If you’re planning an extension or building project for your home, budget is going to be one of the key things on your mind. We’ve all seen the Grand Designs nightmares where the episode ends with the once-excited homeowner saying how many thousands they went over budget by.
Part of what makes over spending such a risk is that breaking down everything you need to budget for is hard – especially if this is your first time planning a project like this. So to make things a little easier, we’ve put together this guide to what you’ll need to factor in when you’re working out how much you have to spend.
Application fees
Nothing sets a project off on the wrong foot like finding out you need planning permission and having to dig up an unexpected application fee before you can get anything started.
Sometimes it might be clear whether you’re going to need planning permission. If you’re doing a loft conversion<link to loft conversions page>, for example, you probably won’t, as most loft conversions are covered under permitted development. On the other hand, if you’re in a conservation area<link to greenbelt page>, you almost certainly will.
But it might not always be so clear cut. You might not know you’re going to need planning permission or what kind of planning application you’re submitting until you’ve settled on a design concept.
If you’re creating a rear extension<link to extensions page> the question of whether you need planning permission will depend on whether you need to go out more than 4 metres to give you the space you need. If you’re converting your outbuilding<link to annexes and outbuildings page>, it may be based on whether you’re replacing enough walls to class it as a new build.
Even if you’re fairly sure you won’t need planning permission, it’s a good idea to look up application fees and keep a little in reserve in case. If you do need planning permission in the end, it’s not a cost you suddenly have to find – and if you don’t, then you’ve got some extra budget to splash somewhere else.
As of June 2024, the cost of a householder application for planning permission in England is £328. If you want a Certificate of Lawfulness for ironclad proof that your extension is permitted development, the fee is £199.
Applications to adapt a dwelling for better disability access are often free.
Individual contractors vs one builder
When it comes to the construction stage, the next budget question is probably around who you need on site – do you want a builder to project manage things for you, or do you want to hire individual trades yourself?
It usually looks cheaper on paper to sub in each contractor and project manage them yourself. But the emphasis is on how it looks cheaper, because a setback at any stage can quickly add significantly to the time of the project and its cost.
Say you have your brickies booked to start work on Monday, because your scheduling says the groundworks should be done by then. But on the Friday before, your groundworkers are still wrestling with a drainage problem they weren’t expecting and they’ll need to come back in the week. Monday comes, and now you’re paying your bricklayers to stand around as well as your groundworkers to do extra.
A builder will have all of those people on hand already and the experience of resource planning to ensure everyone is always busy. That means they can make sure no one is brought in earlier than they’re needed, and that you won’t blow your budget by having too many trades booked in at once.
Your architect can also help you find the right builders for your project. At MVA, we work closely with several builders in the South Gloucestershire area and are always happy to recommend names we know and trust to do a good job.
It also pays to start working with your builder early in the process, so that they give a construction-focused look over your designs and highlight any areas that might challenge your budget before things progress too far.
Party wall surveyor
If your extension involves working on the boundary between your property and your neighbour’s, you need to let them know and get their consent before you start. And if that includes working on a party wall, you might have to budget for a party wall surveyor.
You won’t always need one. In the majority of cases, if you speak to your neighbour about what you’ve got planned they’ll say, “That’s fine, crack on.”
But some neighbours might be that bit more difficult to convince – they might say no or only agree if you carry out some additional work on the wall. That’s when you’ll probably need to get a party wall surveyor in. They can help you sort out the right forms and agreements, photos that show the state of the wall before any works, and settle who has to pay for what.
Unexpected costs
This one might sound a bit silly – if you knew what unexpected costs to budget for, they wouldn’t be unexpected, would they?
But it’s more about keeping in mind that things always change during a construction project. So try to think ahead to where that might happen, and make sure there’s room in the budget in case they do.
Building costs are a usual culprit here. Although labour cost in a builder’s quote is almost always fixed, builders can’t usually give a fixed quote for materials because of the market price changing.
For example, if you get a quote in May but the project doesn’t kick off until September, you might have to pay a little more than expected because the price of bricks or copper piping have gone up since your builder did the initial tally.
Working with people you like, not just who’s cheapest
When it comes to a home transformation, budgeting isn’t about trying to get everything at the lowest price. It’s about making sure you’re able to get everything you need to deliver on your vision – and that includes your builder and architect.
You’re going to be spending a lot of time with your architect and builder during the project, and you’ve got to be able to get on with them. That doesn’t mean you need to go for a beer with them on a Friday afternoon but it does mean that you have to feel a lot of trust towards them – trust that they’re listening to what you want from your space and are bringing their expertise to create something special.
You might get lucky and find that the ones you click with most are also the ones with the lowest quotes. But when you’re working out your budget, you should set aside enough that you can afford to work with the one who ticks the most boxes for you, not just the cheapest.
And while you might end up paying a little more upfront, trust with your builder and architect can go a long way to saving you money throughout the project. They can look at the practicalities of your design and suggest changes you might not have thought of – either to head off an expensive future issue, or find a way to do something for less without compromising on the overall result.
If you’re ready to bring your vision for your home to life, get in touch to see how My Village Architect can help.