What is "Construction Administration" by a designer? And should we do it?

What does the designer do during construction administration? Should I pay for construction administration after the design is finished?

We recently received a list of questions about construction administration from a client. Construction administration (CA) is often called "construction observation." It's the idea that you keep the designer  involved during construction. This may be a few hours, a month, or even less of the designer's time, and it is usually billed hourly.

Many clients like to remove the designer after they get their plans. They figure it's money saved. However, this is not a good idea.

Every contractor knows that it is extremely rare to have a set of plans with all the specs detailed perfectly. And even on the off chance the plans are perfectly complete, there may be unexpected changes. The owners may change their minds about something or construction may hit an unexpected snag.

Our client sent us some excellent questions, so we wanted to share them here. If you're about to accept a bid, you're probably asking yourself the same things.

Q: What type of tasks/responsibilities would the designer take on as part of construction admin?

A: The designer would make biweekly or monthly site visits that take one or two hours and are billed hourly. The designer would clarify if the contractor has questions and posts a note, texts or calls to discuss. The designer would revise the drawings if a major revision is needed. (Only the designer is allowed to modify the drawings, and this is a law). Changing heating systems, windows, walls, etc. can all be major revisions.

Q: How does a construction-admin function differ from or overlap the roles the contractor typically plays?

A: The designer's role is to provide insights based on what is usually 6–12 months of thinking about the project. These insights often go into great depth. The designer also provides a second opinion when the contractor sees a way to do something that you may not want or may need to discuss.

Q: Can I, as the homeowner, take on the construction admin tasks myself?

A: The homeowner doesn't have the experience needed to make the necessary decisions quickly or effectively. It's easy to get tripped up on things as a homeowner. People say there are 10,000 decisions in a remodel or new house, and we've been thinking about them for decades.

Q: Would we pay the designer on an hourly basis?

A: Yes. You pay as you go for what you need or want.

Q: What does it mean when you say your designer "may want to step back" if we opted not to engage you in construction admin? Are there tasks you were planning to do on the project that you no longer would?
A: If we are not consulted as changes are made by the contractor, then we are exposed to liability. For example, something may be built wrong (e.g., not built to code, not built according to drawings, or done without engineer consultation). Or something may be done that you don't like. In either case, it comes back to the designer, and the designer is not going to work for free to fix things that they should have been consulted about before problems occurred. However, If there is a verifiable mistake in our drawings, we will, of course, agree to correct the problem at no charge.

Q: What else do I need to know?
A: Some contractors argue that they can fulfill the role of designer as needed during construction. They probably can get the project done, but even so, both the finished project and your experience will be better with a second opinion from the designer — even if it's only an hour a month of review.