During home addition prep, one of the first questions you may have is who you’ll need to hire. For most home design projects, you’ll almost certainly end up hiring several professionals. Let’s look at each of the different professionals and the roles that they’ll fill in your home addition project.
Planning Your Addition: The Design Architect
When you’re undertaking a home addition, you may need to hire a design architect. A design architect creates building plans with best practices in mind, but they’re not needed for more basic changes to your home. Design architects are important for tasks such as changes to your layout or space conversions. Hiring a design architect is crucial if you’re moving plumbing or gas lines, working on landmark property, or you require building board approval. To find the right one, try to look at the architect’s portfolio to see if their style matches yours.
Building Experts: The General Contractor
If none of the above issues apply to your project, you may be able to go directly to a general contractor. A general contractor may handle all the steps of building your home addition, or they may sub out specific parts of the project to subcontractors, such as electrical, plumbing, or roofing. An experienced general contractor can help with basic challenges, provide creative solutions, and walk you through the process.
Finding Materials for the New Space: The Interior Designer
Whether you are making big or small changes, you can hire an interior designer to help you find the right lighting, finishes, and materials. They can help you with determining the look and flow of your space, planning for size and style of materials like lighting and windows. Interior designers also assist you with color selection and finishes for your addition that are permanent. They can even customize cabinetry and storage solutions for your specific needs. Additionally, some may even manage the purchase and delivery of these materials, appliances, and other fixtures, taking the burden off of you or your general contractor.
Running the Show: The Project Manager
One professional that is rarely mentioned that does most of the coordination is the project manager. If you don’t want to handle the small details of your addition or hope your contractor gets it right, a project manager would be a good choice for your team. The project manager typically takes over the communication process between all the team members on your job and consults with you when a decision is needed. You’ll be happy to hear that you don’t need to understand the technical issues of construction or any other minutia. A good project manager will update you regularly and only bother you for major decisions. They handle the day-to-day operations for an amazing and hassle-free outcome.When you’re planning a home addition, you’ll need a range of professionals to help you through the process. You can hire a design architect, a general contractor, an interior designer, and (should you choose to do so) a project manager throughout. At Drafting Cafe Architects, we can provide these professionals , making your project easier and more organized. Contact us today for a free estimate.
