custom home design mistakes

Custom home design mistakes can be made by clients in the excitement of planning and designing their residence.  It’s important to consider all architectural elements to avoid inconvenient custom home design mistakes and increased building budgets.

1. Poorly communicating brief with architect.

Before sitting down with a licensed architect, it is important to establish your custom home design aspirations.  Documenting your architectural aesthetics and aspirations in writing provide the architect with the architectural brief to commence the design process.  Architectural briefs are best practice to custom home design mistakes but your architect can prepare this prior to sketch design.

Architects bring experience and expertise to the table during the custom home design process.  A false economy or misconception is thinking engaging a draftsperson will reduce the building budget.  Architect’s can create many building budget savings throughout the building journey should clients adhere to their professional advice.  Why wouldn’t you engage an architect to create a bespoke design if paying a real estate agent commission?

2. Selecting an unsuitable site for your residence.

Selecting an incorrect site for your residence on lot can cause significant increases to your building budget.  Retaining walls are required if the slope of the site is significantly steep.  Site gradient is a constraint that can causes major budget increases when utilizing a reinforced concrete slab.

There are also large budget allocations for extending water, power and gas services depending on the siting of the house.  The  larger budgets are caused by lengthened trenching/backfilling, supply of copper power cabling and large diameter potable water pipe.

Working with an architect with site selection on the lot can mitigate unwarranted costs.  The soil type is often an unseen element that can effect concrete and reinforcing steel volumes and therefore building budget.

3. Following magazine or social media trends.

Often clients present trending social media images or recent stylized looks generated by magazine publicists.  A more effective building procurement process utilizes a strategy to create a bespoke design uniquely suited to its site context.  An individual well considered house design creates more demand in the market and a higher contract selling value.

Stylized trends can change rapidly including them in your architectural brief can cause the build to sit in the market.  Following social media fads can date a building within setting/time/place rather than creating a unique bespoke architectural design.

4. Insufficient program for regulatory permits and approvals.

Clients in their eagerness may seek to rush the design process can be fatal flaw causing custom home design mistakes.  Architectural revisions on working drawings are less expensive than variations on-site once the builder has mobilized.  Allowing sufficient time in the design development stage ensures design permutations are complete prior to signing the building contract.  With adequate time, a competent well considered design can be achieved and above market contract variations avoided.

5. Type of building contract.

Although not lawyers, architects are familiar with contract administration have generally superintended building construction throughout their career.  An architect will assist in choosing the most suitable contract for your circumstances.   Using a thin, lightweight and loosely worded building contract can favor the builder’s profit ambitions and bank account.  Working with your architect to select a fair and unambiguous contract result in the most cost-effective building.  The contract should contain clauses for liquidated damages, extension of time, variations and contract sum adjustments and practical completion date.

Builders can entice property owners into thin, loosely worded cost plus contracts rather than an Architect to superintend the construction.  Signing a builder’s contract prior to the custom house design completion is akin to handing him your check book.  Acquiescing the contractual advantage with a builder is one of those fatal custom home design mistakes.  Architects can generate generous building budget savings by comparing bids amongst 5-6 builders.