You could always ask the architect the fees, rather than rely on what your friend says about somebody elses's sevices. I would be very surprised if it was 40% extra. I was recently involved with an interstate project where I could not be on-site. A local architect was engaged for the contract administration. The builder had not had an architect involved with the contract administration before. The architect saved the client tens of thousands of dollars as a lot of work was not up to standard, with the builder cutting corners, and substituting materials, which had to be rectified. This included pouring a concrete slab over a neighbours boundary! This appeared to be their standard practice as they were not used to having their work carefully scutinised, and payments withheld, as part of a contract administration process. At the end of the day I don't know if the builder made any profit, but the client did get the building work that they paid for, so received excellent value from the architect's contract administration services. I am sure that lots of people in Houzz who have horror stories of renovations that have developed problems, sometimes due unforeseen circumstances, and have ended up in a confrontational manner with a builder. There are also clients who have unrealistic expectations about the level of finishes that are physically achievable when working with an existing building (which is never square and perfect). If building work goes wrong it can be very expensive, and confrontational. Engaging an architect for contract administration is like an insurance policy and puts a buffer between a builder and client so things stay civil. The architect can work as a third party to administer any changes and variations that invariably creep into the building process in a fair and equal manner to both builder and client. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Hi, We are looking for an architect practice to design an extension for our house in Dulwich. Ideally the architect would be comfortable working within a budget and also with specific design constraints (an existing Garage that we would like to convert) as well as one who can design an extension that can be completed in stages (so we don't have to move out). We have a builder and are ready to embark on the project so if you can help then please let us know. Regards Adrian

You said you loved the concept design but then the estimates came in too high. Find some more money so you can do it or do what the architect has suggested by going single storey. We all see some quite bland designs, standard fit out, cookie cutter as you noted; this is all due to budget being too low for the brief. Plenty of Projects all get watered down so they're affordable. Plenty of additions to dwellings can just be expensive to achieve. Do some quick calculations yourself - minimum $2500+ per square metre of new added space for bog standard fit out. Add in the bathroom at $20k, kitchen at $20k, laundry $8k, staircase at $15k, fire rated walls between existing and new, upgrading existing dwelling...... plenty of architect designed residential homes are pushing $5k per square metre. This is not really 100% accurate just ballpark figures to get started on so we don't end with a project we can't afford. It just adds up real quick. The designer should have known budget up front and worked to that or at least been within 10% at this early stage. Build costs between builders shouldn't be that far apart unless one is missing something so I wouldn't bother builder shopping with plans missing vital construction details just yet. If you're unhappy with current architect, move on to another. Why not consider a building designer or a local draftsman perhaps.

Would love to see your house plan, site plan and any photos, perhaps we Houzzers can offer you some ideas that you could then take to your local Professional, ?