In my country, Japan, houses and flats are usually designed by qualified architects, so I assumed that I would need an architect to prepare my drawings for a loft conversion in England. Much to my surprise, however, it turned out I was wrong – I didn’t need an architect to design my loft conversion.
I learnt that “draughtsmen” can prepare technical drawings and plans for loft conversions. Their fees are a lot cheaper than architects, so if your project is a simple and straightforward loft conversion, go for a draughtsman rather than an architect.
As I wanted to hire someone local, I turned to the Nextdoor app and found an architectural design studio in east London. John from Discount Plans came to my flat in Redbridge to do a survey. He took photos of the attic for me as I couldn’t get there myself.
Two weeks after the survey, I was impressed to receive a set of very detailed drawings. These are called Building Regulations Drawings.
For my Building Regulations Drawings, I paid Discount Plans £700 at a discount price (their usual fee is £950 as of 2021). As they were a lot cheaper than other companies, I was unsure about the level of drawings I would receive. However, I know now that there was nothing to worry about.