Why will nobody give me a price over the phone?

Because the price depends on the building, and nobody can see it down a phone line. A first visit resolves it quickly, which is why ours is free and carries no obligation.

Is it cheaper to do planning and building regulations together?

Usually, yes. The survey is done once, the design is understood by the same people throughout, and the technical package builds on drawings that already exist rather than starting again from someone else's file.

Do I pay everything up front?

No. Work of this kind is normally staged, so you pay as each stage is delivered and can make a decision at each point before committing to the next.

What if planning is refused?

It happens, and the route afterwards is usually either an amended resubmission or an appeal. This is precisely why we screen the planning route before drawing, so that a refusal is not the first time anyone considers whether the scheme was likely to pass.

Can you also build it?

Yes, and this is unusual. Most architectural practices do not build and most builders do not draw. We offer both, so you can take the drawings elsewhere or have one team from design to completion.

Guide · Cost

How much do architectural drawings cost, and what changes the price?

Quotes for drawings vary enormously, and the reason is almost never that one designer is greedy. It is that the quotes cover different work. One might be planning drawings only, another might include the survey, the technical package, the submission and the site support. This guide explains what the stages are so you can put two quotes side by side and see what you are actually comparing.

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The stages you are paying for

Nearly every residential project moves through the same sequence, and a quote should tell you which of these it includes. If it does not say, ask, because the gaps are where budgets go wrong.

Measured survey of the existing building
Feasibility and design development, including options
Planning drawings and the planning submission itself
Building regulations and technical drawings
Structural engineering, normally a separate specialist fee
Submission, condition discharge and answering queries
Tender support and site support during the build

What genuinely moves the price

Complexity, not square metres, is the main driver. A simple rear extension on a post war house is a fraction of the work of the same floor area added to a listed granite cottage on a sloping coastal plot.

Whether the building is listed or in a Conservation Area or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
How much of the existing structure is being altered
Site constraints such as slope, access, drainage and boundaries
How much design iteration you want before settling
Whether a specialist report is needed, for example ecology, arboriculture or flood risk

Fees you pay to other people

Design fees are not the whole cost. The planning application carries a statutory fee set nationally, Building Control charges its own fee on a scale related to project value, and structural calculations, energy assessments and any specialist survey are separate. A quote that looks low is sometimes just a quote that has excluded these.

How to compare quotes without getting caught

Ask each designer for the same three things: the list of drawings you will receive, the stages included, and what is excluded. Then compare those, not the headline number. Also ask who does the work, because a low fee often means the technical package is subcontracted, and the person who understood your design is not the person detailing it.

Frequently asked

Straight answers.

Why will nobody give me a price over the phone?: Because the price depends on the building, and nobody can see it down a phone line. A first visit resolves it quickly, which is why ours is free and carries no obligation.
Is it cheaper to do planning and building regulations together?: Usually, yes. The survey is done once, the design is understood by the same people throughout, and the technical package builds on drawings that already exist rather than starting again from someone else's file.
Do I pay everything up front?: No. Work of this kind is normally staged, so you pay as each stage is delivered and can make a decision at each point before committing to the next.
What if planning is refused?: It happens, and the route afterwards is usually either an amended resubmission or an appeal. This is precisely why we screen the planning route before drawing, so that a refusal is not the first time anyone considers whether the scheme was likely to pass.
Can you also build it?: Yes, and this is unusual. Most architectural practices do not build and most builders do not draw. We offer both, so you can take the drawings elsewhere or have one team from design to completion.

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