quantity surveyor?

pickle18

We are planning on knocking through the kitchen, dining room and utility (understairs) into one open plan room. The problem is that the wall separating the dining room and the kitchen is a supporting wall we believe and also another supporting wall for the stairs. We have had a few family friends room with vast experience in renovations/constructions but we are all still a bit baffled of the best/cheapest way of doing this. I really don't want a supporting pillar in between the kitchen and the dining room. We have been told the best thing to do is to get a quantity surveyor in to take a look. Does anybody the approximate costs of this and what will be included in this price?Having had a quick look on the net alot of the quantity surveyor I have found seem to be dealing with much larger things than creating a family room.

Thanks

03022242

im not too sure whether its a QS your after, i think you would need to speak to a structural engineer or someone who can advise on what is needed to support the walls etc.. they then will say you need X amount of steel beam, and also may have a idea of cost,

remember you will definitely need building regs, but not sure on planning, ask your local council

plumb1_2

pickle18 wrote:

We have been told the best thing to do is to get a quantity surveyor in to take a look.

Thanks

You need a structural engineer , once you have been given drawings and calcs, then you can ask a QS to price up.

flang

expect to pay lots of money for a QS!
just get a builder in to price up!

w3lsh_boy1

you do not need a structural engineer for this. believe me in an architect.

get a local builder in to give you a quote. Try use someone that you know or have a reference for.

thehairybuilder

As far as I`m aware a quantity surveyor simply looks at your plans and supplies you with a price for the work.

I don`t think they will be able to offer any assistance which you are looking for.

A competent building firm seems to be the best option as the others have suggested.

droid1978

Hi am I QS by trade. Generally, we specialise in the financial management side of construction but do have some technical knowledge. It would not be cost effective to get a Structural Engineer and then a QS involved as suggested by others.

Sounds like you want a Building Surveyor. They are specialists in the modifications to existing buildings. They will be able to advise the best method of building what you require and an approximate cost. He will probably visit your house to establish your house construction. So should only be the cost of visit. They can produce drawings etc and manage the works.

I suggest you look in Yellow Pages or https://www.rics.org (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. I am also member of The RICS incidentally).

The other option is a Builder. However, if you do not understand what you are doing then how can you be sure what a builder is suggesting is correct. It is not rocket science but be careful if you take this route given the structural nature of works you require.

03022242

but surely someone needs to provide structural calculations and recommendations, especially when submitting building regs

HugoSP

Do none of the above now.

This will require a building control notice. measure up the hole you want to create. then contact your local BCO.

They are usually very helpful and will give you some basic advice, ie what is required in terms of overlap onto piers etc. They may also advise on which beam section etc to use. Or specialist RSJ suppliers can advise on this depending on loadings from above etc.

Once you've discussed the basic requirements, then go out and get quotes. Ask each builder how he would do the work and assess his answer with what you have been told. This will sift out any cowboys that come to you.

A Building notice will have to be raised and the BCO may come and inspect the work at least once. He may want to see a set of calcs for the beam you intend to use and the opening you intend to create, but an RSJ stockest can do this for you FOC.