What are the disadvantages of design and build?
The main disadvantages of design and build are that nobody independent checks the builder, the build price is not tested by tender and you commit to one firm early. Each one is real, because the architect works for the same firm as the builders. Each can also be managed once you know where it sits and what to ask before you sign.
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Nobody independent checks the builder
On the traditional route you can engage your architect to administer the building contract. They then assess variations, certify progress payments and inspect the work on your behalf. With design and build the architect works for the same firm as the builders, so that independent check is not built into the arrangement.
We would put this trade-off first, because it is the one most owners miss. If you want an independent view, you can engage a building consultant to inspect the work at each stage before you pay the next claim. At SHORE you sign off each design stage before we move to the next one. During the build we hold walkthroughs while a change is still a conversation rather than a variation. After handover we return at three, six and twelve months to attend to defects.
The build price is not tested by tender
When an architect's drawings go out to tender, several builders price the same house and you can compare their numbers. Design and build skips that step, so you cannot set one builder's price against another for the finished design.
What you get instead is cost shaping the design while it develops. Our builders price the concept as it takes shape and refine the budget as each decision lands. That avoids the familiar problem of a finished design that comes back from tender well over budget. Before construction you receive a fixed lump-sum contract price with consultant coordination included, so you know the contract sum before work starts.
You commit to one firm early
Choosing a design and build firm also means choosing your builder at the very start, often before a single drawing exists. Changing course midway is harder than replacing one consultant on the traditional route, so that first choice carries more weight.
The way to manage this is to commit in steps rather than all at once. We can start with feasibility and planning on their own, testing what the site allows before you set the brief. That stage also shows whether a CDC (complying development certificate) is likely or a DA (development application) to council is needed. We can design your home for another builder to build, while owners who already hold drawings can bring them to us as architectural builders in Sydney.
You have less choice of designer
On the traditional route you can choose an architect purely for their design work and then find a builder separately. In design and build the designer comes with the firm. Some owners worry that the design will then lean towards whatever is easiest for that firm to build.
Ask who will lead the design and check their name on the NSW Register of Architects, since only registered architects can use the title in NSW. At SHORE the design is led by Emanuel Solomovic, our Senior Architect and NSW Registered Architect No. 7154. Our interior designers work alongside him from the start. Our builders test each detail for buildability and cost while it is drawn, which keeps the design honest about its budget without handing the decisions to the site.
When design and build is the wrong choice
Weighed against these disadvantages of design and build, the model suits owners who want one party answerable for the whole home and a design priced as it is drawn. It is a weaker fit if independent oversight of the builder matters most to you or if you already have an architect you want to work with.
Our guide to design and build vs an architect and a builder sets out both routes step by step, with the questions to ask before you choose. If design and build sounds right for your site, see how we run design and build in Sydney from the first site visit to handover.
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