ggc Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 £3800 does not sound too bad. You clearly have some complexities around extending etc - you do not want joints breaking between old and new and they will need to fully understand the OLD to ensure the whole thing works structurally and it is probably dependent on the soil conditions. So probably not too far of the ball park really. With the SE, and the Architect, a not insignificant proportion of the fee will be made up of the PI insurance they need to maintain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markc Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Sounds fair to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 It sounds as though there is quite a lot related to the extension (big beam across etc), and then some more relating to the loft conversion on what is a big project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_r_sole Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 loft conversion and extension is basically two different jobs so there's a fair bit of engineering - if you don't like it then ask the architect to get another quote, we generally try to get three quotes for every project, although at the moment we're struggling to get anyone with capacity for months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggc Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 10 hours ago, MikeSharp01 said: £3800 does not sound too bad. You clearly have some complexities around extending etc - you do not want joints breaking between old and new and they will need to fully understand the OLD to ensure the whole thing works structurally and it is probably dependent on the soil conditions. So probably not too far of the ball park really. With the SE, and the Architect, a not insignificant proportion of the fee will be made up of the PI insurance they need to maintain. This sounds fair, thanks for clarifying, OLD means? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggc Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 9 hours ago, markc said: Sounds fair to me 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggc Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 8 hours ago, Ferdinand said: It sounds as though there is quite a lot related to the extension (big beam across etc), and then some more relating to the loft conversion on what is a big project. Thanks Ferdinand, I am more comfortable with the quotes now, yes looking at it there is probably quite a lot of work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggc Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 7 hours ago, the_r_sole said: loft conversion and extension is basically two different jobs so there's a fair bit of engineering - if you don't like it then ask the architect to get another quote, we generally try to get three quotes for every project, although at the moment we're struggling to get anyone with capacity for months! 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Just been quoted £1900 for a large cut roof , so your prices do not seem out of the way . Also if your architect has a favorite who he works well with and there is only a few hundred between them and the others might be worth paying a little more to make the process a smooth one as they will have a good understanding of each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggc Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 5 minutes ago, Buzz said: Just been quoted £1900 for a large cut roof , so your prices do not seem out of the way . Also if your architect has a favorite who he works well with and there is only a few hundred between them and the others might be worth paying a little more to make the process a smooth one as they will have a good understanding of each other. 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Old school roofing, no trusses, a series of beams (purlins) and rafters cut on site to SE design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggc Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 55 minutes ago, Buzz said: Old school roofing, no trusses, a series of beams (purlins) and rafters cut on site to SE design. Ah I see! so your SE fee is just for your roof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Yes , could have gone cheaper but opted to spend a bit more for better quality detailed drawings. ( well that's what they have promised ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 5 hours ago, ggc said: This sounds fair, thanks for clarifying, OLD means? Sorry - should not have capitalised - it means old , as in what was there in the past. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesgrandepotato Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 I had quotes between 1250+ Vat and 4K. Went for the lowest after a good conversation they did a great job. Managed to hide all the pillars and downstands the architect left in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 On 04/06/2021 at 05:33, ggc said: can I commission/approach my own ? of course you can. Architect got me 3 quotes and I got 2 quotes independently from other SEs and in the end went with TSD based in Ireland who were cheaper and more versed in what we wanted (insulated slab) than the Architect's chosen SEs. Architect never said anything about not using the quotes they got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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