Guidance for Residential

Basic Guidelines for Residential Development
We have set out below a basic guidance for residential clients, particularly those embarking on engaging an architect on a project for the first time.

Preliminary Advice
You will need to have some idea of your requirements, which could be widely differing alternatives. It may be necessary to draw up sketch plans of alternatives to assess the best way forward.
There are a few conditions that can have effects on the proposals, such as;

• Is the property situated in greenbelt?
• in a conservation area?
• is it a Listed building?
• The effect the proposals may have on neighbours is also of paramount importance.

Your budget will need to include consultants, statutory, and possibly legal fees. It should also include a small contingency for unforeseen events.

We normally meet with prospective clients to discuss requirements and a general brief after which a fee proposal is provided for agreement. This can be in the form of an agreed hourly rate, as a percentage of the contract value of the project, or a lump sum based on the stated requirements of the brief. Once appointed we clarify the brief in more detail, listening to your requirements and expectations.

We have a CAD model based approach to design which has the advantage of being a powerful design tool and also can generate realistic 3D illustrations to assist clients and also planning officers to readily visualise the proposals. This also allows for interactive changes to be made and the impact of these quickly assessed. This website indicates several examples we have produced.

Depending on the complexity of the project, other consultants are sometimes required, such as:

Quantity Surveyor	Structural Engineer
Services Engineers	Landscape Designers
Party Wall Surveyors	Planning Consultants

Planning Applications
We will advise you on whether a planning application is required and guide the process. We have submitted many successful planning applications and will use our experience to your benefit.
There can however, be no guarantee of approval as this is a partly subjective and political decision. The planning application process normally takes around 8 weeks to determine. New laws came into force in October 2009. These have effectively relaxed previous requirements for some types of domestic extensions.

Building Regulations Approval
When planning approval has been received, the next step is to make application for Building Regulations Approval. This involves ensuring the compliance with various statutory requirements. Approval may take typically 3-5 weeks.

After Approvals
After this stage, some clients may wish to take the approved plans to a builder to price and will oversee the work themselves. This is often satisfactory for small projects or where the client is reasonably confident and has knowledge of what to expect. It is often advantageous, particularly when seeking alternative tenders from builders, that, at least, a basic specification or schedule of works is produced as a check against quality and confirmation of what is to be included. It is essential that some form of contract is undertaken with the builder to protect the interests of both parties. We can provide specifications and/or schedules of work and advise on contract conditions and forms.
For those clients who wish us to carry out a full service including site inspections we will carry out the following:

The Tender Process
Typically, we advocate that projects are tendered. We encourage clients to only use contractors who can demonstrate the highest level of quality, familiarity with the type of project proposed and who have exemplary references. There are some situations in which a traditional competitive tender might not be the most appropriate method of procurement. We can advise on the alternatives.

Appointment of Contractors
We have developed relationships with teams whom we regularly work with and can recommend on all aspects required.

Contract Administration
We prepare and administrate the contract between the client and contractor. We verify how much the contractor should be paid monthly, and regularly inspect to ensure that the project is progressing as specified, on time, and on budget.