Construction administration (CA) is the phase where your architect monitors construction to verify it matches the approved drawings. Many homeowners skip CA to save money — and later regret it when they discover expensive discrepancies between what was designed and what was built.
What Construction Administration Includes
- Site visits: Regular visits (typically every 1-2 weeks) to observe work in progress
- RFI responses: Answering contractor questions about the drawings
- Submittal review: Reviewing shop drawings and product submittals from subcontractors
- Change order review: Evaluating proposed changes and their cost/schedule impact
- Punch list: Identifying incomplete or deficient work before final payment is released
- Certificate of substantial completion: Confirming the work is substantially complete per contract
What Your Architect Catches During CA
Common issues discovered during site visits include: framing errors that change room dimensions, windows installed in wrong locations, structural elements missing from framing, waterproofing errors that would cause future leaks, and finish work that does not match specifications. Catching these during construction costs a fraction of fixing them after completion.
What Happens When You Skip CA
Without an architect on site, the contractor is self-policing their own work. Discrepancies from the drawings may not be caught until it is too late (or too expensive) to fix. Disputes between owner and contractor become harder to resolve without an independent professional who understands both the design intent and construction practice.
CA Fee
CA typically represents 20-30% of total architect fees, billed monthly during construction. For a project with $50,000 in total architect fees, CA might be $10,000-$15,000. This is consistently the highest-ROI portion of architectural services.
Piper Cole Architects provides full construction administration for all projects. Free consultation — call 425-753-6452.
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Piper Cole Architects offers a free initial consultation for all project types — residential, commercial, ADU, and renovation. No obligation. Based in Kirkland, WA. Serving the entire Seattle metro area since 2000.