Remodeling Your Home: Should Your Hire an Architect or a Designer?

Remodeling Your Home

The number one remodeling your home question asked by homeowners is whether they should hire an architect or a designer to do the job? Simpler, easier projects like just enlarging your living room’s window, you do not need to hire any extra help, the remodeling contractor alone should be able to handle it.

Except for bigger scale projects, like building new kitchens from scratch or renovating or remodeling your home, hiring an architect or a designer can be a great idea And if you are confused which out of the two, should you choose it is essential that you know what an architect does and doesn’t do and what a designer does and doesn’t do.

Architects:

Architects are professionally trained and experience to solve complicated design problems. This makes them better equipped in ensuring that your remodeling projects stay true to its aesthetic roots. If you have a complicated remodeling project in mind, something which has lots of roof lines, hiring an architect would be better since their ability to view things three dimensionally is exceptional. Additionally, if you want to remodel a home but want to keep its “historic look” consistent, an architect will do a better job at it.

Designers:

Unlike architects, designers do not have professional training in engineering or architecture, their field of expertise is more in the lines of interior space planning. So, if you want to remodel your hose in a manner where you can add a family room into it, a designer would be better than an architect.

Designers are capable of handling most residential remodeling projects. After a first few meet ups with the homeowners, they provide a few drawings for what they have in mind for the house. The contractor then hashes out a pricing plan for the drawings. Hiring a designer costs almost half of what hiring an architect does. While this is good news, there is one downside to hiring a designer instead of an architect which is that depending on which state you are in, the regulations which are covering the designer may differ. Plus, unlike architects, most designers are not insured against malpractice.

Hence, depending on what you want to be done on your remodeling project, you can decide between a designer or an architect. You would also be required to keep your budget and your state’s regulations regarding designers and architects in mind. Once you have made your choice, get in touch with your remodeling contractor since it is very likely that he knows some competent, reliable architects and designers and can get you in touch with them. Additionally you can also ask your friends and family for recommendations.