Frequently Asked Questions

Why are your fees considerably less than traditional practices?
Traditional Architects can charge anywhere between £700 and £1000 plus to design a garage conversion. Garage Conversion Plans Online charge a fixed fee of £449.00. We can do this by keeping our overheads low and passing on these savings to you. Typical examples of this is the fact that we don't employ a Secretary or have an office in a town centre, these two points I would estimate save us around £75.000 a year, and we also employ the use of state-of-the-art computer aided design software to save us time.

What areas do you cover?
We can travel up to 200 miles from Derby to design your garage conversion, please see the map below to find out if we cover your area.

If you would like to check if we cover your area, then please use the Contact us link and send us an e-mail.

What will the total cost be for the plans and the Council Applications?

Typical Price
Design Fee	£449.00
Building Regulations Fee	£150.00
Total:	£599.00

Do your fees include VAT?
The price quoted is the price that you will pay, we do not believe in hidden charges and we hope to build our client base by recommendation and word of mouth, I personally don't like taking my car to a garage and asking for a price, only to find out later when I pick the car up that VAT has been added.

Do you guarantee a Building Regulations approval?
Yes, we GUARANTEE a Building Regulations approval. Over the years we have completed hundreds of garage conversions and have never had a single one rejected.

Why should I choose your services and what are the advantages?
The advantages of having a fully approved set of plans enable you to choose any builder you would like to construct your garage conversion.

The simple fact is, the more control you have selecting your builder, the more control you have over the cost of the garage conversion.

I have known of garage conversion companies quoting £10,000 - £15,000 for a garage conversion, and the client then getting their own builder and completing the job for less than £5,000.

If you use a garage conversion franchise, the franchise will have to pay up to 20% of the fee per job, back the parent company as part of the franchise agreement, as you can imagine this is added onto your bill.

Do you apply to the Local Authority for Building Regulations?
Yes, we fill out all of the forms and submit your application to your Local Authority, and act as agent should they have any queries.

Do your fees include the Local Authority Building Regulations fee?
No, the Building Regulations plan check fee is payable to the Local Authority and is paid by the homeowner. The Building Regulations plan check fee is usually between £135.00 and £165.00, dependant upon your Local Authority.

What happens if the Council want our garage conversion amending, and do you charge for this?
No, We don't charge for making amendments to your plans, these are included in our fees.

How many sets of plans will I get?
We provide the homeowner with 4 sets of plans. We also send you a copy of the plans in PDF format by email, should you wish to print your own additional copies.

How detailed are your drawings?
Our drawings are extremely detailed and fully annotated. All of our work is produced in the UK by qualified staff. Typically a set of drawings will include existing and proposed plans and elevations. Our drawings are far more detailed than actually required for Building Regulations approval. All of our drawings are computer generated using the latest AutoCAD software. Samples of our drawings are available for viewing on this web site here.

How long do the approvals from the Local Authority take to be processed?
The time it takes Local Authorities to process a Building Regulations application is around 3 to 5 weeks.

Can I start building my garage conversion before obtaining Building Regulation Approval?
No - we recommend that you obtain a Building Regulation approval before your builder starts the work. This covers your builder so he knows the plans have been approved by the Local Authority.

Do you have any general advice about a garage conversion?
We would recommend that you stay away from Building Notice applications, this is where a builder constructs your garage conversion without a set of approved plans.

If you don't like your garage conversion after it's been constructed or the Building Inspector finds a problem, it can prove costly to change.

A set of approved plans will resolve these issues before the garage conversion is even started.

What other services do you provide?
We also design external garages, domestic extensions, loft conversions, porches and conservatories for Planning Permission and Building Regulations submissions to you Local Authority.

If you have a question that you would like us to answer please use the Contact us link, and I will post them to this page.