Saving money by not getting Architect

BullBauld

Ok so we are planning a rear extension circa 30sqm which will not require planning permission.

We have a good idea of what we want, it's fairly straightforward. A rear extension while moving the utility into a room that's currently pretty much unused.

Architect fees will cost us around 7.5k which is a healthy sum of money so we are wondering if a builder could take on our ideas and work from them without employing an architect. Would this be bringing hardship on ourselves?

Or are there other ways we could go that would save us some money.

Thanks

BullBauld

BullBauld wrote: »

Ok so we are planning a rear extension circa 30sqm which will not require planning permission.

We have a good idea of what we want, it's fairly straightforward. A rear extension while moving the utility into a room that's currently pretty much unused.

Architect fees will cost us around 7.5k which is a healthy sum of money so we are wondering if a builder could take on our ideas and work from them without employing an architect. Would this be bringing hardship on ourselves?

Or are there other ways we could go that would save us some money.

Thanks

Can you draw what you want. Surely whatever engineer is looking after the project could produce a set of drawings the builder can work off.

Metric Tensor

I think when the OP says "Not get an architect" he means "Not get any professional."

OP - I have yet to meet a builder, regardless of project size, who knows the building regulations well enough to build without a proper set of plans and specifications. That is not an insult to builders either because it is not their job to know the regulations inside out - that's the job of the designer. The builder builds it to the specification provided by the designer. So if you provide the design on the back of a fag packet expect the quality of the end result to be the same as the quality of the design.

Having said all that you can probably get an appropriate professional to design and periodically inspect the extension for a nice bit less than €7.5k.

Also - if you have no professional who will appropriately size and detail the foundations, steel beams, lintels, roof members, etc. and that's before fire safety even comes into it.

Penn

BullBauld wrote: »

Ok so we are planning a rear extension circa 30sqm which will not require planning permission.

We have a good idea of what we want, it's fairly straightforward. A rear extension while moving the utility into a room that's currently pretty much unused.

Architect fees will cost us around 7.5k which is a healthy sum of money so we are wondering if a builder could take on our ideas and work from them without employing an architect. Would this be bringing hardship on ourselves?

Or are there other ways we could go that would save us some money.

Thanks

Following on from Metric Tensor's post above, I'd also add that you need someone to sign off the works as being in compliance with Planning Permission (or in this case, certifying that it is indeed exempt from planning permission) and Building Regulations.

If you choose not to engage someone to do so, you can in a few years (should you go to sell the house) get someone to certify that it's exempt from planning permission. However, you won't be able to get someone to certify that it was built in accordance with Building Regulations as you won't have had someone overseeing and inspecting the works, and these are works that can't be seen at a later date like the exemption from planning permission, as they won't be able to properly inspect things like foundations, wall-ties etc.

That's part of what the Architect was likely charging for, rather than just the drawings. That said, if you shopped around and maybe looked at engineers or building surveyors rather than architects (since you already know the design you want), you'd almost definitely be able to get a better quote. An engineer who does small residential projects could be your one-stop-shop for specifying the works, structural elements and certification.