Am I expecting too much of my architect?

[cocopops]

I asked our architect to draw up some options for either an extension to our house or a re-configuration of our existing space. My DH is very much against spending any money on an extention (another story) so the budget I gave to the architect was very tight.

I got the plans today and am really disappointed. They consist of a number of options, all of which I had already thought of myself (just couldn't draw them as l'm useless at practical things like that!). I had thought he'd come up with something innovative. In fact, I can think of options he hasn't even come up with.

Am i expecting too much?

how tight was very tight?

less than 50k

It depends how you went about employing architect - if you had seen some really great projects he had been involved with in the past and this seemed distinctly pedestrian, then you are not expecting too much. If he was just a name in the telephone book and you didn't know much about him then maybe you are expecting too much.

I don't know how big your home is/where you are but maybe £50k means he can't be too imaginative. Did you discuss the options you had thought of when he had been there - perhaps he was under the impression that you wanted his opinion on whether those would work for you or not.

However, if you think he hasn't worked the design up enough, speak to him and ask if there are any options and hint that you are a bit disappointed.

Well I am hoping to do a 2 storey extension for 30k giving a study, utility room, porch, 4th bedroom & ensuite, so I personally think 50k is quite generous. I may be in cloud cuckoo land but I've had a quote for 40k completed and a quote of 17.5k for the shell only, so I think I should be able to do it.

We are on the south coast but I guess if you are in london or the commuter belt things are a lot more.

tell your architect you are dissapointed...
dont think you are being unreasonable.

Can't believe your figures chocolateapot - only 40K for an extension like that??? We are trying to do exactly the same thing and have been quoted 112K plus VAT, and that was the lowest quote out of five!

I think you may have hampered your architect by giving him too low a budget. But also, a lot of architects who do small-scale domestic work are actually not that imaginative IMO.