Services
Dormer and Co. Chartered Architects is a practice committed to delivering the highest standard of architectural services from feasibility to completion. We provide a tailored, personal service, transforming homes and commercial properties across Yorkshire and beyond, with a speciality in residential design. From small scale extensions to whole house remodelling and award winning designs, we provide the help and support from start to finish to maximise the potential of your project to create your dream home.
We aim to respond to your requirements with flair and understanding. Each project has opportunities to create something that answers your requirements and much more, whilst still remaining within budget and on time.
As a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Chartered Practice, we follow a process called the RIBA Plan of Work, which is designed to guide the project through a series of stages from inception to completion. This helps you, as the client, to understand the design development and construction process, and assists us as, designers, to guide the project in a consistent and transparent manner. The Plan of Work is divided into eight stages.
STAGE ZERO
We will meet with you to gain an understanding of your needs, your budget, the building or site, and develop your project brief with you. This allows us to advise on the most appropriate and feasible way to maximise the potential of your project, in relation to design, cost, planning and building regulation requirements. Our first meeting with you is usually at your property or site and there is no charge for this. We will then write to you outlining our fees and identifying any other project costs that we anticipate.
STAGES ONE & TWO
Should our terms be acceptable to you, we will carry out or arrange a measured survey of any existing buildings or site to allow us to develop drawn proposals, sketches and concepts.
Our ideas can be presented in different media, depending on what is appropriate to your project. We aim to bring imagination and creativity to our proposals to maximise the potential of your brief, whilst retaining a practical overview and awareness of cost. The drawings presented at this time will help you to understand our ideas and will allow us to refine the proposals with your input.
STAGE THREE
Once we have agreed the final scheme with you, we will advise you as to what Local Authority Planning Consents are required. The approved concepts will then be developed further to accompany the Planning Application which will be submitted to the Local Authority on your behalf.
STAGE FOUR
Assuming there is a successful outcome to the Planning Application, the proposals are developed further, detailed construction drawings, schedules and specifications are produced, suitable firstly for obtaining Building Regulation Approval and secondly for negotiating a fixed price or obtaining competitive tenders. At this time, other consultants may be required, and we will advise on these at the appropriate time.
STAGE FIVE
Should you require it, we are able to oversee your project on site and offer a contract administration service between yourself and the building contractor. This includes, preparing the building contracts, regular site visits to review the construction, site meetings with you and the contractor, as well as certifying stage payments to the builder.
STAGES SIX & SEVEN
Towards the end of the construction stages, as part of the contract administration service, we will organise the ‘handover’ of the project from the building contractor to yourself as the client. This would include, outstanding payments, inspections to ascertain any defects, and practical completion. As part of our role as contract administrator, we will manage the retention monies (a percentage of the contract value withheld from the contractor to cover any defects that become evident in the period immediately post completion), arranging for this to be released once all defects have been satisfactorily addressed. A document will also be provided to you towards the end of these stages which highlights any significant maintenance requirements for the project during its expected lifetime.
PRINCIPAL DESIGNER
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (‘CDM Regulations’), the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) and The Building Regulations 2010 (‘Building Regulations’) as amended by The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 considers all parties involved in the construction process to be ‘dutyholders’ with the distinct roles of Domestic Client, Designer/Principal Designer and Contractor/Principal Contractor in connection with the design and execution of construction work. These aim to ensure that construction work, buildings, and any alterations made to them are safe to build, occupy, maintain and demolish and that they comply with the relevant requirements of the Building Regulations (‘relevant requirements’). All of the dutyholder roles are regulatory requirements and carry prescriptive duties which we will outline to you. The Principal Designer needs to be a member of the design team, and so we would be able to carry out this service on your behalf. More details of these roles can be found below:
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (‘CDM Regulations’) www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg411.pdf
‘The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 Part 2A Dutyholders and competence’ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/911/regulation/6/made
Prior to undertaking any services in connection with your project, we are required to advise you of the duties that you have as a Domestic Client.
All of our Architectural and Principal Designer Services are provided under the terms of the RIBA Professional Services Contracts (2018). A range of these are available as follows to suit varying scales and types of project. We will provide more details of the duty holder roles in our initial quotation and advise as to which contracts are applicable to your project. The terms of these apply following any verbal, electronic or written acceptance of a quotation for Architectural or Principal Designers Services.
RIBA Domestic Professional Services Contract 2020: Architectural Services
RIBA Concise Professional Services Contract 2020: Architectural Services
RIBA Standard Professional Services Contract 2020: Architectural Services