Cost of engineer ?

HobNob

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what an engineer will typically cost to oversee the building of a house ?

How many visits usually and how much per visit ?

I've been quoted €200 per visit and probably 6-8 visits with a final
payment of €400. This includes all paperwork for solicitor/banks for stage payments. Is this about right ?

I'm in Co. Limerick

Retro-Fit

Why would you use an engineer? All they consider is structure, did you not employ a registered Architect?

HobNob

I employed an architect to do the drawings but he did not have the proper insurance to oversee the building of the house.

Retro-Fit

That's odd, that insurance only costs about €500 euro per annum, are you sure he was an Architect or did he provide 'Architectural Services'. more importantly did he do a good job on the design.

I only ask because I get asked to design low energy heating systems for houses that are designed by amateurs, the owners will pay a multiple in heating costs for planning drawings that don't address occupant comfort, light and space.

Architects have a lot to answer for and many don't understand building energy, moisture and ventilation. but you need to have a competent person taking your project from conception to delivery. I'm sure your well capable of doing that yourself.

Jollyman

I paid €1,200 for mine to an engineer in south limerick

sydthebeat

HobNob wrote: »

I employed an architect to do the drawings but he did not have the proper insurance to oversee the building of the house.

Very Very weird......

is this a case of "i paid some guy who works in an architects office to prepare planning drawings as a nixer, now he cant sign off the work as he doesnt have his own insurance"....???

HobNob

Yes it would be something like that Syd !!

HobNob

Jollyman can you PM me the name of your engineer.

Thanks in advance

Penn

Retro-Fit wrote: »

Why would you use an engineer? All they consider is structure, did you not employ a registered Architect?

Engineers don't just consider structure, they consider all aspects which are required to be inspected, such as compliance with planning, finishes, materials etc. Or if they don't, they should. I know we do. We'd be too far away for the OP however.

What do you think an architect would do differently to an engineer?

Jollyman

PM Sent

Retro-Fit

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

What do you think an architect would do differently to an engineer?

do I really need to answer that?

Penn

Well, I was hoping you would :pac:. I'm not having a go or anything, I've never seen an architect doing an inspection so I genuinely don't know what they would do different. I've only been working for an engineering company for about 7 months (I'm a building surveyor) and after being taught how to carry out inspections, doing numerous inspections for them, and observing them do inspections as well, I can't think of anything that we don't inspect which an architect would.

I suppose it really depends on the engineer or architect themselves

SilverBER

Wouldnt a Certificate of Compliance from an architect be required at final draw down of loan or at resale stage?

archtech

SilverBER wrote: »

Wouldnt a Certificate of Compliance from an architect be required at final draw down of loan or at resale stage?

Not necessarily an architect, some banks have a list of acceptable qualifications/memberships of professional organisations, otheres don't.

Architects/Engineers/Architectural Technologists/Technicians/Building Surveyors are all acceptable, but prior to engaging someone, it might be no harm to check with the relevant financial institution, if they are acceptable, as one or two have excluded some from their list.

As for who's best, its a case of horses for courses, get recommendations.

Penn

archtech wrote: »

Not necessarily an architect, some banks have a list of acceptable qualifications/memberships of professional organisations, otheres don't.

Architects/Engineers/Architectural Technologists/Technicians/Building Surveyors are all acceptable, but prior to engaging someone, it might be no harm to check with the relevant financial institution, if they are acceptable, as one or two have excluded some from their list.

As for who's best, its a case of horses for courses, get recommendations.

Exactly. The engineers I work for are both Chartered Engineers. While I've never filled out a full Cert of Compliance myself, they regularly do. I mostly do interim certs for various stages and payments

scoobymac

PM sent .
with regards the Engineer I'm using for my own build

mr_edge_to_you

hey,

we are in the exact same position as HobNob - got a relation to draw the plans and we are now looking for an engineer with PI insurance to look after the sign offs for legal/bank etc. here firm would be looking for the guts of 7k for the process - sounds a bit hairy to me!

if there's anyone with contacts for a similiar job in meath, please pm me!

HobNob, can I ask you how you got in the end with your efforts? Costs, number of visits etc.?

HobNob

Mr_Edge,

I'm in county Limerick, but I found an engineer to do the job for €1200 + VAT. That includes 7-8 visits and handles all the forms for the banks.
He will also alter the drawings for me, as there were a couple of ideas that we had, to move internal walls, make ensuites a bit bigger etc.

I also find him a very good source of information with regards, insulation, heating etc.

when you do find an engineer make sure to ask him loads of questions about your house and it's layout.

hope this helps

clint_eastman

HobNob wrote: »

Mr_Edge,

I'm in county Limerick, but I found an engineer to do the job for €1200 + VAT. That includes 7-8 visits and handles all the forms for the banks.
He will also alter the drawings for me, as there were a couple of ideas that we had, to move internal walls, make ensuites a bit bigger etc.

I also find him a very good source of information with regards, insulation, heating etc.

when you do find an engineer make sure to ask him loads of questions about your house and it's layout.

hope this helps

Hi Hobnob,
I'll be starting a build in a few months in Co Limerick aswell hopefully, would you mind sending me a PM with your guys details as that figure sounds very reasonable.
Thanks.

HobNob

Hi Clint,

PM sent with details

Kashkai

We engaged a RIAI registered Architect to design our house and oversee the build. He wouldn't listen to what we wanted (no. of bedrooms, large kitchen etc) and instead presented us with "Design Statements" instead. When I had had enough of his airy fairy bs, I told him that presenting a family of 6 with 3 bedrooms (the largest of which was 12ft x 12ft), a small kitchen, and one bathroom was not fulfilling the brief he was given at the start (i.e. 5 bedrooms (2 ensuite), large bathroom, large family kitchen, 3 living rooms etc). He got all upset and said "if you want a bog standard bungalow, then I'll give you one". However even then he came up with daft ideas. In the end I drew up the plans myself and gave them to him to put into a proper format for the council and then paid him his fee (even though I shouldn't have as he didn't do the job he was asked). When planning permission came through, he was "too busy" to oversee the build. I brought an engineer in at that stage and he told me that a lot of what the architect designed wouldn't work in the real world and the roof in particular had to be redesigned.

In my experience the engineer was worth every penny and more but teh architect was a complete waste of space. 2 friends of mine had similar experiences with their architects (poor design, seeking payment for site visits when they never even got out of their cars!) so mine was not an isolated case.

sinnerboy

Dave , your case is well documented on boards . It was awful for you and I symapathise with what you went through . But I am , together with many others who contribute regularly here , belonging to that profession which clearly let you down . It is embarrassing for sure . But it is not true to characterise it as typical - ( I don't expect you to accept that )

The clock can't be turned back for you but to anyone else reading - select your professional with care . Look for references from satisfied clients . Look at previous completed projects and satisfy yourself that you can communicate well with this professional.

.

SilverBER

Architects are the same as everyone else, there is always a few bad apples which wreck the reputations of the reliable trades / professions. As everyone is saying, get some references.

muffler

Could I just point out that this thread is titled "Cost of engineer?". its running way off topic so please post accordingly.

Prosperous Dave, I dont want to debate the issue here but your time would have been better spent making a complaint to the RIAI instead of posting about your issues with your architect here.

Now can we all get back on topic please.

mr_edge_to_you

Thanks to all who replied with PMs, much appreciated.

My friend actually put me in touch with a company she used to work for - covering most of the north east. The costs was €1500 + VAT. Got a few more quotes that were higher but I value my friends opinion and I also liked the vibe I was getting from this crowd.

I can forward on the details should anyone require them!

Cheers!

Edge.

Kashkai

Ok so I had a rotten experience with my Architect (RIAI didn't want to know when I did complain to them Muffler) and odds are that the majority of that profession are good at their jobs. Perhaps if we hadn't built at the height of the boom, then we might have had more choice of Architect, cause of the 15 Archietcs that I rang back in 2005, 10 were booked out for up to 6 months and so we had limited choice of who we went with.

Just for info, my Architect quoted €15,000 to design the house, go through the planning process and oversee the build. As he fecked off at the planning stage, I had only paid him €7,500. The engineer that I engaged charged €7,000 to oversee the remediation of the builder's screw ups. I guess prices are a lot cheaper now.