The chicken or the egg – Should I talk to a builder before engaging my architect?

The process of building your very own custom designed home can be both thrilling and a little unnerving. Many people aren’t even sure where to start.

A common first question is whether it’s better to contact an architect or a builder first.

Well, in reality you can go both ways. However, there are some benefits to engaging a builder before an architect. Here’s why you might not want to reach out to an architect before you’ve chatted to a custom builder.

You miss the opportunity to gain some vital design input from experienced professionals.

Your builder can offer insights into any issues with your land, as well as contribute some solutions to help you keep to your budget. An architect is aware of pricing, but only your builder will have a solid idea of how to meet your budget from the outset. It is builders who are familiar with current material and labour pricing as well as how long a project may take.

Any builder who provides custom designed homes also has access to an architect / designer that they know and trust.

You can save yourself some time and hassle by going directly to a builder who specialises in custom built homes. Whoever you decide to work with, you want your builder and your architect to be on the same page, so it’s always a good idea to work with a team who have collaborated on many projects together before and complement each other’s style.

Input from your builder can provide some priceless feedback before you start.

Custom builders work in a way that always keeps the time and financial investment of a project in mind. Architects, although known to be creative problem solvers, can sometimes get carried away with their vision and forget about the budget. After a consultation to find out what you’re looking for, a custom builder can provide you with some grounded insights into whether your vision will fit within your budget. They can also advise if there are complexities which an architect would be better to nut out for you.

When looking to build a custom home, there are some common challenges that most clients face.

• You want a modern design that looks luxurious but doesn’t cost the earth.
• You want the look of an architecturally designed home, but can’t afford an architect and/or need to stay under budget.

When you engage with a custom home builder, you can literally get the best of both worlds.

Here’s how we at Preferred Homes solve these common challenges for you.

When you choose to build with us, we include a custom designed home as standard. This means no upgrade to get exactly what you want, just a customisable build entirely designed to suit your needs at our competitive pricing. We engage an architect that we know and trust to deliver a design that will meet your brief while remaining builder-friendly by avoiding design issues that look great on paper but aren’t so practical in reality. This is a process that is available to each and every one of our clients.

So, with our knowledge and experience, we can deliver a design that we know will meet your budget.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you create your uniquely designed custom home.