12 metre squared extension - architect needed?

highly1111

Title should be 12 squared metres!!

Hi All

Looking for some exploratory advice please.

My husband and I would like to add on a small wraparound extension to our kitchen to add a bigger dining space. We would be looking at 3m x 4m and wouldn't need planning permission as we would have enough space remaining in the garden. We are quite limited as to what we can do as we're a terraced house and we are very happy with our ideas.

I always thought that we might need an architect and spoke with a friend who is an architect and she said that you can get plans drawn and give them to the builder or you can get someone to project manage is and that the cost is roughly 10% of the cost of the extension - she broke it up into 4 x 2.5% - for drawings, for tendering, for project management and for final sign off and regulatory paperwork etc.

However, I was then talking to another friend who said that a reputable local builder would be able to do this in his sleep! and that there was no need for an architect. I know we'd have to get 3 / 4 quotes etc. However, I have the fear that if something goes wrong we'll have no fall back. For example, we'd like folding glass doors across the back of the house and what if we order them and there's a problem - or does the builder do all that with this own suppliers??

I'm sorry if I sound so clueless - we do not want to cut corners but we don't want to spend money unnecessarily either. My friend assures me this kind of stuff is bread and butter for builders but I always had in my head we'd need an architect!

Thanks for any advice.

sydthebeat

If the extension goes beyond the side of your house it will need permission....regardless of size.

When you use the term "wraparound" can we assume it's going beyond the side?

Has your house ever been extended previously?

highly1111

Thank you for your reply.

The house has not been extended previously.

The term "wraparound" may have been an error on my part. It will not wrap around the side - instead it would wrap around an small internal courtyard. Our kitchen is L shaped with the kitchen window on the right side of the room overlooking the garden. On the left side we would like to extend out a little further and then come back across to our garden wall. Apologies if this isn't a great explanation - but it would not be going beyond the side of the house.

Thank you.

Esel

Just FYI, it's 12 square metres, not 12 metres squared - that would be 144 square metres!

highly1111

Esel wrote: »

Just FYI, it's 12 square metres, not 12 metres squared - that would be 144 square metres!

Can I blame Christmas excess on this one?!!?

I'll edit now! Thank you!!

Gumbo

Who will give the builder the design specs?
What foundation, structure and insulation materials?
Sub floor fill, certification etc

Will You be funding from your own pocket or from a home loan/ mortgage?
What about certs should you decide to sell?

mad m

My 2 cents,

Id engage with a professional as they may come up with an idea you haven't thought of. If you get a builder in and he puts up a standard extension then once its up its up. For the sake of an extra few bob it will be worth it and the piece of mind

Do you reckon project will last more than 30days or 500 person days etc. You will need to appoint a PSDP/PSCS.

sydthebeat

sydthebeat wrote: »

If the extension goes beyond the side of your house it will need permission....regardless of size.

When you use the term "wraparound" can we assume it's going beyond the side?

Has your house ever been extended previously?

I don't think that's always the case though, is it? I think you only need permission if it is visible from the front of the house/street?

sydthebeat

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I don't think that's always the case though, is it? I think you only need permission if it is visible from the front of the house/street?

In the vast majority of cases "going beyond the side of the house" will mean its visible from the front.

However for those cases where this may not happen, the definition of "to the rear" is taken as not going beyond the sides of the house, from a planning point of view.

highly1111

Thanks for much for all your advice. We engaged with a former builder who has since retrained after getting badly burnt by the recession and he says we at least need an engineer - we are going to do more exploratory work but clearly we need to expand beyond the remit of a builder.

highly1111

highly1111 wrote: »

Thanks for much for all your advice. We engaged with a former builder who has since retrained after getting badly burnt by the recession and he says we at least need an engineer - we are going to do more exploratory work but clearly we need to expand beyond the remit of a builder.

I did a wraparound 'L' shape extension. It was 10ft out from the back of the house, and 5ft at the side (to make use of a pointless alley-style side garden we had that was never used).

We didn't apply for planning as it can't be seen from the front, and we're an end terrace, with a terrace starting next to us, so it's completely enclosed and impossible to see without looking at it from above (drone etc.)


I got a quote off an architect to look at it, and he was looking at charging about €2500 - 3000. Which was more than I was willing to pay, to be completely honest (no disrespect to the architects out there).

But I knew what I wanted. I could draw a million pictures of it over and over and was able to sketch it out, and with a small local builder working on the project, we got by by winging it and working on a common sense approach.

I changed things a bit as we moved along the project, but ultimately it worked grand, things turned out fine, and I am a happy camper.

So although I would not rule out using an architect, engineer, or similar professional, I also wouldn't bother hiring one if you're literally building a square box on the back or side of your house, as it seems quite pointless in the grand scheme of things. Just get a decent builder that'll work with you and "roll with the punches" as they say.

From my experience of the whole extension project; Once you know where you're putting your plumbing and electrics, the rest is just a big Lego set. Once I was amidst the work being done around me, it seemed all fairly simple and straight-forward.