Need an architect?

[winkywinkola]

Our house needs rejigging in terms of layout. Moving walls, re-evaluation of room function etc.

I need an outsider or professional perspective on this. Is an architect the person for this job?

An Architect will definitely be able to listen to your requirements and come up with a few options for you. An Architect can also project manage and obtain competitive builders quotes for you. Good luck!

We used an architect for this. Some want to charge a fee for the whole project but that didn't really make sense for us with the re-working so we found one who allowed us to charge by the hour.

They had good ideas, forced us to understand all the pros and cons, sketched a load of ideas and then made final plans that a structural engineer could use.

Is an architect the person for this job?

Yes.

Or maybe a space planner ...
to get the initial ideas flowing - then get in touch with a structural engineer for any supporting wall calcs for opening through them ... not necessarily a job just for an architect .

There are lots of different ways you could approach this project, but If you have very little property knowledge then I would certainly recommend an Architect or Architectural technician because they are a single point of professional responsibility who can bring in other professionals/advisors and offer impartial property and procurement advice when it comes to tendering and selecting a decent builder.