confused - do i need an architect, structural engineer or builder?

[snhall]

Hello, we are looking to knock through from our kitchen (old Victorian terrace) to an outhouse beyond, to give us a downstairs shower room and office. And then have new kitchen put in. Knocking through will mean taking out a fireplace so will need steels put in to support chimney breast.
Who do I get to do the drawings to pass Building Regs and for builder to follow? We sort of know what we want, but also might need help as knocking through will mean our small kitchen then has 3 doors in it so will need to plan kitchen space very carefully. Do I need an architect? He won't know about kitchens though will he? ANd will he do the calculations for the steels?
thanks in advance!

For the drawings I would guess you need an architect, have a look on the RIBA website to get a qualified one.
Architect will do the drawings, the calculations should be done by an engineer I think.

A structural engineer will do the calculations (you will definitely need these for regs) and many will also draw up plans as well. I would say that, if you know what you want to do with the space, it would be unwise to involve an architect as they can be quite costly - there are lots of kitchen design websites that will allow you to play around with layouts or you could involve a kitchen designer either independently or at the kitchen supplier you choose. If your engineer won't do drawings then find a surveyor or architectural technician who can map out what you want.

Well I wouldn't get an architect for such minor work, as they tend to charge so much.

Agree - get a recommendation for someone who can do drawings - they don't have to be a qualified architect.

I'm a bc officer and only a small proportion of our drawings are submitted by 'riba' architects.

Lots of surveyors do drawing work (design) as well as building regs for planning etc. Tyr the RICS website to find one in your local area.

Hi There,

Yes you will need to submit a buildings control notice because you are removing the chimney breast (and possibly a structural wall when you knock through) and also because you are creating new plumbing for the new shower room.

I would suggest you get an architect to do a floor plan for you. You seem to have a clear idea of what you want (apart from the kitchen layout) so you need an architect who is happy to take on a small job and work by the hour. Just make sure you give them a really clear brief and get an idea of how many hours and their hourly rate before you start. I wouldn't expect to pay more than £60 per hour and would allow 3-4 hours. The architect may be able to help you with the kitchen layout too but to be honest kitchen design is pretty easy so you could probably do this yourself. Ikea do a good kitchen brochure which gives some good guidance on kitchen design. Use the floor plan the architect gives you and draw on units etc. and keep playing until you have something you are happy with. Let me know if you want any advice on kitchen design and sourcing as I have done a few over the last year or so.

Then you will need a structural surveyor to do the structural calculations and drawings that you will use to brief builders and obtain quotes (and they need this so they know what to do). From memory you only send these drawings to buildings control if you are doing a full plan submission which tends to be for larger jobs such as extensions. For your job you would get away with a buildings control notice and they don't look request the drawings you just fill out an application form. They may ask to see the drawings if there is any concerns when they do their inspections.

You can then prepare a tender pack for the builders comprising the floor plan, structural drawings, your kitchen plan and a builders brief (this is just a written document telling them exactly what you want doing and you can do this yourself). Include every possible detail you can think of in your builders brief.

The only other thing you will need to consider is a party wall notice, if the chimney breast is on a party wall. Again you can save a lot of money here by writing the notice yourself rather than using a surveyor to do this for you.

I hope this helps. I am a bit of a process geek and have done a few projects like this so let me know if you have any other questions.

Katherine.

Hi everyone, thanks so much for taking the time to reply - sorry I haven't been on for a few days. Ok, think I'm a bit clearer - off to do some Googling to find people.
thanks again.