Interaction between professionals during CDC/construction

Discussion in 'Development' started by htopg, 18th Sep, 2020.

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  1. htopg

    htopg Well-Known Member

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    Hi,

    Just out of curiosity, can someone outline the interaction between professionals during CDC/construction process?
    The professionals include architect, BASIX engineer, hydraulic engineer, structure engineer, private certifier, builder, etc.

    In a quote from an architect, "coordination" fee with BASIX engineer/structure engineer/hydraulic engineer is included for $500.
    What does the architect do with BASIX engineer/structure engineer/hydraulic engineer?

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Peter_Tersteeg

    Peter_Tersteeg Mortgage Broker Business Member

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    When our house was in the design phase, the architect/draftsperson coordinated the various other professionals needed to produce plans that were council approved. Off the top of my head, that included some engineering, hydraulics, a lot of ahborist work, energy ratings.

    A hydro engineer was required in our case as the driveway was quite steep, sloping into the garage and the rest of the house. Additional drainage design was required to ensure water never makes it into the garage. During the build phase, the builder organised a certifier to ensure this was implemented appropriately.

    Once we had the plans, we engaged a builder. Throughout the construction process, they brought in various professionals (beyond the usual tradies) needed to build the house and ensure it was compliant. For example, the soil test came up with some challenges, so some additional structural engineering was required to make sure the foundations were suitable and this also needed to be certified.
     
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  3. Tufan Chakir

    Tufan Chakir Well-Known Member

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    Some one needs to co-ordinate the input by all the consultants. the Architect is usually that person during design/design development and construction drawings stages. It goes to the detail design of a project - someone needs to make sure all the consultants need to end up with the same product/outcome. The fee is reasonable for that service
     
  4. CTSB

    CTSB Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to the glorious world of consultants fees.

    It's why the devil is always in the detail of architectural and town planning fee proposals.

    Option A whilst more expensive on paper may, in fact, be a whole lot cheaper than Option B when all said and done.

    Most architects and TP's tend to exclude the ongoing consultant's costs in their fee proposals, especially in the planning approval stages, and generally, just allow an hourly rate for this portion of the process.

    On face value, it seems, reasonable, until they hit you with a bill for every email, every phone call to council etc. Often this stage can cost as much as the earlier fixed lump sum stages.

    I've been in many a discussion with architects and town planners seeking justification on how a tree management plan submission, the plan of which is prepared by another consultant and is just being passed across by the TP/architect has been billed as 3 hours for what seems like a simple email. There's numerous other examples of this type of thing.

    As for your question specifically, the architect would purely integrate the hydraulic eng, structural eng, energy rating report into their drawing pack and amend any changes on the architectural plans where required to reflect their findings/recommendations/computations.

    I.e If the structural engineer came back with a design report that stated that the beams for your slab had to be XYZ wide by XYZ deep. That would be updated and reflected in your structural drawings and sections by the architect.
     
    Last edited: 22nd Sep, 2020
    Tufan Chakir likes this.
  5. Tufan Chakir

    Tufan Chakir Well-Known Member

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    Our fee offer is comprehensive and detailed. We often find competitors described as above - a partial fixed fee and on-going rate for "additional" read - uncounted services. Frustrating because we are up front (and as a consumer that's how I like to be treated). One needs to look beyond the basic "fee" and see what is included or excluded, and the skill level of the service provider.

    Some co-ordination fees are justifiable, some are merely part of what is "normal". It will depend on the services, level of input, consequence of the input etc