RIBA Chartered Architects
London & Essex

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Eight stages. You commit to one at a time.

Every project runs through the RIBA Plan of Work: the industry's standard stages from first idea to handover. Here is what each one actually involves and how long it usually takes. Nothing on this page requires you to sign up for the next stage before you have seen the last one.

The stagesWhat's not includedFAQ

The stages

From a conversation to a finished building.

0–1

Appraisal and brief

We start with the Property Insight Report for your address (constraints, precedent, the local market), then a 30-minute call to turn it into a plan. If you go ahead, we visit, measure the building, and agree a written brief: what you want, what it must cost, and when.

You get
The report, a measured survey and existing drawings, an agreed brief and a fee proposal for the next stage.
Typical duration
1–3 weeks
We need from you
Access to the property, any existing drawings or title plans, and a frank conversation about budget.
2

Concept design

Options, not a single answer. We test two or three ways the brief could work, sketch them up, and price the front-runner with one of our builders, so the design you fall for is one you can afford to build.

You get
Option drawings, a recommended scheme, an early build-cost range from a builder, and a planning strategy.
Typical duration
3–5 weeks
We need from you
Decisions. This is the stage where changing your mind is cheap.
3

Planning

The chosen scheme developed into a planning application or a lawful development certificate, with the drawings, forms and statements the council expects. We handle the submission and the correspondence. Where a scheme has been refused before, this is where our planning consultants come in.

You get
A submitted application and, in due course, a decision notice, and a plan for discharging its conditions.
Typical duration
2–4 weeks to prepare; councils then take 8 weeks for householder applications, often longer.
We need from you
Sign-off on the scheme, and the council's application fee.
4

Technical design

Planning drawings are not construction drawings. Now we produce the set a builder can price and build from: construction details, building regulations package, specification, and coordination with the structural engineer.

You get
Construction drawings, a building regulations submission, a written specification, and Principal Designer duties under CDM 2015.
Typical duration
4–8 weeks
We need from you
Choices on finishes, kitchens and windows: the things that drive cost.
5

Tender and appointing a builder

Comparable prices from builders we trust, on the same drawings and the same specification, so you are comparing like with like. Then a proper contract, not a quote on headed paper.

You get
Tender documents, priced returns analysed side by side, a recommendation, and a signed building contract.
Typical duration
3–5 weeks
We need from you
A decision on the builder, and the start date you can live with.
6

On site, as your Contract Administrator

We put a JCT building contract in place between you and the builder, and act as Contract Administrator under it. That means the price, the programme and the quality are written down and legally binding on both sides: we inspect regularly, answer the builder's questions, value the work and certify payment only for what has been built properly, control variations before they become bills, and certify practical completion. Your money and the work are protected by the contract, not by goodwill.

You get
A JCT contract tailored to the project, site inspections, valuations and payment certificates, variation and extension-of-time control, defects and retention administration, and a practical completion certificate.
Typical duration
3–6 months for an extension; longer for a new house.
We need from you
Patience, and no instructions to the builder that don't come through us.
7

Handover and in use

Completion certificates, the health and safety file, and the defects period: the months after handover when anything that settles or sticks gets put right at the builder's cost, not yours.

You get
Building control completion, the O&M and health and safety file, and an end-of-defects inspection.
Typical duration
A 6–12 month defects period after completion.
We need from you
A list of anything that isn't right, before the defects period ends.

Durations are typical for householder work in London and Essex and depend on the council, the site and how quickly decisions come back. We will give you a programme for your project at Stage 1.

Being straight with you

What's not in our fee.

Some costs sit outside any architect's fee. We will tell you about them at Stage 1 so nothing arrives as a surprise.

  1. 01Council fees: planning application, building control, pre-application advice
  2. 02The structural engineer, where the scheme needs one
  3. 03Specialist surveys: topographical, arboricultural, ecological, drainage
  4. 04Party wall surveyor fees, where neighbours are affected
  5. 05Utility consents: build-over agreements, connections
  6. 06The building work itself, and any CIL liability

Start with the report

Get in touch

Tell us about the project.

Whether it is a first conversation or a scheme someone else has already started, we are happy to hear where you have got to.

Want the facts first? Start with the Property Insight Report. It comes with a free 30-minute call. If you then hire us as your architect for the project, the report fee comes off our fee.

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