Is this a mad price

gooner99

I have full planning,but want to go for change of house type.I have the site layout in dwg format,so I would reckon that it's a pretty straight forward case af new house design and re-apply.I got a quote for a house design from a fully qualified and experienced architect of €3000 plus vat for design and drawings of a 150-200sqm house only.It doesn't include the paper notice, applications, which would be extra.

I think it's a mad price,what do you guys think.

sinnerboy

No - that's a good price

who what when

Its a ridulous price.
Even if that 3000 included new planning application and vat then its still a grand too expensive!

pseudo-tech

Still a good price in the current climate!!

No6

I've just done a similar one and only charged 2k, With the ammount of changes etc I would have been better off charging 10K to be honest!!! So I think its reasonable.

sinnerboy

I'd rather flip burgers

Poor Uncle Tom

gooner99 wrote: »

I have full planning,but want to go for change of house type.I have the site layout in dwg format,so I would reckon that it's a pretty straight forward case af new house design and re-apply.I got a quote for a house design from a fully qualified and experienced architect of €3000 plus vat for design and drawings of a 150-200sqm house only.It doesn't include the paper notice, applications, which would be extra.

I think it's a mad price,what do you guys think.

I don't understand why the above has to be included, either you were quoted by an architect, an AT, an engineer, a student, a mechanic, a hairdresser or something else, why the need for "..a fully qualified.." and the price isn't too bad I would charge €2,000 - €2,500 for the job you describe.

Builderfromhell

This topic always gets me going.

Let's suppose the designer has many years of work experience, has studied and continues to research new building methods, passive design, best insulation, etc. and has learnt from his/her experience both in design and on-site experience. They then reckon they can give you a quality service for 3,000.
or
Another guy can 'draw up plans' for 500.

The point is, you can't compare like for like. They are not both the same.
a painting by Van Gogh is worth more than a painting by me for obvious reasons.

I have been sent many house plans over the years to price and the standard of design and buildability varies from excellent to cr*p.

Again, you get what you pay for. I would not design a house for less than 3,000.

Mellor

gooner99 wrote: »

I have full planning,but want to go for change of house type.I have the site layout in dwg format,so I would reckon that it's a pretty straight forward case af new house design and re-apply.I got a quote for a house design from a fully qualified and experienced architect of €3000 plus vat for design and drawings of a 150-200sqm house only.It doesn't include the paper notice, applications, which would be extra.

I think it's a mad price,what do you guys think.

How many hours work do you imagine it would take, add in hours for travel to meet with you.
How much is a reasonable hourly rate for said architect?
So total that up, what price did you get?

Then on top of that, add in cost for insurance, computers, autocad license, overheads and bills (electricity, office rent, cleaning etc). Plus any other staff, accountants, secretary (actual or design staff acting is the same imo)

Estimated price now?

who what when wrote: »

Its a ridulous price.
Even if that 3000 included new planning application and vat then its still a grand too expensive!

Can you do the same please.


I'm completely serious, its not a smart remark or a sly dig. I'm honestly interested to hear how much work you think it is, and how much the work deserves to earn?

gooner99

Thanks for all the replies.I can see where you are coming from.I've seen examples of the persons work and it's pretty tasty.But as I said earlier a lot of the work has been done,site layout available in autocad format, waste water test,etc.. carried out.The original planning was only received 1 year ago,so I'd imagine all that would still be valid.I would see 3k as being fair for a full submission from scratch.This is only for house design and does not include paper notice and planning application.I understand that you get what you pay for,so I'm not complaining as such.Just thought that with prices dropping and wage cuts/job losses everywhere at the minute.....

sinnerboy

You can only ask . But the design is everything .

Floor tiles / kitchens / bathrooms / insulation thickness ....whatever all pale into insignificance if the design is not right .

So don't look at €€€'s only for it .

topcatcbr

I think it is a fair price. It is more than i charge but then i am not a "Qualified Architect".

If you are happy to pay it and it is what he requires to do the work then it is fair. You prob could get a design done for cheaper but you cannot get his design for cheaper if you understand what i mean. I don't know the man/woman but you seem to think the is good.

If you went to buy a car and had a BMW 3 series or Mondeo to choose from They both do the same job with practically the same spec but I'm sure you would be willing to pay more for the BMW

Mellor

gooner99 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.I can see where you are coming from.I've seen examples of the persons work and it's pretty tasty.But as I said earlier a lot of the work has been done,site layout available in autocad format, waste water test,etc.. carried out.The original planning was only received 1 year ago,so I'd imagine all that would still be valid.I would see 3k as being fair for a full submission from scratch.This is only for house design and does not include paper notice and planning application.I understand that you get what you pay for,so I'm not complaining as such.Just thought that with prices dropping and wage cuts/job losses everywhere at the minute.....

Again, I refer you to my post above, how many hours.

And, just so you know, the design is the bulk of the work, the newspaper ad ansd site notice take 10 minutes, to write up and email/print. The lodging is nothing either. And including LA fees and newspaper fees cost less than e200

muffler

TBH I think its just a tad much considering the work previously done.



But then again all you people further downhill from here are all rip off merchants anyhow

Poor Uncle Tom

muffler wrote: »

But then again all you people further downhill from here are all rip off merchants anyhow

Maybe you would consider coming working for us so, winners all round.........:D

Garroldy

For this price you are getting a one off design which encapsulates all your needs and aspirations, along with incorporating your future needs. Good design and the intuition to tailor designs to a clients needs is hard to beat. 3k sounds very reasonable.

BenK

It is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string question'. As in how much of a re-design is being undertaken. If it's just a case of tinkering with the existing design then €3000 would be quite steep. Also a full design by an experienced architect and say Johnny down the road who can do it for €500 are two very different things... A well designed house (as in one taking account of siting, solar gains, views, privacy, shelter etc.) can save thousands long term and just generally provide a better quality home.

In presuming it's a total re-design and the fact that you are using a qualified architect with experience (MRIAI I presume) I would think that €3000 is an extremely reasonable price. I think it's already been mentioned that the planning permission having already been granted is not really the issue here. You mention earlier that a lot of the work has been done but as far as the architect is concerned, this is not true. For an architect, the design is the primary time element in any planning application. The paperwork involved in an application is generally very little work and the existence of the existing site layout in cad would also generally save very little time and money.

In short, as it appears the fee quoted is for a full redesign and you will in effect be getting a new planning application, I think it's very fair. Hope that helps!

I'm

As a comparison - I'm paying €6,000 plus vat for all typical services - i.e. planning drawings etc for submission, construction drawings, signoff on stage payments - 3.5k sqft house.

The firm isn't an architectural one, just an experienced civil engineering company who impressed with the quality of their work and have a good track record.

As I keep track of my planning and see the quality of other submissions ebb and flow in terms of design and attention to detail, I wonder why people don't see the value in spending money on getting the design right, but prehaps it's of less importance to others and I guess a question of 'beauty in the eye of the beholder'.

Not in anyway suggesting that the OP or others posting are in that boat - just a general observation.

fatchops

I think if you calculate the cost to you to build the house you'll probably find that the fee is reasonable in the overall scheme of things