Do I need an architect? Or someone else?

[TheMildManneredMilitant]

We're wanting to do a lot of renovation work to the downstairs of our home - knocking down walls, changing exits, new central heating and glazing etc. The problem is we don't know where to start. We need some advice I think on what would work and wouldn't from a design/cost perspective which made me think architect would be most suitable, however none are interested so far because we aren't building anything. The builders we've had in are a bit vague and need more detailed info before they can give us a proper quote, and everything interdependent so don't really want to try getting quotes ourselves from seperate tradespeople.

Any tips on what to do next? Should we just keep trying to find an architect who will do smaller projects or a builder with a bit more inspiration and who can do the plans? Or is there another 'type' of professional I should be looking for? Many thanks in advance.

Sounds to me like you need a project manager type of person. What's your location?

Thanks for replying. Yes we need someone to PM but they would need design knowledge too I think. We're in the north east.

Ah, ok. Yes you definitely need a PM who has design experience, I'm N West based which is a shame as could have helped.

@OP I’m an architect would be able to help you by providing sketch plans which u can then send to a few builders to quote for preliminary estimate on construction cost. The plans would be to scale and would hv indicative finishes on them too to assist. Would you like me to message you on this? I’d be happy to. Fees would be a fraction of what preparing planning drawings would be as the work does not require as much time. Hope this helps. Thanks.

You could just get someone to draw up plans for you, so the builders have something to go off.
I’m north east based and willing to help out if you needed. (Experienced in cad plans/architecture)

I would not let a builder loose on sketches. Whatever goes wrong, and it will, you will not have detailed plans to back up what should have been done. Use an architect to look at the whole of the house, the flow and the best use of space. They will also liaise with builders if you want them to.

Try "Architect Your Home" website. It's def a job some architects should be involved in.

Hi @OP, there are many levels of detail a proposed plan could show and it would be proportionate to professional fees because fees are proportionate to the time spent on the work to produce layout, design and drawings. So cad plans of course would be best in terms of getting better construction cost certainty, that would normally include elevations and a section drawing and two sets of all those to reflect existing and proposed plus a site survey, so they’d be quite a lot of time involved in all those and you’d hv to be willing to apportioned a bit more funds for the fees. Hence, my alternative suggestion is to get a sketch plan done but the important thing to note is the sketch plans are to scale say 1:100 scale (with dimensions shown) and there should be enough anotation on them to guide the builder to produce a fairly good initial estimate, that would be a good place to start if :

1. you want to compare quotes from different builders (based on the same plans)
2. you want to have a good working design in principle that you can use as a decision making tool and develope a little bit more if need be if you proceed into planning stage.
3. you don’t want to spend that much money yet at this initial stage as you are unsure if you want proceed or not until you get an estimate from the builder.

Alternatively, yes you can go ahead and produce cad plans which would appear more precise, supported by existing and proposed elevations, sections etc, but this will take the project to a level that would be good enough for planning application, hence the fees would reflect so and be quite a bit more, and more time consuming to complete.

This is my suggestion to you based on my experience and after reading your original post above. Good luck with your extension and hope you find the best solution and the right starting point for your extension. If you need assistance, just send me a message and I’d be happy to help.

Crumbs! your location is northeast. sorry missed that in your second message.

Hi all thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm totally pro-architect but none have been interested so far however I think I've managed to find someone so fingers crossed.

I had a technician draw up our plans. It was £600 for plan up to buildings regs & tech specs. £400 for the structural engineer specs