The process
How a domestic project runs
Architects divide a project into work stages, numbered 1 to 6. The numbers are shorthand for the profession. What follows is what each stage means for you, what I do in it, and what I need you to decide before it can close.
Read from the first stage to the last. Each stage closes with something signed off before the next one starts.
01 · RIBA Stage 1 · Preparation and briefing
Getting the brief right
I measure the house and model it as it stands, and we write down what the project has to do. I also find out what the site and its planning history will allow before anything is designed.
What I do
- Measured survey of the existing house, modelled in 3D
- Check the planning history, constraints, and whether any of the work is permitted development
- Write the brief down, so we are both working to the same thing
What you decide
- What you can spend, and what is fixed within it
- Which of your requirements are essential rather than desirable
Statutory
Nothing is submitted at this stage. If the house is listed or in a conservation area, this is where that is established.
Who else is involved. Usually no one but me.
02 · RIBA Stage 2 · Concept design
Drawing the idea
The idea takes shape. You see two or three options as plans and 3D views, and we settle on one. This is the stage where a change costs nothing but a conversation.
What I do
- Design options, modelled in 3D so you can walk through them before they exist
- A physical model where it helps you read the proposal
- A first test of the design against what you can spend, so nothing is drawn that cannot be built
What you decide
- Which option goes forward
- Whether to ask the council for informal advice before applying
Statutory
Pre‑application advice from the council is optional. There is a charge and no time limit, and what comes back is an officer’s opinion, not a decision.
Who else is involved. A structural engineer, if the structure is unusual enough to shape the design.
03 · RIBA Stage 3 · Spatial coordination
Applying for planning
The chosen design is coordinated with the structure, drawn properly, and submitted for planning permission. Once it goes in, the council’s timetable takes over.
What I do
- Coordinate the design with the engineer in one 3D model, so the structure is resolved before submission
- Prepare and submit the application, with a design and access or heritage statement where one is required
- Deal with the planning officer, neighbour comments, and the conditions attached to any approval
What you decide
- Sign the design off before it is submitted
- Whether to accept a change an officer asks for, or hold your position
Statutory
8 WEEKS to determine a householder application, from the day it is validated. 13 weeks for a larger or more complex scheme.
21 DAYS for neighbours and consultees to comment.
3 YEARS before a permission lapses if work has not started.
Who else is involved. Structural engineer. Depending on the site: an ecologist for bats or protected species, an arboriculturist for trees, a drainage engineer. I will tell you which are needed before you are asked to pay for any of them.
04 · RIBA Stage 4 · Technical design
Building regulations
Planning permission settles what the building may look like. It says nothing about how it is built. The building regulations application is where that case is made: structure, insulation, drainage, ventilation and fire.
What I do
- Drawings and notes showing how the building meets each part of the regulations, taken from the same 3D model
- Submit the application and answer building control’s comments until it is approved
- Coordinate the engineer’s calculations and any energy assessment into one set of information
What you decide
- Whether to apply on full plans, which gets it checked before work starts, or on a building notice, which does not — I will explain what each risks
- How the house is heated and insulated, which the regulations force you to settle early
Statutory
5 WEEKS for a decision on a full plans application, or up to two months if you agree an extension in writing.
3 YEARS before approved plans lapse if the work has not started.
Who else is involved. Structural engineer for calculations, an energy assessor where one is needed, and building control — either the council or a private inspector.
04 · RIBA Stage 4 · Technical design
The construction package
Approval proves the work is legal. It does not tell a builder how to build it. The construction package is the details, specification and schedules a builder needs in order to price the work properly and put it together as drawn. Thin information is the most common reason a price goes up once work has started.
What I do
- Junction details, a written specification and schedules of doors, windows and fittings, so quality is defined rather than assumed
- Issue the package to a shortlist of builders, so every price you receive is for the same work
- Go through the prices with you, query what looks wrong, and set up the building contract
What you decide
- Finishes, fittings and anything with a long delivery time
- Which builders are invited to price the work, and which one you appoint
Statutory
2 MONTHS notice to a neighbour for work to a party wall; one month for excavation near their foundations. Both must be served before the builder starts.
Nothing else here is statutory. This is the stage that protects your budget rather than satisfying a council.
Who else is involved. The builders pricing the work, a party wall surveyor if you are building close to a boundary, and on a larger project a quantity surveyor.
05 · RIBA Stage 5 · Manufacturing and construction
Building it
The builder is on site. I visit at agreed intervals to check the work against the drawings, answer the questions that always come up, and run the building contract between you and the builder.
What I do
- Visit the site and write to you after each visit, so you know what has happened without having to ask
- Answer the builder’s queries and issue any instruction in writing
- Certify what the builder is paid, and value any change before it is instructed
What you decide
- Any change once work has started — knowing what it costs and what it delays first
- Whether you stay in the house while the work goes on
Statutory
2 DAYS notice to building control before most stages are covered up — foundations, drainage, damp proofing.
As the person having the work done, you carry duties under the construction health and safety regulations. I will explain which, and what they mean in practice.
Who else is involved. The builder and their subcontractors, the building control inspector, the structural engineer for site queries, and the party wall surveyor if a notice is live.
06 · RIBA Stage 6 · Handover
Moving back in
The work is finished, the defects are listed and put right, and the paperwork that proves the building is legal comes through. Keep it somewhere safe — you will need it when you sell.
What I do
- Inspect the finished work and issue the list of defects to be put right
- Certify completion and hand over the certificates, guarantees and the as‑built drawings and model
- Come back at the end of the defects period to check what has been put right
What you decide
- When you are satisfied the snagging is done
- Whether I stay involved through the defects period
Statutory
8 WEEKS for building control to issue the completion certificate after the builder notifies them the work is finished, provided it complies.
The defects period is set by the building contract rather than by law — commonly six or twelve months.
Who else is involved. Building control, and the builder for as long as the defects period runs.
Statutory periods as published, September 2026. Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, art. 34.