I'm after having a small extension and some minor structural work done to our house. Its all on the ground floor and will involve the creation of a utility room in the back half of our garage, removal of our existing down stairs toilet and creation of a shower / wet room in an approximate 3x3m extension. We have just got a quote back from an architect of ~£1,250inc for architectural services including drawings (and amendments), plans, building / planning / water applications. Does anyone have any advice / resources they could point me to? Does the architectural services quote sound reasonable / required for the level of work we are undertaking?
Sounds in the right ballpark - are they using RIBA scale of fees? Probably, and if so you'll find most architects giving you estimates that are near identical. For something this small and un-interesting you could shop around and see if there's a (though it pains me to say it) Architectural Services/Technician/Not-Actually-An-Architect in your area. As for something of this size you probably don't need the creative flare that an architect brings to a project. As long as the non-architect is competent (check carefully) then there's no great benefit engaging an architect, and we do cost more... though with fees of only £1.25K there's not much to be shaved off anyway. Do you know which type of contract you'll be signing? For something that size it'll probably be either the architects own contract (heavily sourced from RIBA, ARB & JCT) or the JCT Minor Works Contract - if the latter have no fears, it's bullet-proof, if the former ask about the latter. Or they may just use the JCT Standard Building Contract, though it's overkill for something this size, being the most familiar it sometimes comes out regardless. Planning applications (up here at least) = £210 Warrant application = £10% cost of works So double check weather the latter really is included in the fee quoted. You'll find that un-reasonable amendments aren't included in the quote - changes made at your behest after planning submission will may incur an additional fee, you'll probably get away with a tweak or two but anything major or too many little changes will increase the likely hood of them wanting more money. Changes made after planning gain, may require an amendment to the application (up here £50) or a whole new application depending on the extent and nature of the changes.
That is great, thank you. I think as this is the first time we have done any sort of non cosmetic building work we would like to use a "proper" architect, especially as any saving may not be extensive. I had a look on the warrant application, I wasn't aware of it and after a bit of research could only find reference to it in Scotland. Is it possible its not required in England (or called something different?). We have someone coming round to do an initial (free) survey and so your insight about contacts is really useful.
I don't know what the threshold is (if there even is one) for Building Regs inspection, but we're having a two-storey extension, approx 4.5m2 x 4.5m2, done and got whacked with a £650 fee by Building Regs that we weren't expecting. He comes round and checks things over for 60 seconds every now and then. Money well spent
Also phone your local planning department and see if you need planning permission for such a small extension. IIRC you don't need permission if it's below a certain % of the existing footprint of the house.
Your extension might be covered under permitted development, if so you won't require planning permission. Check this out for an idea: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/extensions/miniguide
