Hi all
Have just purchased our first property. It needs to be reno’d and extended. We move in at the end of May and will first need to get ideas flowing and plans drawn up.Do we contact a builder, draftsperson or architect at this stage?. I am not really sure of the difference or what is most appropriate. Can anyone shed light on my question.[biggrin]
Hi,
Congratulations on your purchase.
I guess it depends on whether you are renovating/extending for investment or is this your own home? If for investment I would only be looking at a cosmetic makeover, nothing structural except maybe a stud wall to create an extra bedroom. Sounds as if you have more than that in mind in which case depends on your budget. I only use qualified/registered tradies referably with references so you can see evidence of their handiwork.Can you give more of an idea of what it is you are trying to achieve.
jebro
I’d like to know as well. We have been living in our “before” house for 5 years and know generally what we want except for a few small items. We are considering consulting a building designer to draw up the plans.
Only stupid people don’t ask questions
Hi again
I’m sure there are a lot of people on the forum who know a lot more about this than me. Anyway.
We did a fairly major renovation to our house (extra storey,additional rooms,new garage). We were on a fairly limited budget so spoke to a number of organistaions specialising in reno/extension work to see who was actually listening to what we had in moind. We also went to see some of their work done for other clients and to get feedback as to whether they were happy with the standard of workmanship etc. We eventually chose one group because they gave us the impression they would actually work with us and accommodate our ideas. A few of the others were telling us what they wanted to do. We were happy with the end result and importantly kept within budget.
We have also used an architect to design a new house for us and then looked around for a builder we felt we could trust and that was also successful. That project was also a little different and it was done long distance. We are in WA and built in NZ. So relationships and trust were vital!! Again, very happy with result and good buddies with builder. Shame we’re not able to use his services over here. So, this is a very long winded way to say there are many ways to skin a cat. I would suggest talking to both builders and architects (latter may be a bit more pricey) and get feed back from clients who have used them. It’s a bit of a balance between the architect who may have wonderful ideas which may give the builder heart failure trying to actually achieve and the builder who will usually look for the easiest option which may not necesarily give you the look you are trying to achieve.Bonne chance and Happy Easter[biggrin]
jebro
It needs to be reno’d and extended….
What exactly needs to be Reno’d and extended? Can you provide more details.
If you are only doing a small reno and extension you may only need a draftsman to draw up a plan of the extension and the reno, architects are better suited to designing new buildings or redisgning old ones. unless it is a major reno you don’t need a architect. Builders can also be of help, find someone you can work with and who has some ideas to offer.
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