Pick an architect

Finally done

In a large scale remodel like ours an architect is a necessity.  From creating the plans and getting them approved to working with the structural engineer to create the structural blue prints--an architect is a key person at the start of the project.

Some building companies come with a design and build option.  These are larger companies and the costs are definitely higher.  While you do get the benefit of complete co-ordination--you are giving up choice at the beginning of the project and have to go with the same company for building.

There are also architects who are consultants and work out of their homes and talking to friends who had remodeled, we found one such person.  Seema  Mittal.  Her company is called Perspective Designs and she was a real pleasure to work with.  When we first started discussing the remodel, we were not even sure if we wanted a full rebuild.  So she first did a small study for us, with minor changes, a larger remodel with rooms being moved around and a complete redo of the whole house including moving its location on the property.  This really helped us figure out what we wanted and how much of a "different" house we wanted.

I did not mind changing the plan of the existing home, in fact since our kitchen and family rooms did not have a lot of light, I wanted them at the back of the home with southern and western exposure.  I really wanted a house that was different from your cookie cutter builder defined house.   Unique can mean different things--we have a small property in California--one can go unique by building a spanish castle with a mini turret, yes there are those that do it.  We wanted open and different but stuck to some basic ideas of form and function.

The biggest value of the architect was that she could show me a few options and discuss the pros and cons of each.  Then she could take components of each option and combine exactly to our tastes.  It took a few months and several iterations but we finally had a plan.

If I was doing a smaller remodel like a room addition with a kitchen remodel, I would still recommend an architect.  I think the ability to see your ideas mesh with a professional's eye will create something amazing.  Professionally I work in an ecommerce company, to me the architect is like my UX designer, laying out my requirements on paper and letting me iterate even before building starts.

When selecting an architect, one of the things to do is to visit their home.  Many architects will use their own homes as a showcase and the overall aesthetic becomes clear.  Seema's home was a beautiful, contemporary sanctuary in the Cupertino hills.  The facade, the choice of materials, the kitchen and the overall effect was absolutely breathtaking.

Here is a picture of the facade Seema drew for us.  You can compare this to the final picture at the top of the post.

Facade drawn by our architect

Picking a contractor

This is by far the most important decision one makes for the remodel.
Assuming you want to go with a general contractor this will impact the whole project in terms of flexibility, budget, timeline and overall quality of the remodel.

It is customary to get at least three quotes.  We got 4 quotes and one was by far the cheapest.  The general rule of thumb is to go with the middle quote not the highest and not the lowest.
We went with a company called Ali's construction.  Ali was not the median quote.  He was almost 25% cheaper than the rest.  In such a situation it becomes very hard to make a logical decision.  Even though we liked the other contractors, we could not really compare when the price was so much lower.

Ali and all the people at his company were really nice people.  The only problem was they had many, many projects and it sometimes became really hard to get their attention.  So we ended up project managing a lot of the project.  Stephanie at the office was great.  Even though she knew very little about construction she often tired hard and got the job done.

Here are some suggestions when you're picking a general contractor:

1.  When getting the contract, make sure you go through the plans in detail and make sure all is accounted for.  We missed the fact that there was no allowance for a fireplace.  The tiling on the deck was not covered.

2. Evaluate the allowances realistically.  We had unrealistically low allowances for tiles, for windows, and for many other things.  The best thing to do is to go to the vendors and get some rough estimates. ask the contractor who the vendors are and go and talk to them if you can.

3. One of the great things about Ali was he knew a lot of vendors who sold materials to him significantly lower (wholesale prices) and he was willing to pass those savings to us.  Something to find out when you talk to the contractor.

4. Check references over a timeline.  So some projects that were done several years ago and some recent ones.  Go to those places and visit.  Most people love to show off their beautiful homes and love talking!

5. Ask for an itemized estimate list.  No costs per square foot.

6. Make sure there is a person onsite at least half the day supervising and managing the order of work.  Should the kitchen tiles be ordered when the bathrooms are being done?  What is the order of things that need to be done.  This is the most important unless you or a representative can be at the site for long periods of time everyday.  This was the mistake we made.  As sub-contractors showed up they sometimes did not know what to do and we had to figure out things.