SERVICES

Following the opening discussions to establish your requirements, D.H. Design & Build Ltd will provide sketch proposals, working with you and to suit your requirements, with the objective of progressing your design as smoothly and quickly as necessary to suit all agreed timescales.

We will produce your proposed building designs for your review, from our extensive experience and expertise we will make recommendations which will facilitate (where possible) your design whilst providing you with the most cost effective solution. Our drawings will be issued via email and by hard copy if required.

If your property benefits from Permitted Development (PD) rights, it may be possible to construct an extension or loft conversion without submitting a planning application. PD rights are an automatic grant of planning permission which allows certain building works and change of use to be carried out without having to make a planning application. Most houses have PD rights, but flats and maisonettes  do not, so planning permission would be required.

Upon appointment and agreement of the brief, we carry out a full measured building survey of the property using a combination of a hand-held electronic measuring device and the good old fashioned steel tape measure. If the site is particularly complex e.g. complex level changes, steep sites, irregular shaped buildings etc, a full Topographical site survey will be required using more complex GPS survey instruments. Services e.g. drains may need to be measured/investigated by specialists if we cannot easily identify them on site.

From the survey data, initial hand-drawn sketches and clients brief, we will the prepare preliminary plans and elevations, followed by a meeting with the client to review the designs and amend as required. All drawings will.be produced  using our  up-to-date Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. These drawings can be emailed to you as a PDF document for viewing.

Once the initial sketch proposals are agreed, we will then produce planning application drawings consisting of detailed floor plans, elevations, roof plans and Site plans. We aim to provide a clear and concise set of information that will provide your local authority with a good understanding of your proposal. We deal directly with the local authority and complete and submit all drawings and applications on your behalf.

When planning approval is granted we then look at producing a detailed Building Regulations application package. This will include detailed drawings, section details and a construction specification & will provide concise information for all aspects of the build. We issue all information to approved building control inspectors on your behalf & it is these drawings that can be passed onto builders/contractors for tendering. The amount of detail on the drawings at this stage is critical to ensure that tendering contractors have all the required information to provide you with an accurate price.

As a result of the previously mentioned surveys, we may need to engage with other specialists to identify and assess possible implications of the proposed development. These may include appointing the services of a Planning Consultant, Structural Engineer, Tree Consultant, Floor Specialist/ Civil Engineer, SAP Calculation Enginee, Ecologist/BAT Consultant, Party Wall Surveyor, Historic Buildings Consultant or Thames Water/Other Water Authority.

Please contact us for further details and we will provide you with contact details for a consultant who specialises in their field.