Independent Drawings & Specification ReviewFrom £300
How much does an independent drawing review cost in London?
An independent review of drawings that someone else produced costs our fixed £300 in London, with no VAT charged. We read your sheets, tell you in plain English what is wrong or missing, mark it on your own drawings and give your builder a short list of actions, in 3 to 5 working days.
The short answer: one fixed fee for three documents
Our independent drawing review costs £300. The report lists every issue with what to do about it, your own drawings come back with each issue clouded and numbered, and a short builder action schedule turns the report into a table with a space to sign off each item as it is dealt with.
Each issue is ranked Critical, Recommended or Minor so you know what to deal with first. Critical means fix it before submission or before work starts, Recommended means resolve it before the building regulations submission, and Minor covers tidy-ups that will not hold anything up.
- Read the sheets
We read the drawings you have against planning, building regulations, structure and fire.
- Rank the issues
Each issue is ranked Critical, Recommended or Minor, in plain English.
- Mark your drawings
Your own sheets come back with each issue clouded and numbered.
- Hand over the list
A builder action schedule lets each item be signed off as it is closed.
What a reviewer actually finds
Take stairs, the commonest loft problem. Approved Document K says the maximum pitch for a private stair is 42°, with a rise of between 150 and 220 mm and a going of between 220 and 300 mm (Approved Document K, Table 1.1). A stair squeezed onto a small landing can pass on a sketch and fail when drawn to scale.
Escape is the other. Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations requires that there are appropriate provisions for the early warning of fire, and appropriate means of escape in case of fire, and a loft priced without anyone asking how people get out is a Critical item. Structure is the third: a new opening needs the loads carried to the ground, which means calculations somebody has done.
Planning checks: do the sheets agree with each other
A planning application needs plans drawn to an identified scale with the direction of north shown (Planning Practice Guidance), and the sheets should agree with one another: the same dimensions on plan, elevation and section, a sensible scale, and the extent of the proposal shown properly.
We also read whether the scheme looks likely to fall within permitted development or to need a full application. A set that mixes the two routes confuses the officer, and a review is cheaper than an invalid application.
When to get a review
The earlier the better, because a line on a drawing is cheaper to change than a built wall. Three moments suit: before a planning submission, before the building regulations submission and before work starts on site, when a builder is about to price or order steel from the drawings.
A review is not a redraw. If the sheets are poor, we say so and quote a redraw separately, for example building regulations drawings or structural calculations. The service is on the independent drawing review page.
Sources
Every figure in this article, where it comes from and a link to the original.
- 42°: Approved Document K (2013 edition), Table 1.1 note 1: (source wording: "The maximum pitch for a private stair is 42°"). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
- between 150 and 220 mm: Approved Document K, Table 1.1: private stair rise (source wording: minimum 150 mm, maximum 220 mm). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
- between 220 and 300 mm: Approved Document K, Table 1.1: private stair going (source wording: minimum 220 mm, maximum 300 mm). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
- appropriate provisions for the early warning of fire, and appropriate means of escape in case of fire: Building Regulations 2010 Sch 1 Part B1: (source wording: "appropriate provisions for the early warning of fire, and appropriate means of escape in case of fire"). www.legislation.gov.uk
- identified scale: PPG Making an application, para 023: (source wording: "Any plans or drawings must be drawn to an identified scale"). www.gov.uk
- direction of north: PPG Making an application, para 023: (source wording: "in the case of plans, must show the direction of north"). www.gov.uk
Questions people ask
Do you redraw anything?
Do I pay VAT on your fee?
Do you certify the structure?
Can I use it before applying?
Is it a guarantee of approval?
Photographs: Matt Seymour (Unsplash License); Brett Jordan (Pexels License).
Independent Drawings & Specification Review: a fixed fee from £300
Read more on the independent drawings & specification review service page, or send your address below and we reply within one working day.
Independent Drawings & Specification Review
from £300
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- A written report in plain English, with every issue ranked and a recommended fix
- Your own drawings marked up, with each issue clouded and numbered
- A builder action schedule with a sign-off box against each item
- A review of planning, building regulations, structure and fire
- A report in 3 to 5 working days