Anyone typing architects near me into a search bar is about to have three or four conversations that all sound reasonably similar. Distinguishing between them is harder than it should be, largely because the industry doesn’t explain its own pricing or process particularly well.
These are the questions worth asking, with the answers you should expect rather than the ones that sound reassuring.
Are you actually an architect?
The word is legally protected in the UK. Only someone registered with the Architects Registration Board can call themselves an architect, and you can check any name on the ARB register in about thirty seconds.
RIBA Chartered status is separate and voluntary, indicating membership of the professional body and its practice standards. Plenty of competent designers are neither, and they may be perfectly suitable for a modest project. Just know which one you’re hiring.
If someone is vague about this, that’s your answer.
What will this cost, and what’s included?
Residential fees typically fall between 6 and 12 per cent of construction cost, though smaller projects often work better on fixed fees per stage.
The useful question isn’t the percentage. It’s what the fee covers. A fee for planning drawings only is a fraction of a fee that carries you through building regulations, tender and site inspections, and comparing the two as though they’re equivalent is how people end up paying twice.
Ask for the scope stage by stage, in writing.
What are RIBA stages, in plain terms?
Stage 1 is establishing what you want and what the site allows. Stage 2 is concept design. Stage 3 is the developed design that goes to planning.
Stage 4 is technical design, which is where building regulations and construction detail get resolved. Stages 5 and 6 cover construction and handover.
Most homeowners assume planning approval means the drawings are finished. It doesn’t. Stage 3 drawings won’t build a house, and the gap between planning approval and buildable information is where a lot of budget surprises live.
Do I need planning permission at all?
Possibly not. Many extensions fall under permitted development, which allows a single storey rear extension of 4 metres for a detached house and 3 metres for a semi detached or terraced house without an application.
The prior approval route raises those to 8 metres and 6 metres respectively, subject to a 42 day neighbour consultation.
A full householder application costs £548 from April 2026 and carries an eight week decision target from validation, not submission. That distinction matters, because incomplete drawings can sit unvalidated for weeks.
How do I know if my rights have been removed?
Conservation areas, listed buildings and Article 4 Directions all restrict or eliminate permitted development. Article 4 is the difficult one, because it applies street by street and won’t be obvious from looking at the road.
Ealing has substantial conservation coverage alongside Article 4 areas, which is why any engagement with architects ealing should begin with a rights check on the specific address. Two houses that look identical can have entirely different starting positions.
Any architect who quotes a design approach before checking this is guessing.
Have you worked with my council before?
Local knowledge is genuinely useful, though not for the reason people assume. It isn’t about relationships. It’s about knowing which policies a particular authority applies strictly and which design approaches have failed there recently.
Ask about approval rates and about refusals. A practice that has never had an application refused either has a small sample or isn’t pushing anything ambitious.
Who does the structural engineering?
Most practices subcontract this. Some carry it in house, which is uncommon and changes the sequence of work considerably.
The reason it matters is that structural constraints should inform the layout rather than arrive afterwards. When the engineer is involved during design, beam depths get resolved inside ceiling zones. When they arrive after planning approval, you get bulkheads.
Extension Architecture keeps structural engineering in house, and on a Kingston project involving an A1 to A3 conversion of a former butcher’s unit to restaurant use, the structural approach was settled alongside the layout rather than after it.
What about building regulations?
Building regulations are separate from planning, and you need them in almost every case, regardless of whether you need planning permission.
Approved Document A covers structure, Part B fire safety and escape, Part K stairs and headroom, Part L insulation and energy performance. You’ll need either local authority building control or an approved inspector.
Ask explicitly whether building regulations drawings are in scope. Frequently they aren’t.
How long will this take?
For a typical house extension, six to eight months from first conversation to completion is realistic. Loft conversions tend to run five to seven.
The construction phase is often the shorter part. Design, consents and technical drawings account for a substantial share, and the prior approval route alone consumes six weeks in consultation.
Anyone promising a materially faster timeline is either compressing the design stage or hasn’t accounted for validation delays.
What could go wrong?
The honest answer is that several things routinely do, and a good architect will tell you which apply to your property before you appoint them.
Shallow existing foundations on period houses. Mature trees on clay soil affecting foundation depth under BS 5837:2012. Public sewers crossing the site requiring a build over agreement. Party wall notices under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, which can stop a build outright if skipped.
None of these are unusual. All of them are cheaper to identify at the survey stage than during construction.
The pattern across all ten questions is the same. The valuable work happens before anyone designs anything, and homeowners should hire practices that provide awkward information upfront rather than simply offering reassurance.