Home Renovations: Should I Hire an Architect?

Renovations of your home to suit the present-day needs or to reflect the modern tastes and likings may be a great idea to cherish. And with all the latest facilities, you would want your home to stand out from the crowd and be your pride.

Having decided on the budget, you are in a dilemma if you need to start looking for an architect who would help you remodel your dream home or do it on your own.  If you want to improve the available facilities at home, you may be able to complete it utilizing professional services from a carpenter or a painter, or a plumber.

But, if the home renovations require the addition or alteration of a portion, it will require planning to avoid mistakes. Expert help from an architect may sound good at this point.   Let us look at some ideas to decide if we need to hire an architect for home renovations.

Working with an Architect

Your friends, colleagues, and other family members may recommend you to take professional help for the renovation of your home. But, getting professional help doesn’t come free.  You must be able to pay and have sufficient funds to complete your renovation project successfully.

Mostly, architects fit in right with complex projects that demand their in-depth knowledge in design and evaluation.  On your request for renovation, an architect may spare time to listen to your needs and provide solutions with the required building costs. Once your simple floor plans or blueprints are ready for your home, you can choose a building contractor to complete the renovation.

Hiring an Architect

Before deciding to hire an architect for your home renovation, you must know what makes a good architect. An architect prepares the design of a building, and its structure supervises the construction of the building.  For home renovation, an architect helps you to plan and remodel your home.

During the renovation, your home may need the services of an architect if your plan requires higher technical expertise to get it completed on time. For undertaking basic repairs or fixes, hiring an architect may not be necessary. If you are replacing appliances in the kitchen, changing the tiles, painting the entire home, or upgrading a portion of your bathroom with the latest fittings, it can be done with the help of a builder.

Handling Necessary Paperwork

Usually, most of us understand that an architect works on the size, shape, and surface of a building. An architect’s help may be important to guide and check if your home renovation project meets the structural demands and satisfies the building codes of the region where it stands. Besides planning, an architect may help in all the necessary documentation needed to acquire the building permits.

Working Within the Budget

For your home renovation project, if you want to work within your estimated budget, take the help of a designer or a draftsman. The draftsman may be able to provide technical drawings within your budget. But, still those drawings need to be approved by a structural engineer or an architect to get the permit from the local building authority.

As an architect understands better the requirements of your home renovation project, it will not be a difficult task to get construction professionals at work. An architect may be able to guide you with a solution if some issues interrupt the renovation work.

Going Green

To save time and money, you can opt for environmentally friendly home renovation. Even without the help of an architect, you can make your home green with recycled and nontoxic materials.  With the available budget, you can incorporate smart choices in your home.   Recycling helps you live a green lifestyle.  It will help you prevent unnecessary purchases during a home renovation.  Natural resources reduce emissions from man-made materials.

Next, you can opt for deconstruction instead of demolition during a home renovation.  Before starting renovation, decide what portion of the home you want to deconstruct.

Conclusion

When the architect fees take up 8 to 15% of the allocated budget for your home renovation, it may not be a good idea to hire an architect.  A simple home renovation that would need generic changes may not need the expertise of an architect.  That can be done with the help of an experienced builder. We always want to live in a home that is affordable and provides us with a sustainable living environment.

Your home renovations may need the latest design ideas.  But it must suit your lifestyle also. Hiring an architect may push you to think big and spend more on home renovations. We are living in an age where all information is available online. Computer-designed home renovation plans are available handy to guide you in home renovation.  If you know how your home renovations want to be or have a plan of your own, you can draw plans that will satisfy the regional building standards.