Architect or Engineer

C

CharlieR

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I am looking to build in Glounthaune, approx 4000 to 4500sq ft and am looking for either an Architect or Engineer who can take our designs and get them through planning and produce construction drawings.

Regards

Charlie
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork

CharlieR said:
I am looking to build in Glounthaune, approx 4000 to 4500sq ft and am looking for either an Architect or Engineer who can take our designs and get them through planning and produce construction drawings.

Regards

Charlie
Click to expand...

charlie, im curious as to a few things and i hope i can ask you a few questions. I mean them in the greatest respect and im not trying to stir anything, but i find your situation fascinating.

1. have you already designed the dwelling yourself?
2. did you consider giving a written brief to an architect? if no, why not?
3. how flexible are you to a complete design change?
4. is your design sympathetic to your local planning requirements?

im not located in Cork, so i cannot help you in your request, sorry...
Some architectural firms may have issues with a client coming in their own design, so perhaps an Engineering or Architectural Technology firm would suit your needs better.
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork

I used Barrett & Associates in Cork . If you pm me I will give you the number ( no association with the company)


He drew up the plans , submitted them for planning & came back with drawings for the construction work.
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork


Thanks for the reply. I haved worked in the construction industry for 25yrs and am a Civil Engineer by background and training and am currently managing an £18m commercial development. I have no direct residential construction experience but have some commercial and residential experience as a management contractor on luxury villas in the Middle East.

I have surveyed the site and looked at similar developments in the area and the Woods have a similar design to what we are looking at. I had talked about this with her prior to going home earlier this year.

When we went there we agreed that this was the type of house we are looking for. We know roughly what we wan but do not have a design, we will throw our basic ideas to an architect and wait for his design and then discuss it with him. We are totally flexible with what we want and are looking for the ideas from the Architect.

We want an Architect from Cork so that our design will compliment the local area, otherwise I would get some friends who work for Major Housebuilders in the UK to design the house for a fraction of the cost of the local Architect.

Again thanks for the response and hope this helps.

Regards


Charlie
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork

sounds like you would be perfect clients, you know what you want and what you dont want.....

good luck with the search,...... and dont be afraid to haggle with whomever you approach...
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork

Sid

hope your wishes come true, from my initial questions they are quoting c 18,000 euro for design to construction drawings. In the Uk I could get the same for 5,000 max. Can't understand the difference.

Good to talk/type.

Charlie
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork

they are working from a percentage of proposed construction costs.. ... so they envisage your 4000 sq ft costing you 100 euro per sq ft and charging you 4.5%... thus the 18,000 fee....

thats actually not too bad for a complete service... but haggle them down still....... tell them you have a budget of €300,000 and you give them 4.5 % of that (13,500.00)
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork


Thanks for that, I will have a budget less than that as I will only finish the areas that I need, ie kitchen, living and 2 beds, leaving dining room and 3 beds to be finished later with ensuites etc.

Greta advice.

Cheers

Charlie
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork

Can I ask who you used in the end as I am looking for someone in the Cork area at the moment
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork

Allow me to jump in here and say that the proximity of the firm matters little.

Most architects have transport and contrary to opinion, you don't need to be on site every day.

Unless there is some control freak local planner who has a problem with far away accents talking to him on the phone, the fact of where the architect is from should not even be an issue.

We've just completed an extended planning negotiation on a site in Donegal resulting in a clean permission and we've been up there once.

Its far more important that you get on with your architect and you choose a good builder to build the house.

As for your €5K fee to working drawing stage, you can forget about that here - this isn't the north of England where you can buy a house for a pound!

The normal fee range for once off private housing is 8-11 % but this can be bargained down - probably to around 6% or so.

FWIW

ONQ.
 
Given you're qualifications as an Engineer, I would sit down with a fully qualified Architect and member of RIAI and submit the drawings yourself. Obviously you will have to consider the style of houses in the area and it might be worthwhile reviewing recent planning files of nearby property. Then I would try and make a call to the area planner. They only take calls during certain hours/days so this may take some time. See if the area planner seems reasonable - discuss what you are thinking. The cost of submitting the application yourself will be ~€100 for CSO maps available from [broken link removed]., Advert in paper, errection of site notice(s) and copies of entire application/drawings. If the drawings need to be amended slightly perhaps you could do this yourself. Ask the architect for the drawings on Autocad. Good Luck!
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork


I'm not building in the North of England, I am building a 1 off private house in Cork and after carefully selecting one, who lives in Cork, have an Architect who has produced a design, plans and planning and construction drawings for considerably less than 5000 Euro, never mind sterling.

Us North of England living folk must have learnt something in moving away from Ireland and decided to seek out quality and cost to get the best of both worlds.

If you want a good builder in Donegal can recommend one as he has just done an excellent job on my father’s house for considerably less than the competition and has produced it with a fantastic build quality and finish.

Again down to a good procurement process.

Good luck in Donegal.
 
Hi CharlieR,

Any chance you could post the name of the architect you used in Cork?

Thanks

Anthony.
 
I used a chap called Leonard Barrett. PM me if you want his contact details. He was recommended by another user of this site and he has given an excellent service.

Charlie
 
Charlie,

€5,000 is not a lot of money to perform the service you're suggesting.
Architect's fees run to between 8-11% for a full service on a private house.
You'll see them discounted to around 6%- perhaps a little lower in the current climate.
Unless you're building for €50-75K NETT his fees are very low even for a canny Corkman.

Sometimes up to half the fees can be devoured by briefing meetings and developing the house design.
Reading your original series of posts you may have been clear from the start and short circuited the process.

ONQ.
 
Re: Architect or Engineer for Cork


Happy to take a recommendation and you can PM me if you like.

TIA

ONQ.
 
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