Q&As

Our architect has suggested we should have a structural engineer. I would have thought the architect would provide the detailed design to include structural robustness. And surely a builder ought to know what size of beams and so on are required for a particular house. Is it usual to require structural engineer calculations for loadbearing […]

I want to build my own home, which I will eventually sell on. Is it worth building an eco-friendly one or is it not worth the added cost?

I am going to employ an architect to obtain detailed planning permission for our new house but am worried that if she is unsuccessful I will have paid her fees with nothing to show for it. Is there a way round this?

The plot we’re considering buying is perfect for our needs except that it has a telephone post in the middle of it. The plot is reasonably priced and has been on the market a long time and we suspect the cost of moving the pole has put off previous prospective purchasers. How should we proceed […]

The laminate floor in my dining room has a white mark, a bit like a coffee mug ring mark you might see on a wooden table. Is there any product around that I can use to treat it? I don’t want to replace the floor because it’s not all that old.

We have bought an old property and the internal non-load bearing partitions are in a very poor condition and need replacing. Could you advise us of the likely costs involved?

We have two quotations for our new 167m² (1,800ft²) house. The lower one is £240,000 but the other is much higher. What’s reasonable?

I am paying my architect a percentage fee of the value of the work in what I believe is the normal way but I also need the services of a structural engineer for some calculations for loadbearing items. What sort of payment arrangements should I make for him?