flanagaj

Including the technical drawings it was coming in at 23k

Thanks. This is the conclusion that I have come to now.

We'll have to agree to disagree. Brother in Law did a large 300M2 property recently, and to a nice high spec < £1200 m2. He employed most trades.

The firm I really like is this one - AR Design Studio | Contemporary Architects Winchester I am now thinking that it's like us going to a Ferrari garage, when we can only afford a cheap car. I suspect they will design us a cracking house, but it will come at a construction cost that exceeds our lean £1500/m2 budget.

I have a good idea what we want, but I am hoping that a very good modernist architect can add subtle details which I won’t have considered.

So we have received three fee proposals for our modernist planning submission. One of them is definitely our favourite as them have a fantastic contemporary portfolio, but they are coming in at 15K + vat for design and planning submission. The others are coming in at around half of that amount. I have gone back and explained that whilst we think their portfolio is our favourite, I don't have the budget and that the others have come in at around 7k. They have requested I send across the other fee proposals so they can take a look and compare what is being offered. I feel a little uncomfortable about doing this and am not sure how to proceed.

Looks very tidy

Yes. Very unfortunate. Moral of the story is don't believe the "It's your dream build, you must do as you see fit" statement from a vendor selling you a building plot.

That is very annoying. What actually changes in that short time frame.

I did ask the architect for the topographic yesterday, and she stated that she doesn't give out her CAD drawings. That confused me, but maybe she did the topographic survey herself. One other point I wanted to mention. I am getting quotes from new RIBA architect firms regarding the modernist design that we want to go for. The orientation of the new building will be the same and it will sit in a reduced footprint of what has been already granted + the detached double garage that was planned will be removed. The original chalet and detached double garage had an overall footprint of 193m2 and the new design will be 136m2 One firm told me that we will have to get all of the specialist consultants back to do new reports, eg tree survey, biodiversity ... Is that actually true, given that all we are doing is going for a two storey modernist house, where instead of the huge red clay tile roof that will be very visible, we instead will have a vertical timber clad upper. I think we can even achieve it, without increasing the ridge height? So far, I have been quoted £7.3k +VAT to do initial drawings and submit a new planning application.

I would, but they are no longer talking to us.

We didn’t pay, it was agreed as part of the purchase.

As part of the purchase agreement it was agreed that all of the documents associated with the planning permission would be available to us. We’ve subsequently parted company with the architect, and now I’m annoyed for not asking for the topographic and measured site survey. Is the architect obliged to hand these over?

After some consideration, we have decided to part company with the architect who did the initial sketches. My wife and I need to get this right, and we need an architect who specialises in modernist design, but who can also do some good 3d drawings of how the property will sit on the plot, and how it will look from the lane. These will hopefully enable the locals, the Parish Council and the planners to visualise that a modernist home will look good and actually enhance the lane.

😂

The stairs don’t even line up, so it’s complete garbage.

Another thing that made me question the architect is the floor plan option below that we were sent. Keen to see whether anyone else can spot the error.

Result!! We managed to sell the Cattery for 2.5k and I spent 5 days partly dismantling it, before the buyers dismantled the rest. They left it a bomb site and even changed the code on the combination lock so we couldn’t get onto our land! I then took three days off and fully cleared the site. So I’m well chuffed that what could have cost a large amount of money actually left us +£1200 in credit after I deduct two 10 yard skips and a 4 yard plasterboard skip.

Thanks Conor. Sometimes, it's just the name that I needed. I've never heard of spandrel panels.

I really like the metal fascia that sits below and above the windows, but I am unsure whether that would be done by the window supplier, or whether there is exterior cladding that is fitted using clips?

Thanks for that MR10. Given the location of the dwelling and the fact that it is at least 20 metres from the nearest neighbour, the only objections will simply be personal and opinionated.

The neighbours were the ones selling the land.

We've met the neighbours twice during the procurement of the land. They mandated to the agent, that they wanted to meet prospective buyers. We had coffee and cake, and got on really well. I obviously didn't let slip that we were going to put in for a revised planning permission before we'd completed on the purchase. I then sent her an email with some photos of modernist properties, and explained that we were looking to build something modernist. I didn't even get a reply to my email. Then today, I was just doing some clearing on the site, and I spot a figure hiding behind a tree in the adjacent crop field peaking over to me loading the skip. Cut a long story short, it was the husband of the couple who sold us the plot. Very weird, and I think they are going to be a right pain in the **** I agree re the Architect, but I'll be honest and say that she does not have the modernist vision. Her portfolio is just non descript Bellway style houses. She is super cheap, and her fees for drawings and planning submission is only £1800. I did look at the fees for a RIBA architect, and 14% of 300k is 42k. I just don't have that amount of money to spend on Architect fees. I am only looking for initial design ideas + sketches + planning + technical detail drawings, and didn't want to spend more than 10k.

No, because the owner of the plot designed the house themselves so it was similar to their current property. They then decided that they didn't want to build the house, and we purchased the plot. Below is the planning that was granted.

Good point. It is out of character, as the road is a mixed bag of single and two storey dwellings. I was just wondering whether getting some really good sketches might help sway the locals.