Hello again. Continuing our series for new home builders, now you know the basics of what you need when you embark on your project. What’s the next step?
Choosingyour consultant team is one of the most important things you will need to consider. Some people have friends, some people need recommendations, some people will just fish around for the best deals! Before you embark on your journey, one of the most frequent questions I get is, who do I need. So let’s get started!
Architect
First and foremost someone will need to capture your brilliant ideas for your new home and pen it down to paper. This is called a design brief and the architect is responsible for ensuring the design meets your requirements.
Be clear about your wishlist. Some interesting request I’ve had in the past was to incorporate a kiddy slide along the staircase, a dedicated home zone for 12 cats and a gallery showroom in the attic for an avid car collector. These are some of the luxuries of designing your own home. You can really tailor the design to fit your lifestyle and your needs.
Mechanical Engineer Ah hah! What’s this? Most people will have have heard of M&E, however due the the latest local laws, you will need 2 separate engineers for your project. Ask around to ensure your engineers have both these certifications to process your project.
A mechanical engineer will usually look at the motorized parts of your homes. Sometimes, plumbing, pipings and sanitary related items are part of their scope to design.
Electrical Engineer An electrical engineer will be responsible for the electrical components of your home. All the light fittings, CCTV or other related items will fall under their scope to provide. Without getting into too much technical details, these guys basically ensure you have enough power to light up your life. They’ll also be the ones making sure all the connections to the government mains and all those other boring stuff are done right. Leave all those things to them, you can focus on choosing the pretty light fittings!
C&S Engineer The civil & structural engineer will of course be in charge of ensuring your home stands up right! They calculate your building loads and adequately design the beams, columns, slabs and reinforcements to make sure no “leaning tower of Pisa” scenario will ever occur. With recent stricter laws, all buildings now require a fully certified c&s engineer to design and process your project.
Quantity Surveyor Last but not least, this consultant is in charge of your pocket. The quantity surveyor is critical in ensuring your project stays within your desired budget. They do the costing estimates at the early stages and are in charge of preparing payments to the contractors.
Some smaller projects choose to do away with a QS however do bear in mind if there are bank loan related requirements, you may need to engage a certified QS.
I know!! It sounds like a lot just for a house! I hope this brief introduction gives you all some idea of who you will need before embarking on your own dream home. Do your research, get your facts and recommendations. A well gelled team will make all the difference to your “stress levels” during your project. Don’t forget, you’re going to be spending up to 2 years of more with these guys from design inception to actual building completion. So choose wisely.
Have a great weekend you all. Thanks again for reading.
Post first appeared on Ask An Architect
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