Quote:
Originally Posted by 911Rob
If I hired 1 contractor, I've hired 10,000.
Best reference is their subtrades. If the subtrades like working for them and they pay their bills your about 98% good to go. Get a list of trades they work with as referrences.
.... and save yourself some money, hire a draftsman not an architect.  |
This is astonishingly poor advice.
A GC typically hires the subs. As such, if a given sub wants to get hired again, what are the odds that he/she will give a factually correct assessment of what so-and-so GC is like, knowing that a (factually) poor reference may cost them work in the future?
As far as hiring draftsmen, this makes absolutely no sense in the context of this discussion. The services I'm recommending an architect perform are providing first-hand and impartial recommendations of GCs (and subs) with whom he or she has first-hand experience. Architects deal with builders every day and know who the good ones and bad ones are. A draftsperson would not know this and frankly, asking a draftsperson to perform this service would likely be illegal, in addition to being ridiculous.
If you want to hire a draftsperson to draw up your new house, good luck. The discussion about using an architect on a residential project has been beaten to death, but generally speaking here's what you'll find:
1. Clients balk at the up-front cost
2. Clients fail to see the long-term/big-picture benefit of an architect-designed house
3. To save money, most defer design/drafting to a GC or a drafting service, and end up paying for it in the long run.
4. A GC will build what HE wants to build (usually driven by what his particular comfort zone/experience level is, known subs, known materials & practices, etc.) They WILL NOT typically build YOU what YOU want. They'll instead spend a lot of time convincing you that what THEY want to build really IS what you want. They're great salesmen, but very poor (typically, some exceptions) at responding to YOUR direction as the client.
5. An architect will build what YOU want, identify YOUR specific needs and integrate all the issues pertaining to life-safety/codes, life-cycle cost considerations, personal owner goals, neighborhood & local regulatory requirements, etc. They are legally YOUR advocate and are bound by fiduciary duty to YOU. This goes WAY, WAY, WAY above and beyond what any contract can ever stipulate.
6. That said, there are not many architects (normally) who will do small residential work - there's simply not enough fee in it given the amount of work required to deliver a product commiserate with professional expectations. There are some, but you'll have to look. In any event that's a separate discussion and way beyond this discussion - what we're talking about here is who should make recommendations on a GC. It certainly ain't no draftsman...
Rob, your disdain for the architectural profession is clouding your judgment and your credibility here. Stop drinking the HaterAid and just admit that CMs and/or builders can not do everything an architect can. Actually whether you admit it or not, thems the facts bro.