We didn’t ever formally sack Michael or tell him we wouldn’t be using him for the next phase of our project. There was no “It’s not you, it’s me” or “I’ve changed. You’ve changed. We’ve changed” phone call. It’s not as if we left him standing outside the Odeon Cinema with a dozen roses in his hand though. He said that his offer lasted until the end of November so come the first of December he must have figured out what happened.
Last week Paul, the builder with his name on his clothing, gave us a quote which was exactly the amount Michael had originally said the building would cost. Good news. Then, on Tuesday of this week Malcolm came to take measurements so that he can undertake the building regulations work. It turned out that he knew of rather than knew Basil Bailey but he was able to inform Marianna that the interior design of our house wasn't done by Basil himself but by the man who designed the third incarnation of the 'Bailey's; The Furniture People' shop. The carpeted walls and ceilings were his idea. I've been worshipping the wrong person. And the designer is still alive. We could track him down, give him a budget and see if he could work his magic again forty years later.
Friday, 4 December 2009
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Never Question The Great Oz
After receiving Malcolm’s much cheaper quote we emailed Michael, asking how it could be that we now had a formal quote based on the plans and it was still cheaper and why he now saw the cost of the project as being so much more than he previously did. Here is his response –
From: michael@$$$$$$$$$$$$$.com
To: pbodger@$$$$mail.co.uk
Subject: Building Regulation Fees
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:13
I refer to your email of 17th November 2009.
My fee proposal was based upon my calculation of the anticipated cost of the project including a contingency for unknowns, and potential client changes during the build. Those costs also include our involvement and incorporation of new heating installations throughout the house, together with a new electrical installation and other items we have previously discussed.
I am surprised at the building regulation fee you mention, and would sound a note of caution for you:-
1. Is the “Architect” you mention a fully qualified Architect on the ARKUK register and a RIBA member?
2. Is he or she a member of a Chartered Practice?
3. Is he or she a “one man band”?
4. Has he or she adequate professional indemnity insurance to protect your interests?
In my professional experience (of over 40 years), a bone-fide Architects practice cannot even break even on a fee so low, and their insurers would be unlikely to cover them for such an uncommercial fee on the basis that their risk to reward ratio would be unacceptable.
I can only say beware what you are contemplating, for in this world, it is a truth that you get what you pay for.
For my part, this practice is offering you a comprehensive and experienced service, which in the longer term will give you value for money, which requires investment in time at the building regulations drawing stage to incorporate or make allowances for all the personalising elements you have identified that you wish to be incorporated, to ensure a smooth and co-ordinated building project later.
I doubt whether the quoted fee will give that level of service, and I would be concerned regarding the on-going support you might receive during the building process, especially as you both have little or no experience of building projects.
I regret therefore that if you are inviting me to reconsider my fee again, then I must decline, and will look forward with interest over the coming months to see how your project is progressing.
If, however, you wish to reconsider, my offer remains open until the end of November.
Regards
MICHAEL PILKINGTON
PARTNER
It’s not good is it? There’s no ‘Dear Marianna and Patrick’ at the beginning and he now signs off with both names. And the reduction in his fee turns out to be an offer lasting for a limited period only. Clearly, he hasn’t been pleased that we have dared to question his fees. I feel there also a hint of threat in the “will look forward with interest over the coming months to see how your project is progressing” bit. Does that mean he’ll be standing across the road watching and laughing while it all collapses around our ears? Without even knowing Malcolm he classifies him as having the intellect and talent of the ‘Loose Women’ panel. He also felt the need to point out that he’s been doing this for over forty years. Is that to remind me that I’m funding a soon to begin retirement? Malcolm is no spring chicken but I only assumed he’d always been an architect. This time last year he may well have been sweeping the streets. The added extra that Michael offers is philosophy. He reminds us that “in this world, it is a truth that you get what you pay for”. This isn’t true. People pay me a fortune and all they get is prison. The first time I read his email I felt panicked and thought that we should stick with him to guarantee a good service but on reading it again it reads like blackmail.
Then, yesterday, we got a quote from Steve the builder which was just over half way between Michael’s original price and his new price. So we had to discuss whether we should cut our losses and go back to a ground floor extension only. This would mean new plans, a new application for planning permission and that the last few months had been wasted.
From: michael@$$$$$$$$$$$$$.com
To: pbodger@$$$$mail.co.uk
Subject: Building Regulation Fees
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:13
I refer to your email of 17th November 2009.
My fee proposal was based upon my calculation of the anticipated cost of the project including a contingency for unknowns, and potential client changes during the build. Those costs also include our involvement and incorporation of new heating installations throughout the house, together with a new electrical installation and other items we have previously discussed.
I am surprised at the building regulation fee you mention, and would sound a note of caution for you:-
1. Is the “Architect” you mention a fully qualified Architect on the ARKUK register and a RIBA member?
2. Is he or she a member of a Chartered Practice?
3. Is he or she a “one man band”?
4. Has he or she adequate professional indemnity insurance to protect your interests?
In my professional experience (of over 40 years), a bone-fide Architects practice cannot even break even on a fee so low, and their insurers would be unlikely to cover them for such an uncommercial fee on the basis that their risk to reward ratio would be unacceptable.
I can only say beware what you are contemplating, for in this world, it is a truth that you get what you pay for.
For my part, this practice is offering you a comprehensive and experienced service, which in the longer term will give you value for money, which requires investment in time at the building regulations drawing stage to incorporate or make allowances for all the personalising elements you have identified that you wish to be incorporated, to ensure a smooth and co-ordinated building project later.
I doubt whether the quoted fee will give that level of service, and I would be concerned regarding the on-going support you might receive during the building process, especially as you both have little or no experience of building projects.
I regret therefore that if you are inviting me to reconsider my fee again, then I must decline, and will look forward with interest over the coming months to see how your project is progressing.
If, however, you wish to reconsider, my offer remains open until the end of November.
Regards
MICHAEL PILKINGTON
PARTNER
It’s not good is it? There’s no ‘Dear Marianna and Patrick’ at the beginning and he now signs off with both names. And the reduction in his fee turns out to be an offer lasting for a limited period only. Clearly, he hasn’t been pleased that we have dared to question his fees. I feel there also a hint of threat in the “will look forward with interest over the coming months to see how your project is progressing” bit. Does that mean he’ll be standing across the road watching and laughing while it all collapses around our ears? Without even knowing Malcolm he classifies him as having the intellect and talent of the ‘Loose Women’ panel. He also felt the need to point out that he’s been doing this for over forty years. Is that to remind me that I’m funding a soon to begin retirement? Malcolm is no spring chicken but I only assumed he’d always been an architect. This time last year he may well have been sweeping the streets. The added extra that Michael offers is philosophy. He reminds us that “in this world, it is a truth that you get what you pay for”. This isn’t true. People pay me a fortune and all they get is prison. The first time I read his email I felt panicked and thought that we should stick with him to guarantee a good service but on reading it again it reads like blackmail.
Then, yesterday, we got a quote from Steve the builder which was just over half way between Michael’s original price and his new price. So we had to discuss whether we should cut our losses and go back to a ground floor extension only. This would mean new plans, a new application for planning permission and that the last few months had been wasted.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Amber
Sometimes it’s difficult to identify action and reaction, how one thing that you do, decision you make or thing that happens to you returns and impacts on you and your life later. It’s not like those domino tricks you used to see on Roy Castle’s Record Breakers where you saw the chain reaction. My current theory is this; a few years ago I was attacked by a patient. He did his absolute best to crack my skull open like a hard boiled egg using the base of a mug and his fist. Forty Six months later I bought this house. There’s clear cause and effect there. I was brain damaged. We bought a house that’s in a semi-derelict state so that we can spend a fortune fixing it up into a lovely house. Why didn’t we just buy one of those lovely finished houses and cut out the stressful bit in the middle? Taking on a house like this is like starting smoking in school; it initially seems fun but is a lifelong committment and can have long lasting health implications.
Things seemed to grind to a halt very quickly after we got the planning permission granted. Just before we got the notification Michael sent us the price structure for the next phase. In his original quote from months ago Stage 3 had ‘price to be agreed’ next to it. That seemed fine at the time. However, two of the other applicants in our original Architect Idol had given an indication of their prices at this stage. They were twenty five and forty percent of the figure Michael was now quoting us. This was a shock. He’d come up with this figure based on an estimation of the cost of the project which was now fifty percent more than it was the last time he estimated the cost. This was a bigger shock. I’m already working more than a seventy hour week and don’t want to commit myself to doing so for evermore to fund an ever growing project and his retirement. So, we hoped he had miscalculated somewhere. We sent him an email that politely said ‘WTF?’. He wrote back explaining the calculations but, as a goodwill gesture, took nearly a thousand pounds from his fee. It worried me how quickly and easily he did this. His estimation of the cost of the final project didn’t change though. On Sunday we drafted another email that queried this increase in the price but are yet to send it. The problem is that I have no idea if his prices are reasonable or not. It’s not like standing in the supermarket where you can compare the price and quality of product A and B and ownbrand C. He also wants us to make decisions now about the positioning of lights, sockets, materials for doors and windows and probably the colour of bathroom towels. During the week while I travelled the country, wrote reports and wished it would all go away Marianna was typically proactive and contacted a new architect and two builders.
Yesterday, Malcolm the architect visited. He was recommended by Becky, next door, months ago, but we lost the paper she wrote his name on and so he wasn’t part of the original Architect Idol. He was very like Sir Ian McKellan in looks and mannerisms and was very down to earth. He didn’t tour the house at all but did a through inspection of the plans. He was impressed by Michael’s design and the realisation of Marianna’s ideas and surprised that planning permission had been granted. Perhaps, with Michael, as well as his big office in the town centre, we’re paying for his connections. Or the huge fee is turned into pound notes in a brown envelope to go into a planning officer’s back pocket. A new worry that occurred to me is that very little of what helped us get the planning permission has been submitted to paper but is in Michael’s head. Malcolm's estimate of the final cost was back to where Michael had put it originally. Today Malcolm sent us his quote which was 40% of Michael’s fee. We’re not sure now if we should sack him or ask him if he can drop to this.
Today, at 9.15, Paul, a builder, visited. The name of his company was impressively printed on his truck, t-shirt and jacket. He toured the house with us, made notes and took it all very seriously. He was amazed by the house though and how much work would be involved while I was ashamed of the state of the house. We've now been here six months and haven't unpacked. We haven't reeally unpacked since we left Hull in August 2008. “It's a huge project. What were you thinking?” he asked me at one point. That’s not too encouraging is it? He said it was the second worst / biggest project he'd seen because so little of the existing building will be kept. I felt a little sad about this. I feel quite protective about the house and expect gasps of wonder and compliments. Everyone thinks their child is the best looking or most intelligent even though that couldn't possibly be true. He made it very clear that it would be impossible for us to live here during the building work and described how one team of men would be working on preparing for the extension while another gutted the existing house. Then, at eleven, Steve, the builder, called. He appeared slightly less professional and formal. He had Reebok printed on his shoes and Animal printed on his shirt which was a bit less impressive. He made little comment about all of it and followed us around the house somewhat passively. They both left with copies of the plans and will come up with prices to give us an idea whether Malcolm or Michael have been most accurate at estimating the costy of the building.
Things seemed to grind to a halt very quickly after we got the planning permission granted. Just before we got the notification Michael sent us the price structure for the next phase. In his original quote from months ago Stage 3 had ‘price to be agreed’ next to it. That seemed fine at the time. However, two of the other applicants in our original Architect Idol had given an indication of their prices at this stage. They were twenty five and forty percent of the figure Michael was now quoting us. This was a shock. He’d come up with this figure based on an estimation of the cost of the project which was now fifty percent more than it was the last time he estimated the cost. This was a bigger shock. I’m already working more than a seventy hour week and don’t want to commit myself to doing so for evermore to fund an ever growing project and his retirement. So, we hoped he had miscalculated somewhere. We sent him an email that politely said ‘WTF?’. He wrote back explaining the calculations but, as a goodwill gesture, took nearly a thousand pounds from his fee. It worried me how quickly and easily he did this. His estimation of the cost of the final project didn’t change though. On Sunday we drafted another email that queried this increase in the price but are yet to send it. The problem is that I have no idea if his prices are reasonable or not. It’s not like standing in the supermarket where you can compare the price and quality of product A and B and ownbrand C. He also wants us to make decisions now about the positioning of lights, sockets, materials for doors and windows and probably the colour of bathroom towels. During the week while I travelled the country, wrote reports and wished it would all go away Marianna was typically proactive and contacted a new architect and two builders.
Yesterday, Malcolm the architect visited. He was recommended by Becky, next door, months ago, but we lost the paper she wrote his name on and so he wasn’t part of the original Architect Idol. He was very like Sir Ian McKellan in looks and mannerisms and was very down to earth. He didn’t tour the house at all but did a through inspection of the plans. He was impressed by Michael’s design and the realisation of Marianna’s ideas and surprised that planning permission had been granted. Perhaps, with Michael, as well as his big office in the town centre, we’re paying for his connections. Or the huge fee is turned into pound notes in a brown envelope to go into a planning officer’s back pocket. A new worry that occurred to me is that very little of what helped us get the planning permission has been submitted to paper but is in Michael’s head. Malcolm's estimate of the final cost was back to where Michael had put it originally. Today Malcolm sent us his quote which was 40% of Michael’s fee. We’re not sure now if we should sack him or ask him if he can drop to this.
Today, at 9.15, Paul, a builder, visited. The name of his company was impressively printed on his truck, t-shirt and jacket. He toured the house with us, made notes and took it all very seriously. He was amazed by the house though and how much work would be involved while I was ashamed of the state of the house. We've now been here six months and haven't unpacked. We haven't reeally unpacked since we left Hull in August 2008. “It's a huge project. What were you thinking?” he asked me at one point. That’s not too encouraging is it? He said it was the second worst / biggest project he'd seen because so little of the existing building will be kept. I felt a little sad about this. I feel quite protective about the house and expect gasps of wonder and compliments. Everyone thinks their child is the best looking or most intelligent even though that couldn't possibly be true. He made it very clear that it would be impossible for us to live here during the building work and described how one team of men would be working on preparing for the extension while another gutted the existing house. Then, at eleven, Steve, the builder, called. He appeared slightly less professional and formal. He had Reebok printed on his shoes and Animal printed on his shirt which was a bit less impressive. He made little comment about all of it and followed us around the house somewhat passively. They both left with copies of the plans and will come up with prices to give us an idea whether Malcolm or Michael have been most accurate at estimating the costy of the building.
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