Posted by: @nazart

@foundational I disagree. Everything you say will seem harmless when you give advice to friends and family, it can actually be risky because you do not have that mental distance of architectect/client. If something goes wrong, you could be held responsible, and it could damage your professional reputation and more importantly your personal one.

 

It's not always as simple as “yeah you can do this no problem”, even if you were only offering an opinion, it could still be seen as professional advice, because you are after all, an architect.

I'm the kind of guy who enjoys logical discussions, even when they turn into friendly debates 🙂.

I understand that you work for yourself and I don’t. From a risk management standpoint there is no right answer as it truly boils down to the situation.

The way I see it, most people are aware of the difference between professional advice and an opinion. As long as you're clear about what you're providing, there's no reason not to share your knowledge with friends and family, especially when you think about the personal aspect of it. If a friend or family member comes to you for advice, they're probably doing so because they trust you and value your opinion.

Posted by: @ascott

In the Court Cases section there is a case about an architect working for some friends, for free. I have not yet had the time available to read it fully, but it strikes me as something that may be relevant here.

What website is this on? I can’t find the Court Cases.

What website is this on? I can’t find the Court Cases.

@richardb

Some of the forums here are behind a paywall, and the Court Cases is one of them. You need premium access to read them.

@RichardB, as an architect you are liable for any advice that you give regardless of it being in a friendly environment or not.  It’s never a problem when things are going well and everything turns out ok but when things go wrong, friend or no friend, things can get ugly.

@foundational, I think that we could skirt around this problem for a long time but it is good to get both sides of the argument.  I agree that personal relationships are important, but I think it's also important to maintain professional boundaries. If you start blurring the lines between your personal and professional life, it could lead to problems.

I think that when family/friends know that you are an architect it becomes inevitable that you will be asked some sort of question about construction…..it’s like if you are a doctor.  

I have given advice to friends when they’ve asked general questions like about planning, how long it is going to take, what they need to do, will it be a problem, how much it will cost etc.  These are mainly general questions that are not stating anything but fact.  I have also done quick searches to see if what they require will be problematic or not, but even with these result I don’t give a yes answer only as to if it will be problematic or not as any planning application could potentially be.