How can we help you?
Knowing how to navigate the design, Planning and construction processes can be daunting if you've not experienced it before. We hope to offer a source of knowledge, inspiration and reassurance to our clients that will help them to achieve their goals as swiftly and smoothly as possible.
As RIBA and ARB registered Architects, we have undergone extensive training in order to achieve and maintain professional registration, whilst abiding with our governing bodies' codes of practice.
We work predominantly in 3D CAD so can easily visualise proposals and view them in context, hugely benefitting the design process.
We pride ourselves on providing a friendly, affordable service to our clients and are confident that we can make a positive contribution to any project, whatever the nature, however large or small. If you think we might be able to help you, we'd love you to get in touch.
Our initial discussion is offered free of charge, so that we can advise how we might best be involved.
Contact us for a free initial consultation, to find out how we can help you realise your ambitions for your home.
Concept & Feasibility
We can review your property or site and discuss what you'd like to achieve in terms of design, budget and timescale. We'll then help you to define a brief that will inform our concept proposals. Once you're happy with our initial ideas, we will develop these into a feasibility scheme that will allow us all to assess the practicalities of the project, making sure our proposals are the right solution for you before pushing ahead further.
Planning Applications
We can advise on whether Planning permission will be required and the likelihood of achieving this if it is, based on past experience and our knowledge of Island Plan policies. We can then request pre-application advice from the Planning Department if appropriate and will submit outline or full Planning applications on your behalf, to suit your particular project's circumstances. We can advise you on what other consultants you might need and point you in the right directtion to obtain any additional specialist surveys or input.
Building Byelaws
We have extensive Building Byelaws knowledge and an excellent working relationship with the Building Control Department. We are able to prepare and submit the necessary drawings, technical notes and JSAP calculations that are required in order to obtain Byelaws permission, which is required prior to commencing any regulated building works.
Tender & Construction
Once statutory permissions have been obtained you may require a more detailed package of drawn and written information to allow building contractors to prepare a more accurate price (tender). If you wish, we can undertake a Contract Administration role to liaise with the main contractor and monitor the progress of site works, usually working alongside your structural engineer and quantity surveyor, to steer the project towards a successful completion.
What Is It Likely To Cost?
We often work on an hourly rate basis at the beginning of a project, until we all have a clearer picture of what you might need from us. Prints and copies, etc, are all charged separately and Planning/Byelaws application fees are paid directly to the relevant department by the Client, as are those of other consultants/surveyors. For the works we undertake, our standard hourly rate is £80 (reviewed annually), which we believe is excellent value when compared to other services you need to might pay for. Building costs obviously vary between projects, but a rough guide of £3,000 per square metre can offer an approximate idea of budget for construction works in the early stages of a project. A quantity surveyor can offer a more accurate budget once a scheme has been developed.
How it works in a bit more detail...
00 Meet
Contact us to arrange an initial visit (free of charge), where one of us will meet you at your property to see what it already offers, discuss your ideas, what you'd like to achieve and see how any solutions might best work on site.
01 Briefing
RIBA Work Stages 0-1
Following our initial discussion, we will email you to outline your brief and propose our next steps. These will likely involve us conducting a check on Planning policies and any site restrictions, followed by a measured survey of your property to produce 'existing' plans. We usually build a CAD model with this information, which is invaluable as a project progresses as it allows us to demonstrate potential solutions in 3D while generating fully coordinated drawings far more quickly than if we were working in 2D.
When considering an extension or new-build project, we often sketch an initial block layout plan in 2D to help establish what might work best on site. We would then contact you again to sit down and refine your brief and agree on your principal aims, which could span functionality, aesthetics, timescale and costs.
02 Concept
RIBA Work Stage 2
We will use your brief and the 'existing' drawings to develop a concept scheme for review, to give you an idea of what might be possible. If you have an idea of budget, we can use this to gauge how much work might be affordable based on an approximate £cost per square metre.
We will then meet with you to agree on an outline solution that can be developed for Planning and/or Building Byelaws submissions as necessary, giving high-level consideration to scale, style, existing features, access, inclusivity, daylighting, relationship to outside spaces and any other particular requirements you might have for the project. It is possible to seek Pre-Application Advice from the Planning Department prior to proceeding further, which is advisable if there is any uncertainty over their likely support of the proposals. This can be submitted with no application fee and is not advertised publicly, so is a good way of checking the probability of securing Planning permission.
03 Scheme Design
RIBA Work Stage 3
Our concept sketch designs are developed to a level suitable for Planning submission, if formal permission is required, adding elements such as furniture layouts, external materials and general landscaping to the scheme. We'll also consider any issues that are controlled under Building Byelaws, with the aim of avoiding any potential problems with achieving statutory compliance at a later stage. Depending on the complexity of the project, this might be a good time to approach a Structural Engineer or other consultants, to better inform the design and to help with cost forecasts. If Planning permission is needed, we will compile and submit a Planning application on your behalf at this stage, liaising with other consultants as required to support the application, and keeping you informed throughout the process.
04 Technical
RIBA Work Stage 4
Beyond Planning stage, our design drawings are refined and developed with construction methods, materials and details in mind, to produce a set of drawings and notes that are suitable for Building Byelaws submission. These will address technical aspects such as thermal, acoustic and fire performance, and will incorporate your Engineer's design proposals.
On smaller projects, these may suffice for estimate pricing by a building contractor. On larger or more complex projects, and where more cost certainty is required, we would add further detail to this information set to produce a construction information package, suitable for more detailed pricing by a main contractor. If renewables or enhanced sustainability measures are desirable, these can be reviewed at this stage, coordinating specialist input to suit.
A Quantity Surveyor (QS) can also be engaged to produce an independent cost plan, to assist with assessing prices and ensuring value for money.
05 Construction
RIBA Work Stage 5
Once all permissions are in place, an HSPC (Health and Safety Project Coordinator) has been appointed, and a contract, including an overall cost and timescale, has been agreed with a building contractor, works can commence on site. If you wish, we can be retained to provide contract adminstration services throughout the construction phase, where we would run regular site meetings, monitor site progress against the contractor's programme, check that the works are being constructed in accordance with approved drawings and respond to site queries. We generally recommend that a QS be appointed to monitor construction costs and assess contractor’s valuations as the works progress. We would then work together with the contractor to agree the cost implications of any variations and record changes as formal instructions.
When works are complete, we would issue a Practical Completion certificate and oversee the handover of the finished project to the client.
Beyond completion...
Formal building contracts identify a 'defects liability period', which allows the contractor to return within a defined timeframe to rectify any issues that might become apparent once the completed works are in use. If we have been overseeing the building contract, then once the defects period has run its course we would return to conduct one final inspection before issuing a 'Final Certificate', which concludes the formal arrangement between client and contractor.