How to Select an Architect?

It does not matter if you are after a bold and original home design or a modest and simple extension. What matters is that you will need the services of architect anyway. However, choosing a suitable one is a meticulous task, and also essential for ensuring success of the building project. The right person for the job will carefully discuss your requirements in detail, effectively change your ideas into something feasible and provide valuable advice about the options available within your budget.

Here are a few tips to choose an architect for designing building drawing plans in UK:

• For finding an architect in the first place, you can either consider personal recommendation, or look up on the internet. Architects Registration Board, the legal board that regulates architects in UK, features an online searchable register for architects.
• Choose more than one and invite them to provide you a free personal consultation. In this way, you will form an idea about their working methods and service charges. The designs and approaches of each may surprisingly vary a lot.
• Request for a portfolio from the one that you may consider for hire. Try to get feedbacks from his or her previous clients and if possible, contact them personally and ask if they were satisfied with the work. Check their records of preparing approvals for difficult and controversial schemes.
• Make sure that your architect draws up a contract for schedule of the construction works. This will enable you to appoint them as professional inspector, to frequent the site of construction and see if the works are as per as the required standards.
• It is important for you to confirm that the person responsible for planning your building has been involved in recent projects. If he or she has not taken up any work for a long time since his or her last one, many problems may tend to arise, such as underestimation of the construction costs, unfeasibly high builder’s quotes, etc.
• Obtain a written agreement for the fees and a strict timetable of due dates for the project on paper. Without a proper schedule, construction projects often tend to drift on for several months.
• If, in case, things do not seem to work out as planned and the issue cannot be resolved by cordial discussions, the Royal Institute of British architects can make arrangement for an arbiter who will examine the case in order to settle the matter.

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Drawing Plans For Building Permits

Before visiting a planning department or jurisdiction’s housing for obtaining a building permit, it is essential to have a detailed plan demonstrating the scope and purpose of your project. Building drawing plans in UK play a great role in determining whether a project would be given a permit or not. Here are the steps followed by professional architects to draw plans for building permits:

• First, a logical starting point, like the northwest edge of a land parcel or the structure, is marked on the upper left corner of a graph paper. The drawing is correctly oriented so that it matches the structure in relation to its north edge. The outlines are then marked using a typical architect’s scale by using a ratio best suited for the proposed project.
  
• After that, an overhead plan of current lines of the property is created according to the scale. The scale is moved across the paper to take a note of, for instance, the necessity of adding any bump-outs like recesses or porches for outdoor condensers of air-conditioners. The trees around the property, patios, retaining walls and driveways are also drawn. Setbacks between property line and the proposed structure are labelled.
  
• The position of north is noted on the graph using an ‘N’ and an arrow. The address of the property is added in name of the closest cross street. The scale used is noted down along with the owner’s name and date.
  
• Details such as an outbuilding, deck, fence, shed or similar additional structure are meticulously sketched with relation to the length, depth and width of the proposed property. The same scale is maintained throughout and the height is noted with a label. Pertinent notes of the construction are also written, if required, after verifying any kind of existing restriction on the kind of structure that is being erected against the country or city building codes available online.
  
• Now, the perimeter of the new house is drawn and essential features of the property such as rooms, doors, windows, bathroom fixtures, counters, closets, kitchen appliances, closets, etc., are labelled as well. Location of the carbon dioxide and smoke detectors are noted.
  
• As per the requirements of the project, additional pages are sketched. Sometimes, foundation plans showing slab, strength of used concrete, and footings are also prepared.

In order to ensure that the drawing plan is according to the building codes and standards, most of the people in UK make sure that they hire a professional and reputed architect for the purpose. These people very well know that doing this is going to make their project feasible, and getting the building permit will also become possible without much hassle.