era | Professionals YOUR TEAM
STEP EIGHT
IN THE PROCESS TO DESIGN + BUILD ARCHITECTURE SPECIFIC TO YOU.
who can help you?
Y o u c a n ’ t d o i t a l l a l o n e.
These are the specialists who will help you put your architecture together.
Get to know your professionals.
Who are your professionals?
Who will be the team that will work with you to make your architecture come to life? These are the people that you will pay for their expertise.
And it really depends on your specific circumstances as to which professionals you will employ.
Crikey, there are a lot of them around, and you won’t use all of them for making your architecture, but I understand if you feel a bit lost when you are trying to work out who will be a part of your team and who will not.
If you are working with a designer such as an architect, they can help you choose the professionals you will need. If you are working with a design and construction organisation or project home builder, they will likely have chosen professionals for you who are already be part of their team.
Here is a summary of some of the professionals you may encounter and what they do.
design team
a design consultant is someone who can look at all of your information and prepare a design for you.
They may be an architect, building designer, draftsman or your friend down the road. Or it may be you.
They often offer a range of services which start from the beginning of your project and work right through til the time you move in. You can speak to them about being involved in all parts or only some parts of your project.
When you request a fee proposal from a designer, you will need to tell them the proposed location of your project and what you would like to do. The more information you can provide to them the more accurate their fee proposal can be for you and your project, and the more likely they will be able to help you achieve architecture specific to you.
a geotechnical engineer is someone who can assess and determine your soil type.
The soil type is used by your structural engineer to design the footings for your building. Footings are the feet of your building which will hold up your structure and therefore your architecture.
If you have a tricky soil type, the geotechnical engineer will help you and your structural engineer work through how best to manage the soil and design the footings so that you can find a solution for how to place your building on the land. They will come onto your property and dig a few holes, usually to about 1.5 metres down, and take a ‘core’ or sample of the layers within that depth. This will tell them what type of soil you are planning to build on / in and hopefully identify any rock or oddities.
When you request a fee proposal from a geotechnical engineer, you will need to tell them the proposed location of the building and give them an idea of access to the property. This can be done with a drawing, such as a site plan, that shows an outline of the proposed building. They will be digging their holes within this area unless you ask otherwise.
a land surveyor is someone who can take a record and provide you with a drawing of your existing place.
They do exactly what they say on the pack – they take record of the existing information on your property, such as title boundaries, levels, location of trees, location of buildings, location of services (generally above ground) and the like.
When you request a fee proposal from a land surveyor, you will need to let them know how much of your property you would like them to survey. If your property is small, it may be straightforward to ask them to survey everything. However, if your land is large, ensure to be explicit and request that at least two title boundaries be located so that you have reference points to work from.
a civil engineer is someone who can design the surface levels and systems around your architecture for managing overland water flow. This includes stormwater collection, driveways, and the like. They will work closely with whoever is designing the building to ensure the surface levels for adjacent surfaces work with the architecture.
a structural engineer is someone who can design the footings and structure of your architecture – the feet and the bones that will hold everything up. When I say structure, I am also referring to the footings. They will work closely with whoever is designing the building to ensure the structure and the construction – the bones and the skin which wraps around them – work together. Although you can work remotely with a structural engineer, the structure is so integral to your architecture that I always find it better to sit down in person and work through the problems to find a solution. If you are renovating a building and not touching the structure in any way, you may not require a structural engineer. However, if you are building anew or building an addition to an existing building, or modifying the structure of an existing building, you will need an engineer to design the structure for you.
a hydraulic engineer is someone who can design the water and waste systems for your architecture.
This includes water pipelines, waste pipelines, gas pipelines, hot water units, toilets, basins and the like.
They will work closely with whoever is designing the building to ensure the hydraulic systems work with the architecture.
an electrical engineer is someone who can design the electrical systems for your architecture.
This includes power, lighting, communication systems and the like. They will work closely with whoever is designing the building to ensure the electrical systems, including the lighting and cable runs, work with the architecture.
a mechanical engineer is someone who can design the mechanical systems for your architecture.
This includes heating and cooling systems, air conditioning and extraction systems. They will work closely with whoever is designing the building to ensure the mechanical systems, including the ductwork, work with the architecture.
an environmental consultant is someone who can specify the insulation and glazing requirements for your architecture. This includes wall, ceiling, roof and floor insulation as well as requirements and dimensions for glazing and skylights incorporated in the building. They will work closely with whoever is designing the building to ensure the insulation and glazing meet applicable regulations.
a fire engineer is someone who can design the fire or bushfire strategy for your architecture.
This includes ways in which your building can comply with current regulations, or a strategy to follow if circumstances mean that your building cannot comply. They will work closely with whoever is designing the architecture to ensure the fire or bushfire strategy is implemented.
a town planner is someone who will ensure your architecture complies with applicable planning regulations. They will review the design and work with the designer to submit an application to develop the land in order to achieve Planning or Development Approval. Although you can speak directly with local council planning officers to discuss planning requirements, you can also employ a town planning consultant and work with them from the beginning to establish parameters early on that assist in your design. This is particularly important if your design is complex or you are not complying with regulations. They can also assist you to navigate the planning permit process.
a building compliance consultant is someone who will ensure the design and construction complies with the national construction code. They will review and certify the architecture twice – once drawings and documents have been finalised prior to construction in order to apply for a Building Permit that is needed before you can commence, and at the end of construction when the completed building is checked for compliance in order to apply for a Certificate of Occupancy that is needed before you can move in.
These consultants are also known as a ‘building surveyor’ or ‘building certifier’.
Local council often offers this service for a paid fee or you can employ your own building compliance consultant privately. If you employ a private building compliance consultant, it means that you can work with them from the beginning and establish parameters early on to assist in your design. This is particularly important if your design is complex or you are not complying with regulations. They can also assist you to navigate the building permit process.
a quantity surveyor is someone who can provide an estimate of cost for your architecture, before it is tendered to a contractor and before construction work commences. Although other specialist consultants may be able to provide a general estimate for what your architecture will cost, a quantity surveyor will break it down into all its parts and put a dollar value beside each part. A quantity surveyor can provide an estimate of cost for you at any time or on multiple occasions while you are designing your architecture and prior to construction.
building team
a contractor is someone who can build your architecture for you.
When you request a quotation from a contractor, you will need to communicate to them the full extent of the work you would like them to do. This is most commonly communicated through drawings, schedules and written specifications. The more information you can provide to them, the more accurate their quotation can be for you and your project.
If you are employing a contractor to look after building all of your architecture, they will be the ‘contractor’ or ‘main contractor’ or ‘head contractor’. They will then employ tradesmen or ‘sub-contractors’ to complete individual parts of work within the overall project, however they will be responsible for the entire works.
If you are being an owner builder, you are the main or head contractor. You will employ the tradesmen or individual contractors directly and you will be responsible for the entire works.
a geotechnical engineer is someone who can assess and determine your soil type.
If you have a tricky soil type, the geotechnical engineer may be required to assist in the construction period to assess and certify that the ground the footings will sit on is suitable to bear load.
When you request a fee proposal from a geotechnical engineer, you will need to be clear about where their work ends and the structural engineers work begins in construction. There is a certain degree of overlap between each.
a land surveyor is someone who can mark out where your architecture will be built on your land.
They do exactly what they say on the pack – they will literally lay out where the building will be so that the contractor can build your architecture in the correct location. This is often done with the use of grid lines. A building is set out with grid lines for reference and the surveyor will mark out the gridlines on the land so that the building can be built with relation to them.
a demolition contractor is someone who will demolish any existing building or building part and remove it from your property. This includes bricks, concrete, walls, roof, claddings, linings, internal fitout and the like. Be sure that they know the extent of the work you require, for instance the exact length of wall that is needed to be removed and the length that stays, and if you wish them to remove the debris from the property on completion of their work.
an arborist is someone who can cut down and remove trees and vegetation. Be sure that they know the extent of the work you require, for instance if you need the full root system grubbed out or not and if you wish them to remove the debris and vegetation from the property on completion of their work.
an excavation contractor is someone who can fully clear the area required for the construction, cut into the land where required and fill in other areas where needed. Be sure that they know the extent of the work you require and if you wish them to remove additional soil or similar from the property on completion of their work.
a concrete contractor is someone who can construct the footings, concrete slabs and any other concrete work for your architecture.
a structural contractor is someone who can construct the structure of your building – the bones that will hold everything up. The most commonly constructed are in timber or steel.
a bricklayer is someone who can construct anything with bricks or blocks.
This includes walls, cladding, and the like.
a carpenter is someone who can construct anything with timber and who is usually pretty handy with the construction of many other materials besides. This includes walls, cladding, lining, cabinetwork and the like.
a tiler is someone who can install tiled areas within your architecture.
This includes preparation, levelling, waterproofing, tiling and finishing in bathrooms, kitchens and the like.
a plasterer is someone who can install wall lining and ceiling lining, particularly plasterboard.
This includes preparation, levelling, plastering and finishing in all sorts of areas. They can also apply plaster or render to the surfaces of walls.
a plumber is someone who can install the water and waste systems for your architecture.
This includes water pipelines, waste pipelines, gas pipelines, hot water units, toilets, basins and the like.
an electrician is someone who can install the electrical systems for your architecture.
This includes power, lighting, communication systems and the like.
a mechanical contractor is someone who can design, construct and install the mechanical systems for your architecture. This includes heating and cooling systems, air conditioning and extraction systems.
a glazier is someone who can install the glazing for your building.
This includes windows and doors. They will work closely with the contractor who is constructing the windows and doors.
a window fabricator is someone who will construct and install windows for your architecture.
Often, the same contractor who prepares and installs the windows will also prepare and install the doors.
a door fabricator is someone who will construct and install doors for your architecture.
Often, the same contractor who prepares and installs the windows will also prepare and install the doors.
a door hardware supplier is someone who will supply and install door hardware to the doors of your architecture. Windows most often come with hardware such as locking mechanisms already installed, however the reverse is true of doors.
a locksmith is someone who will key the locks in your architecture, most commonly for doors. Windows most often come with locking mechanisms already installed with their own keys, however the reverse is true of doors.
a painting contractor is someone who will supply and apply paint to all areas in your building. They may even be painting the floors, depending on what has been chosen for the floor finish.
a building compliance consultant is someone who will ensure the construction complies with the national construction code. They will review and certify the architecture at the end of construction when the completed building is checked for compliance in order to apply for a Certificate of Occupancy that is needed before you can move in. These consultants are also known as a ‘building surveyor’ or ‘building certifier’. Local council often offers this service for a paid fee or you can employ your own building compliance consultant privately. If you employ a private building compliance consultant, it means that you can work with them from the beginning and establish parameters early on to assist in the process. This is particularly important if your design is complex.
a quantity surveyor is someone who can assist you to manage cost through the construction period.
A quantity surveyor may be useful to you during the tender period or through a construction period if you wish to employ someone to oversee the cost associated with the works. They will periodically assess the completion of the works by the contractor and can advise on current progress, variations in cost and forecast of progress all with relation to cost. You could also employ a quantity surveyor to manage the costs of the construction works if you are managing the construction works yourself.
What is a Contacts List?
This is a list of all of the people who will be involved in helping you make your architecture. You will have all of their contact information there too, to make it easy to track them down as soon as you need them.
Although technology has made it a lot easier to build a contacts list in your computer or phone, having a hard or digital copy on hand can be invaluable for day to day communication and to distribute to other members of your team.
How to find your professionals.
You can try online and look at websites where each type of professional is registered, you can ask a friend, you can look in the phone book.
Word of mouth is my favourite way to find someone to work with, so get chatting with people to learn who is around who can be part of your team.
Once you have found them, you will employ your choice based on an agreement you make with them, that will be based on their fee, quotation, documents associated with your project, and any formal agreement such as a client-consultant agreement or another type of formal contract.
If you have employed a designer or specialist consultant such as an architect, they will likely be able to help you find professionals you will need to help you. If you are working with a design and construction organisation or project home builder, or if you are purchasing an ‘off-the-plan’ design from a designer or prefabricator they will likely already have professionals involved in their process, however you may need to employ additional professionals they have not. If you are designing yourself, you will most likely need to organise and employ professionals yourself.
Your professionals in the process.
You will need specialist professionals for specific tasks in your architectural journey to help you get through. They will perform tasks that you cannot do yourself or that are required by authorities for professionals rather than laymen to complete.
When your team works together, you will see your architecture emerge.
you will find architecture specific to you.
You have learnt about your team! Great – now you can work with your professionals to make your way through the duration of the Process.
THE NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS IS TO prepare and submit your application for a PERMIT to develop.
THE PROCESS.
This is the eighth step in the process to design and build architecture.
If you would like to see how this step fits within the process, you may be interested in a little book I have written that sets out each step in the Process in one place. It is a guide and workbook to help you through each step in your architectural journey.
The process is summarised in this little Blog post - era | the Process to Design + Build Architecture.
Each step in the process will also be broken down into its individual steps right here in this little Blog - so keep checking in to see the whole set!
Til next time!
Start the process to find your architectural language and make your ideas a reality.
Click here to see the little things I have made for you, or click here if you would like to work with me one on one.