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Ah I see! so your SE fee is just for your roof?

This totally makes sense, I think the three he has approached are all people he has worked with before so hopefully taking the cheapest of the three should be okay, when you say a large cut roof what do you mean? interested to know!

Thanks the_r_sole thanks, yes, he is getting 3 quotes they are all around the same ball park ranging from 3500-3800 and still waiting for one SE to respond, glad to see that it is a fair quote, I've no idea what the processes are and how much they should roughly cost! I think i'll start another post about that as I am a bit confused about some stages!

Thanks Ferdinand, I am more comfortable with the quotes now, yes looking at it there is probably quite a lot of work!

Thanks Mark, after googling and coming back with it should be around £2000 ball bark for a big 4 bed house I did start to wonder but thats googling for you!

This sounds fair, thanks for clarifying, OLD means?

Hi all, Quick background Plans passed and granted 3 years ago but scheme not suitable for parents or home, sibling had taken it upon himself to commission architect and architect went ahead with a plan which was all bells and whistles but completely impractical for what parents needed, no input from them was taken, he just designed and went with what he imagined and sibling agreed. I then took over and spoke to a few architects about making some changes to the original passed scheme without too much cost and after some recommendations commissioned an architect. All very positive, liked his ideas, liked him as a person, had to clarify my parents vision and reign it in when needed. After what seems like an eternity and the above architect who went AWOL (went silent for 5 months, complete radio silence), finally our plans have been submitted to planning and we can start to move forward, he has just come back with some costs for SE's and they are coming in around 3800 +VAT, I am a bit mind-blown by this amount and started searching google for approx costs, I know this is dependent on plans so we have a 1920's bugalow and are putting a large 1 1/2 story extension behind it with asymmetrical roof and a loft conversion in the existing bungalow, could anyone give me rough ideas on what cost should be and what questions I should be asking architect? I know these quotes are from his preferred SE's but can I commission/approach my own ? I have come across someone quite capable online, what should I be asking and looking for? Thanks so much for anyones input!

The permission was Validated in December 2017 and granted in 2018, I am not sure if it's three years from the Validation date or from the Granted date? uncle did touch base with planners via email who have asked him for some sketches to see what we want to change and we have yet to arrange this appointment with the planners as are in the process of getting these amended sketches done (or trying to!)

Hello from Scotland too!

Very interesting to know! Thanks

Thanks for the heads up, yes after watching many TV programmes you start to worry that the planning department are notoriously difficult to deal with and I'm sure thats not always the case just kinda scares you a little and makes you believe the department is shrouded in mystery and full of complications that a newbie should stay away from!

Glad you found a way around it and it was somewhere where PD was allowed after! we are hoping to just raise the height of the roof to the roofline point in image above to minimise excavation and need for stairs and an extra metre to the back!

Thanks for replying Joe! Yes will persuade uncle to go with and help out and it totally makes sense to go in with requirements of need to have - nice to have! from the initial image the original architect proposed, (above), to utter craziness when I looked at the warrant drawings which looked nothing like above image (passed warrant image below) I started to question why things were done the way they were, I mean pyramid skylight 1300mm tall requires extra digging, why not put flat roof/sky light in raise height of roof and excavate less! the excavation and removal of soil was going to cost a fortune in itself let alone tanking/waterproofing etc!

Oops yep read that wrong! i've just gained some height brilliant!!

really good to know, and now I realise that I see them by the side of a road sometimes!

Thanks Mr Punter, so that means from the lowest point on that image +52.470 to the eaves measurement up at +55.879 is 3.409 metres would this be about right? Thanks!

Hi all, Please can anyone tell me what these numbers relate to, above ground level, meters, cm, sea level? Thanks!

Patp, Thanks for replying, that totally makes sense and brilliant that you got a result from planning! and great insight into meeting with planners and I think I will make contact with planners myself just to feel it out! I mean whats the worst that can happen! ? I think as a complete newbie to a situation you always worry that it's far more complicated than it actually is! for instance once plans are drawn and passed who is it that deals with the building warrant and construction drawings? is that a surveyor or someone witin the architects firm? I am so confused as to the process and uncle answers questions which raise more questions than they answer! I end a conversation with him more confused than when I started! love him to bits however but I probably need lay-mans terms!

Hello all, Just discovered this forum and kicking myself for not finding it earlier, have been reading for hours there is a wealth of knowledge and expertise on here! more informative than the answers I've had from 'The Professionals' ! Our planning journey has been a long one (over 15 years) it's for my parents home, a bungalow, and building an extension so we can move in to cut down costs and help them too! older sibling decided to take charge and finally got planning permission passed and building warrant (Scotland) granted a few years ago, (about to run out time wise) for plans which never suited my parents needs and future mobility, I was abroad for work at the time and when I got back and saw the plans I wondered if both the Architect and my brother had even consulted my parents as the build was a complete fantasy both budget and build wise (subterranean in an area prone to flooding and facing the darkest direction for all day light , lots of various stairs etc..) My parents told me they were never consulted and on the few occasions the architect came round to take measurements he was not in the slightest bit interested with what my dad had to say or any input, so after my brother having spent £££ of my dads money on architects/surveyors/engineer fees it's still not suitable for their needs and the architect who dealt with the plans is retired now and and (I believe) living where no one can reach him and in all honesty my dad doesn't want to engage with him any further. We have a few drawings and building warrant paperwork (don’t know what is missing) My husbands uncle, a retired architect of many years heard our frustrations and said he would be happy to look over plans and give us some ideas to make the plans suitable to our requirements which he did indeed do. He has been out of the profession for a while so wouldn't be able to see it through which we knew so we have consulted with an Architect who came recommended by a friend to help with slight amendments with the passed plans to make them more suitable for my parents needs, I have provided all ideas (from uncle)and I just needed someone who would be able to tell me if amendments for both plans and warrant would be possible without starting again from scratch seen as we wouldn’t really be changing foot print just raising the building out of subterranean level and trying to work in a liveable mezzanine space which uncle had already suggested. The reason I ‘Believed’ I needed another architect was because I don’t know the proper terms for speaking with the planning department to ask for what I want in regards to amendment to plans and subsequently the warrant, and wanted to stay within all building regulations. As great as this new chap has been and we get on very well with him and like his manner, he has recently said he will charge £5000+VAT for this as a favour because he came recommended from a previous client. I hadn’t anticipated another £6000, I knew it would cost but that was quite a shock. My initial question is, do we need an architect to liase with the planning department? we now feel rushed due to time constraints, but are unsure of how to go about this without an architects input, he has decided to do a few sketches which may make the layout better but we didn’t really ask for this but we are grateful for the input and he has thrown in some interesting initial ideas. Would be grateful for any help. 3d rendered image attached of plans that have been passed but no good for parents due to levels. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for replying Thorfun! Yes I was hoping as it was slight amendments as not really materially changing anything other than raising it to ground level from subterranean, so will avoid a big excavation cost thus saving money and keeping ground floor all one level or if needs be a few steps down, and instead of having two full height floors (hence subterranean) we would raise height slightly to accommodate a mezzanine level with workable ceiling heights. We are hoping we don't have to go through planning again and were hoping costs could be kept to a minimum!

Hello all, Just discovered this forum and kicking myself for not finding it earlier, have been reading for hours there is a wealth of knowledge and expertise on here! more informative than the answers I've had from 'The Professionals' ! Our planning journey has been a long one (over 15 years) it's for my parents home, a bungalow, and building an extension so we can move in to cut down costs and help them too! older sibling decided to take charge and finally got planning permission passed and building warrant (Scotland) granted a few years ago, (about to run out time wise) for plans which never suited my parents needs and future mobility, I was abroad for work at the time and when I got back and saw the plans I wondered if both the Architect and my brother had even consulted my parents as the build was a complete fantasy both budget and build wise (subterranean in an area prone to flooding and facing the darkest direction for all day light , lots of various stairs etc..) My parents told me they were never consulted and on the few occasions the architect came round to take measurements he was not in the slightest bit interested with what my dad had to say or any input, so after my brother having spent £££ of my dads money on architects/surveyors/engineer fees it's still not suitable for their needs and the architect who dealt with the plans is retired now and and (I believe) living where no one can reach him and in all honesty my dad doesn't want to engage with him any further. We have a few drawings and building warrant paperwork (don’t know what is missing) My husbands uncle, a retired architect of many years heard our frustrations and said he would be happy to look over plans and give us some ideas to make the plans suitable to our requirements which he did indeed do. He has been out of the profession for a while so wouldn't be able to see it through which we knew so we have consulted with an Architect who came recommended by a friend to help with slight amendments with the passed plans to make them more suitable for my parents needs, I have provided all ideas (from uncle)and I just needed someone who would be able to tell me if amendments for both plans and warrant would be possible without starting again from scratch seen as we wouldn’t really be changing foot print just raising the building out of subterranean level and trying to work in a liveable mezzanine space which uncle had already suggested. The reason I ‘Believed’ I needed another architect was because I don’t know the proper terms for speaking with the planning department to ask for what I want in regards to amendment to plans and subsequently the warrant, and wanted to stay within all building regulations. As great as this new chap has been and we get on very well with him and like his manner, he has recently said he will charge £5000+VAT for this as a favour because he came recommended from a previous client. I hadn’t anticipated another £6000, I knew it would cost but that was quite a shock. My initial question is, do we need an architect to liase with the planning department? we now feel rushed due to time constraints, but are unsure of how to go about this without an architects input, he has decided to do a few sketches which may make the layout better but we didn’t really ask for this but we are grateful for the input and he has thrown in some interesting initial ideas. Would be grateful for any help. 3d rendered image attached of plans that have been passed but no good for parents due to levels. Thanks in advance!