Your home is, of course, important to you and let’s face it, that new extension you fancy isn’t going to be a snap decision. You’ll be ploughing quite a bit of savings into expanding your home so it’s important that you get an architectural designer who understands exactly what you’re looking for from the off.

But not only should he or she be a good listener, they should also come with a wealth of experience – and certainly be able to show you similar projects they’ve completed in the recent past.

Here at BDS Architectural Design in Derby we always encourage potential clients to ask as many questions as they like – to grill us, in fact, when it comes to our ability to give them the type of extension that doesn’t just add space to their home, but looks good and provides them with the functionality they need – whether they’re looking for a home office, en-suite or a contemporary open-plan living/dining space.

So, if you and your family are in the market for a home extension or some other major refurbishment work to your home in the Derby area, then here are the kind of questions you should be firing at potential architectural designers:

1) Do You Have Any Local References From Past Clients?

Ideally you should be able to go and have a look at some of the properties the designer has worked on – or maybe even contact the past customer via email to find out how the process went. If your architectural designer has nothing to hide then he or she should be happy to hand over references and go through previous projects with you. It is one of the advantages of working with a local architectural designer that many of their projects will be accessible and easy to verify.

2) What Do You Need From Me?

Your architectural designer will need to know when the best time to meet with you is. That’s because they’ll want to show you bits of work as the project progresses. He or she may also need to ask questions about how to proceed if there’s an unavoidable change of plan due to a structural difficulty or budget cut etc. In other words, will you be around during the day to meet or will it be mostly early mornings, evenings or weekends?

3) Is There Anything About My Project That Causes Concern?

Ask what he or she regards as the most pressing areas of the project and the ones that are likely to throw up a few challenges such as with drainage, planning permission etc. Also, what they will do in the event they encounter difficulties. How did they deal with such difficulties on other projects?

4) Do You Have Insurance?

It’s absolutely crucial that your architectural designer is insured, otherwise if things go wrong you won’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to reclaiming for the cost of a botched or half-finished extension.

5) How Do You Work Out The Payment Structure?

You need to find out if your architectural designer wants to be paid in stages and whether or not that is the total cost of the project. Has he or she, for instance, included the cost of the upmarket fittings you fancy or are those the standard fittings he has budgeted for? Does the firm normally manage to stay within budget on a project?

Find Out More

For further advice on what you need to know before hiring an architectural designer in Derby, please take a look at our website BDS Architecture. You can also call us on 01332 830313 to speak with one of our advisers.

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