Architect / Designer Directory
Questions for Architects and Contractors
Important questions to ask an architect or contractor during the interview process, courtesy of design and architecture writer Ingrid Abramovitch, author of Restoring a House in the City.
The following questions elaborate on the excellent checklist prepared by the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans on what to ask before you hire anyone to renovate your home.
Ask the Architect
- Do you have experience with renovations?
- What is your design philosophy?
- What services do you offer? Do the services include schematic design, working drawings, specification of materials, bidding and negotiations with contractors, and supervision of construction? If an architect is only needed for the preliminary phase of the project, will you agree to such an arrangement?
- Are you knowledgeable about the requirements of city agencies?
- Do you charge on a percentage of the construction costs, on an hourly basis, a flat fee, or a combination?
- Do you use the standard AIA contract or another document?
- Can you show me a portfolio of your work and supply references? Can I see your work in person?
- Who from your firm will I be dealing with? Will the same person be designing the renovation?
Ask the Contractor
- Do you have experience with renovations?
- Do you carry workmen’s compensation and general liability insurance, and if so how much? Can your name be listed as additionally insured on liability and worker’s compensation insurance? (This will protect you from claims from subcontractors or neighbors whose homes are damaged as a result of your renovation.)
- Can you supply at least three references and refer me to previous work sites so that I can evaluate your work? (You can find out if the contractor has outstanding complaints filed against him or her by contacting your state’s contractors’ licensing board.)
- Do you have a contractor’s license from the city and state?
- Can you supply credit references from suppliers, such as lumber stores, Sheetrock vendors, and others so I can be confident that you are financially solvent?
- Are you comfortable working with architectural drawings and partnering with architects?
- Are you skilled in getting a project through the permitting process?
- Can you adapt to the draw schedule that my lender may dictate?
- When can you start? How long will it take?
- How many other projects do you have in progress?
- How often will you personally be on-site at my project?
More about Restoring a House in the City, published by Artisan Books
What do a fashion mogul, a Williams-Sonoma executive, a museum curator, and a design-savvy actress have in common? Good taste, of course, but more than that: a shared passion to "bring back," to carefully restore and artfully embellish, their houses.
They are among the twenty-one real-life renovations featured in this essential resource—from stately town houses to brownstone fixer-uppers—to give the true experience of creating an urban oasis on any street. Whether hunting for rare chandeliers, salvaging floorboards for new tabletops, or removing walls to let more light in, all the nuts and bolts of restoration are here. In Boston, a young family's renovation takes three years and includes every modern amenity (a media room, home gym, elevator), but saves most of the original interiors (window shutters and seats, marble fireplaces). A Baltimore couple—both stars of the graphic design world—must reconcile their cutting-edge tastes with their traditional surrounds.
From furniture and color to rooftops and terraces, Restoring a House in the City offers a treasury of inspiration and ideas, as well as a lavish illustrated tour of some of the best done renovations in the business.
About Ingrid Abramovitch
Ingrid Abramovitch is a journalist who has written widely on design, architecture, and lifestyle for The New York Times, Elle Decor, Cookie, and Departures. She has also been an editor at Martha Stewart Living and House & Garden. Ingrid lives in an Italianate brownstone in the Carroll Gardens section of Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two daughters.