So, You Should Have Hired an Architect is a Facebook group dedicated to showcasing examples of why it’s a bad idea to skip out on hiring an architect, as seen by the visual content shared in it.

The group also features discussions on topics related to what it means to be an architect in the modern world and what they actually do.

The group was created by architect Allison B. McKenzie in May of 2021 and has since then blown up with its success. As of this listicle, the group has over 58,000 members who actively contribute.

In our previous listicle, McKenzie explained that the two biggest reasons why ridiculousness happens in architecture in the first place is money and lack of understanding about how much better off they can be with an architect’s touch.

McKenzie elaborated that architects bring a lot to the project. It’s not just about making a house beautiful and functional—it’s also about making sure it fits into its environment in a sustainable way.

This is besides them making sure you don’t dig yourself into a deep, deep hole of building standard and code violations.

And while you can risk it and skip out on hiring an architect—there are cases when personal houses turned out to be just fine—the group has ample examples of why it’s probably not worth the risk.

After all, there is a reason why architects go through years of studies and pass rigorous exams to be able to do what they do in a safe and sustainable manner. Having played the Sims throughout high school, however, does not count.

In the most general sense of the concept, architects make problems go away.

For every want and need that you might have with a house comes a non-zero chance of a problem arising. Even more so when you need to translate your vision onto a three-dimensional space measured extremely precisely—and you bet that every nano-measurement counts.

An architect might cost you in the beginning, but you will surely end up saving money in the long run. Architects make sure each project is done in the most efficient and economically reasonable way. And it’s not just the early stages of a building that are set—they also future-proof projects by coordinating materials and layouts in the plan in a way that it would last long and would actually be something you could sell in the future if the need arises.

If anything, hiring an architect is just the easier thing to do. Sure, it’ll cost you more, but how much is your peace of mind worth?

It doesn’t take a cost-benefit analysis to know that if you’re trying to draft up a plan all the while working and living your life, plus all of the other engineering and design services that you might want to throw in there and coordinating and administrating absolutely everything—it’s always worth it.

And besides the architect, there’s a slew of other things to worry about too—your plan has to have the right amount of detail (including structural engineering drawings, survey plans and utilities logistics), having your finances properly sorted so that there's a budget to begin with, selecting the right builder, doing your research and all that jazz.

Needless to say, it helps to get all the help you can get. Otherwise, you might end up with a door in the middle of your staircase… or a staircase that doubles as a Home Alone trap… or a house that’s out to get you because of all the architectural nonsense you’ve let yourself get carried away with.

Prompt for an architect, or suffer the consequences of being featured as an example on You Should Have Hired an Architect.