STEP ONE-pre08-09-22

STEP ONE – OUR DESIGN AND DRAWING SERVICE

WHEREVER YOU ARE WITHIN THE DESIGN PROCESS, WE ARE HERE TO HELP

Step one explainer video – summary version (39 seconds)

Step one explainer video – detailed version (7 minutes)

A complete range of services designed over a 40-year period. Services that are not seen and offered on many if any design and build websites. When spending / investing tens of thousands on your home it pays to shop around.

I have listened to my clients over the years. As a builder for over 27 years running my own company, I listened to their frustrations about not being able to understand 2D plans. And having to make expensive changes during the build. As a technical geek, I have always pushed the boundaries of how plans and designs could be presented to my clients to make the whole design and build experience easier to understand and more enjoyable for everyone concerned. I have done this to the best of my ability and am very proud of how I am changing my industry as an Architectural technologist. The Fees quoted are the most competitive you will find on the market for what services we provide, many unique to our company. I have also made available my trade contacts, suppliers, and manufacturers so you can benefit from the discounts I have arranged on your behalf. With this in mind, I also have built-in services to help you to find a builder at the right price and I am happy to negotiate with your builder, to ensure you pay the right price.

The savings I try and make for my clients will help to pay my fees and often will help to save you thousands more. This is all backed up when you view existing clients’ testimonials and video testimonials on the website.

I hope you enjoy our explanation of our services as much as we did when designing this section of the website and invite you to our FREE 15-minute consultation to find out more.

When reviewing our service range, I personally cannot think of any good reason why you would not consider becoming a client of The Home Extension Advisory Service. I hope you share the same sentiment or at the very least request your own personalise quotation.

Paul Bradley (MD Home Extension Advisory Service)

Our Initial FREE 15 Minute consultation – all we ask is for you to invest a little of your time and not your money

We would always recommend you book a FREE 15 Minute consultation. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about our industry and are happy to answer any questions you may have. This is not a sales session but an introduction of what we do at the Home Extension Advisory Service. If like most of the homeowners that take us up on this FREE consultation you want to find out how we can help you further we are happy to explain how we can help.

Tell us what you are thinking of building and about your existing property and with a touch of a few buttons we will advise you of the likely building costs in today’s market. This will help you to understand the prices you will likely receive back from builders asked to price for your project and will help you work out your budget at this early stage before you have spent a penny on designs or getting drawings prepared.

Our Services

We offer our services on a pick-and-mix basis.

Select the number of services that interests you and we will be happy to prepare you a personalised quotation.

We will show you the journey we take our clients on for a typical project:

We use Mr & Mrs. Crystal’s case study to take you through our service range

Mr. & Ms. Crystal contacted us both in early to late retirement. In their early seventies, as they put it…
They came recommended as most of our clients do.

The brief was quite simple.

The rear elevation had a little area they wanted to utilise to get the full
potential of the ground floor space of their property.

By extending this small area, they wanted to achieve an open plan design with a kitchen and diner along with a fully fitted Wet room on the
ground floor.

Both avid gardeners also wondered what we could do with their garden to bring it to life.

Stage One – “Property Appraisal + Site Survey”

This property appraisal and site survey is the foundation for your design and build journey. If you neglect the foundations of your journey, it will inevitably cost you dearly in finances and mental stress.

A. Consultation Call: Through our call, we will cover any potential issues and worries you may have.

B. Together, we will run through your property & project details.

C. Once we understand more of what you are trying to achieve, we can then work out a high-level rough indicative cost for your build.
It is necessary to ensure our design and your budget are in alignment.

D. The next step is to get you booked in with one of our expert surveyors.

E. We will send out one of our surveyor experts to measure and photograph your property using the latest in 3D scanning technology.

F. Using this data, we create an existing set of drawings for your use and you will have access to the Existing Virtual Reality Tour.

G. We review and advise all possible issues that may arise including but not limited to: Party Walls / Floor Risk Assessments / Heritage Sites etc.

H. We record all the necessary information that your structural engineer may require. Having the correct information at the beginning helps to keep costs down and mitigate any potential delays.

I. You are now prepared for your planning drawings to be created and receive a more true indicative cost.

We have over 1000 approved designs that have gone through the entire HEAS journey to completion!

By using our database, we are guaranteed to help save any client costs and mitigate all types of stress involved in this industry right from the beginning.

Don’t worry if you are looking for a design that we cannot match within our portfolio, as we offer a bespoke design service to suit any property type or format.

The camera takes the data and measurements of your home and produces a 3D Virtual Reality walkthrough.

We capture your entire property in one visit.

This helps everybody involved in the process including:

Potential builders you may invite to tender for your project.
The local authorities’ planners
The local authorities building inspectors
Private Approved Building inspectors
Structural engineers
Party Wall Act surveyors.

See a short tour of what is generated via our 3D Scanning Partners

Our typical fee for this service for a three-bedroom semi-detached property is £495.
The Site Survey takes two to three hours to complete and is essential to your design and build process.

Stage Two – “Our Bespoke design service”

We have an extensive property portfolio full of hundreds of designs.
We find that 80% of our clients find a design within our database search.
This is all we need to do a personalised design, keeping their design costs down to a minimum.

Do not worry if you do not find a design within our database search.
Once we have your property appraisal, we will provide a competitive quotation for a bespoke design.
You will have the opportunity to have a 1 on 1 Zoom Call with our Architects to tailor your project to your needs!

After discussing your brief and preferences for your bespoke design we will be happy to send you a personalised quotation for your consideration

Stage Three – “3D Renders”

Mr & Ms. Crystal told us they found 2D plans and drawings hard to understand and visualise.
It is no surprise that they were very excited when we brought their property to life with our 3D visualisations showing how their property could look when improved.

Existing:

Proposed:

During 2019/20 87% of our clients not only saved what they paid us in fees, they also went on to save £1000’s more off the cost of their projects.

Contact us now and see how we can do the same for you!

Our guide fee for our 3D visualisations for a three-bedroom semi-detached with extension and internal alterations ranges from £750 to £1250 for 5 – 10 external and internal visualisations.

Stage Four – Our 3D 360-degree panoramic view

Mr & Ms. Crystal loved this featured view. It allowed them to view the essential rooms from any angle.

Proposed 360 View: Utility & Pantry

Proposed 360 View: Open Plan Kitchen Diner

Proposed 360 View: Rear Garden

Our fee per 3D panoramic view is £250 per 360-degree view.

Stage Five – Our ultimate Diamond Package:
3D Virtual Reality tour.
We unlock your home’s potential long before you speak to a builder.

This 3D virtual tour brought tears to our Mr & Ms. Crystal’s eyes.
They said they never imagined their home could look so creative and beautiful.
They also liked the potential we brought out in their rear garden

The Home Extension Advisory Service shows you the potential of your home.

Using state-of-the-art technology and our experience as ex-builders and keeping up to date with building material prices and new building innovations, we cannot fail to produce the best designs you can see and fully understand.

You will always be 100% sure that the design you sign and approve with the Home Extension Advisory Service is the design you want your builder to build.

Our proven and tested 3D design process reduces grey areas and misunderstandings with your builder, preventing the need for costly physical
changes during the build.

90% OF OUR CLIENTS ASK TO USE OUR 3D DESIGN OPTION TO UNLOCK THE TRUE POTENTIAL OF THEIR HOME

See below for a selection of replies when clients were asked why they chose our 3D design service

I love the idea that I could get involved in the 3D design experience and have input into my own designs.
Showing my neighbours what I proposed to build really helped get them on side and they supported our Planning Application.
It was great to be able to pick up my tablet and hold it up against a wall that was going to be removed and see how our new fitted kitchen will look and also see a view of the garden and patio, through the new bi folding doors, And all before work had even commenced.
3D images ensured there were no “GREY AREAS” between the myself and the builders. Having the images of my finished extension definitely ensured I avoided expense, delay and disruption later because I’d have signed off on the 2D plans not realising the plans did not reflect exactly what I wanted.
I particularly liked showing family and friends how our home will look after the building work is completed.
The 3D process was really enjoyable. It was really uplifting to see the design options and to build our extension in the finest detail.
I cannot imagine why anyone would invest £1000’s to improve their home without making sure the design is exactly what they want and the builder knows exactly how it should look.

For Your Information:

Did you know that builders often must add contingencies when pricing projects as they do not have the full information to fully analyse and assess a property
We highlight and record items that could cause financial burdens if not addressed at the early stages. Removing hedges and shrubs from the proposed building area is one of the most common. A building inspector will ask your chosen builder to excavate much deeper than they would have allowed for in their tendered price when excavating the foundations for your extension. This could add thousands of pounds to your project’s overall price, and with our help this can be prevented, saving you stress, time, and money.
By capturing this information from the offset, we can get much more accurate costs from the builders and the contingencies are immensely reduced!
Your property may fall under the “Party wall act” this act is an agreement between you and your neighbour. It can be costly and cause delays if not dealt with correctly. We deal with this at the beginning.
Your property may come under floor risk assessments / contamination lands / green belt restrictions etc – We make it a point to assess this from the beginning!

Declaration

Our combined experience within Building & Design puts us at the forefront of our
industries in respect to knowledge expertise and technology!

Who else in the design and build industry offers to protect you from the very start of your journey and proves it with the backing of over 1000 successful projects?

We are willing to hold your hand at every stage if necessary. At every step helping to deliver your project within budget and proposed timelines.

Foundations are the key to a successful journey in every paradigm of life.

Our Global team manages each and every step pedantically to ensure that our clientele have the smoothest Journey and have a lot of fun on the way!

We make it a philosophy within our teams to ALWAYS be at the forefront of industries ensuring that our clients could not get a better service anywhere else in the UK.

Stage Six – Your 2D planning / permitted development bundle with free OS map

We prepare your existing plan drawings at a 1:100 scale

Based on the agreed brief we prepare your proposed plan drawings at a 1:100 scale

We then purchase your Ordinance and Survey Plan and Block Plan, which we put in as part of the Planning Application

WE WILL BREAKDOWN YOUR PROJECT INTO BUILDING PHASES AND WORK OUT ACCURATE BUILDING COSTS FOR YOUR SCHEME

We work out the indicative building cost for your proposed build, the type of price a builder is likely to charge for your design. This is a FREE service we offer our clients. This is to ensure that the design we submit is in alinement with your budget.

We do not charge extra for this service it is something that our clients find very helpful, and as ex-builders we are happy to help.

Once you have approved your Scheme and Drawings, we register as your Planning Agent and submit your planning application via the Electronic Planning Portal.

A planning application or an application for a certificate of lawfulness (if applying using your permitted development rights) usually takes 6-8 weeks. We keep you updated on a weekly basis.

TYPICAL PRICE QUOTED BY HOME EXTENSION ADVISORY SERVICE

Our typical fees for our 2D planning / permitted development bundle is

ONLY £695 + VAT*

OS Maps are included within our fee!

CLICK HERE – TO CONTACT US TODAY FOR YOUR FREE PERSONALISED QUOTATION

FEES TO OTHERS

You will need to pay your Local Authority directly for the Planning Admission fee.

– They will contact you directly, usually within a week of the Planning Application submission.

– The invoice will be sent directly to yourself for their fees (currently averaging at £231 – Oct 2020)

YOU MAY HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS REGARDING PLANNING PERMISSON APPROVAL, PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT AND THE NEIGHBOUR CONSULTATION SCHEME FOR LARGER EXTENSIONS. VISIT OUR FAQ’S PAGE, WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE ANSWERS TO THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS. ALTERNATIVELY, CONTACT OUR CUSTOMER SERVICES TEAM ON 0161 464 3939

Stage Seven – Producing your building regulation drawings

Your Building Regulation approval bundle includes so much more than a “must have” set of drawings.

Below are Samples of Our Building Regulation Drawings.

You will note Building Regulation Drawings are different from Planning Drawings as they include all of the technical details i.e. notes/sections, which are never included in Planning Drawings. These are the drawings which your builder will require in order to give an accurate costing for the build.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR

The importance of ensuring all of your contractors (including your Planning & Building Regulation drawers) have Professional Indemnity Insurance

Having run my own building company for more than 27 years, I am all too aware of the consequences of consumers working with contractors that do not purchase insurance to protect their customers. Almost all of the horror stories that we have all heard of could have been avoided if the customer had checked their contractor had adequate Liability insurance in place. That includes companies that offer architectural or drawing services. Poor quality Building Regulation drawings can send the builder and customer on to a collision course. Most homeowners do not 100% understand the finer details of the drawings and unknowingly allow their building to build from them. Sadly, many Planning and Building Regulation drawers end their involvement with the project immediately after producing the drawings leaving the client and builder at loggerheads when the builder builds to the specification and the client says it is not what they wanted.
It is for this reason, Home Extension Advisory Service ensures we produce high quality drawings to obtain Planning and/or Building Regulation approval and we stay by your side, offering telephone technical support to you and your builder, until your project has been completed.

Home Extension Advisory Service have up to date Professional Indemnity insurances to protect you.

We are proud to say we have never had to make a claim in our 12 years trading history!

FIVE ADDITIONAL SERVICES WE INCLUDE WITHIN OUR BUILDING REGUALTION DRAWING FEES, TO PROTECT YOU AND TO HELP YOUR BUILDER

Click on the headings 1 – 5 below to find out more

1 – FREE technical support on all of our drawings

Should your builder raise a question with you, which you unsure of, you can ask them to contact us and we will be happy to answer on your behalf. Remember many of the Bricks and Pieces team were builders so when we design the components to go into the build i.e. bricks, insulation etc we are trying to specify cost effective materials, that can often save you money in the long run. At this stage we can also address sustainability items for your heating, power and lighting etc.

2 – FREE structural engineer quote gathering

Your design may require Structural Calculations and designs prepared by a Structural Engineer.

Most of our designs require structural changes to the property. Before these changes are physically made to the building and prior to building control approving our drawings, a Structural Engineer will be required to produce designs and calculations to ensure the buildings structural integrity is undamaged.
Home Extension Advisory Service will, on your behalf, go to Structural Engineers who we frequently use. We will send them the pre-approved Building Regulation drawings to obtain the quotation for their services. We will then share the quotations with you so that you can compare quotations and decide which one you would like to proceed with.
On receipt of the Structural Engineers designs and calculations, we forward them on to your chosen Building Inspector, they will ultimately support your Building Regulation Drawings and Application.

3 – FREE support when choosing your building inspector

Both do the same roles, they check and approve your plans and complete site inspections throughout the works, at different building phase stages, to ensure the work has been carried out to the current Building Regulation standards. On completion of the works, they will issue a building regulation completion certificate as soon as they are satisfield the build is compliant.

4 – FREE thermal specialist quote gathering

The Building Control Office may ask for Excess Glazing Calculations, SAP Calculations or Thermal Calculations, to justify excessive glazing (all 3 mean the same thing). Many designs include a large amount of glazing e.g. Bi-folding doors, roof atriums etc.
Your chosen design will need to comply with Part L of the Building Regulations to ensure the thermal efficiency of the building, when improved, is less than the original structure. If we need to increase the thermal efficiency of your property there are many ways to achieve this, e.g. adding additional insulation in the existing loft, making alterations to your existing windows etc.
Bricks and Pieces will consult specialists within this field, to obtain quotations for these calculations, if requested by the Building Control Officer.

5 – FREE party wall advice & support

As part of our fee is a service to advise you if your design will be subject to the Party Wall Act.

The Party Wall Act 1996 provides a framework for preventing and resolving disputes in relation to party walls, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings. A building owner proposing to start work covered by the Act must give adjoining owners notice of their intentions in the way set down in the Act.
Home Extension Advisory Service will advise you whether your proposed works will fall under the Party Wall Act, or not. If it does, we will recommend a Party Wall Act Surveyor that you can contact for a free consultation who will be happy to explain the Act in detail and also your best way to proceed.
If the Act applies and you wish to comply with the Act, the Surveyor will be happy to give you the associated costs to comply with the Act. Home Extension Advisory Service advice is to research and find out all associated costs paid to others, before you even have drawings prepared so these associated fees and additional cost can be included within your budget and costings of the proposed works.

IF YOU CAN NOT FIND THE ANSWER TO ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS, PLEASE GO TO THE FREQUENTLY ASK QUESTIONS (FAQ) SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE OR CONTACT OUR CUSTOMER SERVICES TEAM ON 0161 464 3939.

Stage Eight – Our builders and experienced DIYers 2D drawing package

Many builders and experienced DIYers who have experience working and visualising from 2D plans ask us to prepare the following package:

Site measure up or they send us a marked up copy of their projects complete with measurements for us to rely on

We produce the

Existing planning drawings
Proposed planning drawings
Supply the OS Maps
Submit the planning application to the local authority

What’s included in Stage Eight

Our builders and experienced DIYers 2D Drawing Package

Produce the Building Regulation drawings
Submit the building regulations to the local authority’s building control or the Approved Inspectors if they are being used in preference

If you feel that you do not require the 3D package and many of the other features and services, we offer.

Contact us and we will be happy to discuss your requirements and send you out a bespoke personalised quotation for the services you require.

Click here to book your FREE 60 min consultation

Click here for a personalised quote

Click to book a call back

Phone us on
0161 464 3939

Email us at
info@theheas.co.uk

GO TO STEP TWO – FINDING THE RIGHT BUILDER AT THE RIGHT PRICE

GO TO STEP THREE – MAKING IT LEGAL