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Hi,
I am in process of finalizing a contractor or architect.
My whole family wants to approach a architect and get the work done. I have plan ready and mostly would stick to it unless architect brings something good within my budget.
I am more inclined to do a labor or full contract and think that 6-8% charges for architect is not worth. I have heard experiences that most of the architects dont pass on the benefits of cost saved on material and have CUT with every entity. So, we end up paying almost 10-15% of the project cost to them.
share your experiences.

Duffyhair,

I dont know what is your understanding when you say Architect. Usually architects provide the end to end design required to construct the building. Then its upto you to decide how to construct your own building. There are different ways you can do this based upon your own interest.
1. Giving a material contract: In this type of contract both labor and material will be provided by the contractor. Material brand and quality should be pre-agreed upon
a. Material contract based on Chadra - here the contractor will mention he will charge X amount per chadra and will mention what are the items included in that cost, usually there will be extra charges for sump, compound wall, gate etc
b. Item rate based contract - here the contractor will give an estimate with detailed BOQ mentioning the quantity of each and every work that he is going to carry out for your building and what is the rate for each one, the rate will remain same but quantity can vary a bit during execution.

2. Giving for Labor contract: Here you will identify a Labor contractor and agree for a rate including different type of labor work, and you will provide all the materials. You can search in forum for the ongoing rates and merits and de-merits of each method.

Now, coming back to the point on whether to engage an architect or not, I have started house construction recently and have engaged an architect and has been really good. They provide lot of insite and ideas beyond your thoughts. When they give the design they will ensure that there is proper planning for even interiors etc.

Below are the ways you can engage an architect with and indicative charges -
1. For floor planning and elevation design, structural (basic engagement) - ~ 1% (of your construction)
2. For the entire design of the house (they will provide each and every drawing required to construct the house. - 2.5% (of your construction)
3. Supervision (this includes point 2 plus, they will do regular visit to construction site and supervise if the construction is as per plan provided and quality. Also they will assist in selecting colors, tiles, flooring etc. 4.5% (of your construction)

with above facts, you can decide what suits you. Personally I have felt lot better going with architect for designs.

Most of the architects who i met, have their own way of building. Only very few architects take your ideas else they push their designs which may be not of your choice. By 4 or 5 sittings, the architect will start cribbing about his timing. Here it is not professional as in other countries.

However the problem is with owner too, if the budget is limited Architect may not work well. Architect needs little freedom in financials to implement new things and to showcase ideas. To showcase ideas, vastu and ergonimcs come in the way
as Most of the middle class families have elders .

An example would be to check their albums, every building will have same designs with 10 to 20% changes.
At the end, i would prefer a architect who listens and responds like a family person, which i could not find.

Finally i went to labour contract

Regards,
Venky

Venky, good to know your experience. However, I have a different experience altogether with my architect. I went to him through reference. and he lived upto my expectation. I initially got about 3 different options out of which we selected one and we did quite a lot of to and fro asking for lot of revisions, and he promptly did it, overall I am quite happy with my floor plan. So only I went ahead with complete set of designs required for the entire building.

Hegde, It is good that you chose Architect which is very vital where you will also learn while constructing home. As highlighted by Venky the key measure would be you are clear with your requirement (Like finalising flooring, bath room fittings etc.,). Always have cordial relationship and highlight all future short comings otherwise you will see lot of changes in plan/ way of working.

Hegde19 - Please share details of the architect you worked with for your home.

-sid

Sids

HERE IS DETAIL OF MY Architect https://www.facebook.com/StudioAlaya,

detailed photos of my house construction
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 511&type=3, you are welcome to visit my house to see

I went ahead with a architect but choose a labor contract for execution !
right now, finished the RCC part of ground floor. waiting for workers to return from Sankranthi festival to start the wall work in 1st floor.

I am also starting my house construction in BSK 5th stage, please let me know if there is any good architect with reasonable rate

Hi ,Duffyhair

I really don't understand how can one consider labor contract as alternate to architect services, these two are completely different. Its like i will go with Nurse for operation instead of Surgeon to save doctor's fees (No offense on other profession) .
You can opt to get operated on your own but that wont save doctors fee but you are taking a risk.

Architect services are design related ,its up to you to choose the construction method ( full contract or labor contract ). If you fear of cuts in the materials to architect ,simply get the design and details from architect and take up the construction on your own.

Regards
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior designers
ardesarchitects@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/ardes.architects
http://www.ardesarchitects.com