Has anyone built themselves or employed an architect to draw plans?

[lemonice]

We want to build in our backyard and keep delaying but we must do it now. How much would we expect to pay for plans to be drawn up for planning permission? Has any one used anything simple (software) to draw up plans themselves which could then be given to an architect to see what we were thinking of? Is any body an architect or can recommend a way of finding one? Is it foolhardy to manage the project ourselves?

Hi lemonice, in addition to being animal photographer extraodinaire, I am an architect. I would disagree with those who say that you save money by not using an architect. If you have a good architect you should save far more than their fees in efficiency, things done correctly, plans that reflect your needs and supervision of contractors etc. etc.

I'll post more a little later, but I would recommend asking around the area for recommendations of local architects.

we are about to start an extension and used an architectural technician that was recommended by a builder friend.He had a lot of previous experience getting plans through planning in our local council which helped when deciding what would be feasible etc.He charged a total of £1330 for the whole process which included numerous drawings.HTH