Yes.

What I meant was that if your neighbour has already extended the party wall, if you were planning to build off this, you would have to pay your neighbour half of the build cost of the extended party wall for the right. If there is a generic and published way to calculate this, I'm gutted I missed it - if not, isn't an independent surveyor the only way? Happy to be wrong on this one - not very satisfying at all to pay of that expense.

Hi Girliemum,

Regarding the party wall, you actually don't need to appoint a surveyor if you can reach an agreement with your neighbours. You need to inform your neighbours of your plans and serve them notice 2 months before work starts. The government website [url]https://www.gov.uk/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance[/url] has copies of free templates you can download to use to serve notice, your neighbours will need to sign and then you and you will need to take photos of your side and the neighbours side that might be affected by works taking place (this is also for your protection in case cracks etc that were there before get blamed on your work). You can do all this for free.

However, if your neighbour does not agree or does not respond to the notice you serve then you will need to appoint a surveyor. There is a handbook at the govt site link above, point 52 in the FAQ's:

52.If there is no dispute does a surveyor need to be appointed?
No. If no dispute arises there is no requirement under the Act to appoint a surveyor.

We had 4 party walls to sort out when we rennovated (the houses next to us were converted into 2 flats so 2 awards at each), we had only one neighbour who did not agree that award cost £3K to put in place, while 3 agreed and we saved a lot of money.

I'd agree with the above but would also add;
- on party walls, if you are planning to build off a neighbours party wall my understanding is you need an independent award so will need a party wall surveyor. Ours did both neighbours for c£1k. I can pm you the details if you want;
- budget, we left a 10% contingency. This was just about enough. There are inevitably additional costs that emerge as building work progresses and/or unexpected issues arise;
- also think about your garden - will you need to do anything to this? So often an after thought. We did ours at the same time as the side return. No point having a lovely new space looking out onto a pile of mud (which after scaffolding and months of builders, ours was!)
- I'd agree on the savings. We saved on units and prob spent more on appliances:
- I'd also think about your living arrangements whilst the work is being done. We moved out for the loft, but stayed put for the side return. Whilst it prob added cost to move out, it did seem to speed up the pace of the work.

Good luck.

Hi Camion14,

Thank you for the reply, I know the searching could be time-consuming and frustrating. I am currently evaluating the options and still waiting for a few replies, happy to share once I make more progress on it.

Hi asknicky and Steffie,

Your comments were very helpful.

I would like to do some works at our house (kitchen redo, some interior works and loft conversion) but I am not quite sure where to start. If not too much trouble, would you mind sharing the names of reputable builders and architects you are referring to?

Thank you

Thank you ESA, just send you a pm.

Sophie, I got your message, thx for getting in touch

I've recently refurbished a whole house and would be happy to share my learnings with you if you'd like to pm me.

Hi I sent you a PM yesterday, let me know if you didn't get it. Thanks!

I got a few quotes from reputable architect practice, they have quoted from £20K to £3.5K from design, planning application to issue the tender. However, some design & Build company quoted for about £4.5K. What are the difference, will it worth to go with a practice.

I used Clara Bee to get best builders, who were brilliant. Amazing finish, and on target time! Interior Design Service was much needed by us - lovely!
www.clarabee.com, mob 07974759428
She is absolutely Amazing!!! High recommended.

I can't agree more, Acturallydad. I know we most likely end up overspending on the project as you said, builders might find the ceiling need to be strengthened, all the fittings are expensive. But I am very attempted to do the both extension in one go, it's very hard to do the work whilst having a toddler at home, plus the building work is not getting cheaper these days, so would really have to watch out the budget, where it should spend, where I can save some, when it comes to home improvement, each work we talk about is starting from X thousand!

I think the only way to keep control is not to bite off more than you can chew. maybe you can phase the work - side return now, loft later?

We did our place the same as you are describing all at once and totally lost control of the budget! It was easy to get quotes for the building work, but it was astonishing how much taps, light fittings, light switches, floor tiles, wardrobes etc cost. Even paint is expensive. And that's before the builders decide that, say, that drain needs moving, and that a ceiling fell down etc and that's another X thousand etc etc.

My advice is that if you can bear it, take it slow. We rushed it and although the place looks great now and we love it, we probably spent too much.

No Problem

Hi Asknicky, THANK YOU so much for your detailed reply, it is so helpful! I will certainly look back your suggestions from time to time when I plan for my building work. I hope you don't mind if I message you the details of your contractor and experience etc. thank you again and have a good week ahead!

Hi Steffie,

Regarding architects costs being higher than your budget are you talking about the service costs of the practice or their estimated costs of the build that the practice is providing?

I have been a similar situation when i did my side return, back extension and loft and this is what i have learnt to save costs:

* Main priority is to spend on the build and that includes glass, flooring, undefloor heating etc as this requires major upheaval and cost to re-do. Cut back on things that can be changed later and outdate like appliances, kitchen cupboards (you can replace the doors later) and furniture to fill spaces.
*[u]Architects[/u] are an expense, however an architect can add value by planning spaces, adding coherency to the spaces and being up to speed on planning rules and building control. If budget is tight, you can use the architect to the stage of building control drawings and then do the tender with contractors yourself. For the drawings to this stage you might be able to negotiate a flat rate if your vision of costs of the project is different to theirs. You might need to keep talking to a few more practices.
* [u]Party Wall[/u]If you are in a terrace you are going to have to get a party wall agreement in place, this an expense you can avoid by doing it yourself (for 2 neighbours awards with a surveyor can be around £5000, if your neighbours are subdivided into flats then more). Your neighbours have a right to appoint a surveyor, however if you go the website : https://www.gov.uk/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance and download their templates you can write your own letters for party wall agreements, take the photos and pay nothing! Most people don't realise a party wall can be done for FREE. Unfortunately the party wall thing has become a bit of a scam for "some" party wall surveyors who monitor council sites for planning applications and send your neigbours letters using scare tactics saying their house is at risk unless they sign the enclosed form and have you pay all the costs. Best to go visit your neighbours show plans before they go to planning permisson and inform them about the party wall act and how you would like to deal with them directly and not through a surveyor.
* [u]Builders[/u]For the builders, get at least 5 quotes from reputable companies and you can save money by project managing yourself (if you are up to the task) and using subcontractors as a main contractor or package build company will have a project manager factored into their costs. Your architect can issue a schedule of works for the build (additional cost) which will itemise every component of the build, it is worth doing as this is where a lot of budget leaks occur as builders will guestimate things at a higher price without detail and unless you have construction experience items might be missed off the quote and then will be added while you are in the build and you will be over budget. If you are on a very tight budget try getting a fixed price contract for labour and building materials so you have more visibility before you start with the budget. Also try and think of everything you want to do as changes during the build as this can also be costly.
*[u]Budgeting[/u], spend time doing this upfront and make sure you include everything no matter how small, it is the small things like plug sockets that really add up (they might be £10 each but you need 30 of them!!!). Don't forget VAT as suppliers/contractors always quote without.
*[u]Fixtures and Fittings[/u] This is a large chunk of your budget and ways you can save money here are asking your builders to buy for you using their trade accounts (many builders get substantial discounts for kitchen cabinets, bathroom fittings, lighting and electricals). Also worth visiting ex-factory, clearance stores, CP Hart has a great clearance shop through a secret door in their Waterloo showroom with rooms full of cancelled or ex-showroom orders at 50% off or less. Also with buying fixtures and fittings simply ask for a discount and you could get 5%-20% for being a bit bold here (something i learnt from my mother).

Hope this helps