ARTICLE 02

Before You Call a Contractor
You have an idea for an addition, renovation, or new home, so you call a few contractors and ask the obvious question:

“How much is this going to cost?”

One says $250,000.

Another says $375,000.

A third tells you they really can’t say yet.

So who’s right?

Potentially all of them.

The problem may not be the contractors. The problem is that nobody is pricing the exact same project yet.

Early in a project, there are usually still a lot of unanswered questions. How large is the addition? What walls are moving? What kind of windows are being used? What level of finishes are expected? Does the structure need to change? What site work is involved?

Every unanswered question requires someone to make an assumption.

And different assumptions can create very different prices.

Define the Project Before You Compare the Price

Before asking, “What will this cost?”, it can be more useful to first ask:

“What exactly are we trying to build?”

That does not mean every cabinet pull, light fixture, and paint color needs to be selected before talking to a contractor.

It means defining enough of the project that everyone is talking about the same thing.

For an addition, that might mean establishing the size, layout, relationship to the existing house, major structural changes, window and door locations, general material expectations, and any site or zoning issues that could affect the work.

That begins to define the scope.

And the clearer the scope becomes, the more meaningful the pricing becomes.

Why Drawings Matter

Imagine asking three contractors to price an addition based only on a conversation and a few inspiration photos.

One contractor may assume standard windows. Another may picture a large custom glass wall.

One may include significant electrical upgrades. Another may not.

One may assume relatively basic finishes while another is imagining something much more custom.

You could end up with three very different numbers without really knowing whether you are comparing three prices for the same project.

Architectural drawings help give everyone a common set of information to work from.

That does not mean every contractor will give you the same price, nor should they. Contractors have different labor costs, subcontractors, schedules, overhead, and approaches to construction.

But it gives you a much better opportunity to compare the same project.

The Contractor Should Still Be Part of the Conversation

This does not mean you should wait until every design decision is finished before involving a contractor.

Early contractor input can be extremely valuable.

A good contractor can provide insight into current construction pricing, material availability, scheduling, local trades, and different ways of building something.

The architect and contractor are solving different parts of the same problem.

The best results often come when that knowledge is coordinated rather than when everyone is working independently.

So Where Does the Architect Fit In?

This is one of the places an architect can add real value before construction begins.

The goal is not simply to produce drawings.

It is to take the ideas you have been thinking about, understand what you actually need, study the possibilities, identify potential constraints, and turn those ideas into a project that can be clearly understood, priced, permitted, and eventually built.

And you do not need to have everything figured out before reaching out.

That is part of the process.

Because before someone can accurately price what you’re building, it helps to first understand what you’re building.

Michael Demetrios Frudakis, AIA, NCARB
Principal Architect