At what point do I need an architect?

S

SCurry

Registered User
Messages
72
Hi folks,

Looking at doing a small rear extension onto the kitchen/living room. We currently have a south facing kitchen living so gets sun most of the day. Patio door out onto the patio area is where we are thinking of extending out. About 4M by 4M. It will open up the best view of the garden to us by having one side primarily glass. The other 2 sides good windows.

The roof we are unsure of pitched or flat but whatever it is letting in as much light as possible. I have one builder had a look and he is to quote and another one coming on Saturday.

My only real concern is minimising how much the internal of the existing kitchen/dining gets darkened by the extension. I know the builders and they are good at what they do but they aren't designers. Is it silly engaging an architect for such a small project?

Thanks!
 
SCurry said:
I have one builder had a look and he is to quote and another one coming on Saturday.
Click to expand...

Would you not have to give the builder drawings and a specification?

You would need an architect or an architectural technician to do those drawings.


SCurry said:
The roof we are unsure of pitched or flat but whatever it is letting in as much light as possible.
Click to expand...

Seems like you need advice.

The architect does not need to supervise the project if you are happy that you will do it yourself. So just retain one to come up with ideas and to do the drawings.

Brendan
 
Thanks for the replies folks. A neighbour had a similar project done and gave their builder the idea and off he went. Good end result I have to say. Our ideas are a little different and my main concern is maintaining light I suppose which our neighbours weren't too bothered about from talking to then. It's fairly simple after that. I will make contact with a couple of architects. I don't think I have to have an engineer for a small project that doesn't require planning? Thanks.
 
The only advice I will give you is friends of mine did something like you are suggesting about 10 ago Got a builder design and Build,
they removed most of the wall between the new extension and kitchen,
They put a new patio door in the new extension, they put a wall just high enough around the rest of the extension glass over it, furnished it in such a way they feel like using it all of the time, sitting in the new extension you could see all outside surrounding areas,

The most important decision is to make sure the layout when finished gives you a feeling to want to live there most of the time, in other words, brighter than the kitchen,
 
Plan to have your little used areas in the middle part...eg utility space (we have a cupboard). I use it max ten mins a day so don't mind that it is lit artificially. Maybe fridge over that side too as it will always be lit by the interior light. See if you can reflect light from roof lights onto opposite walls and add mirrors to those walls. We have floor to ceiling glass across the whole back of the house, and once I cracked it and the whole pane cracked. I couldn't believe how dark the entire space was as a result of the back wall being partially opaque. Also consider that sometimes if a space is dark keep it dark and cosy with furnishings, colours etc rather than trying to lighten it. Also we spend v little time at the sink these days with diswashers, the traditional placement of the sink was against the back wall at a window. No need for that any more if you now have the opportunity to move the plumbing around. Good luck! We are 7.5 years into living in our extended space and we love it, especially since lockdown, we have seen so much out the back sliders! Currently chasing birds from our strawberries as we can spot the movement as we work in the kitchen :)
 
I added a small extension to back of kitchen over past 9 months, stop/start stuff due to Covid! Anyways I had drawn up what I wanted myself, got an architectural technician friend to convert it into a basic plan to scale so I had guidelines for builders. I didn't need an architect for ideas as there really was only one way to do the extension walls/roof as such but as it was being built several things cropped up that I changed as not everything was able to go exactly as I had seen it in my head, perhaps an architect/engineer would have spotted that beforehand, probably an engineer would have seen it quicker being the actual construction type person rather than the ideas person, they were not major issues and it's actually an improved version of original idea.

Anyway I did employ an engineer just to certify it on finishing in case of future sale etc, he confirmed planning wasn't needed and paid several visits while it was being built to ensure it complied with regs etc. I didn't have to do that for anyone as no mortgage involved but wanted it anyway for future reference, small money and worth it in my opinion especially if there is a structural element like the big steel thingy that is supporting my roof!

If you can afford it then it might be well worth getting an architect's input.
 
If the project is that small, you may find it difficult to get an architect to take it on. As you can see from the amount of posts on this site about building, it's pretty busy out there. An architect will pick the bigger projects and a lot of them won't be bothered with small projects. Your best bet is to find an architect who has just gone out on their own and hasn't got any clients yet.
 
Thanks for the replies all. Food for thought. That was something I was wondering regarding if I was ever selling, do I have to have any extension works (not requiring planning) signed off by an engineer? If not would it causr an issue selling?

Good point also about the architects being busy which is something I have considered. My project at 4MX4M is so small I do wonder would anyone think it worthwhile at present when they busy with bigger stuff. A friend of mine is calling tomorrow who is in the building trade so hopefully he can enlighten me more to the regulations!
 
misemoi said:
Plan to have your little used areas in the middle part...eg utility space (we have a cupboard). I use it max ten mins a day so don't mind that it is lit artificially. Maybe fridge over that side too as it will always be lit by the interior light. See if you can reflect light from roof lights onto opposite walls and add mirrors to those walls. We have floor to ceiling glass across the whole back of the house, and once I cracked it and the whole pane cracked. I couldn't believe how dark the entire space was as a result of the back wall being partially opaque. Also consider that sometimes if a space is dark keep it dark and cosy with furnishings, colours etc rather than trying to lighten it. Also we spend v little time at the sink these days with diswashers, the traditional placement of the sink was against the back wall at a window. No need for that any more if you now have the opportunity to move the plumbing around. Good luck! We are 7.5 years into living in our extended space and we love it, especially since lockdown, we have seen so much out the back sliders! Currently chasing birds from our strawberries as we can spot the movement as we work in the kitchen :)
Click to expand...
Great post thank you. The middle room should the extension happen is our kitchen/dining so it's not going to be possible to not spend lots of time in it. We live in it all the time, extension will add to it and give us a better view of the garden. The extension itself will be light filled it can't not be how it will face its just filtering enough light through in into the existing space! Plenty of glass I suppose!
 
I built an extension, which was a rear and side 'L' shape extension. Has a bathroom, utility room and kitchen extension in it. I did a few drawings, some stuff that looked like it was done on Microsoft Paint, and i gave it to the builder. I was living in the house while work was going on, and it meant i was easily accessible to the builder so we could run stuff by each other.

I was constantly getting involved and changing things and asking questions. Extension is finished now, and is exactly how i expected it would be. It is effectively a large rectangle with another rectangle, making an L shape. I knew what I wanted inside, and how it'd look, and the builder wasn't a complete dunce, so although I didn't engage an architect or engineer, looking back, I'm very glad I didn't, as i feel it would have been money wasted.

(plus i was keeping a very tight budget on it, and the only architect i asked about it wanted 5% of the overall cost as his fee, and there was no way was that going to happen!)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top