What kind of price should I expect to pay for a set of construction drawings, schedule of work and specification

[Technoheckno]

Hi,

After a delay of several years due to the incompetence of those who administer the Land Registry charges register I've finally got planning permission to demolish an existing disused builders workshop and build a two bedroom passive house. The ground floor would be built into the bankside so as well as the demolition there's quite a bit of muck moving, and retaining walls to build. Total floor area is about 212Sq m.

[PNAmble]

4 hours ago, Technoheckno said:

Total floor area is about 212Sq m.

 
I’m just finishing a 4 bedroom house of 207 m2, ground floor dug into a 3 meter retaining wall,  timber frame , passive standards, airtightness test 0.42.  It’s an upside down house. 

 

212 m2 with two bedrooms, you just have a massive living area or lots of circulation space.  
 

our ground works were a significant cost pushing our m2 cost above what we wanted. 

[JohnMo]

5 hours ago, Technoheckno said:

Total floor area is about 212Sq m.

That's a lot of space for 2 bedrooms, we rattle about in 195m2 and 3 bedrooms.

 

But to answer your question, really depends on the complexity, building methods and how many detailed drawings need to be produced, so the contractor doesn't build a non Passivhaus - is it actually a Passivhaus or sort of a passive house? Very different in the level of detail required, one has to be certified the other not.

[nod]

We paid 3k for design and building drawings 

420 Icluding two story workshop 6 beds Traditional built 

[Technoheckno]

1 hour ago, PNAmble said:

 
I’m just finishing a 4 bedroom house of 207 m2, ground floor dug into a 3 meter retaining wall,  timber frame , passive standards, airtightness test 0.42.  It’s an upside down house. 

 

212 m2 with two bedrooms, you just have a massive living area or lots of circulation space.  
 

our ground works were a significant cost pushing our m2 cost above what we wanted. 

Yes, The ground floor is just a garage./workshop and a music room plus wc and washroom so basically it's a 2 bedroomed bungalow stuck on top of a lot of space. I similarly will require 3m retaining walls. Hoping I can go with timber frame for the rest.

[Technoheckno]

1 hour ago, JohnMo said:

That's a lot of space for 2 bedrooms, we rattle about in 195m2 and 3 bedrooms.

 

But to answer your question, really depends on the complexity, building methods and how many detailed drawings need to be produced, so the contractor doesn't build a non Passivhaus - is it actually a Passivhaus or sort of a passive house? Very different in the level of detail required, one has to be certified the other not.

Hi, I'd prefer a sort of passive house i.e. insulation, air-tightness etc. not looking to achieve certification as I can't see any benefit to that.

[Technoheckno]

50 minutes ago, nod said:

We paid 3k for design and building drawings 

420 Icluding two story workshop 6 beds Traditional built 

Wow - that's less than it's cost me to just get design drawings.

[PNAmble]

Other people live in different worlds, but aren’t classed as ‘self builders’, we paid a lot more but project managed whilst we had jobs.  
 

we were water tight in 4 months with a modern build system, including all retaining walls. 

Edited May 18 by PNAmble

[PNAmble]

2 hours ago, Technoheckno said:

Yes, The ground floor is just a garage./workshop and a music room plus wc and washroom so basically it's a 2 bedroomed bungalow stuck on top of a lot of space. I similarly will require 3m retaining walls. Hoping I can go with timber frame for the rest.

 
You will get a lot of comments on here who are anti timber frame but having project managed our build the financial benefits of speed are significant. However, building a TF into a retaining wall is a risk we created an 1m air barrier around the back and as we are an upside down house, cantilevered the patio over the gap.  We had little choice in build systems as our ground conditions limit us to 20kn/m2.
 

we broke ground September 2023, ground works and 13m x 3m retaining wall built, water tight by January 2024, will be complete by June 2024.  

[Technoheckno]

12 hours ago, PNAmble said:

 
You will get a lot of comments on here who are anti timber frame but having project managed our build the financial benefits of speed are significant. However, building a TF into a retaining wall is a risk we created an 1m air barrier around the back and as we are an upside down house, cantilevered the patio over the gap.  We had little choice in build systems as our ground conditions limit us to 20kn/m2.
 

we broke ground September 2023, ground works and 13m x 3m retaining wall built, water tight by January 2024, will be complete by June 2024.  

Congratulations. That seems remarkably quick.I'd wondered if it were possible to build a solid ground floor and timber frame upper storey. I'm aged and no longer working so I'd be expecting the builder to project manage. I just want building drawings and a spec so we can get a decent estimate.

[SteamyTea]

Assuming you have some sketches, find an architectural technician and ask what they will cost, they may well know a structural engineer as well.

 

[PNAmble]

5 hours ago, Technoheckno said:

That seems remarkably quick.I'd wondered if it were possible to build a solid ground floor and timber frame upper storey. I'm aged and no longer working so I'd be expecting the builder to project manage.

as I say, we had no choice but to go bespoke timber due to ground conditions.  We originally were going ICF with an integrated retaining wall.  Our SE who also owns a TF company and we spoke to a SIP company said connecting a TF to a retaining wall structure would be difficult whilst trying to achieve the cold bridging and insulation we needed, and have a TF guarantee.   
 

im sure there are lots of people on this forum who will suggest otherwise / recommend a brickie solution, but it worked for us and we built over the wettest winter on record.  

 

TF is a brilliant solution unless you want a brick skin, in which case it’s a waste of time as you’ll be be beholden to brickies weather conditions. 

[Jilly]

Have you parted ways with your architect? I made an expensive mistake by not letting them see it through. 

[DevilDamo]

Obtain a few quotes and then you’ll know the approx. cost. Far too many variables to compare to what others have paid.

[PNAmble]

3 hours ago, Jilly said:

Have you parted ways with your architect? I made an expensive mistake by not letting them see it through. 

 
we sacked ours, best bit of value we did for our build. Ours didn’t know his arse from his elbow and as we finish our build we are still fixing his mistakes.   Probably has cost me in excess of 15k of worthlessness.   If anyone in the NE wants a name to avoid message me. 
 

[Technoheckno]

21 hours ago, Jilly said:

Have you parted ways with your architect? I made an expensive mistake by not letting them see it through. 

No, I just wanted a rough idea but I've just got a quote for construction drawings for 12k + 6k for 'passive standards checking" + SE costs and that's a bit more than I would have guessed.

[Jenki]

1 hour ago, Technoheckno said:

No, I just wanted a rough idea but I've just got a quote for construction drawings for 12k + 6k for 'passive standards checking" + SE costs

😲.£18 k for drawings plus structural they are having a 😂.

[Technoheckno]

On 20/05/2024 at 17:14, Jenki said:

😲.£18 k for drawings plus structural they are having a 😂.

I guess that when the plans were drawn and submitted the architects had a 'passivehaus' qualified architect who drew the original plans but he's quit and left the country so now  I guess they'll have to outsource all of the checking and detailing. Maybe I should have gone for an aggressive house instead.

[SBMS]

4 hours ago, Technoheckno said:

aggressive house

Brilliant. 

[SBMS]

We are just about to get a quote for our drawing pack and SE will update on here. 

[Dave Jones]

On 18/05/2024 at 22:21, PNAmble said:

 
You will get a lot of comments on here who are anti timber frame but having project managed our build the financial benefits of speed are significant. However, building a TF into a retaining wall is a risk we created an 1m air barrier around the back and as we are an upside down house, cantilevered the patio over the gap.  We had little choice in build systems as our ground conditions limit us to 20kn/m2.
 

we broke ground September 2023, ground works and 13m x 3m retaining wall built, water tight by January 2024, will be complete by June 2024.  

 

good example of a year long build, wasting the only tiny benefit of a mega expensive shed build which is speed.

 

 

[Dave Jones]

You dont actually need construction drawings done by a 'professional'. Depending on your enthusiasm you can just use planning drawings, elevations and floor plans. These are enough to get it QS'd as long as you fill in some blanks. Build type, materials to be used, foundation type etc

 

SE is only needed if your footings are non standard or you need steels. Everything else BCO can do.

 

Put up your plans so we can have a  look, no point blowing £18k on useless architects drawings which will be wrong anyway when it comes to build them.

 

 

[PNAmble]

4 hours ago, Dave Jones said:

good example of a year long build, wasting the only tiny benefit of a mega expensive shed build which is speed

 

If we hadn't gone TF, we'd have had to pile which would have significantly increased costs,  TF was built on site starting mid November; not certain where you got the year from, plus we could build during winter.   Horses for courses as opposed to a blinkered view of alternative build systems.  

[Technoheckno]

6 hours ago, Dave Jones said:

SE is only needed if your footings are non standard or you need steels. Everything else BCO can do.

 

Put up your plans so we can have a  look, no point blowing £18k on useless architects drawings which will be wrong anyway when it comes to build them.

 

 

Anonomised drawings attached. The site is on two levels the lower level has an existing structure that was a builder's workshop about the same size as what is proposed built of block, timber, glass and concrete/asbestos. The upper level of the site is c2.5-3m higher than the front.

propfloorplan2.pdf propelv3.pdf PropSite Plan1.pdf

[Dave Jones]

simple rectangle box, you may need to drop a couple grand on an SE to spec the retaining wall but the build is pretty simple.

 

ie 150mm cavity

make sure pozi joists are specced at least 225mm deep so you can get ducting/soil pipes through

minimum of 150mm insulation, 75mm screed below DPC

get SAP calcs done these will specify insulation and critical elements such as lintels, cold bridging spots etc

will have to fireboard the garage as its below your living area. Not sure why there is a cavity wall shown between garage and hall but its wasted space.

 

simple block build really that should go up fast.