Has anyone used a architect recently
Discussion
Hi
Has it looks like Friday will be my last day of employment in my current architects practice and the current job market is some what non existent I'm looking at starting up on my own.
Whilst this might not seam to be the best time to do this, due to my personal circumstances I can afford not to earn for 6 months so feels like it might be worth ago.
I would be looking at offering freelance services but also offering an architectural design service for planning and building control submissions etc.
One problem I have is with fees, I've always worked on larger scale developments ranging from 14 - 140 houses and large scale hotel conversions so I'm not really up to speed with the fees charged at the other end of the market.
Therefore has anyone employed an architect recently and may i ask what they charged for what size project.
I know about the % of build some practices work on but is this realistic?
Thanks in advance.
Has it looks like Friday will be my last day of employment in my current architects practice and the current job market is some what non existent I'm looking at starting up on my own.
Whilst this might not seam to be the best time to do this, due to my personal circumstances I can afford not to earn for 6 months so feels like it might be worth ago.
I would be looking at offering freelance services but also offering an architectural design service for planning and building control submissions etc.
One problem I have is with fees, I've always worked on larger scale developments ranging from 14 - 140 houses and large scale hotel conversions so I'm not really up to speed with the fees charged at the other end of the market.
Therefore has anyone employed an architect recently and may i ask what they charged for what size project.
I know about the % of build some practices work on but is this realistic?
Thanks in advance.
Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 27th January 15:02
Cheers for the replies.
Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested so that may
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested so that may
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 27th January 15:22
Guy I used for our extension quoted £180 to come round discuss and draw up a set of plans (3 hours should have covered it). I got his bill for £450 and sent it back with the following letters rearranged into a well known phrase and a cheque for £180……. ‘Fkufocf’, to be honest I though £180 was a bit much to say he got the stairs the wrong way round and kitchen where my lounge is (at the time the house was an empty shell).
andye30m3 said:
Cheers for the replies.
Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested so that may
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
If you are not RIBA certified then what are you? Part 1/2/3? Technician? Do you have PI insurance?, do you refer to yourself as an architect or as offering architectural services?Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested so that may
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 27th January 15:22
andye30m3 said:
Cheers for the replies.
Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested so that may
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
The £600 covered all drawings and work needed for submittal, but not the submittal fees which I paid direct.Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested so that may
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 27th January 15:22
May seem cheap, but given how utterly s
t they were it was quite expensive 
andye30m3 said:
Cheers for the replies.
Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested so that may
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
Your not an Architect if your not RIBA; by definition, you may be an Architectural Technician. Your PI cover (that you will need) will prevent you from marketing yourself as an Architect.Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested so that may
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 27th January 15:22
The practices you have worked for in the past - they seem limited in their scope of work, i.e, do you have experience in Office fit outs, and are you competent with D&B contracts, and preficient with all the relevant forms etc etc.
Fees wise - normally goes on a set scale of % rather than working on a time basis - I am sure this is how the pracries you worked for operated previously. You would then need to do a cost value reconcilliation of your costs vs actual Fees etc, and remeber, you will set the fees on a) estimated costs, and then b) agreed final accounts, both of which vary, and in this day and age, seem to going down by c.7% - 10% etc
I am not trying to put you down, merely pointing out areas where I have fond people out in the passed - I work with Architects day in day out in a variety of roles, and on varying sizes of projects etc.
Adam T said:
Your not an Architect if your not RIBA; by definition, you may be an Architectural Technician. Your PI cover (that you will need) will prevent you from marketing yourself as an Architect.
The practices you have worked for in the past - they seem limited in their scope of work, i.e, do you have experience in Office fit outs, and are you competent with D&B contracts, and preficient with all the relevant forms etc etc.
Fees wise - normally goes on a set scale of % rather than working on a time basis - I am sure this is how the pracries you worked for operated previously. You would then need to do a cost value reconcilliation of your costs vs actual Fees etc, and remeber, you will set the fees on a) estimated costs, and then b) agreed final accounts, both of which vary, and in this day and age, seem to going down by c.7% - 10% etc
I am not trying to put you down, merely pointing out areas where I have fond people out in the passed - I work with Architects day in day out in a variety of roles, and on varying sizes of projects etc.
Oh yeh, I've been a technician for the last 10 years and know i would have to market myself as architectural services or something similar. The practices you have worked for in the past - they seem limited in their scope of work, i.e, do you have experience in Office fit outs, and are you competent with D&B contracts, and preficient with all the relevant forms etc etc.
Fees wise - normally goes on a set scale of % rather than working on a time basis - I am sure this is how the pracries you worked for operated previously. You would then need to do a cost value reconcilliation of your costs vs actual Fees etc, and remeber, you will set the fees on a) estimated costs, and then b) agreed final accounts, both of which vary, and in this day and age, seem to going down by c.7% - 10% etc
I am not trying to put you down, merely pointing out areas where I have fond people out in the passed - I work with Architects day in day out in a variety of roles, and on varying sizes of projects etc.
with regards to my previous practices they've generally worked for the large housing developers who only required planning and working drawings rather than the contract admin side of things and more recently been working on Hotel conversions including bars, restaurants etc.
I'm really just looking at all the options as there seams to be very little full time work out there, even to do a few small planning applications for private clients each month whilst looking for work would be better than day time TV!
andye30m3 said:
Cheers for the replies.
Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested.
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
Assuming I could work productively full time I think i could easily survive on say £20 an hour so to base it one £30 would leave me some down time. I'm not RIBA and not many of the practices I've work for have been due to their client base not being interested.
Davi were you quotes for the planning, building regs submission or both. £600 seams cheap to do both but I suspect could be done for one or the other.
Edited by andye30m3 on Tuesday 27th January 15:22
Just in the process of getting planning application and building regs done.
2 floor extension.
Total price for a drawn and submitted planning application was £1400.
Total price for building reg drawings and submission should be £500
But I'm also having to get structural calcs done which is coming in around the £300 mark.
Hope this helps!
2 floor extension.
Total price for a drawn and submitted planning application was £1400.
Total price for building reg drawings and submission should be £500
But I'm also having to get structural calcs done which is coming in around the £300 mark.
Hope this helps!
For a 'full service' stick to RIBA rates - 10-15% depending on Listed Building status and amount of interior design etc.
For Planning Applications only - £1-2K depending on size of dwellinghouse.
Remember of course since the change in Planning Law October 2008 there is now much greater scope for General Permitted Development Rights for dwellinghouses.
Still worth recommending to clients that a Certificate of Lawfulness is applied for.
For Planning Applications only - £1-2K depending on size of dwellinghouse.
Remember of course since the change in Planning Law October 2008 there is now much greater scope for General Permitted Development Rights for dwellinghouses.
Still worth recommending to clients that a Certificate of Lawfulness is applied for.
For a small single storey extension, planning & building regulation submission I charge £500 + fees. If the client wants to get planning first it's £400 then £250 for the building regs.
For a 2 storey extension the average is around £750 for a joint application. All my prices include structural calc's fees. On small little stuff like this where the client knows they what they want these sort of fees work fine. Problems arise when the client doesn't know how to achieve what they want and you start having to do some feasibility stuff, giving them options. On an hourly rate you can soon blow a couple of hundred pounds.
For a 2 storey extension the average is around £750 for a joint application. All my prices include structural calc's fees. On small little stuff like this where the client knows they what they want these sort of fees work fine. Problems arise when the client doesn't know how to achieve what they want and you start having to do some feasibility stuff, giving them options. On an hourly rate you can soon blow a couple of hundred pounds.
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