My first thought is, contractors always push. Don't be bullied. Don't let him/her get you second guessing your drawings.
Ask your contractor what he/she is suggesting and let him/her know you will pass their concerns on to the engineer.
Build a relationship with your engineer. Especially If you plan to use him/her on all of your projects. You need to trust their work. Let him/her know that you want a safe building, but not an overly expensive one. Let him/her know that you want to work as a team, and if they sees ways you could make minor changes in your design and save your client money, you want to hear their thoughts.
It takes many people to build a building, so build relationships.
If you are not confident and able to make decisions, construction will definitely test you. Unless they are pouring concrete, a few hours to get the knowledge to make a right decision won't hurt anything. Just tell your contractor when you will get back to them with the answer, so you don't leave them hanging. If you don't have an answer by the time you said you would call, call them and let them know. This builds trust.
Build a team you trust, and ask questions. It's also OK to brainstorm with your team. When it comes to the structure, listen to others, but lean on your engineer for decisions pertaining to the structure.
A few homes under your belt and you'll be soaring through projects. For now, put one foot in front of the other, build your team, and build trust.
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Rachelle Freegard AIA
Architect
Bailey Edward Architecture
Champaign IL
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-24-2014 10:04
From: Lisa Cohen
Subject: Working with Structural Engineers
This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Small Project Practitioners and Custom Residential Architects Network .
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I am the owner of a small residential design firm. While I have over a decade of experience in my field, I am new to owning my own firm. I lack confidence in my structural skills, so I developed a relationship with a structural engineer to assist me in developing my framing plans, and to size the structural members. Its been a great relationship, but now that my projects are starting the construction phase, I am getting a lot of push back from contractors that the structures are over-designed. While I trust my engineer's calculations, I am also realistic that the contractor has built way more house than I have at this point, and has a better understanding for building standards. Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation? Any advice on how to determine when the contractor is right vs. insisting he follow the engineered designs? Any books or other resources you might recommend? Or any other business models out there that might give me the structural support (no pun intended) that I am looking for while accounting for standard business practices?
Thank you,
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Lisa Cohen AIA
Architect
LMC Architecture, LLC
Fair Lawn NJ
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