Does it really cost this much to get things planned for loft conversion?!?!

katepnlo

I am looking at having my loft converted.
Quoted approx aprox £550 for plans another £450 for council 'fees' and then have been told to expect to pay another £450 odd for a structural enginer.
1.5k seems alot of money for that stage.
My loft is in a standard end of terrace 3 bed victorian house,i want two small rooms,a staircase and velux no dorma.
I thought when you had drawings done up they would include everything needed so a builder can go ahead and build?
kate

BobProperty

£550 sounds a lot for the plans but I haven't had any done for decades (and simple scale plans I could probably do myself)
£450 "council fees" are for Building Regulation approval which may include someone coming out to site on occasions as well as someone checking them in the office. That sounds about the going rate.
£450 "structural engineer" again sounds about right. You need calculations in a recognised format to show that what you intend doing is strong enough and complies with building regulations. The calculations are submitted along with the Building Regulation Application, the two go together.

alanobrien

As regards the drawings , that doesn't sound to bad to me for the layout you are asking for. As for the rest, these are normal typical fees.

You may want to think about getting the company you decide to do the work to project manage the thing and roll the above costs into their bill. You then make stage payments as the work progresses. This worked well for us.

brightontraveller

If other houses in your road are of same design. Construction etc as yours you can go to local council or look them up online and get copies of the plans submitted for there’s

As they have already been granted permission a president has all ready been set so planning should be no problem,

Also there plans with a few changes e.g. there address etc can be submitted saving hundreds on drawings etc most if not all the calculations with regard timber sizes, lintels, roof etc will be on there if like most roads all the houses are the same if you get on with the neighbour who has the extension you can also see what the finished will look like and if there are bits they would have changed

Debt_Free_Chick

brightontraveller wrote: »

If other houses in your road are of same design. Construction etc as yours you can go to local council or look them up online and get copies of the plans submitted for there’s

As they have already been granted permission a president has all ready been set so planning should be no problem,

Also there plans with a few changes e.g. there address etc can be submitted saving hundreds on drawings etc most if not all the calculations with regard timber sizes, lintels, roof etc will be on there if like most roads all the houses are the same if you get on with the neighbour who has the extension you can also see what the finished will look like and if there are bits they would have changed

But detailed drawings will still be required for Building Control approval and you can't use your neighbour's drawings for this purpose.

marybishop

Loft conversions are not as easy as people tend to believe - the design input can be quite tricky, especially getting the staircase to work let alone head heights, etc. Those fees sound about right to me.

And dont forget that although you may gain a room in the loft you may lose some space on the first floor depending on layout and getting new staircase in.

brightontraveller

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

But detailed drawings will still be required for Building Control approval and you can't use your neighbour's drawings for this purpose.

??? They would be detailed they have already been submitted and passed that why there have them

If your neighbour with the same house as you same construction etc goes to Architect, structural engineer, draftsman etc they plan there loft conversion maximising space, meeting regulations etc etc. They submit these, Planning consent etc is given,
These are then available for you to see and cough ?copy, You decide to build the same in your roof ? Even if regs etc had changed you could go to draftsman etc and get them to alter them would still save you money when firms build twenty houses the same they only copy the plans not draw up new ones for each house?

seven-day-weekend

The plans are coyrighted . You can't just take them away and copy them.

Building plans anyway are not available for public viewing, although plans drawn up for Planning Permission are.

You may not even need Planning Permission for a loft conversion with a velux window, but you will need Building Regs approval.

brightontraveller

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

The plans are coyrighted . You can't just take them away and copy them.

Building plans anyway are not available for public viewing, although plans drawn up for Planning Permission are.

You don't take them away they will make copies for you... (some will do this free, some charge for paper, some have photocopiers, some have blueprints some a set charge etc) with regard copyright cough ( I never copy music films etc :rotfl: )but you can always ask the permission of whomever has copyright you can download them on most council sites etc cost you the price of a phone call its Public information ......

seven-day-weekend

When I worked in Planning we were not allowed to make copies of plans for people after the application had been decided, because of the copyright.

Doozergirl

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

When I worked in Planning we were not allowed to make copies of plans for people after the application had been decided, because of the copyright.

Just had a whole load of plans photcopied by my local council. For a fee of course.

It is indeed public information. If you took the photocopies and drew up your own plans accordingly