Architects and price structure

[Michellexxx]

Hi,
we’re looking to get a loft conversion, extending our on top of current single story extension as well as some internal work. We would be adding 3 bedrooms, bathroom and creating open plan space. We have spoken to a few architects who have given rough guides.

Can I ask how much you’d expect to pay for drawings to give over to a builder to get a firmer price? We have been quoted 1200 for basic drawings then another 2500 for more detail as well as more costs..we were told that we would need to go the whole hog and pay about 5500 to get more specific costing.

this seems mad because we just want to know if we can afford/would readjust. We’ve been told probably about 100-150k, which is quite a spread!

I thought the 1200 drawings would be suffice for this but the architect is suggesting it wouldn’t be..

The architects I’ve dealt with normally determine their fees on the approximate budget/ project size. £5,500 all up doesn’t sound too bad based on an approximate budget of £100-150k and the scope of work you describe.

As you have noticed, there are different levels of drawings!

A pretty basic drawing of the basic plan you want, where structural steels will go and an indication of the finish (tiles, flat roof material, external cladding / render) will enable a builder to cost and allow you to compare like with like in terms of builders quotes. When it came to the build you would probably discover a bunch of stuff that neither you nor the architect had thought of, and you would end up with some “extras” which you would need to consider whether it was worth including as you go along.

A full architectural service will be much more expensive and give much more thought to how you want to use the space. You would end up with a better and more detailed design. You would also be able to compare like with like in much more detail as many of the “extras” will have been thought of and included in the design.

it sounds to me like the cheaper option would suit you better at the moment.

Drawings are produced in different stages.

The ‘basic’ drawings are essentially the concept stage, where you and your architect basically define in broad terms the volumes you want to achieve. All the detail is left out at that stage.

Then you need planning permission drawings. These may be a bit more specific, but again they are very generic. Planning doesn’t care whether you want hardwood floors or vinyl tiles, or that you have expensive taste or want coving or fancy led lighting. They only care about the exterior look of the extension.

Once you’ve got PP sorted, you will then have a whole new set of drawings produced. Since you are adding multiple rooms on multiple floors, this could need a significant number of drawings. These would include exterior, interior, small power, wall types, plumbing, elevations, ceiling types, flooring types, general arrangements etc.

It is that set of drawings that builders will need to quote on your project. To give you an idea, I’m currently doing a biggish extension, and the architects produced more than 80 drawings that were part of the call for tender.

Architects are rubbish at estimating the cost of a build. I suspect this is tactical - they want you to become fully invested in your project, so that you will go ahead anyway, when you find out what the real costs are going to be.

Where are you located, and how many square metres are you planning to add? Mners may be able to help with a ballpark. Due to supply chain issues, everything is very expensive atm.

If you don’t want all the uncertainty, your best bet is a design and build firm. They should be able to price upfront. But they tend to do always the same thing (ie same dormers, same size back extension) on all their projects. If you want something that is more bespoke, you will need an architect.

It also depends on how much you are prepared to do yourself. I have previously used a design company to draw up the basic drawings for planning permission and do the structural calculations and handed those to builders to quote from. The builders made some assumptions (e.g. quoted for 70 sockets/lights/light switches). The drawings didn’t specify flooring type or tiles and the quotes didn’t include this - just basically said they included laying floor and tiles but would cost more if I wanted herringbone or fiddly tiles. I sourced the flooring and tiles myself and then as the build took shape specified to the builder things like where I wanted lights and sockets and which circuits to put lights on. I didn’t feel I needed an architect to do this for me as I had a really clear idea of what I wanted. I did end up paying the builder slightly more than the initial quote because I made a few decisions along the way that were more expensive than the basic quote (fancy windows, herringbone floor).

We're just waiting on a planning decision for a loft conversion and an entire remodel of the inside. So far we've paid just over £1200 which has included basic drawings and the planning fees. I'm lead to believe that this is enough for a builder to give a quote from, or at least, nobody has told me it isn't.

Thanks for the responses- I am aware we will need a few drawings for this kind of work but we don't want to spend a fortune to find out how much it will cost.

I think we will go with basic drawings and just get an estimate from there. We are based in Scotland. my husband isn't too sure about going ahead with it all at the moment because of the price increases, but I am not totally sure when it will come back down again? we have been told it would probably be about 2800/sq m. and don't have to worry about digging foundations etc just potentially having to reinforce.

I am so unsure what to do because I don't know how long we'd be waiting around form prices to reduce and house prices in the area are crazy so won't be moving either!

Yes, this is just for certain drawings and doesn't include project managing or other things, there would be an extra % for that.
I don't think 5500 for the whole thing is bad but I don't want to spend that to find out what we wanted is totally out of our budget. We also aren't in a mega rush (well, my husband isn't🙄) so can take a bit more time!