# Cost of House Plans and Submitting Planning Application



## DeBarr

Hi all, 

Just a quick query on what you would expect to pay an architect for preparing house plans and submitting an application. 

Myself and my wife are getting plans drawn up for a build in County Wexford. Size of house is about 2500 sq. ft - estimated build cost of 300K. We have a quote for an architect for €1500 for the initial plans and €4000 for submitting the planning application. There are other incidentals as well but  these are not significant. The above figures are net of VAT and do not include work plans.

Does these sound about the right ballpark figures?

Many thanks
DeBarr


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## Salmon

Debarr,

Not sure about the cost of an architect, but I got an engineer to prepare the plans and the application for a total fee of 2k. I had an idea of the type of house i wanted and i found a similar one in a house plan book i bought and the engineer modified that for me to suit my requirements. I suppose if you need an architect to design something 'different' then paying an architect is probably the way to go, but if you want something a little more 'standard' i'd recommend going with an engineer. Dont forget you'll also need to pay someone for supervising the build and thats gonna cost me around 1.5k.

Best of luck,

Oh yeah, im in the midlands if that helps!


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## Lorz

We got burnt quite badly from a so called Architect.  The first piece of advice is to ensure that your Architect is in fact a qualified Architect and registered with RIAI.  http://www.riai.ie/?id=5761 

If you don't want anything too modern, then it might be worthwhile checking out http://www.irish-house-plans.com/ - TBH it would be worthwhile checking the site out anyway to have an idea of what you want before you meet your architect.  Typical cost of "Planning pack" house plans for 2 storey ~€700.  Also, you can change the interior of the house to suit your needs - even after planning - although you can't move windows or external doors after planning has been granted.

The planning application isn't too difficult and the staff at the public counter in your LA planning office are usually very helpful.  I submitted our application and there was no problem.  TBH the "Architect" that was charging €6k in Cork made several mistakes with the application that he was going to submit so I decided to submit ours instead.  All LA have guidelines on their site.

TBH €4000 to submit your application is excessive IMO.  Are you sure that is all this fee is covering - his cost of €1500 for the plans is quite reasonable - are you sure the €4k doesn't include on-site supervision during the build process too?

Best of luck.


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## bacchus

I do not much about architect fees, etc.. but for what it is worth and from memory the "raw" cost for a submission is about €50 to planning authorities (in South Dublin) and €60 for getting location maps from ordnance survey.


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## Lorz

Here's a link to Cork Co Co planning guidelines...

http://www.corkcoco.ie/co/web/Cork%20County%20Council/Departments/Planning/Planning%20Guides

From memory the cost of our submission was ~€80 and the maps from Ordnance Survey Ireland Mapping Agent (Planning pack) was ~€90

[broken link removed]


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## Winnie

€4k doesnt sound bad actually.  
Our architect charged €3,500 for 3,500 sq foot house.
In terms of handling the planning process for you - there is a lot more to it than just handing in the application properly filled in!  A good architect will know what the planning authorities look for & will give guidance in the design & choosing of a site etc to minimise the likelyhood of objections from the council.  
In addition a good architect will also deal with requests for further information from the planners & will (hopefully) have a good relationship with the planners & so will be able to discuss reasons for objections etc without getting emotional/angry etc (as the applicant will due to  having a personal interest)

The only thing i would wonder about is that the plans only cost €1,500 - what is the rest of the €4k..........basically our €3.5k was for the plans & as part of that he submits application.

I amnt convinced by those one size fits all house plans books.......our architect designed the house specifically to suit the site orientation etc as well as our needs.  None of the house plans books had exactly what I wanted - I wanted bits and pieces from all of them!

I don't consider €4k to get the design of the house right at the beginning excessive in the context of total build cost of €300k......sure you would probably spend that on a suite of furniture when the house is built.  I would prefer to scrimp on the decor for the first few years than on the basic design of the house which will last forever!

Good luck with the planning


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## starman

i have just been through the process in the dun laoghaire rathdown area! my cost ended up at 3500, after a first refusal, would have been 3k! depending on the complexities of the house and design can mean more work for the architect, but dont be fooled by many sales pitches and looking for a percentage of the build cost! Get EVERYTHING in writing before hand! a price for planning drawings, os planning pack (65) application (65)! the cost of construction drawings afterwards and build supervision! dont take 1 step at a time and then realise the next step is costing alot more! know exactly what your getting into


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## Lorz

I have read the original post as €1500 for plans which as I've said is very good but an *additional* €4000 for submitting the application ie total cost of €5500 - which IMO is expensive.  Although as stated the cost of plans is quite reasonable so I would imagine the €4000 incl. on-site supervision during construction stage.  Wait for OP to respond/confirm.


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## DeBarr

Thanks a million for all the posts guys. The 4K figure does not include supervisory work while the build is in progress so the quote does look a bit expensive alright. 

The council can be pretty picky when it comes to designs in the area so maybe he's covering his bases in the event of a complete redesign. I'll have to start negotiating!


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## Lorz

It's always a good idea to talk to or meet with your area planner before you submit your application.  Discuss with them what you are hoping to build and see if that fits in with their plans for the area.  Obviously if all houses in your area are bungalows the chances of you getting a 2storey are slim so discuss this with the planner to make sure you're both "singing from the same hymn sheet!".


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