Architect for house extension

B

brian

Registered User
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Hi,

I am looking for a recommendation for an architect in Dublin.
I need drawings for a bedroom and ensuite bathroom house second floor extension over an existing single story extension. The drawings should includedall structural aspects and be bonded and certified.
Also any opinions on what I can expect to pay would be helpful.

Thanks,

Brian
 
Hello Brian,
If you are building in dublin chances are the extenssion will be small and there fore you wont neeed planning permission as it might be under 40sqm. If so get a reputable builderwho will draw it for you and therefore saving architects cost which can run into thousands.
 


What are you suggesting nediaaa?
Are you suggesting that builders run charities?
Are you suggesting that if they retain an architect to supply a design service and certify the work, that they won't work that into the bill somewhere along the line?
In my experience its difficult to tie down builders to agreed reductions at tender in such a way that something doesn't happen on site that will put up the bill again.
I believe this is what has made the new government contracts so appealing initially.

ONQ.
 
Couple of points on the "no building professionals on the job" option.

No builder can offer an architects cert or engineers cert nor can he certify the design of the work, only the built work, unless he himself retains someone competent to design the work and carries PI cover.
The probability is that he will find some way to get paid for this or else he will find it difficult to offer the service, or else he may not be using a qualified professional to offer it.

Relying on Opinions and Certificates for payments from a someone who is beholden to a builder for his fees turns the whole thing on its head unless you're entering into a form of design-build contract, with all the necessary safeguards therein.

Normally a form of contract, for example the RIAI Blue Form [without quantities], can be used, where the Architects issues fair payments for work done, and making sure that the builder executes the work competently and in a timely manner for a fair cost to the client.

Yes professional fees can be a significant cost factor, but these depend on what is required of the designer (s) - and you shouldn't stop at considering the appointment of and architect.
Input from other professionals may be required.
You get what you pay for, and if you want a good standard of design and a competent professional monitoring the building work and certifying monies during construction and issuing Opinions on Compliance at the end [most lending houses will require this], that's what you're paying for.

For example:
Even if the extension is under 40 sqm solicitors these days often ask for a certificate confirming that the extension is exempt from planning control or the requirement to obtain planning permission.
This 40 sqm limit only applies to the original floor plan of the building without extensions or conversions, and to an extension that occurs wholly behind the building and not to the side, and which occurs within clearly defined height limits, both absolute and relative to the existing eaves.
I have posted here previously on all the above q.v.

There seems to be a significant group of unqualified self-builders frequenting these forums, some of whom appear not to have the training or experience to be doing what they are doing - I'm talking about the basic building work here, not the design work.
They tend to end up falling voctim to the same level of specification input as the builder does.
For example, most builders rely on suppliers in the trade to assess the insulation requirements of the building if they have no M&E consulting engineer advising them.
The less scrupulous amongst these suppliers may simply be trying to shift old stock, or might suggest doubling-up to achieve the required u-value.
Most builders are still coming to grips with the whole Health and Safety requirements, which has become quite onerous for all concerned.
A good tip here is to ask to see the accreditation of all operatives to work on a site - the Safe Site Pass.
Building Professionals should have one of these too, and so should anyone setting foot on a building site - they are hazardous places.

Architects Opinions on Compliance with Building Regulations include what are known as Schedule A Confirmations: on larger jobs these include certificates from structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, fire safety consultants, and any other specialist designers on the design front and then main certificates and commissioning certificates from contractors, sub-contractors, specialist contractors, specialist suppliers and any and all guarantees.

As a minimum you should have an engineer and and architect certifying the design after looking at the extension to an existing house to avoid any structural damage occuring and to advise on correct and appropriate detailing for energy conservation.
My own experience is that the latter benefits from even a brief a consultancy with a Mechanical and Electrical Engineer for example, to write a specification for inclusion in the tender documents.
The fees for both the structural and M&E engineers are usually very reasonable and give an authority to the work that an architect acting alone may not be in a position to bring to it.
In this regard the architect balances what may be conflicting requirements to bring a resolution to the client's dreams while accommodating the structures needs and the energy conservations legal requirements.
In every case where such a team has been involved our clients have benefited from increased quality of work, savings initially and/or over time [heating/running costs] and also from having very attentive builder - with up to 3 building professionals making interim inspections, most main contractors pay greater attention to their work.

It is useful to obtain a BER cert at the stage of extension completion and put it in the title booklet - ti will be needed for later sell-on or letting.
There is also a requirement for a Health and Safety file for all jobs over a certain limit or man hours, regardless of whether its for a private house or not.
While in 2008 a PSDP was not requried for works to a persons own house, the appointment of a PSCS was required.
From correspondence I received from the HSA in NJanuary 2008 response to a query I put to them; -

"I take it that the house you are referreing to is a person's current domestic dwelling.
This being the case, a client does not have a duty to appoint a PSDP. However the appointment of a PSCS is still required:

"(6) In accordance with section 58(4)(d) of the Act and without prejudice to the
duties of a contractor undertaking construction work under these Regulations, section 17(1)
of the Act does not apply to or in respect of a project if -
(a) a person commissions or procures the project in relation to the person's
domestic dwelling." Abbreviations used above

PSDP - Project Supervisor for the Design Process [used to be PSDS Project Supervisor for the Design Stage under previous legislation]
PSCS - Project SUpervisor for the Contruction Stage.

There is a difficulty here, which I have engaged with the HSA over.
The PSDP is normally the one who prepares the Preliminary Health and Safety Plan
This Plan is the one that's handed over to the PSCS and acts effectively as a template for the later Health and Safety File
If there is no requirement to appoint a PSDP, who is responsible for preparing the Preliminary Health and Safety Plan?
My solution was to prepare this Plan anyway, because without it the PSD duties could be compromised.
So even where a building professional is appointed, there can be issues which may affect compliance.

The important thing is to be pro-active and to understand the intent of the legislation, which in this case is to save lives, and act accordingly.

Here's a list of some of the relevant legislation; -http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Legislation/Acts/Safety_Health_and_Welfare_at_Work/
Here's the current advice from the HSA on using ladders

This purposed of this posting is to give examples of what is current, and it is definitely not exhaustive.
For builders, ensuring that all there personnel have a Safe Site Pass is a steep learning and cost curve but they are addressing it.
Even seasoned building professionals have to constantly update their knowledge of the relevant legislation and how they affect the project under consideration.

All these are legal responsibilities that a layperson may find difficult to manage - they are the law now, they are not optional "extras" sought by élite design offices - we all have to comply.

Coming back to the fees for these and other services, the total cost in professional fees may be in the range of 8-11% of the nett cost unless you want a "named" designer to take this on board.
Some of these can charge up to 20%, but this has to be viewed against the much lower overall build cost of the project than say for a house on a greenfield site.
As someone who's assisted in designing and agreeing remedial measures to bring into substantial compliance work by errant builders, I cannot support a comment decrying the involvement of building professionals on a cost basis or allow someone to suggest that any layperson employer should place himself entirely in the hands of a main contractor.

All I'm really hearing from that advice is "more money for me" from the contractor.
Worse, it seems to be "more money for me - and you can't get me for any design faults".
By just using a main contractor with no building professionals involved the employer carries greater risk.
Self-builders in particular cannot escape their liability by pretending a lack of knowledge of the law on Health and Safety.

I trust this gives a fuller picture of what building competently can entail.

ONQ.
 



Ann Blackwell and Associates did great work for us
 
Hi,

Thanks onq and everyone else who replied.
Does anyone else have any recommendations?

I have used the site tenderme to get some quotes, they are all fixed price.
Remarkably, most have the same price of E1,500 to bring the project as far as obtaining planning permission,

thanks,

Brian
 
We used Extend (www.extend.ie) for an extension. They did first class drawings (according to the builder), and provided really useful advice about what we could do or not do. They were imaginative, and we were very pleased with the result.
 
I would recommend a new small architect practice

[broken link removed]

I have no affiliation with them but got work done commercially with one of the partners previously
 
Hi, I've just come across this thread and had a look at the "extend.ie" website. The ideas look great. Slash, I was wondering what package you went for and how much it cost?

Does anyone know of any architects that might redesign the inside of the home without building an extension? Not an interior designed but more a space planner. Bit like that fellow George on Channel 4 programme "Home"?
 
kkelliher said:
I would recommend a new small architect practice

[broken link removed]

I have no affiliation with them but got work done commercially with one of the partners previously
Click to expand...


This sounds like two architects just starting out after redundancy.

Fair dues to them and its enterprise like this that will get the country back on its feet.

A note of caution here.

The market is currently flooded with a supply of young architects with varying degrees of experience.

If you're going to engage a small, new firm, I think that's great, but you should suss things out forst.

One web page withno pictures of their work, two mobile numbers an e-mail and no office address does not create an image of substance.

[mind you, its better than the web-page I have - ten yoars old and counting]

I've no doubt there is an address, but the fact that it isn't stated on the website is a little unusual.

There are one or two other unusual things.

They refer to themselves as graduates but don't give their alma maters or qualifications.

They claim to be registered but don't sign their names with an MRIAI suffix.

The Register of Architects is currently being set up by the RIAI, whose members automatically qualify for registration.

As I understand it the Register hasn't yet been compiled.

Now all of this may be easily explained by the architects in question, but it raises concerns for me because the lack of information is not what I expected to find on their webpage.

If you're interested in supporting a new office, by all means do so, but the above points are issues you should ask about.

Ask to see examples of their work.
This can include work done for other offices, as long as they have written confirmations /references from those offices confirming that they did that work.

Don't be afraid to check these out by ringing the offices in question - most architectural practices will be only too happy to confirm the quality of the work of graduates whom they have been forced to let go through economic circumstance.

Call the RIAI on 01-6761703 to establish their credentials

Inquire what their PI cover amount is and who their insurer is.

Check with the Companies Registration Office to see if the business name is registered to them and for VAT.

Supporting young design practices is something to be encouraged, but look before you leap.

HTH

ONQ.
 

Hi, my own fault, my attempt at asking the above got caught up in the middle of the thread. Thought I would try again!
 
I can recommend a small architecture firm called Corcorcan and Sheridan. Thet are a 2 person operation who have run their own practise for over 7 years now, so not 2 recently unemployed architects setting up a new practise.

They are very easy to deal with and very strong on design. They love coming up with designs for extensions and space planning of interiors. Actually, we found that they came up with far more suggestions than we asked for, as they got a bit carried away with the possibilities of the house. This was great for us, as we had no idea what to do.

Cant advise on pricing now, as we used them in the old days ( 2 years ago ), but they were not overly expensive at the time.

THey are based in Kilmainham and their phone number is 473 3482
 
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