Your personal journey with IHD Architectural Services

Initial telephone consultation & quotation
During the initial telephone consultation, we will discuss your project brief and any issues that may be apparent at the time. Based on this our quotation will be provided which will include a breakdown of costs for the design process and any relevant planning submission. Our quotations are tailored to meet the clients’ individual needs and are a fixed fee for the requested project.

Measurement survey & on-site project meeting
Upon acceptance of our quotation, we will arrange a mutually convenient time to conduct a measurement survey of your property. This survey includes measurements of your existing property and clarification of any accessible drains, drain runs and invert levels as well as identifying any structural elements of the existing building. The survey can take two to four hours to complete depending on the size and complexity of the existing building. At this time, we will discuss your initial design ideas and what you would like to achieve from your project.

Architectural Design and plans
Based on your project brief and on-site discussions, one set of preliminary plans will be provided in pdf format via e-mail. These preliminary plans are detailed and give you the opportunity to raise further discussions with us about the design and layout of your project, as well as obtaining budget build costs from prospective building contractors. A dimension plan will also be provided to assist with any initial kitchen, utility, and bathroom designs. One revision to the plans is included within our quotation; this revision can be completed following telephone discussions, e-mail correspondence or a face-to-face meeting in our studio.

Planning application submission
Once you are completely satisfied with the design and have signed off the client application pack, we will act as your agent for the submission of the appropriate application to your local planning authority. We work closely with several consultancy companies enabling any required statements or assessments such as Heritage, Ecology, Arboriculture or Flood Risk reports to be completed quickly and efficiently on your behalf.

Planning process
Local planning authority endeavour to issue their decision on planning applications in eight weeks. During this time, we will liaise with the designated planning officer keeping you fully informed of progress at all times. Occasionally it may be necessary to slightly amend the submitted designs to gain approval. If this happens, we will discuss the proposed amendments with you before conducting any additional work. This is usually included within our fee for the application submission stage however if the amendments are significant there may be an additional charge which will be agreed with you.

Building regulations & technical construction design
Building Regulations are national minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to buildings and the process is there to ensure that your home is safe, well-built and energy efficient.
Once the appropriate permission is in place with local planning authority, we will provide a quotation for a Full Plans Building Regulations application with Local Authority Building Control. This quote will include costs for technical construction design and details, any required structural calculations and/or energy assessments along with confirmation of Building Control fees.
A Full Plans application provides reassurance to you and your chosen building contractor prior to commencement of work on site that the final construction design has been completed, approved by Building Control and is fully compliant with current building regulation legislation. These details are then used by your chosen building contractor for the construction of your project.
We will prepare the required documentation and act as your agent for the submission of the application and approval of the details with Local Authority Building Control.
As part of the fee for this stage we will also be available to answer any queries raised by your builder during construction of your project. These may be of a technical nature or due to unforeseen issues.