Want an extension but not sure exactly what! Who can help?

[musicalfrog]

We have a few ideas but not sure what's actually possible/practical/affordable. What's the first step? Do architects help with these questions or do you have to be quite sure before involving them?

You could speak to people in your area and see what they've done and for how much. You could also have an informal chat with a local architect/builder to get more ideas. Do you know what you want to use the space for and what your budget is?

You need a good architect. Not one that a builder uses just to draw your plans, but one that will meet with you and kick around ideas. Our architect was fab and did these whizzy 3d walk-through animated models for us to look at so we could really get a sense of what the extension would look and feel like. Money very well spent to know that we would like the work rather than trying to imagine it from a floor plan

Thank you. Witwoo how much did the initial ideas session cost can I ask? And how did you find such a person!

Jojo not sure on either yet tbh. It's all very vague and OH and I can't even agree on what we want at this stage! Which is why we need someone in the know to help us out. Unfortunately our neighbours have very different amounts of space to play with than us so we can't do what they have done.

I am thinking about this too and found the most useful place to start was the councils planning website. I could search all the applications locally to get ideas and also see which architects / planners they used!!

Sounds like you need to work stuff out as a couple. Decide if you ou want a big kitchen, a garden room, a playroom, a garage etc. I'd say that once you e identified what works and what doesn't in your property, you can speak to an architect. I would also recommend an interior designer at that stage to do a bit of concept planning and working out how you'd use different spaces in the house before getting anyone to start drawing.

We got an architect but let her get carried away with ridiculous ideas. We LOVED what she came up with but it just wasn't bloody practical. We'll probably do it again and say make the space usable and practical. Just because we all love reading doesn't mean I need a reading snug in the kitchen

Cost us £500 to work that out

I'd love a reading snug! £500 though... Ouch! How long did she spend working on it for that?

Well, we have plenty of ideas but no idea if any are practical.

Say if you needed to find out if a garage had deep enough footings for a second floor on top? Who would you call for that? An architect still?