Mathew

I'm hoping to go flush to the wall on both ends, does it add a lot of additional cost to do so? I have mentioned this to the structural engineers at least. That makes a lot of sense, thanks for giving some insight into this. Hopefully, I'm not frustrating him.

Thank you! I was a little concerned about this as friends (Who aren't experts) have said it'd be better to have a builder doing the work and then a joiner/kitchen fitter doing the kitchen, but I've seen amazing kitchen examples from lots of local builders so I'm glad this also makes sense to you, I'd rather have someone problem solving the whole process and not just a portion of it. Update: I've contacted my original SE asking if it'd be possible to draw up plans, do calculations and make a building notice application based on an updated design that I've attached. (with a kitchen door). I've also reached out to a new SE with the same request, so fingers crossed for some positive news soon. Question: If this goes through and I have plans from a structural engineer, calculations and a building notice approval. Is that then enough to speak to a local contractor and get the ball rolling on the actual work? P.S. I have started fleshing the design out in 3D, so that I can show this to the contractor in the hope that they can point out any concerns as early on as possible. Is there a good area in the forums where I could share my progress on these and seek advice/feedback? Thanks guys, I hope you're having a good monday. Mathew

You guys are amazing, thank you. This has brought me so much more clarity over what to do next

How much extra time could it take if we were to go the full plans route? I am hoping to go building notice due to the simplicity of the project but don’t want to make a silly mistake just because I’m inexperienced. I'm thinking I could add the door and then speak to the engineer tomorrow to ask if he can make proper plans from that ready for a building notice application.

So do you think I could ask the engineer for the plans instead and leave an architect out of the equation? I haven’t figured out who’s doing the work yet, I have someone in mind but I’ll reach out to a few people once I Have plans / permission. I am hoping to go down the building notice route to keep things simple. I’m also hoping to find someone who’s happy to handle the building work as well as the next kitchen installation in order to avoid too much back and forth between multiple parties. It’s a little daunting so all advice is very welcome!

Hey guys, I've been in contact with a structural engineer in order to start the process of getting plans drawn up for some work we'd like to get done. He's recommended that we get building regulation drawings put together by an architect, so that he can then use those for his RSJ calculations. I'm basically looking for some advice from people who know more than I do... do you think I need to involve an architect for this work? I'm happy to make adjustments to our expectations if it helps the budget to stretch further. I'm worried that an architect could put quite a dent in my budget, is it wishful thinking to think we could avoid using one? Has anyone got idea how much I should expect building reg drawings for this kind of work to cost? Just so I have a rough idea what to expect when I request quotes this week. Extra info: I know the largest wall is load bearing, but I'm not sure about the 2 small ones. I'm happy to put a door on the kitchen to the hallway if that makes things simpler for fire regs etc Thanks, Mathew