10 Questions to Ask Before Appointing a Design Company for Your Extension

1. Is the structural engineering done in-house, and who else is involved?

A lot of design companies produce the drawings and then send the structural engineering to another company. That isn’t necessarily wrong, but it means one more company involved. At Kirkwood, the structural engineering is carried out in-house alongside the design, so the drawings and calculations are coordinated by the same team, rather than a designer drawing something one way and a separate engineer working out afterwards how to make it stand up.

That matters most on extensions, loft conversions, knock-throughs and anything involving steel beams, foundations or changes to the existing structure. If the two sides aren’t communicating, a beam might need to change, a wall might need to stay, or a foundation might need to be deeper. Once you have planning permission and are ready to build, those changes are frustrating and expensive.

So ask who is actually doing the work. Is everything handled by the company you are appointing, or are parts passed on? When several companies are involved, everyone ends up waiting on someone else, and the homeowner is left in the middle working out who is responsible. We prefer to take responsibility for the whole process wherever we can. Problems still happen, but you know who you are speaking to.

2. Can I speak to your previous customers?

Don’t just look at photographs on a website. Ask to speak to someone who has actually used the company, ideally a customer in your area with a similar project. If you are in Chelmsford planning a two-storey extension, for example, it helps to hear from someone who has been through the same thing.

At Kirkwood, we are happy for prospective clients to speak to existing or previous customers where appropriate. That is far more useful than us telling you how good we are. Ask them:

•       Was communication good?
•       Did the company do what it said it would do?
•       Did they help when problems came up?
•       Were the costs explained properly?
•       Would you use them again?

3. Can you help me find a reliable builder?

Planning permission and drawings are only part of the process. Eventually somebody has to build it. Kirkwood can introduce homeowners to builders we have experience of working with across Essex.

But don’t choose a builder just because someone gave you a name. Get a proper quotation, understand what is included and excluded, check their experience, and make sure they are pricing from the correct drawings and structural information. The cheapest quote isn’t automatically the cheapest project: a low quotation that leaves half the work out becomes very expensive later.

4. Can you guarantee planning permission?

No, and if a company says it can, ask more questions. The planning authority makes the decision, and nobody can guarantee it.

What an experienced design company can do is give you a realistic assessment before you spend money on the full process. That means looking at the property, its planning history, neighbouring properties, local policies, the size of the proposed extension and the likely constraints, then advising you on what is realistic. That is very different from “don’t worry, we’ll definitely get it approved”. We would never make that promise. We give our professional view on the information available, and the final decision belongs to the council.

5. How much experience do you have, including in my area?

Experience matters, not because a long-established company automatically does a good job, but because it has seen the problems before: complicated planning applications, unexpected ground conditions, builders interpreting drawings differently, building control queries, and structural issues that weren’t obvious at the start. Kirkwood has been established for many years, across design, extensions, loft conversions, planning and structural engineering. Every existing house is different, and a drawing can look straightforward on paper until you start opening things up.

Local experience matters too, because planning decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. Local planning history, surrounding properties and the character of an area can all be relevant, so ask about their planning permission experience in your area. Kirkwood has worked across Essex and London, including Brentwood (see our Brentwood architects page), Chelmsford, Billericay, Wickford, Basildon, Rayleigh, Southend-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea, Braintree and Colchester, and has dealt with planning departments across both.

6. Are you properly insured?

Ask what insurance the company carries. At Kirkwood, we are fully insured for the services we provide. You are trusting a company with the design of a significant alteration to your home, so it is reasonable to ask before you appoint them. Don’t feel awkward about it. It is your project and your money.

7. How much is this actually going to cost to build?

This might be the most important question of all, and one to ask before you spend money on the design. You need to know whether your idea is financially realistic. Some homeowners are fairly close to the mark, and some are nowhere near, and you can spend thousands designing something before discovering the build cost is far higher than you expected.

At Kirkwood, we give advice on realistic build costs from the beginning. The aim isn’t a design that looks great on paper but sits outside your budget; it is a design you can actually afford to build. That is why we encourage you to talk about budget in the first conversation. Don’t be embarrassed about it. Whether it is £50,000 or £100,000, we need to know, because the design should reflect the budget rather than the other way around.

8. How long will the whole process take?

Homeowners want to know when they will have drawings, when planning will be submitted and how long it might take, when the Building Regulations and structural information will be ready, when a builder can get involved, and how long the construction will take.

Nobody can give an exact completion date before knowing the project. Planning times vary, projects differ in complexity, building control can raise queries, builders have different workloads and weather or unexpected issues can affect the programme. But an experienced company should still be able to give you a realistic picture. At Kirkwood, we talk you through the stages and indicate how long each is likely to take, including construction. That is much more useful than “don’t worry, we’ll get it done”.

9. What is included in the fee, and what happens after the drawings are finished?

Don’t just ask “how much?”. Ask “what exactly is included?”. Two companies can quote very different prices without one being more expensive: one might include the measured survey, existing and proposed drawings, the planning application, Building Regulations drawings, structural engineering and building control support, while another charges separately for each. Compare like for like, and ask for the scope of work in writing.

Also find out where the service ends. Some companies stop once the drawings are produced, which is fine if that is all you have paid for, but you should know. Ask whether they submit the planning application, provide Building Regulations drawings and structural calculations, help with building control, help you find a builder, advise on build costs, and help if something changes during construction. At Kirkwood, our service covers design, planning, structural engineering and Building Regulations, with additional support for build costs, builders and the construction stage.

10. What happens if something unexpected is found, and who will deal with my project?

Something unexpected will occasionally happen. You might dig the foundations and find the ground isn’t what was expected, open up a wall and find something different from the drawings, or discover an existing beam that wasn’t shown. Building control might raise a question, or the builder might find something can’t be built exactly as assumed. The important question is: who deals with it?

At Kirkwood, we can review unexpected structural or design issues and, where necessary, provide revised information. Because design and structural engineering are handled together, you don’t have to start looking for another company. Sometimes the answer is simple, sometimes an engineer needs to redesign something, and sometimes the drawings need amending. The important thing is that somebody takes responsibility for finding the solution.

Ask who your main point of contact will be, too. You don’t want to spend an hour with the person who sells the service and then find somebody completely different handling the project. Ask who will answer your questions, who deals with planning, structural engineering and Building Regulations, and who you speak to if something goes wrong. The bigger the company, the more this matters. At Kirkwood, the aim is straightforward communication, so you know who you are dealing with.