The A-to-Z of building a new home... A

A - Architect - an ARCHITECT is there to not only design you a building but also TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE BUILD PROCESS, which can often be a daunting exercise. The design of your home is the most important thing of all, so don't scrimp on it! 'Architect' is a term devoted to a designer that has attended university, taken 7 years to qualify and is registered with the Architects Registration Board. Not all house designers are ARCHITECTS and not all architects are good house designers. Choose the person rather than the title and remember to find an architect that understands your brief, will listen to you and has a good portfolio of work that you like. All architects are able to provide a full project management service which is likely to be costed as a percentage of 7-15% of the total build cost. Some will operate on a fixed fee service and some based on hourly rates for designs only. Others offer supervision and stage sign-offs. You can check if someone calling themselves an Architect is really an architect by looking on www.arb.co.uk. A - Arborist - if you have a site where there are old or beautiful specimens of trees, or it is set in woodland you will no doubt need to check if any of the trees are protected by TPO's and have a tree survey carried out - known as an Arborist Report. This is a survey carried out by a trained Arborist and encompasses a site plan marking all tree locations, species, height, root spread, condition and shadow projection, along with a report. This information will be used to inform your design, where you can build on site and your method of construction. This information will need to be used as part of your documentation for submission to planning. When it comes to starting works on site the Arborist will need to prepare a method statement for protection of trees during construction - this will need to be submitted to planning to satisfy their condition release.