Planning an extension, which order to do things in?

[Impossiblepossibilities]

We’re finally at the stage of planning our extension.

I have been reading up a bit and it seems we will need both a measured survey and separate structural survey. I don’t think we’re likely to need any steels, but we would like to get rid of one wall and we’re not sure if it’s structural.

Is it best to get our own done before we approach an architect, so they have all the information up front or are we better to wait and go with someone they suggest?

Also, we’re pretty sure what we want. It’s relatively small and simple, due to the style of house there aren’t a lot of other ways to do what we need and a similar house a few doors up had something very similar approved by planning last year, so we don’t want to pay a fortune for an architect to reinvent the wheel or come up with fancy ideas that will just add to the cost. I’ve read a few times that it’s cheaper to get an architectural technician to draw up your plans/drawings for you, but how do you find one. Every time I google I just come up with Architects.

Best order is:

1. Decide you'd like an extension


2. Get prices and time estimates


3. Die of shock and decide its cheaper to move nowadays.

We’ve already been through that loop. It’s definitely not cheaper for us to move where we are and we have the equity to do it without it costing us more than the value of the house (remortgage has just been approved to free up the funds). Plus doing the work will increase the value, so after a year of debating, we’ve decided we definitely need to just get on and do it now.

Can’t really get prices or timescales without proper drawings, otherwise they are just best guesses and actually quotes will come in at a lot more. I’ve read quite a few stories where quotes have come in at double or triple the estimates recently.

We’re sure we want/need to do it, so just need to work out a way forward without unnecessarily filling the pockets of professionals we could potentially manage without. We would pay an Architect if we definitely need one, but from what I’ve read we may get away with Architectural Technician instead, which could save us quite a bit of money we could put towards the build itself instead.

Can the same surveyor do the measured survey at the same time as the structural or are they different professionals?

Figure out what you want, it will be vastly more cost effective to make decisions before you start.

Yes, architectural technician rather than architect. AT should also be able to do the survey assuming it's fairly simple.

Get your builder to talk to the AT with yourselves present.

If you know what you want, and are able to use your neighbours plan from the planning portal as a guide, then it sounds like a technician would be able to do what you need.
We have an older house, with a quirky layout due to previous extensions, and so we went to an architect as we felt we needed someone’s expertise in pulling it all together into a cohesive design. We did end up with a ‘grand designs’ type plan, however due to planning restrictions (and increasing costs), we’ve scaled it right back. In our case, the architect arranged for the site survey, structural engineer calculations, and QS estimates, and submitted everything to planning and building control for us. I presume your architectural technician would be able to do the same?

Re moving being cheaper than renovating atm, although our project is working out more expensive than we had initially hoped, it can’t be compared to a house move, as our location is so perfect (right by the beach). We’d never get a house like this if we went to market, the competition for it would be fierce. We intend to renovate and stay here as long as possible, and hopefully forever, so any extra cost is worth it to us in terms of enjoyment of the house.

@Daftasabroom Thank you, that’s what we were thinking.

It’s pretty basic - gf extension (to include shower room) which will back onto the current soil stack and drain. Doorway knocked through to existing house, then one wall moved to reconfigure the internal space at the back of the house and french windows/doors added to the new room and existing rear elevation. Nothing fancy, no massive steels or big open spaces. Kitchen is flipping from one side of the back to the other, but that is actually where the water supply and main drain are anyway and we are having that planned and fitted separately.

Any idea how we can find an AT rather than a full on Architect though? All I can find locally is fancy Architects with impressive portfolios.

We are currently in the same situation. We found a builder we liked and was highly recommended. He came round and spoke about everything. Had an architect round, the plans are now in with council and waiting to hear back. Builder provisionally booked for early next year due to his high demand. But we are happy with that as it gives us chance to save a little.

Have a look on the planning website to see who has been drawing plans up of standard extensions - likelihood is one of them will be an AT. We got one through word of mouth.

We started with the AT, who had a good idea when he looked at it as to what would need a steel, groundworks, underpinning etc. He drew detailed plans, engaged a site surveyor and took it through planning (conservation area) and then we tendered using his plans. He ran the tender.

Have a look at your neighbour's plans, they will have the name of the architect / company who drew them up on them. Give them a ring and ask about the process. Lots of builders usually have structural engineers as contacts, and once they qoute / tender for your work, they will include a fee for the SE.

In a similar situation, we used a web-based architect who came to visit, gave us about 4 options for the build (we knew what we wanted but he tickered with the plans so they were all slightly different) and then we went to the builder we'd found - who organised the SE for us.

Unfortunately there are very few standard extensions around here, everyone seems to go ultra ott high-end, with massive extensions involving roof lanterns and bifolds etc. I’ve spent hours on the planning portal, but the plans all seem to be linked to high-end, pricey architects.

The neighbours plans were drawn up by a company over 100 miles away for some reason. I googled them and they don’t appear to be web based either. Ideally I’d prefer someone local. I have found three companies locally that we can approach if we can’t find an AT.

If you don’t have an SE first, how can the Architect or AT know which walls are structural? I suppose it could be more obvious in other houses, but ours is quite quirky. All the internal walls are solid, so no knocking on them Kirsty Allsop style to see if they are structural. I can see which walls other people have taken down, but only one house has had this particular wall out and I can’t work out if that involved a steel. I can’t see how it would have done, but am also aware that I know nothing about building structures.