need full plans for extension - how to procede ?

wrote: I need to have full plans for my extension, due to building near a public sewer. I also want to be able to fully budget before starting, and dont want hassles with revising plans etc.

Not quite clear from your post but it looks like you intend to do drawing work yourself. Having just gone through this excercise, I would recommend the following: Submit outline of your plans to council with "Do I need planning Permission?" form. If "Yes" then put in formal application. If "No" then keep their written response as proof of this decision.

Produce drawings in as much detail as possible, then find trust worthy builder who you would like to do the job, to fill in the details you don't understand. It may be worth offering a consultancy fee - say £50 for their guidance that will get them interested in doing the job proper maybe. This process saves paying £200-£300 for others to do the drawing work (incorrectly in my case) and the to-and-fro getting changes made etc.

Once you are happy that you have covered the majority of details, submit for building regs approval, highlighting issues you are not clear on. They will advise the best way to resolve these. Building close to or over a drain/sewer does require additional works for foundations but usually depends how close.

HTH

Phil

Your the same guy that was asking about digging foundations by hand.

To get a rough price, get a copy of homebuilding and reovationg magazine, the have a price caculator in the back. As they say you need to add extra for problems - like your drain - and the wife changing her mind several times.

You need an architect. Thease come in a variety of guises, from the arty farty grand designs no one in the right mind can afford to build

- upside down roof types, to the down to earth, do a good job at a good price type. Get a few round, show them your sketches, and get some quotes out of them. There are so many things that you can not know about, but the architect should put all the building details on the building regs plans. Mine knew I was self building my project, and gave a price for an "on site advice session" where he comes out, and sorts out my latest bunch of issues.

I had a simple test for mine, I told them the site was muddy, any that did not bring wellies were written off. The one I chose did his measured survey on the day of the first chat, and quoted for his whole job at the same time.

If you still plan to dig your foundations by hand, choose a guy thats not over 50, and has no plans of moving, and is in good heath. You need him to still be there in 5 years time. I told mine I had a 10 year project plan.

Rick

Are you talking about plans for Building Regs purposes - or do you need them for Planning Permission as well? If you need both, they can be done at the same time by the same person - even though they're different. The planning permission ones only need to show what it will look like and be used for. The building regs plans are much more detailed and need to cover structural items, insulation, and drainage details - to name but a few.

Who you get to do them depends on how much ongoing support you want. An architect will advise on design options, do the plans, get them approved, get building quotes - and supervise the building work if that's what you want. But it will cost you! If you know what you want and simply want the plans done in a form which is acceptable to the planners and BCOs, it will be much cheaper to employ an architectural technician rather than a architect.

One slight thing with planning permission, they will happly grant planning permission on stuff that can't possibly ever meet building regulations, so you need to do a good bit of the building regs work before you fall into this trap. Oh and of cource you can get both planning and building regs right for something you can never afford to build :-)

Rick

for Planning Permission as well? I need them for both. I was expecting to get both, although the plannings ones are easy and I could do them myself. I also want advice about feasibility, such as "oh, if you want that big window, you'll need to do such and such ..." Simon.

A decent architectural technician should be able to do all that - inlcuding the feasibility bit. The likely issues with a big window are:

• adequate brickwork pillars either side
• adequate lintel to support whatever's above
• heat losses/effect on Part-L compliance

It also pays to take your draft plans and bounce them off a BCO before you get too far. They will advise you what they're looking for - thus making it much less likely that your final plans will get rejected when you sumit them formally.

Where do I find one of those, as opposed to an "architect" ? Simon.

Yellow pages then ask for references.

Peter Crosland