Do Consultants Cost You Money?
Whatever consultant you want to talk about — engineer, architect, accountant, you name it — their number-one job should be to save you money. But consultants don’t work for free, so how can they actually save money? Allow me to illustrate.
A client of mine, we’ll call him Mister Eggplant, is building a large, lakefront home. His architect, Mrs. Radish, designed the most inefficient, expensive stained concrete deck imaginable. The elaborate structural system consisted of plywood, torch-down membrane, wood I-joists, beams, posts and footings. When it came to me for engineering, I immediately asked why we couldn’t simply use a composite metal deck. There was no good answer, so that is precisely what I designed, saving Mister Eggplant thousands.
Now, I could have easily put on my blinders and analyzed the original deck. My fee would have been about the same either way. But, I am by nature a cheapskate, so I try to save money whenever I can. And I don’t care whose money it is: mine, yours, Red Robin’s (I constantly hound my kids to use only as many paper towels as they really need.)
Let’s examine the bigger picture. What exactly is a consultant anyway? Isn’t it someone with specialized knowledge or experience who performs tasks someone else doesn’t have the time for? In general, most of us are smart enough to do most things in the construction industry if we’re given enough time to learn them. I don’t view consultants as smarter than anyone else, they’re just specialized in a particular area. I’m sure lots of builders could also be engineers or architects or accountants if they really wanted to. In fact, many would be superior at these occupations because they actually understand the real world — where the rubber meets the road.