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.
Planning a project?
Working out what your lot will allow, and what it will cost?
Send David the address and a few lines about what you want. The first feasibility check is free and usually takes about a day: what the site and the code are likely to allow, and what to check first.
Architect since 1996, member of the AIA and NCARB. Three Masonry Excellence Awards for commercial projects; the Carr residence was featured in Above The Lake and Lux magazines.
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 feasibility check, call 425-753-6452.
