Yep mine is a bit cheaper as I work on my own stuff, but a lot of dodgy tradesmen may not bother due to the costs involved. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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"Whoever you employ you will also need to check their insurance. Check their Public liability, employers liability and contract works insurance and that it has sufficient cover levels for the project and any damage that could potentially be caused."

Great advice ,will do NorthernMonkeyjones although been flabbergasted by the 'spread' of quotes that Ive had thus far (£1.5k - £15k ) .
Similar spread of variation ( sometimes up to 300% on building regs drawings quotes also ! ) .

Cheers all, will get round to reading all your replies and replying once I'm back to work, been on a b@st@rd spring clean today with the missus since 10am!!

Going to call the local planners to ask if I'm likely to get accepted, as the house is already extended out the back, full width by 3.8m

If you're quick they should be amenable - until May 19 Permitted Development would allow 8m on a detached, 6m on a semi unless your neighbours have a reasonable objection. Assuming you have enough of the original plot left as garden.

Alistair

Yeah I did read about that, but as its about 3.8m already and we want to add another 3.2-3.5m, I think it will have to be the officail full planning permission I'd need?

IMHO always better to go with full planning as it's beyond any dispute or interpretation, particularly when you come to sell - it just costs a few hundred pounds more & takes a few weeks longer.

However, they should take permitted development into account in terms of what's reasonable. So as long as you're not over developing the original plot, should be OK.

With mine, it was broadly similar to what some neighbours had done, not visible from the road, not towering above someone, left me with enough garden, not too close to the rear boundary etc. so all very straight forward. I even changed my mind after I submitted it & the planning office were very accommodating, allowing me to make changes.

Hi (again) Alastair

I spoke to planning today and explained basically what I want to do ,and he was all for it and said shouldnt be any problem and to submit plans, which is promising.

As you said, our plans are hidden from the road (and all but 1 neighbour), still leaves us 14m depth to a corner plot and we have a driveway that will hold 5 cars so well under the 'max 50% original land to remain' ruling too

Next question guys, what should i expect to pay an architect to do a single story extension, with 1 RSJ needed when opening up the current back of the house (supporting wall, bedroom above it). I've seen prices right up to £2k to £3k for plans??

Firstly a planning application is all about how it will look - no structural details needed - that comes later

IMHO you pay an architect for ideas and vision - if you already know exactly what you want, then you don't need one.

I wanted a square box - so I drew it myself - I found the local council web site & looked at what other people had submitted and did the same, albeit mine were pen & ruler. Even though they looked like a kid had drawn them they were approved. IIRC it cost me something like 25 quid for an OS plan as that was required.

I've PM'd you a link to my application

I changed mine a couple of times mainly as I discovered there was a sewer & manhole that I needed to work around - relocating them would have been cost prohibitive.

Building Control is where you start to think about how it will be constructed - some of the earlier posts outline this well - you can either go 'full plans' where everything is spec'd out and the plans are reviewed & approved, or you can do it as you go and they come out & check as you're doing it.

An RSJ will need a Structural Engineer to calculate it -mine was a little complex and I think the calc and building regs submission process was about 600 - but as NMJ says above, if you can keep it to 3m then it might cost you nothing at all as they will use standard sizes.

Check with building control before paying for calcs. They don't always need them and the better services actually agree steel and padstone sizes based on experience and common sense for simple schemes. Plans for a single storey box should be max £500 to include planning and regs. Calcs would be an extra £150-180 all plus vat. Dont bother with a qualified Architect if you have a good idea what you want to create- they cost a fortune and often bring little more too the party than any well respected planning or architectural technician of which there will be many to chose from locally.

Its true that full planning permission removes doubt but the biggest advantage of the relaxed Prior Notification route for larger extensions is that it removes those pesky neighbours and their stupid objections from the process. In addition Councillors are also removed from the decision making process (don't get me started about them!). Councils can only refuse prior notifications if there is a valid planning reason - not just some green eyed neighbour intent on causing you a load of grief. The planning system in England and Wales is broken and in dire need of some private sector competition.

If you are comfortable that your scheme complies with the relaxed planning criteria then don't bother with planning permission. It should also not have an effect when you sell as long as you are clear about the criteria etc and you have a prior notification form submitted if you need to.

As I said before the May 19 date is completion not commencement so time is tight unless you are starting tomorrow. That said I cant see Councils going round looking for unfinished jobs and demanding new applications.

Also as I mentioned above... don't forget the Party Wall Act if you are building within 3m of a neighbouring property or raising / cutting into an existing party wall. Often people confuse this with building within 3m of a boundary but its within 3m of a structure not a boundary. Again any well respected plan drawer should be able to deal with this for you but get a good steer on the fees involved as the neighbour can appoint their own surveyor to protect their interest and guess who pays that bill to!

I recently become quite involved in a dispute involving a loft conversion where steels were let into the party wall without telling the adjoining property. Nightmare for all involved except those acting for the property owners - querching!

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Alistair wrote:

Firstly a planning application is all about how it will look - no structural details needed - that comes later This is where I was confused, until now. So a well drawn out hand drawing is enough to give them an idea of what I want

IMHO you pay an architect for ideas and vision - if you already know exactly what you want, then you don't need one. We know exactly what we want, and where so can save some £££ on submitting plans myself. I actually spent 4 years in a drawing office 20 years ago using an A0 drawing board[/color]

I wanted a square box - so I drew it myself - I found the local council web site & looked at what other people had submitted and did the same, albeit mine were pen & ruler. Even though they looked like a kid had drawn them they were approved. IIRC it cost me something like 25 quid for an OS plan as that was required. Perfect, you've helped loads already

I've PM'd you a link to my application

I changed mine a couple of times mainly as I discovered there was a sewer & manhole that I needed to work around - relocating them would have been cost prohibitive. Should be trouble free for us, as its been extended once already but will obviously get relevant checks done anyway

Building Control is where you start to think about how it will be constructed - some of the earlier posts outline this well - you can either go 'full plans' where everything is spec'd out and the plans are reviewed & approved, or you can do it as you go and they come out & check as you're doing it. I think the doing it as we go will be easier for us, I'm assuming BC come out and inspect the trench depth etc, the once filled, then once walls are up etc?

An RSJ will need a Structural Engineer to calculate it -mine was a little complex and I think the calc and building regs submission process was about 600 - but as NMJ says above, if you can keep it to 3m then it might cost you nothing at all as they will use standard sizes.

A standard steel will normally be a cheaper option than a catnic if you can use one👍🏻 Steel stockholders are your friends for this. If you have a cavity wall and are going inside to inside then they will drill and Sleve/spacer 2 steels which you then bolt together. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
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Thats what I had - original plan was a goal post, but with a little thinking was able to leave enough wall either side to allow just a beam across the top - then had 2 x C section beams back to back with spacers between them where the bolts are.