where do I start with an extension???

reallylost

Hi
I am looking for a bit of advice.
We are thinking about adding a 2 storey extension to the side of our house and was wondering where we start.
It isnt a definate plan yet so is there any free or low cost way to find out:
1.......is it possible
2.......how much it will cost
3.......how much planning permission costs

we are in scotland if that makes any difference.

Any help would be appreciated

adaze

Don't know specifically about Scotland, but you could try your local planning officer, they should be able to give you an idea if there is a chance you might get planning approved . That would save you going through the planning process and then getting no-where. In fact a good starting point would be to have a look at the other houses on your street and see if they have 2 storey extensions, if they do then chances are you can put one up too.

Cost depends on size. I would imagine at least £20k for a small one....

Planning costs and building control are additional costs. Our building control was about £240 and planning £100ish varied from county to county though.

Bungarm2001

Like Adaze, I don't know about Scotland, but you should be able to make an appointment for an informal chat with your local planning office.

My son is also having an extension built (after a couple of years thinking about it!) and his first step was to take a very rough sketch of what he wanted to do along to the planning office, along with rudimentary measurements (very importan as it turned out) and the very nice lady told him exactly what he couldn't do which was very useful. She also gave him a few tips on what would be acceptable, provinding none of thje neighbours objected.

A very useful and informative visit...well worth sacrificing his lunch hour for!

Also, have a look at your local council planning office on their website. That at last with give you the bare essentials that you'll need to know.

littleredhen

i think most builders or architects will give you a no obligation free quote as in a ball park figure - look for a recommendation from a friend or neighbour

baldelectrician

I stay in Ayrshire and am in the process of having this done

Before I stick a spade in the ground I will have spent around £4000-£5000

Architects fees £2900 + VAT (Got quotes from £2400-£3300)
Planning Permission (no cost yet)
Building Warrant (fee based on a price of £1200 per sq Mtr- £580 in my case)

Phone the local council and ask their advice

You are looking at £1200-£1300 per square meter

macka0

2900 + vat seems steep for plans...i got mine drawn up for 300 and i think it was around 115 for planning and 250 for building control....all in under 1000 before i started

BobProperty

macka0 wrote: »

2900 + vat seems steep for plans...

He did say Architect's fees so presumably he's getting a bit more than just a set of plans drawn for Building Warrant(? is it? I'm in England) purposes.

baldelectrician

The architect fee includes planning permission paperwork and building warrant paperwork, checking the legals with the council and any alterations of plans and liasion with the council as per extension.

It is the middle of the road (I will be project managing the job, and the architect will be popping in and signing off the project - as per mortagage company). They will not be just doing 'drawings'

poodlehorse

We are in scotland too and just finished our extension. We started with an informal chat with our mate the builder. Then we got our architect who did the plans, organised the structural engineer and dealt with the planning application. Try and get loads of recommendations for workmen. Our builder was great and recommended people he had work on his own house but we learned that tradesmen get good work from other tradesmen and our experiences were not all that positive. ie the plumber was a total joke. The trouble we had was that so many tradespeople wouldn't turn up to give a quote in the first place, so start early with that as it took ages. And I did find that the guys wouldn't think very far in advance. You had to be two steps ahead of them to make sure you could get the next trade in on time. Again plumber was the big problem there. And do loads of research if you don't want to be BSd, thankfully DH did, we found that yet again the plumber wanted to do things the easy way rather than the best way but we knew what we wanted and why. Good luck and don't underestimate where dust gets to!

planning_officer

cost for planning application for a residential extension is £150 (as from 6 April) - it's the same nationally