Under the Building Safety Act 2022, clients, including domestic clients, have clear duties when it comes to appointing a Building Regulations Principal Designer. Here are the key responsibilities:

Formal Appointment: Clients must formally appoint a competent Principal Designer in writing before the design phase begins. This should be done as soon as practical.

Competence: Ensure the appointed Principal Designer has the necessary skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours to fulfil their duties effectively.

Cooperation: Ensure that the Principal Designer cooperates with other duty holders, such as the Principal Contractor, to ensure the building work complies with all relevant building regulations.

Information Sharing: Provide the Principal Designer with all necessary project information to enable them to plan, manage, and monitor the design work effectively.

Ongoing Responsibilities: Continue to support the Principal Designer throughout the project to ensure they can fulfil their responsibilities, including coordinating design work and managing compliance with building regulations.

Formalizing these appointments and ensuring competence are critical steps in maintaining regulatory compliance and ensuring the safety and quality of construction projects.

It is important to maintain the appointment of the Principal Designer for the duration of the project, i.e. from the beginning of the design work to the end of completion. Building Control require signed declarations from the Principal Contractor, Client and Principal Designer before the Final Certificate of compliance can be issued. If client’s fail to maintain the appointment, i.e. proceed into construction without a Principal Designer, the client will become responsible for any new design work or variations to the consented design from a compliance perspective.

Although we will be able to provide an indication as to whether your planned budget is sufficient to deliver your desired outcomes, in order to provide an accurate construction cost, we will need to produce a design and detailed plans for a contractor to quote against. The existing building, preferred materials and the quality of finishes will all have implications on the cost of your project. 

It is also worth considering the appointment of a quantity surveyor, or estimator, to estimate the price and prepare a cost plan prior to tendering the project with prospective contractors. 

Once we have discussed your brief and produced a design that you are happy with, we can help to source quotations or provide the relevant information for you to obtain your own quotations if you have preferred contractors. Refer to the Construction Design and Management regulations 2015 and the Building Safety Act 2022 for information and guidance relating to client respponsibilities. 

Compliance & Safety

Since the introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022, there is a renewed focus on compliance. This affects every project, including one-off dwellings, loft conversions, domestic extensions to high-rise residential buildings. We have the expertise in both conceptual and technical design to achieve compliance on completion. Building Control require signed declarations from dutyholders, on completion before they will issue the final certificate.

Benefits of good design

Good design isn’t just about making something look great, it is about designing something thoughtfully that meets the client’s project brief. Considering details such as the orientation of the building in its environment to ensure light is maximised, or the coordination of the structure to improve openness and flow; we design the details to ensure your home is efficient, practical, comfortable and beautiful.

Manage costs

Hiring an architect to produce building plans can help to manage building costs. Although it may be tempting to reduce upfront costs by sourcing planning drawings from a builder or architectural technician, this may end up costing more in the long run. An architect can produce a set of fully detailed building plans to ensure that your contractors can provide an accurate quotation for the works. This removes cost ambiguity, reduces variations and uncontrolled cost risks during the project.

Reduce stress

Our experience enables us to foresee and avoid common issues encountered during construction projects. By fully considering your brief at project inception, we can develop your scheme in line with your priorities and budget to minimise stress throughout your build.

Consumer Protection

We always recommend using a building contract with your chosen contractor. Building contracts protect all parties with clearly defined responsibilities. Our contract administration services ensure that everyone involved in the build is on the same page from the outset.

https://www.architecture.com/working-with-an-architect/do-i-need-an-architect-for-my-extension-or-home-project

Due to the diverse nature of architectural projects, we do not have fixed fees. Instead, we ask potential clients to provide key information from which we prepare a tailored fee proposal. Our fees include the time it will take us to develop your design, prepare information, undertake site visits, make submissions and communicate with you in relation to your project.

As a rough guide you can expect our fees to fall into the following ranges for a small/ medium private house extension with elements of re-configuration, internally:

Preliminary survey, concept design and preparation of planning drawings is likely to cost between £1,400 and £2,500.

Preparation of information for a building regulations submission costs between £1,800 and £3,000.

Preparation of full tender information for a Contractor to price costs between £1,200 and £2,500.

Services during construction can be complex, ranging from Contract Administration to regular site inspections and addressing site queries generated by the Contractor and cost between £6,000 and £12,000

We will provide a quotation for these services based on your requirements upon request.

When comparing quotes for architectural services it is important to consider the following.

Are they a qualified architect?

Companies offering ‘architectural services’ are not necessarily practicing architects. As long as they do not use the title ‘architect’, they are well within their right to do so, however, they may not be offering the same service at a comparable level of competence.

Did you know? The title ‘architect’ is protected by law in the UK. It can only be used by a qualified architect who has registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB). You can check whether someone is a qualified architect here.

Is this their full-time job?

Some architects, architectural assistants or CAD technicians advertise their services alongside contracted employment. Their reduced overheads may mean they can afford to charge less but their quality of service and attention to detail is likely to be impacted.

Are the scope of the services and the conditions under which those services are offered, clear and comparable?

Architects are required by the ARB Code and the terms of their professional indemnity insurance to have a signed agreement in place before any works are undertaken. Our letter of appointment clearly breaks down the services we will be providing at each stage of your project and the fees associated.

Although we are all inclined to save money where we can (especially in the current economic climate), it is important to consider the value a good architect can bring to your project…

“A good architect actually pays for themselves – more than once. You will reap the reward and the building will be hugely better and deliver much better value for it.” Kevin McCloud, Grand Designs

By choosing Bloom Architects, you can be assured that you are always dealing with someone who is appropriately qualified, experienced and insured.

You may wish to check out the ‘Meeting with your architect’ form below, which guides you through the key areas for discussion with any architect you are considering appointing to your project. This free template features questions to help you and your architect get the most from your first meeting.