WHAT A SELF-EMPLOYED ARCHITECT/ARCHITECTURAL TECHNICIAN DOES ON A DAILY BASIS?

WHAT DOES AN ARCHITECT/ARCHITECTURAL TECHNICIAN DOES ON A DAILY BASIS?

In this latest blog, we are going to explain what is involved in a typical day of working as a self-employed Architect/Architectural Technician (Okay, maybe not every Architect, however from my experience this is the case).

A typical day starts at 5am…make a coffee and get to work for an hour or two before the kids wake.

Sometimes…. I will do some sketching; however, this is when I can get caught up with emails and even do some invoicing until 7:30am.

Time to go to the office for 9am, where we will have a coffee while going over the projects with the staff and set priorities for that day.

9:30-10am, its either time to visit a client’s property for a measured survey or a consultation.

Back to the office to file the survey and in to the to do list before lunch time, which is normally on-the-go so anything messy is not a great idea.

After lunch…. a few quotations from the enquiries/consultations from today/yesterday.

1pm, it's time to do some further information requests from the local building standards departments, which can range from additional sections, details, more information to specification or just chasing up information from 3^rd parties such as structural engineers.

Between 4-5pm we will upload the additional information to the portal (where all plans get sent to Local Authority) of the various jobs and answer some emails/any missed telephone calls.

7pm and its time to start again until about 10pm, which on occasion I will find myself doing work on the floor of a basketball court while one of my children are training, in a hotel room or at home.

In between all this there will be phone calls, messages, emails, site visits, changes to sketches, banking, payroll, and general office duties.

If you are thinking about being an Architect/Architectural Technician, then remember it’s not all just drawing, however there is nothing better than seeing something built that you have drawn on paper and worked so hard to obtain the permissions.

How to get your planning permission and/or building warrant for free?

 

HOW TO GET YOUR PLANNING PERMISSION/BUILDING WARRANT FOR FREE?

In this latest blog, we are going to explain how you can get your planning permission and/or building warrant application for FREE….

If you are planning an extension/alterations to your property, which is for the benefit of a disabled person within the home, then the council will allow the fee to be waivered.

HOW TO TELL THE COUNCIL?

When your architect submits your plans to the local authority, they will also submit a letter from your doctor/occupational therapist regarding the disability person and how the alterations will help.

The council will then confirm acceptance of this and will save you £100’s

OTHER WAYS TO ALTER YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT COSTING YOU?

There is also grants available from local authorities and can apply on the below link.

Disabled Facilities Grants: How to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The main criteria for the grants are, you or someone else living in the house must be disabled, intend to live in the property during the grant period (usually 5 years but this can be shorter, for example, if the person is terminally ill).

The person who submits the application must be either the owner, tenant, landlord.

The council needs to be happy that the work is necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person’s needs, reasonable and can be done, depending on the age and condition of the property.

The work should be completed within 12 months of the grant being approved.

When is the quiet time for Architects?

 

Is there a quiet time for an Architect?

Typically the quietest time for an Architect is December and January, however the last few years have been mayhem with Architects/Technicians being busy more than ever.

Typically the reason for these quiet spells are people concentrating on Christmas/holidays, however its a great time for Architects to get caught up with paperwork.

I also think that another reason for this is people don't quite understand the process of obtaining the permissions, as these take a few months, thus if thinking of an extension in the Spring/Summer then you should be engaging with an architect in the Winter.

Non stop architecture through COVID

December 2022 and January 2023 seemed to be back to pre-covid, however the last 2 months have been busier than ever...the next few months will be telling.