Initial consultation checklist
Initial consultation(s) between the designer and the owner and members of their family in the early stages of the project should include the following.
Letter of appointment | Arrange a letter of appointment as designer either from the owner or from the designer confirming the commission – a form letter is available for NZ Institute of Architects members. |
Design brief |
Develop the brief that the designer will work to.
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Budget |
Determine the owner’s actual budget. Does this place limitations on the amount of work able to be done, or can the job be structured over a number of years to make it affordable? (The key is always to have a plan of where the owner wants to end up – the variable is how long it might take to get there.) |
Existing layout and structure |
Do a careful measure-up and document the existing layout and construction and the condition of the building – cladding, roofing, framing wiring, plumbing and so on. Identify:
Determine what is possible given the existing structure, for example, installing new double-glazed windows into framing timbers that are not straight and level may be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Determine those parts of the existing structure that may need to be modified, for example, removal of existing walls and the structural implications of the change – will a beam have to be added in? |
Resources Management Act requirements | Determine whether the Resource Management Act limitations apply to the site, for example, site coverage and building height, side yards and so on – is it a listed building? |
Plumbing | If plumbing work is involved, check the water pressure. Some plumbing fixtures are difficult to fit in homes where there is a big variation in the pressure of the mains water supply. Renovations that bring mains pressure water into a house often result in much higher water flow rates and potentially higher water bills for owners whose homes are metered if water efficiency measures are not added to counter this. |