Fancy architect costs…

[KylieWasHere]

We are planning a small extension but complete ground floor remodelling. We want an architect to design it, and we found one whose work we love. However, I am worried that actually building her work will cost more - she uses a lot of bespoke joinery for windows, benches, etc, and I’m afraid we’ll end up paying over the top for something that won’t add lots of value. We’re ok to pay her fees but really worried she’ll design something super expensive to build. Is this a thing? Has anyone had experience of using a “fancy” architect?

Bespoke joinery will be extortionate and architects aren’t the best at bringing a design to budget, on big projects there will be a QS in the back ground saying “no” to a lot.

If you don’t want her style I would go with someone else, I don’t want to sound like a snob but it’s unlikely an architect doing resi extensions is so insanely unique in their style…

Yes! Please don't do it, find someone who understand the cost of materials and works with your budget. We made this mistake and our extension single story renovation cost sooo much more because he went nuts with the steel due to a pitched roof design. We had no clue until we started getting building quotes

We do love her style and would love to have our home designed like that (think beautiful picture windows, large sliding doors, all bespoke joinery etc. But we also do not want to spent £150k if we could get away with spending £100k and still have a beautiful home that matches our requirements.

I just worry that going with a cheaper architect won’t mean cheaper cost to build! @JolieJ your experience is what I expected though, lots of weird angles / pitched roofs won’t be cheap to build!

Architects that do more 'standard' designs will mean it's cheaper to build. They can still advise on a good layout, but won't include large windows, bespoke joinery, etc. However, if you can afford that extra, a fancy design will be worth it. You can see the difference in a beautifully designed home.

Don't do it! I gave our architect (highly recommended) a top budget, she went mad with fancy roof lines and wood cladding (despite requests not to) and all of the 5 building quotes we received came in at at least 50% over budget (one was triple our budget). She still charged us her 10% fee of the original budget and refused to hand over the drawings so we could try to salvage something with another architect or building company. Never again.

I would just find a reputable building company who use their own architects or arch technicians and work with them.

Is your property unique?
I think an easy way to find better designs is to look at RightMove for similar houses and steal their ideas. You don't even have to try to visualise what the 2D plan will look like IRL - it's there in the photos.
Take your favourite design(s) to your builder and talk it through to get something beautiful and practical that will fit within your budget.

Yes it will make a huge difference to the cost off the build but not necessarily and as much value to the property

My property isn’t really unique, I’m sure I could come up with a good layout myself! I keep swooning over amazing architect designed images but I think I just need a reality check and remind myself I will love the results even if it’s not as beautifully designed. I’d much rather pay off a chunk of my (huge) mortgage…

We went with a fancy-ish architect and I do regret it a little (or a lot depending on how long it is since I looked in the savings account!). We're spending so much on them and engineers that it's eaten into our budget before we've even started to build what is essentially a small, simple extension.

The layout I could have done myself, it's the knowledge of materials and the details in other projects that drew me to this architect, and I'm pretty sure we'll end up with something quite lovely as a result. We'll be skint once it's finished, but the house will be so nice we won't need things like holidays 😄

What is your budget? I am doing a very modest wrap around single story extension and it is costing £60k. Nothing fancy. Then I need to put a new kitchen and utility room in!

in fairness my architect told me it would cost around £50k to build his design - so he wasn’t too far off.

he wanted to go fancy - glass - steel etc. I just kept it simple and in keeping with the red brick house. Still very very expensive at the moment.

Our budget would be £200k to refurb the ground floor, new toilet and utility, new kitchen, small 10m2 extension into existing conservatory. New patio for garden. We also want to convert loft and get new roof. I’ve been told £150-£200k for ground floor, doesn’t even include loft…

Have you made the mistake of telling the architect your budget?!

We’re in London if that makes any difference

@BIWI was I not meant to? 😆

my budget is £100k for downstairs. 5m2 extension to side and 10m2 extension at back.

i have budgeted £25k for kitchen and utility room £10k for flooring. £5k contingency.

this doesn’t include architects fees/ structural engineer and fees. That’s about another £3k.

You don’t need a separate architect for that. Most companies have standard designs, you can specify what type of windows you want etc., they will also liaise with council and buildings control etc.

@KylieWasHere schoolgirl error!

We had an extension - 3m permitted development - to build our new kitchen. Downstairs wc as part of it, with laundry area under the stairs. New kitchen, with hand-built units. All in, including appliances, was around £95K. (I don't know exactly how much as I never dared add it all up )

But we had an architect who also project managed the whole thing. She dealt with everything and when (inevitable) problems occurred along the way, sorted it all out. She also planned things in a way that really made the most use of the space we had, which was invaluable.

We're SW London, if that helps. So yes, I'd definitely say to use an architect - but also, one who will manage the project for you.

How will the architect know how to design if they have no idea what your budget is?

I went with an architect who had a fixed fee.

told him I wanted to spend around £50k. If my budget was less I couldn’t have done the side extension. It it was a lot more I could have removed another supporting wall.

so we’ll have one supporting wall to remove, if that makes any difference… @BIWI when was your extension done? I think prices have gone crazy. I think £150k might be cutting it fine now…

@Stripedbag101 in part I jest ...

However, it's undoubtedly true that no matter how much you tell (anybody) the architect what your budget it, amazingly the true figure will always end up being far more than you envisaged.

@KylieWasHere no idea about the implications of removing a supporting wall - but we did have to have our back wall and a side wall removed, with a steel lintel put in place - anywhere near the same thing?

We had ours done in 2019.

I should say, part of our back wall, and part of an internal wall.

The price of steel support girders have more than doubled in two years. 2.5k psq metre for new builds here now it's frightening

I removed the whole back wall
of my house - so needed a picture frame beam. That’s expensive!

Put together a load of photos/ideas/plans and find a good builder. They should be able to help you create a look/feel you like based on that. If they suggest you a layout etc that works, then get an interior designer to help you with finishes and furnishings and materials. Xx