Builder asking for too much money upfront for extension and shed builds

arsenalfan1234

@the_r_sole...good point lol! let's call him the clown!

teneighty

This is something that crops up almost as often as cowboy builders.

All sorts of people draw plans for small domestic jobs. Some, (although generally only a few) are registered "Architects". Some are "architectural designers" who are still qualified have professional indemnity insurance and are regulated by professional institutions and these tend to do a lot of the smaller projects. And then you get the numpties with a set of crayons who scribble out rubbish on their dining room table.

The first 2 are regulated so you have a complaints procedure that you can follow. The third category are unregulated so it is down to you to try and come to an amicable resolution or take him to small claims/moneyclaim to get your money back.

How does your "architect/clown" describe himself in his correspondence and on the title block on the plans? Does he have letters after his name other than C.L.O.W.N?

Schoolworker

Well I'm back to square 1 about finding a builder as our builder has too much work commitments and can't start until end Nov. Trying to approach the other builder who gave a reasonable quote and see what start date they can give. Luckily we have not downloaded the extra funding. Good lu k. Its very stressful the now never mind when build works start. I also have 2 kids but older than yours but we are moving in with friends when its the knock through.

arsenalfan1234

Hi Teneighty, on the title block of the drawings it just contains his initials SJO. In correspondence there ae no letters after his name, on mail nor hard copy. He is 70 years old (or so) and claims to have been doing drawings, plans, etc as an employee for decades. But he isn't on the ARB website. He trades via a limited company these days as he is retired but looking at companies house's filing history, his turnover is peanuts.


I have emailed him to call me to sort this, because I don't really want to fork out another 1k on a new architect and new plans especially when I wasn't even at fault.

arsenalfan1234

Hi schoolworker, may I suggest that any work you do undertake occurs in summer. Think of the additional cost of heating your house in the winter when the doors and access is open 24/7. Also take into consideration that the build may take a little longer due to the weather and lack of control of the elements. Which also equals higher heating costs.

teneighty

arsenalfan1234 wrote: »

Hi Teneighty, on the title block of the drawings it just contains his initials SJO. In correspondence there ae no letters after his name, on mail nor hard copy. He is 70 years old (or so) and claims to have been doing drawings, plans, etc as an employee for decades. But he isn't on the ARB website. He trades via a limited company these days as he is retired but looking at companies house's filing history, his turnover is peanuts.


I have emailed him to call me to sort this, because I don't really want to fork out another 1k on a new architect and new plans especially when I wasn't even at fault.

Sounds like he might be a retired draughtsman who is just trying to supplement his pension. Hopefully if he is "old school" he will do the decent thing and agree to re-draw your plans free of charge. Mind you at £1000 for a single storey extension he is charging the same as a qualified professional with insurance and all the associated overheads so he is being a bit cheeky.

arsenalfan1234

@teneighty
I think you are right about just topping up his pension. I think what bothers me most is his lack of communication, but part of me puts that down to age. I respect his age and would never disrespect him, I have been raised better than that, so I will try and reach an amicable solution for it, i.e. like you said, getting him to re-draw the plans. And yep, £1k I've handed over to this guy. It's a lessons learned, I will not use him again for any future works.

arsenalfan1234

Mr clown has come back to me by email and claims that the permitted development guidelines have recently been revised, this is what he said " the guidelines have been revised, they state that the 6m extension can only be achieved over the width of the original house. As far as trying to extend the kitchen, I do not think this would be accepted.". But many people I have spoken to and some of you have given me the same advice, is to submit a planning permission application for the single storey additional extension off the kitchen. Anyway like I said he amended the drawing without consultation with me and just posted it to me. I have told him in email that the amended drawing is nowhere near hat I wanted it to look like and to contact me to discuss how I ACTUALLY want it...no response yet.


To save confusion, I have linked the original rejected plans for your perusal. I have blacked out confidential information obviously and drawn a red box around the area that was rejected.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bze6M_WihvilLWdtbjBiaTExRVE

teneighty

arsenalfan1234 wrote: »

Mr clown has come back to me by email and claims that the permitted development guidelines have recently been revised, this is what he said " the guidelines have been revised, they state that the 6m extension can only be achieved over the width of the original house. As far as trying to extend the kitchen, I do not think this would be accepted.". But many people I have spoken to and some of you have given me the same advice, is to submit a planning permission application for the single storey additional extension off the kitchen. Anyway like I said he amended the drawing without consultation with me and just posted it to me. I have told him in email that the amended drawing is nowhere near hat I wanted it to look like and to contact me to discuss how I ACTUALLY want it...no response yet.


To save confusion, I have linked the original rejected plans for your perusal. I have blacked out confidential information obviously and drawn a red box around the area that was rejected.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bze6M_WihvilLWdtbjBiaTExRVE

So it was a householder prior notification/larger extension application. The rules have not changed since the scheme was introduced in May 2013.

Assuming the kitchen is itself an earlier extension then technically if your proposed extension is joined to that at all (even allowing for the bathroom to be omitted) you might have problems as it will become a wrap around extension and not PD. But sometimes the Planners let that go as I don't think they understand the rules themselves half the time.

Overall the drawings are pretty poor with lots of generic notes. The roof as it is drawn will not work and you will have to be careful what tiles you use for a 15 degree pitch not just "tiles to match existing" as the existing roof has a much steeper pitch.

This guy gives clowns a bad name.

arsenalfan1234

@1080
Thank you for all your advice and support.


"Assuming the kitchen is itself an earlier extension then technically if your proposed extension is joined to that at all (even allowing for the bathroom to be omitted) you might have problems as it will become a wrap around extension and not PD. But sometimes the Planners let that go as I don't think they understand the rules themselves half the time."
The kitchen is an earlier extension from the previous owner. I spoke to the council duty planner last week and he advised me that if you want to build the lounge only then make sure your brickwork build does not touch the walls of the kitchen. And as you alluded to, he also mentioned that it would become part of the extension, i.e a wrap around extension. Do you think if I submit a separate application for planning permission for the area behind the kitchen for a bathroom, it is likely to be approved, or shall I just bite the bullet and create an error at the back of the 6m extended lounge for a shower, toilet and basin?
I just don't know what I would do with that void space behind the kitchen then!