Hi Eliza

Yes just found his card, it's Craig Daniel 0774 206 9841 www.westbridgeconstructionltd.co.uk

Good Luck!

Hi TinyT

Thanks for your advice it is very sound. Would you possibly share details of your builder?

Many thanks

We are a relatively new company formed by two life long friends After working together in the building industry for years in SW London,we had become so frustrated with the level of service and practises of our previous employers that we decided to set up our own business with a different approach.

In order to get our own name widely recognised in the SW area we are offering a large discount to the first 5 contracts we agree upon.

We include a full 10 year guarantee are insured to £5million cover. We offer Loft Conversions, Basement Conversions, Extensions and Renovations.

We Believe that through "Clear Client Communication, Strict Attention To Detail and Using Only Good Quality Trusted Tradesmen" we can build our business through referrals and a excellent reputation. Thank you for reading.

Michael - 0800 433 2004

In my view the main problem with trying to project manage yourself is that builders can try and 'pull the wool over your eyes' regarding anything technical and if you happen to do your research and challenge them they don't like it coming from a homeowner/little lady of the house.

Professional project managers, on the other hand, won't take any rubbish and the builder will know from the outset that they can't try any tricks. It could be months or years after you've made the final payment to the builder before you discover the shortcuts your builder took. I'm not in the property business but have had experience at various times of all three of 'project managing' building work on our own home, paying a design and build company and having a professional project manager overseeing work. The third option is not only the least stressful but gave us the best result and was good value. We got a good builder (one of several choices that the project manager suggested to us) for a very reasonable price. There can be a lot of profit built into a design and build company's quote. They are essentially a builder who wants to charge more by offering the design aspect as well.

We completed a full refurbishment of our property this year and we were in the same situation of shall we use an architect or just a local design team and builder. We had a number of architects round who were coming up with no new ideas to what we already had and the new ideas were unpractical as they were ridiculously expensive and the architects then wanted 12%-15% of the build cost on top to do the planning application, structural drawings, spec sheet and project manage the build. Sometimes we felt they were just coming up with the most expensive ideas just so their percentages would be higher.

We were recommended a builder who had been used by a couple of friends and he said the build was going to cost somewhere between £130K-£150K but he would know better once we had structural drawings and a full spec for him to quote off. At this point we realised we wouldn’t be able to afford some £20K on an architect and complete the project with the funds we had.

The builder said he would project manage as he does with most of his jobs as long as we provided good structural drawings and detailed spec sheet. The builder also recommended a planner and a structural engineer he always works with and in total their fees came in at £3.5K. The party wall agreement was a little expensive it should had cost £500 but as both neighbours contested we had to pay for both of their surveyors as well, who seemed incredibly expensive compared to our surveyor so that fee eventually came in at just under £5K – however we would have spent that £5K even if we had the £20K architect!!

The local planner was very knowledgeable and got us a larger extension than we originally thought Wandsworth Council would allow and the surveyor provided a full spec for the builder to quote off. Although we knew we wanted to use this builder we got another 3 quotes from the spec provided just to check his price was in the right ball park. There was probably £5K-£10K difference between all the quotes with our original builder being the most expensive, however we had seen his previous work at friend’s houses and his finish was excellent and as my husband always says you get what you pay for!

The build went well with few problems, Craig was very approachable and knowledgeable and all his build teams were very friendly, the finish was great and came in right on budget as said, unlike friends I know whose build costs have gone well over the original quote from the builder. So from my experience I would save the money on the architect and spend the money on a good builder but make sure time is spent on the spec sheet down to the very last detail as it all adds up so the builder can quote accurately.

Hope this advice helps with your project and good luck!

Wow 6k is quite steep for a normal residential. You might have a mahossive house however but all the same.
We used Armstrong Simmonds Architects on Lavender Hill and they were great. They are residential specialists and have done lots of local jobs - ours was very simple and boring so we just went for the basics and handled the builders ourselves but the one they have done in the next road over was lush and looks amazing! They do free consultations and were straight up regarding costs, ideas and had a fast turn around. Not sure what your time scale is but Chris's email is simmondscp@yahoo.co.uk/02072281324. I will tell him I mentioned him and if you tell him you heard on nappy valley I will ask him to look after you

To be honest, I don't know anyone who has been through a build project and came on the other side saying - oh, I really enjoyed that, I'd do it again. Really?!

Unless you're a professional and you've done this many times, but even then - each project has its own challenges and ups and downs. You start the project with the best intentions and it needs to be modified half way through based on one can/cannot do.

Anyway, I feel we diverted enough from the OP's original post, I merely ventured a recommendation for an architect and my own experience, it's up to her to decide what she wants to do. Good luck to the OP with her project!

Sorry if you frlt i was offensive, didnt mean to.

Again, i really hope that 5-6-10yrs down the line you ll feel the same.

You always hsve to balance what you are saving now (a few £££ ie. half the architect fees) with what it may (or may nit) cost you in the future. Knowing that to repair a faulty pipe you ll have to lift the floor boards...

But of course there are plenty of architects, builders and all in ine Cies who charge a fortune and dont deliver so people like are scared snd want to save obviously.

I m a professional in the high end. Again not advertising anything but i m so passionate about my job that i really feel sad tgst 1. You didnt enjoy "i will not do it again" and 2. You probably had to compromise on some bits because you didnt have a project manager "we had a project foreman" (which i would expect in any site by the way).

Enjoy your new house. Really.

No need to get so offensive, really....

It's one thing when you renovate properties for rental purposes, you don't necessarily feel that involved and I'm actually OK to take the builder's advice on most of the things. But when it is your own house, obviously I want to be involved first-hand and make sure I have a say when it comes to the best layout/specifications, etc. On the other hand, that doesn't mean I don't know my limitations and I will always defer any construction-related matters (the "mundane" things) to the specialists (who do this for a living). I do not project manage this thing all by myself, there is a project foreman on the site, who coordinates all the trades involved, he is the real project manager, I'm more like his assistant

As I said, it's been a learning process for me, and if I can save some money in the process, why not? We're not talking here of a few ££££, it was pretty much half of the architect's quote.

So why did you decide to project manage yourself!?!? Madness. To save a few £££ but to be stressed to the max not knowing whether you ve made the right decision...

I m not a hairdresser so i pay a hairdresser to do s job on me and my children i cannot do properly (i ve tried).

I m not a property developper and i m not advertising my services btw.

It s just a shame the way you feel because renovating/building a house should be very exciting and you sound worn out and you "eouldnot do it again". Sad.

@ supergirl - Mundane in the sense of nothing to get excited about, yet very important to get right!

Believe me, we do get our priorities right, hence why such a stressful job this has been (otherwise, I couldn't have cared less and leave it all to the builder's decision); not everybody is a property developer who finds these things would come to them easily, for me it's been a lot of learning on the job, to be honest. Not something that I would endeavour to do again, once our project is finished!

I laugh at "mundane decisions"

These decisions you call mundane are the backbone of your house/built. The rest are important but mundane. You should dedicate 200% of your time and energy to what you call mundane: the only way to not make any mistskes, rapid decisions that will be costly in the long run. Kitchen and bathroom spaces designs are also absolutely key. Choosing the doors, colours, style is necessary but not as important.

I so wish people who renovate/build their own house would get their priorities right. That would save them so much money, pain and stress.

For our current house renovation project, we dealt with David Burgess at Burgess Mean Architects. He helped us with securing planning permission and drawings for building regulations. We already had a good builder lined up (who helped us on two other projects), so there was no need for contract specification work, as we knew pretty much what we wanted, quite in detail. And we also decided not to use the project management services as I'm currently at home and I can dedicate my attention full-time ("how hard can it be?", "better deal directly with the builder" mentality). But each project has its challenges and so far it has proved to be a very stressful job, always being asked to make quick decisions, no time for changing your mind, as it will prove costly, etc. In hindsight, I wish we would have gone the full scope and not try to save on the additional fees (so much easier just to focus on the nice things - kitchen design, bathroom fittings, rather than on the mundane decisions on lights position, radiators, drain pipes, etc.)

Hi ElizaD,

I can't answer your question directly, but my husband is an architect and has done a lot of work for NappyValleyers - I'm sure he'd be happy to give you a rough idea of costs for the plans and drawings if you drop him an email - christophe@thomasandspiers.com

Hope this is helpful

Sophie

Hello

Just picking up on this thread... can anyone recommend an architect to assist with the design, planning and drawings. I am not interested in them managing the project though...

Also roughly how much have people paid? I have been quoted £2K for a 4 bed refurb ...

Thanks so much.