architect technologist and qs

Hi all,

looking to renovate house which will include a small extension within a certain budget.
I am talking to an Architect technologist who will draw up design plans and has told me to engage my own qs.
What is not clear to me is whether a qs gets involved at the design stage to make sure the designs are in budget.
What if the qs makes a mistake and we go to full construction drawings and the builders quote way higher?
In that case, i will need to pay the architect technologist ( probably 8k by the time the construction drawings are finished) for an extension we cannot afford.

I would prefer to pay for an architect/arch technologist who has his own qs so that if he goes over budget with his drawings, i do not pay him for any drawings as they have not done what was required in the brief.
It would be part of the contract that i would sign that he/she keeps all drawings in budget and will be paid for same once builder quotes have been received and builder selected. Ideally, the same architect technologist would also certify the build to see the project to the end.

Are there architects who provide this all in one service? I am in the cork area.

Thanks,
Silvergrove

Unfortunately you won't know how much it really costs until you get quotes from a builder. However, the QS should be able to tell you how much it will cost and then you can iterate drawings with the AT until it comes in budget.

QS is a specialised skill, so I would imagine even if there is a firm that offers both they will charge accordingly.

I didn't use a QS but told my engineer my budget and he told me what parts of the work were definitely out of the budget and even after that the builders quotes came in over budget.