National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI)

With the variety of design professionals available to assist with home improvement projects, including kitchen designers, interior designers and design-build firms, the answer can be equally complicated.

Take that attic project, for instance. In theory, you could take it on yourself. Or maybe you'd hire a contractor to build it out for you. But let's say you're adding a staircase. "The floor joists in an attic are often designed for storage, so frequently you have to reinforce the flooring," Wentworth says, to handle the weight of a person using the stairs.

The point is, whomever you choose to handle the design and/or construction needs to understand those finer points of home building, especially as they relate to your particular house. That means you should use an architect or qualified design-build firm if you're planning any kind of structural changes.

A kitchen designer or interior designer can create a functional and attractive layout for your kitchen cabinets and appliances. But if you want to start knocking down walls to increase floor space or change the traffic flow, it's best to have the advice of someone who understands the ramifications of doing so.

You'll also want to consider using an architect or other properly trained professional, such as a structural engineer, if you think municipal code or safety issues might be involved. Wentworth said he was once called to a late-19th-century home in Capitol Hill because the owner decided to dig out a basement himself. Already on shaky footings, the building began to fall in. "It was a structural and architectural emergency," he says.

Even seemingly innocuous projects can lead to unforeseen consequences. Creating an extra bedroom in a basement is a great way to maximize the space within your home. But if it doesn't have an appropriate escape route, you could be building what amounts to a death trap. The best way to avoid such problems is to have a professional well-versed in local safety codes and building regulations create or review your remodeling plans. Licensing requirements for residential designers and contractors vary from state to state, so don't be afraid to ask tough questions about the experience, background and professional certification of anyone you're considering to work on your home.

So does it make more sense to hire an architect and a separate general contractor, or a design-build firm that can handle all your needs under one roof? Once again, it depends. "Both ways work great for different people," says Tim Burch Jr., owner of Burch Builders Group, a design-build firm in Warrenton.

By using a design-build firm, you're essentially getting a one-stop shop for design and construction. What a good design-build company should do is make life easier by taking into account all of your needs and wants, then scheduling and coordinating the work, Burch says. They can tell you on what day to expect the plumber or when you might need to leave the house because of the dust or the smell.

Accountability for the entire project rests squarely with one firm, Burch says. "You need to know who has ownership of this, who is going to tell the client about that," he says. "Sometimes you get the architect and the contractor pointing fingers at each other, and the client gets caught in the middle."

Still, there are homeowners who are comfortable, and actually prefer, planning their own projects and overseeing the various contractors. Others have strong faith in the bidding process and want to get the best price from a builder based on an architect's plans. In that case, it's crucial to have a detailed set of plans and specifications, says Roger W. Bass, president of Bass Architects in McLean. "[The bidders] are going to interpret what they see and try to cut costs, which might mean cutting corners," he says.

If you're uncertain whether your remodeling project requires professional advice, one way to be sure is to ask. Some architects and design-build professionals make free sales calls; others will visit your home and discuss your plans for a nominal fee (Wentworth, for instance, charges $250 for a two-hour visit), which can be credited back to you if they're hired. It could be worth the expense for just peace of mind.

After all, not every project is as easy to manage as HGTV might have you believe, Bass says. "If you save a couple of thousand bucks on a project that costs $100,000 and you don't like it, then it wasn't worth the savings," Bass says.

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