Frequently Asked Questions

  • Most traditional architects hand over a set of drawings and step back. We don’t. We’re just as comfortable on site in steel-capped boots as we are at the drawing board. We’ll stick with you from that first sketch right through to the final lick of paint – helping with builder selection, site visits, and spotting issues before they become costly problems. It’s a full-service, low-stress experience.

  • You decide. We offer our services in clear stages – from concept design and planning through to tender analysis and construction support. Of course, we’d love to work with you from beginning to end, and get your project built exactly how you envision it but it’s up to you. If you decide to put your plans on pause during the process, that’s also fine, you only pay for the stages we’ve worked on together.

  • Yes – and a lot more than our fee. But we ask you to think why you’re extending. Is it to add value financially or is it to get more out of your house. Think of it as an investment into your family’s life rather than the people who will live there next.

    We design for light, flow, and clever space use, which buyers love but more directly, we help avoid expensive mistakes (e.g., structural issues, rejected planning applications) and can manage the builder tender to get you competitive quotes. We’ll save you the cost of our fee in one tender negotiation.

  • Anything from small rear extensions, side returns, and loft conversions to complete house renovations and new-build houses. We don’t do massive commercial blocks – residential homes are our passion. If someone lives in it, we love it.

  • Just head to our contact page, give us an email (info@rawarchitects.co.uk) or give us a call (07879 443 655). We can arrange a call or a site visit to talk through your ideas, give initial thoughts, and explain our fees. No hard sell – just friendly, practical advice. We spend more than enough time at our computers drawing and emailing, so we much prefer meeting you and seeing your home in person.

Working with RAW

  • Yes – and a lot more than our fee. But we ask you to think why you’re extending. Is it to add value financially or is it to get more out of your house. Think of it as an investment into your family’s life rather than the people who will live there next.

    We design for light, flow, and clever space use, which buyers love but more directly, we help avoid expensive mistakes (e.g., structural issues, rejected planning applications) and can manage the builder tender to get you competitive quotes. We’ll save you the cost of our fee in one tender negotiation.

  • Many small extensions fall under Permitted Development (PD) rights, but there are strict limits on height, depth, and volume (e.g., for a rear extension: no more than 3m deep for a semi-detached, or 4m for a detached house) We check your property’s PD status and handle the application or lawful development certificate for you.

  • Most householder applications take 8–10 weeks from submission. Before that, we spend 2–6 weeks preparing drawings, surveys, and, for more complicated projects, pre-application advice requests.

  • Planning permission = does your proposal look acceptable and fit with the neighbourhood? (design, size, neighbour impact)  

    Building regulations = is it technically safe? (structure, fire, insulation, electrics, drainage)  

    You nearly always need both. We manage both applications, so you don’t have to become an expert. Once you have planning permission, we can recommend building control companies we often work with.

The Planning Process

  • Yes – and this is where we really earn our fee. We prepare a detailed tender pack (drawings and specs). We work with a whole roster of builders, and depending on your budget and timelines, we recommend sending it to 3 builders. If you have a builder in mind already, we can absolutely include them too, you’re in charge! We then analyse their quotes so you can compare fairly.

  • It depends. For a knock-through kitchen extension, many people stay (it’s dusty but manageable). For a full internal renovation or loft conversion, moving out for 3–6 months is often less stressful.

    We’ll be completely honest with you, we’ve lived through two renovations ourselves (once with a newborn!) and if we had the budget, we would have moved out. It’s hard handing your home over to a builder and watching it be knocked apart. Cooking on a camping stove can be fun, but it’s not for everyone!

    If it’s not an option and we completely understand it isn’t for most people, we’ll be realistic with you and help phase the work to minimise disruption.

  • We have a trusted network we’ve used on dozens of projects: structural engineers, interior designers, window suppliers – you name it. You can use our team, or bring your own, it’s entirely up to you.

The Build