Switching Architects
Hey everyone, I have a really pressing question. We are mid-reno on a 3-to-1 family conversion, and are completely fed up with our architect. How difficult is it to change mid-stream? Does anyone have any experience with this? I’ve heard rumor that if you do the DOB will review everything the first architect has self-certified…
Hey everyone,
I have a really pressing question. We are mid-reno on a 3-to-1 family conversion, and are completely fed up with our architect. How difficult is it to change mid-stream? Does anyone have any experience with this?
I’ve heard rumor that if you do the DOB will review everything the first architect has self-certified up to this point (this took months for us the first time, hence our wanting to switch). Could that possibly be true?
Thanks so much!
uh… hate to tell you this, but architects cannot self certify a certificate of occupancy job any longer. so im guessing your job is old. i have a few cases like that. in one case, getting it signed off now that the rules have changed has taken a year. (this is a 7 year old job) but the first step the dob took was to audit the job and require an inspection before before they would sign off a self cert CofO job from years ago. they found 9 things that could have crushed it. they denied our reconsideration all the way up to the commissioner who allowed it.
they will be following up on your job if it is not signed off in 1 year. the real problem i see is trying to hold either architect responsible for anything not exclusively thiers
Thanks for the tips, y’all! Much appreciated.
i’m sorry, i just realized that you said the first architect SELF CERTIFIED….
thats likely going to be a complication ($$) for the superseding architect since its a C/O jobs (a lot of architects are far more cautious in self certifying C/O jobs than say, interior buildouts):
does DOB require automatic review of self certified jobs that are superseded? I don’t think so, but I’m not 100% sure because we’ve never superseded a SELF CERTIFIED job:
ts fairly easy to find out: Just call and ask: (718) 579-6920
that # is for Brooklyn DOB…
switching architects doesn’t necessarily mean that DOB is going to review the job again.
It will, however, mean that the new architect will have to catch up to the work (and may require you to pay extra for the first architect to certify certain inspections).
the fire safety and egress inspections probably aren’t so big of a deal (1 family has little in the way of fire protection requirements that wouldn’t be ostensible from a visual inspection…ie no firestopping and new fire rated walls on the interior required)….
Are your walls closed up? If so, do you have pictures of the roughing?
If you used a standard contract you are also required to pay the old architect for all work performed to date.
Best of luck!
It’s almost better to not switch architects. To say it plainly, the first go round the architect filed documents to the city which were code compliant. Code compliance runs the gambit from fire & egress issues, to wall types, to zoning calcs. If you applied for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and sprinkler in one application then the architect is further enmeshed in the overall product. if the architect goes and a new one comes on board, the new one will have to conduct a very comprehensive survey of all existing conditions, re-file the job with the dob. There is a very sticky liability issue here b/c if a new architect hasn’t been on-board since the start, how can they vouch for the work that has been done to date, some of which can’t be seen unless you do some selective demolition were required. The fee for the new architect wouldn’t be much different than what you would have paid if he/she were doing the job from the start + they will probably want to make sure you cover their liability insurance premium for your job. So despite the fact that you might get better service from a new architect, it will cost you $, and time, and I honestly recommend that you don’t try to work your way around the $ and time it will cost you, because it will bite you back in the end. I speak from personal experience.
the next architect will want to review everything done to date…how can he certify anything without having been there…add about 30-50% in architects fees to switch midstream, in addition to several months added to the timeline
Ha! Wow…we are going through this right now too! Here is what we are doing:
We are doing a gut reno and adding on a large portion of the house…we hired a great GC…he supplied the architect as part of the deal. It turns out the architect is an old man (nothing wrong with that!) who is very old school…doesnt know how to use email…and takes FOREVER to return calls/set up meetings/get ANYTHING done. After 5 months of dealing with him and ENDLESS trips by the expiditer to the DOB to get our plan approved (which we finally got approved), I decided I can not deal with him anymore. But like you said…he is the filing architect and you dont want to go through the nightmare. In my case, because my architect is so slow and useless, it was easy. We hired an AMAZING interior designer who basically saved my life. She has top notch knowledge and works with an architect also. I told my architect that I was workin with the designer and that she would take care of EVERYTHING else from here on in…all we needed him to do was to sign off on everything. So I now have my interior designer and her team finishing the plan…we will have to make an amendment with the DOB, but as we are not moving anything structural its not going to be a big deal. If you want my interior designers info just let me know…she charges a normal rate…she is VERY fair and can help you with your interior and her architect can help you with what ever else you need.