Starting an extension project - help with process
Discussion
Guys,
Having read a lot of the posts here, there are a fair number of you that have done, or are part way through having extensions built.
We have looked into this ourselves and have had an architect come up with some great ideas. Basically, we are looking at a two story extension with conservatory and orangery. Total size of all this will be 92 sq. mtrs. I have worked on a price of £1500 per sq mtr to enable a finish cost. Budget will be £150,000 so a little bit of a buffer.
Architect is after 5% of total build cost to do all the work from initial design right the way through to planning, landscape design and part project managing.
So....my next move? One thing I want to do is get a couple of estate agents to look at the plans and give me a rough idea of the potential price the house would be worth once work is finished.
I have a couple of builders recommended to me. Would it be best to let them see the design drawings now ( not technical) and have a rough build price or wait until planning has been granted and get the correct drawings together.?
Any advice as to timescales and when to plan things would be great. Most of the magazines out there cover self-builds which although there is some cross over doesnt help too much.
Kev
Having read a lot of the posts here, there are a fair number of you that have done, or are part way through having extensions built.
We have looked into this ourselves and have had an architect come up with some great ideas. Basically, we are looking at a two story extension with conservatory and orangery. Total size of all this will be 92 sq. mtrs. I have worked on a price of £1500 per sq mtr to enable a finish cost. Budget will be £150,000 so a little bit of a buffer.
Architect is after 5% of total build cost to do all the work from initial design right the way through to planning, landscape design and part project managing.
So....my next move? One thing I want to do is get a couple of estate agents to look at the plans and give me a rough idea of the potential price the house would be worth once work is finished.
I have a couple of builders recommended to me. Would it be best to let them see the design drawings now ( not technical) and have a rough build price or wait until planning has been granted and get the correct drawings together.?
Any advice as to timescales and when to plan things would be great. Most of the magazines out there cover self-builds which although there is some cross over doesnt help too much.
Kev
Unless the planning drawings are a bit rubbish, builders and contractors should be able to provide a ball park quote off planning drawings. You should have decision date from the council so you'll know when your application will passed/ rejected. The time scale will also depend on how busy the builder is. Good builders are often busy and there could be a leadtime until they can start
Edited by camp freddie on Thursday 1st July 13:08
camp freddie said:
Unless the planning drawings are a bit rubbish, builders and contractors should be able to provide a ball park quote off planning drawings.
They will - but it will be exactly that, ballpark. Quite a few (in my recent experience) will insist on approved build regs before they will quote as so much can change. During outr works, I had to have a drain inspection cover moved for example - that was £800 in itself and is but one example. So you have to take ballparks with a pinch of saltGet a decent builder by reputation Kev (good that you've got a couple in mind) - they are hard to find and even harder to find looking for work!
But you won't regret it once they're on board.Get the planning in and take it from there. You may end up amending the plans several times to get them through anyway, so what they price now may not be what you end up with. Due to the time it usually takes, I'd get an application in asap (make it ott for what you want and be prepared to cut it back to what you need) and take it from there.
Can't help re. architects costs as I did all that myself
Edited by Stig on Thursday 1st July 13:12
KevF said:
Guys,
Having read a lot of the posts here, there are a fair number of you that have done, or are part way through having extensions built.
We have looked into this ourselves and have had an architect come up with some great ideas. Basically, we are looking at a two story extension with conservatory and orangery. Total size of all this will be 92 sq. mtrs. I have worked on a price of £1500 per sq mtr to enable a finish cost. Budget will be £150,000 so a little bit of a buffer.
Architect is after 5% of total build cost to do all the work from initial design right the way through to planning, landscape design and part project managing.
So....my next move? One thing I want to do is get a couple of estate agents to look at the plans and give me a rough idea of the potential price the house would be worth once work is finished.
I have a couple of builders recommended to me. Would it be best to let them see the design drawings now ( not technical) and have a rough build price or wait until planning has been granted and get the correct drawings together.?
Any advice as to timescales and when to plan things would be great. Most of the magazines out there cover self-builds which although there is some cross over doesnt help too much.
Kev
Architect's fees sound reasonable to me - we paid c15K on a 220K job ex project management. But it did involve lots of drawings, re-renderings, changes etc, since I was determined to plan it to the last nut & bolt. Having read a lot of the posts here, there are a fair number of you that have done, or are part way through having extensions built.
We have looked into this ourselves and have had an architect come up with some great ideas. Basically, we are looking at a two story extension with conservatory and orangery. Total size of all this will be 92 sq. mtrs. I have worked on a price of £1500 per sq mtr to enable a finish cost. Budget will be £150,000 so a little bit of a buffer.
Architect is after 5% of total build cost to do all the work from initial design right the way through to planning, landscape design and part project managing.
So....my next move? One thing I want to do is get a couple of estate agents to look at the plans and give me a rough idea of the potential price the house would be worth once work is finished.
I have a couple of builders recommended to me. Would it be best to let them see the design drawings now ( not technical) and have a rough build price or wait until planning has been granted and get the correct drawings together.?
Any advice as to timescales and when to plan things would be great. Most of the magazines out there cover self-builds which although there is some cross over doesnt help too much.
Kev
Worth every penny, and absolutely no ambiguity about precisely what the builders were quoting against.
...after nearly 3 years we're within 4 weeks of completion.
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