Today I thought of answering the one our customer question in this email.
Below is the exact email he sent on 4/2/2023.
I’m sorry for answering this question so late…
That time, our house construction work was still ACTIVELY going on, and I didn’t have much mental bandwidth to answer immediately.
Almost all the work is done, and we already rented out all the Units (both buildings), so I’m somewhat free now.
Hi Arun,
Thanks for the tip on cement bags. I am renovating a part of the house. I am first demolishing 580 sq ft and constructing 600-630 sq ft. I am employing an architect.
What should I expect to pay him? As he is using cad/cam, could he tell the exact sizes, like the area of each wall and less space for doors/windows? As he may take a percentage of the cost, should I expect him to tell me exactly the quantity of materials to be bought? Based on the above, he would work out the costs on some benchmarks. That would help me in controlling my budget. It could also break it down into parts like demolition, foundation, pillars, roof, brickwork, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, floor, and..? Like a PERT chart.
Thanks.
Dip****r
I am renovating a part of the house. I am first demolishing 580 sq ft and constructing 600-630 sq ft. I am employing an architect.
Demolishing and Reconstructing is a really good decision than altering the existing building. If alteration consists a “major structural changes,.” As it costs both time, money, and headache.
I am employing an architect.
That’s a good decision.
Make sure your Architect designs the building as per your request. If he says something is impossible, it’s time to change the Architect. Not your Interest/Taste.
Also, if Architect is nearby to your construction spot, it helps to reduce your visiting consultation charge.
You read our story about how one engineer told NO to our Plan, and another Architect did exactly as per our plan.
What should I expect to pay him?
I’m not sure I can answer this correctly. As per my experience… it depends on a lot of factors.
-His Experience
-Your building requirement.
-and a few more variables….
Any experienced designers cost a little costlier than a trainee architect.
We used an experienced Architect, and he used to design the big building.
He charged us ₹30,000 for 2 same building designs.
If your building is a standard-size building like – 30*40 or similar sizes, they could charge you less.
Because those standard-size building structural designs are already available with them… only the front elevation needs to change as per your requirement.
Based on this, you should be expecting ₹8,000 to ₹20,000 per design.
As he may take a percentage of the cost, should I expect him to tell me exactly the quantity of materials to be bought?
Most Architects do only Structural estimation… not Interior Estimation.
For the exact Quality material requirement, you only need to tell if you are making Material Contract.
If you are making Labour Contract, you don’t need to worry much about “Exact Quality Materials” as you, not Builder, supply all the materials.
And… Yes, the Architect does ask some basic questions to estimate cost.
Like – do you use Red Brick or Solid Blocks etc.? Only those questions, if you answer them, will do their calculation.
Could also break it down into parts like demolition, foundation including pillars, roof, brickwork, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, floor, and..? Like a PERT chart.
Yes.
They can do those. (by the way, I’m unaware of what that PERT chart is ?.)
You can check out our First building (only the ground and first floor, in 2017) estimation here.
https://houseconstructionguide.com/building-design/
Cost estimation changes every year.
You cannot estimate the cost one year before and start constructing building one year later.
Every year you should increase construction costs by 5% to 8%.
I answered your question based on my experience. I hope those answers will be helpful for you and others.
Based on my experience, I created a few products which I believe will be helpful for first-time house construction owners.
Here they are: https://houseconstructionguide.com/products/