Do architects respect construction budget?

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A renovation, or home improvements project, is an investment that you should plan carefully and budget for realistically, with due consideration about what you really want to achieve and in which way this investment will pay you back.

Hint: it is not always money.

Why are residential projects always overbudget?

The renovation, improvement or new construction of a private residence is renowned to be the most difficult project category for an Architect.
 
What gives this category such a reputation is the emotional involvement of the client, who is contemporarily owner, stakeholder, project manager, final user.
And often unexperienced about construction.
 
When the lack of experience meets the keeping of spreadsheets, most homeowners find themselves trapped in a dilemma:
“we spent this much of the budget so far, there is this little left, how can I use the remaining budget in a smart way?
Should we get nice finishes and go over budget OR stick to the budget and settle for lesser quality materials?”
 
Truth is, finishing materials are there to stay.
It is more convenient to stretch the budget a bit and get good finishes, rather than save now and regret it later, adding other costs in the future.
 
In most of the cases, extra project expenditures are generated by last minute project variations during the construction and choices of more expensive finishes or furnishings.
These are the result of emotional decisions of the client.
 
In some unfortunate but not-so-rare cases, old houses just reveal some surprise: rotten joists, sudden leaks, unexpected sewers.
These can cause costly extra work and delays, hardly foreseeable.
 
For these reasons it is very easy for an un-supervised project to go over budget.

What do Architects have to do with construction budget?

On appointing an Architect, the client must specify the reasons for doing the project and the constraints in a briefing, which will be the Architect’s duty to satisfy.

The availability of funds is also a constraint, so it is important to specify what is the target budget for the project, while keeping a contingency available in case of surprises.

The Architect has the role to collect this information and develop a design in line with the briefing and considering the budget available.

Can a design be more expensive than my budget?

Some Architects are used to work on multi-million projects and are masters in adding the wow factor. When working on simpler projects, they may be carried away a bit.

If their design is way beyond the budget, it will require to be downsized or simplified, until reaching the point where you can stretch you budget to.

But good architecture doesn’t have to cost the earth.

When we develop a design, we keep your budget in mind.
During the process we can advice where the money should go to have the best result and get the best value for your money.

How do the Architect know if the project is actually going to be within the budget?

Common residential projects have similar costs per square metre.

Besides few variables which could bring extra costs in, we can generally assess if a budget is reasonable and healthy for a scope since the early stages.

After developing a special concept design, we engage with contractors for initial estimates that would confirm the ballpark costing.

If it doesn’t work, we get back to the drawing board and review the options with the client.

But only once a project is fully specified and contractors are invited to bid, we can know the starting point for the construction cost.

Once construction starts, it is important to avoid variations and hope there will be no surprises hidden in the house.

During the entire process we work with our clients to help them make informed decisions on how to use their budget wisely for the finishing materials and decorations.

 Overall we do our best to stay on top of the expenses, so that you could  use your money where it really matters to you.
 
If you are planning your project, it’s important to have an experienced professional at your side to advice on all the aspects of the process.
 
You can contact us for an initial free consultation to talk about your plans.

It’s as simple as clicking on this link and book your call back at your convenience.

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