What to expect from an architect?

[ludocris]

We want to reconfigure the downstairs of our house. Knocking through from our kitchen to the utility and downstairs loo, converting the garage and moving the stairs in there, creating a hallway and a new toilet. Quite a bit. We assume we need an architect to help us determine if this is all possible and/or if there are any other options.

I'm not sure whether there are different levels of service that they offer? I think ideally we just want someone to say whether what we want is possible and to give us drawings to show a builder. I assume that's the standard service an architect provides, or do they usually 'stay with you' on the project through to the finish? I'm woefully ignorant about these things and want to be a little less naive before speaking to potential architects.

Also what sort of figure would an architect charge for just the drawings of the reconfiguration of the downstairs of a small house? Finally, is there a level down from them doing the full drawings - like could they just give us advice and a basic sketch?

I'm really embarrassed by my lack of knowledge about this and would appreciate any advice please.

If you are in England you'll need planning consent & building regulations to sign it off - unless you have a builder who can do this for you or who knows someone who can instead of building regs. I think you'll need planning consent anyway unless it comes under permitted development.
When we extended our house we didn't have an architect we did the plans ourselves with the help of a builder.
You could have a conversation with a planning professional - look up private planning advisors as they will know all about this & be able to do the drawings etc for you & see you through the process. You could just say you only want the drawings but they should quote you for the whole thing if you want this.

I employed an architect to draw up plans for my single storey extension. He also submitted the plans for planning approval, and took care of the water company applications, but these were extra to the basic service I think.

Re: the planning regs, building control and stuff- there were some amendments to them in October last year which have made things a bit more complicated, so I'd definitely get someone to take care of that if I were you.

If you don't know anyone who's recently had works done, who could recommend someone, try asking on your local Facebook page (or similar). In my experience most professionals are completely used to newbies and will make it as easy as possible for you.

Surely a good builder would sort all this?

We weren't sure whether to go straight to a builder but at this stage we want advice more than anything- on whether what we want to do is practical and will improve what we already have, and whether it's worth it in the long term. It's difficult to visualise because our stairs currently go straight into our lounge, and so diverting them would affect the lounge and the landing as well as the garage. So we need someone to show us what it could look like.

we used an architect for our house and he was useless. Didn’t listen to what I wanted and drew us up a living room that was 8m x 3m (it looked like a bowling alley) and submitted it for planning before we’d approved it (which was granted). I realised I pretty much knew what I wanted so we got rid of architect (still had to pay him half!) and used a technical drawer that our builder recommended. So much cheaper and no ego to contend with. If you know roughly what you want and aren’t attempting something from grand designs then I would recommend that route. The guy we used did all the planning permission stuff too - all less than £800 in 2022.
the guy we used was also a retired builder so he gave us realistic costs too.
An architect will charge you a lot of money for ideas and visuals

We discussed our plans with our builder who knew a technical draughtsman who drew up the plans for the planning applications.

I know of nobody who has used an architect who was 100% happy with their experience and all of them said it cost a bomb.

@FelixtheAardvark did you already have a clear idea of what you wanted or were you looking for suggestions?

We knew what we wanted and it was also replacing an existing structure that was falling down.

We were not looking for suggestions.

I used a building surveyor for my refurbishment project. I found him easier to work with than an architect I previously used. Building surveyors are good at advising on all things building related, especially refurbishments and conversions, and advising on building regs and planning permission. If you don't need any/one of these, I would get a letter from building control or the planning department confirming this (in case you sell your house years later). If you go down this route, confirm that your surveyor can do a 3D drawing beforehand if that's what you want. Most can draw plans and elevations on CAD, I don't think all can do 3D visuals.

I found an architect really helpful for a lawful development certificate but not that good for floor plans. Have you tried an interior designer? I found one that does layout designs and the CAD and sketches to visualise.

@ludocris we're in a similar position to you (just found your thread after starting mine).

Considering knocking a wall down and reconfiguring the space but we don't know where to begin. We aren't creative and need advice/ ideas on how to best use the space from someone who is.

I'm not sure if this is an architect or a builder, but I can't imagine a builder would sit down with us and consider all options? Especially if its for a quote and we're not definitely choosing them for the work.

@Ichangedmynameonce I have bought an app called KeyPlan 3D that I'm playing around with at the moment! The problem is it can only cope with one floor at a time, so I can't use it to work out how to move the stairs...

Oooh @ludocris sounds interesting.
Do you stick in your measurements and go from there?
How much is it?
Thank you

You have to play around with it a bit but it works fairly well. I paid £6 for the app and the £3 for the lounge pack. It's quite intuitive.

I used an architectural designer to draw up plans and then I took those to the builder they suggested to give me costs. The architect also sorted all the planning permissions with Wandsworth council. The architect gave me loads of options and talked me through the pros and cons. I did a side return and loft and the house is mid-terrace 3 bed (although we made it a 5 bed) and the design cost about £2k, planning £1k and structural engineer £1.5k, although that was in 2019. Hope this helps :)

Architects are useful if you need to produce drawings to show what it's going to look like for planning purposes, especially if planning in your area is particularly restrictive. They also tend to have more of an aesthetic eye than builders in my experience and be a bit more imaginative in terms of what you could do to utilise the space best. Whether you start with builder or architect therefore probably depends on how firm your ideas are/ how open you are to suggestions and the complexity of it.

I'm in the process of splitting a massive bathroom in two. My process will be to get my builder round to say if he thinks it's feasible (but mine is quite simple compared with yours so when I did a big extension I started with the architect as I wanted some blue sky ideas ), then I'll get the architect to generate 2/3 possible layouts and do the drawings to then get pp (conservation area) and put the application in/ manage it. Then get the architects structural engineer to draw up the spec for the builder. In your case I'd probably start with the architect.

Some builders do provide more of an integrated service or subcontract to their own engineer etc. Mine literally builds (old skool).

Just to add, they will do as much as you want to, from literally doing the drawings and giving them to you to managing planning and building control as well. Some also act as project managers although that tends to be for massive projects.