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Have you ever wondered how to get design advice with no strings attached? How to find out if your ideas for your apartment, townhouse or single family home make sense and can be achieved within your modest budget? You may find the answer through an emerging professional service called design counseling. Consider the following scenarios: |
| Scenario 1 - The Concerned Condo Owner - Your life savings are invested in your condominium, but ever since you purchased, you've become increasingly nervous about all the "leaky condo" articles you've been reading. Your strata council is also nervous and is considering a major hike in strata fees to establish a major repairs reserve, over and above the reserve already established for maintenance and repairs. Are you overreacting? How can you determine the likelihood of your building or your condo developing a leak? How can you reduce this likelihood? |
| Scenario 2 - The Modest Renovator - You've been in the townhouse seven years now and have developed the homeowner version of "the seven year itch." You love the neighbourhood, the schools, etc., but you've discovered all of your home's shortcomings. Furthermore, you have a pretty good idea how to solve them - finishing that unfinished basement, a makeover of the kitchen, and if possible, an ensuite in that oversized master bedroom closet. Your needs are modest, you don't want an architectural masterpiece (in fact you need strata council approval of any changes) and you're not sure you'll get an unbiased assessment from a contractor. Where can you get just the advice you need? |
| Enter the Design Counselor - Both of the above scenarios have a few elements in common. The owners in question are conscientious, reasonable people with reasonable concerns. They operate on limited budgets. Their concerns lie with buildings which are outside of their own personal and professional expertise. They want independent, comprehensive advice, not a sales job. |
| Until recently, their choices were limited. No matter who they approached, the modest nature of their problem or concerns was likely a "turn-off" for the contractor or full-service architect whose advice they sought, as the resulting job might be too small or not there at all. They were concerned whether they would be getting just the advice they needed, or instead, a "pitch" for perhaps a larger or even unnecessary work scope. |
| Design counseling is one approach which addresses these concerns. The design counselor will likely be an experienced architect with good communication skills and a genuine interest in helping members of the public with their design & construction problems, regardless of project scale. The counselor acts independently of any builder or supplier, in other words, receives no referral fees or other compensation if a particular professional, supplier or contractor is recommended for follow-up work. |
| How does Design Counseling work? -Your first contact with a design counselor will likely be when you call on the phone. The counselor will ask you about the general nature of your problem, where your property/unit is located, and confirm whether he/she is qualified to deal with it, and if not, who might be. If the counselor is qualified, an appointment will be arranged, either "on site" or in the counselor's office. Between the first contact and the appointment time, the counselor will provide you with a short letter explaining what counseling is, what it includes and excludes, and what it will cost. You will be asked to sign and return a copy of that letter, confirming your understanding. This letter becomes your design counseling contract. |
| Design counselors typically charge for their time by the hour, so the more information you can provide, the less research time the counselor will need to spend. Typically, bring any of the following which you have or can get: survey documents of the property; floor plans and photographs of the building, especially in the area where any renovations are contemplated (hand drawn sketches on graph paper at a scale of 1/4" = 1'-0" usually suffice); agreements, quotes, etc. which you have or are contemplating with contractors, owners, etc.; and of course, your ideas for proposed renovations or additions, in the form of images, magazine clippings, etc. The design counselor may suggest you bring other specific information, depending on your problem. |
| What you can Expect from a Counseling Session - Assuming you have arrived at the counselor's office with as much information as possible, it's down to business right away. Typically over a period of 1 to 3 hours, surrounded by all the necessary building & zoning information as well as other technical books, the counselor will first question you in detail about your problem, then evaluate your problem/challenge and give specific, "take away" advice. The advice is written out, xeroxed and/or sketched for you such that you may proceed with your project without ever again contacting the design counselor, if you wish. For convenience, we tuck these work products into a convenient folder which you can use to keep your and our ideas and solutions in one place. |
| If yours is a design problem, you will receive sketches from which a competent builder could provide a fairly accurate quotation, as well as advice on what permits may be required, where to find a contractor, etc. If your design problem is in a strata development, you will be advised about the general procedures for obtaining strata council approval for changes and if you wish, the design counselor can be available to make a presentation to the council on your behalf. If the design problem is with an existing structure but your counseling session was in the design counselor's office, a site visit will probably be in order, after which the counselor may refine proposals generated in the office so that they include site conditions which you may not have been aware were of importance. |
| What About Follow-up? - The initial information you receive from the counselor may well suffice, but if you need additional advice, the counselor will usually be available by appointment or over the phone. If the inquiry can't be answered "on the spot", the counselor will estimate for you the time required to get an answer, and proceed after your approval. If you are comfortable with the design counselor's approach, you may wish to have the counselor prepare more complete drawings, obtain building permits, negotiate contracts, inspect work in progress, etc. Your strata council may insist on such a process. Most design counselors are pleased to provide extended services, either on an hourly basis or for a fixed fee if the scope of their services is clearly defined. Remember, however, what differentiates design counseling from other approaches to design service is that the design counselor provides no "freebies" but gives you useful and usable information at the very first meeting. |
| How Much will it Cost? - Design counselors sell expert time. The better prepared you are, and the simpler your problem, the less it will cost to resolve. Most design counseling is "by the hour", or portion, typically at a rate more than a plumber's and less than a lawyer's! |
| You will also be charged for the counselor's expenses, such as printing copies of sketches or other documents for you. Rates for service and for expenses should be spelled out in the letter agreement you sign before meeting with the counselor. |
| Like other professionals not covered by government funding, such as lawyers and dentists, design counselors expect to be paid upon completion of their services. Rather than obtaining a lawyer-like retainer, the design counselor will probably give you an "instant invoice" for "instant payment" at the end of your session, detailing time and expenses. |
| Most counselors accept major credit cards for their services, allowing them to be paid for initial and follow-up advice without the hassle of re-invoicing each time. However, the counselor will always record and forward to you a record of any follow-up inquiry, as well as action taken, advice given and associated time and costs. The emphasis is on useful, practical advice, rendered as efficiently as possible. |
| An Approach Whose Time has Come - In his best selling book, Boom, Bust & Echo, about the demographics of Canada, author David Foot notes that the largest percentage of Canada's population is moving from a time of life with no money and lots of time to a time with more money and less time. Design counseling, aimed at providing expert answers to specific questions in minimal time, is geared to that reality. |
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