Small Project Design

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Residential Knowledge Community .
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I don't believe competitive bidding works in the architect's favor in the long run.  Contractor's that competitively bid for residential projects work diligently looking for change orders.  This could turn into finger pointing and adversarial relationships.  I believe the Team approach works best.  Just after schematic design begins, I usually recommend 2 to 3 GC's for clients to interview.  We specifically ask for cost + percentage markup is.  We also request that the GC get competitive sub-bids for the larger cost items (Mech, Elec, Plumbing, Paint, etc.).  In short, once the GC is chosen, they are included in many design meetings and help up get pricing as the design progresses, thus keeping us on budget.  It get's their buy-in, commitment, and we learn more about their professionalism before the construction begins.  Through this process, we have formed many strong relationships with contractors, as well as learned quite a bit from them.  In turn, we have received many referrals from contractors who have helped us sell architectural services to prospective clients.  

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Richard Shugar AIA
Principal
2Form Architecture
Eugene OR
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We prefer to operate exactly as Richard describes. The days of competitive bidding may be over, we'll see. I do offer both methods to my clients with an thorough explanation. Many of them bring a contractor to the table on their own so they can partner with someone they trust and so there are no (or few) surprises at the end. I am not strongly opposed to competitive bidding, but I find it to create more problems that it solves.

There is no way to know if a client is getting the best price without inventing a time machine and doing the project both ways. However, if a contractor is invested up front as a team member, their attitude going in is completely different. Also, once the permit is obtained, they are already familiar with the project and can start much quicker. They may have already lined up sub-contractors, vendors, etc. knowing they have the project in hand and they can negotiate with them to find the best price for the client.

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Lee Calisti AIA
Principal
lee CALISTI architecture+design
Greensburg PA
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I agree with Richard -- for my residential projects I always encourage the homeowner to form a team up front.  A contractor's input can be invaluable during the design process, especially regarding costs.  It has been my experience, that if you have the three parties involved together, you have a more successful project.  It helps prevent two parties from ganging up against the "odd man out" (i.e. the architect and client complaining about the contractor, the contractor and architect from complaining about the client, the client and contractor from complaining about the architect).  My past clients that have resisted this advice have been the least satisfied with the process/costs.  Also similar to Richard, once I've worked with a contractor in the past, I generally become their first choice for a referral to a potential client.

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Patrick Marr AIA
Patrick Marr, PE, AIA
Santa Barbara CA
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Rex Peterson AIA
Architect
Rex Peterson Architect
Gordon NE
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I encourage home owner's to consider that they want their home filled with good memories.  Working with a trusted contractor is more important for them a low price, especially if they are going to second guess whether they are getting good treatment.

In a competitive bid situation, the contractor is only bidding what is in the contract documents.  Our service includes providing a complete contract.  It is not unusual to see a spread between the bids equal to our fee.  That has value to a client.
In my experience, change orders run less than 10% of a job.  Half being due to concealed conditions and half because the owner wakes up and sees an opportunity.



Original Message:
Sent: 12-18-2010 12:38
From: Patrick Marr
Subject: Competitive Bidding

I agree with Richard -- for my residential projects I always encourage the homeowner to form a team up front.  A contractor's input can be invaluable during the design process, especially regarding costs.  It has been my experience, that if you have the three parties involved together, you have a more successful project.  It helps prevent two parties from ganging up against the "odd man out" (i.e. the architect and client complaining about the contractor, the contractor and architect from complaining about the client, the client and contractor from complaining about the architect).  My past clients that have resisted this advice have been the least satisfied with the process/costs.  Also similar to Richard, once I've worked with a contractor in the past, I generally become their first choice for a referral to a potential client.

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Patrick Marr AIA
Patrick Marr, PE, AIA
Santa Barbara CA
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