed it. If the house is fairly new, you'll go to the building department and possibly see the plans on file, you'll acquire the name of the designer from those plans.

2. The Architect

Architects have expertise in design but are especially helpful due to their knowledge of technology and structural aspects of the way to put together a building. He or she has gone to school for a long time and are licensed professionals who are qualified to offer clients a good range of services. Working with an architect can offer you, someone, to lean on from start to end. He/she can assist you with your site and landscape plans. He/she can assist you in select colors, furnishings, etc. as well. The architect offers several other valuable services to assist your construction plan to go smoothly. For example, he / she can visit the site, monitor and observe the construction. The architect is often a valuable asset in reviewing contracts and helping you ultimately select a reputable contractor or subcontractor.

Another service the architect can provide is to walk through your plans with the city/county to expedite getting the required permits.
Please remember that the fees of an architect are higher than those of a designer who is reasonable to all the additional services and protections that you benefit from. A good architect can charge 7% to 10% or more of the final cost. However, fees could be negotiated as well. For example, I hire very qualified architects in the Atlanta area for less than a third of these figures, which, by the way, is a very cheap price to buy someone that qualified to make your house, plans and see the work through to completion.

As always, when hiring someone, it's best to discuss the exact services that the architect will provide under the contract, so you know what services to expect for the fee you'll be paying. Also, ask for references and samples of his/her work. Not all architects are wonderful artists. Perhaps their style doesn't mesh with our style, either. If you would like an original work of art, a thing of beauty - just because you've gone to the expense of an architect doesn't mean you automatically will have hired an artist. I feel just one in three architects is a true artist. For that reason, I have sometimes hired a creative designer to design a home of beauty, and then I might hire an architect to do the working drawings.

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