Alterations to your Home

Skip forward to:   Programme - Cost - Architecture

As architects, our most common projects are extensions and alterations to people's houses - that is, domestic work. Here we offer a guide to help explain the processes involved, the likely costs, and important things to bear in mind at critical stages. Getting the design right is extrememly important, but sucessfully managing the project holds arguably greater value to the end result than any other part.

Your first decision is whether you prioritise cost, time, or quality. As in every aspect of life, you cannot have everything! But you can control two out of three - so which would you want greater control over? Here's a lovely Venn diagram to illustrate this decision:

This is how it works:

• fixed TIME & COST: a quick, cheap project will not be as good quality as it could be
• fixed COST & QUALITY: a good project to a tight budget will take longer to complete
• fixed QUALITY & TIME: a great design, built to a solid deadline, will cost more

While you can equally balance time, cost and quality, you would be lucky to get a really great building, built to a severe dealine, at bargain cost! So which would you want greater control over?

If you want to discuss your potential project with an architect, we are happy to help. Contact us here - we're friendly!

The following three pages approach each of these elements in turn: Programme