Congratulations! Your planning application is approved!
Once you’ve received planning permission for your house extension, Harvey Norman Architects will produce the detailed technical drawings and specifications required by your Building Regulations department.
You can also use these technical drawings to start obtaining quotes from builders.
Finding a builder can bring its own problems, so if you don’t have any particular ones in mind we will be happy to ask a number of trusted and reputable builders to provide quotes.
We will also help you find and brief any other 3rd party consultants that may be needed, such as a structural engineer or a quantity surveyor.
We recommend that you consider the following factors when finding a builder to undertake your work:
- Price: not always the most important factor for some people, but clearly your builder must be able to work to your budget
- Experience: can your proposed builder show you examples their house extension or loft conversion work?
- Quality: if you can view examples, are they of a quality that you would be happy with?
- Reputation: can you get positive references from people that have used the builder before?
- Reliability: prior to starting, it’s hard to judge how organised and reliable your builder will be. So watch out for whether they turn up for your meeting on time, return your phone calls and submit quotes when they say they will.
Finding a builder is one thing. Managing your building project is another.
So once you’ve made your choice of builder, Harvey Norman can recommend a form of contract that sets out terms, timescales and conditions in the event that your builder overruns on cost or time.
Moving ahead with your build
Once you receive the go-ahead from Building Regulations, you’ll have the green light to let your builders proceed with your house build or extension.
When the building project itself starts, Harvey Norman Architects will monitor the building work at each stage, organise site meetings – which you can attend if you wish – and will keep an eye on the overall progress and development of the work.
Throughout your project, our aims will be to keep your stress levels to a minimum, ensure a smooth building project and to help you keep timescales and budgets on track.