FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Explore our most commonly asked questions below.

About BetterLivingSpace

BetterLivingSpace is an architectural design and structural engineering studio in Cobham, Surrey. We design house extensions, loft conversions, garage conversions, redesigns and new builds, calculate the structure, and manage planning permission and Building Control for you. One team takes a project from first sketch to approved, build-ready drawings.

We also produce 3D models and virtual reality walkthroughs, prepare tender packs for builders, offer build management, and work with independent interior designers on finishes. We take on residential and commercial projects.
Our studio is in Cobham, Surrey, a few minutes from the M25, with parking on site. We work across Surrey, London and the South East, and regularly submit to Elmbridge, Woking, Guildford, Mole Valley and Kingston councils. If you are in Cobham, Esher, Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames, Woking, Guildford, Leatherhead, Dorking or Kingston upon Thames, we are likely to know your council's planning officers and local design guidance already.
BetterLivingSpace Ltd was established in 2015. Since then we have completed hundreds of residential and commercial projects across the South East.

We are architectural designers and structural engineers working in one in-house team. For most extensions, loft conversions and home remodels, you need planning drawings, Building Regulations drawings and structural calculations. We produce all three, so you do not have to hire and coordinate separate firms.

Because the design and the structure are worked out together from day one. When an architect and an engineer work at separate firms, the engineer often sees the plans late, finds that a beam or opening does not work as drawn, and the drawings go back for changes. That costs weeks and fees.

Our engineers check the structure while the design is still on screen. There is no outsourcing delay, and the drawings that reach your builder already agree with the calculations.

Yes. We provided the structural engineering on a Woking home featured on Sarah Beeny's Renovate Don't Relocate (series 2, episode 28). The owner wanted to open up the back of her house into one kitchen and living space so she could watch her grandchildren while cooking. We designed a box frame structure that gave a flush finish on each side of the new opening.

Yes. Your first consultation is free and there is no obligation to go ahead. We can meet at your home, at our Cobham studio, by video call or by phone. Call 03301 757601 or email enquiries@betterlivingspace.com.

Services and costs

We design single-storey and two-storey house extensions, side return and wraparound extensions, loft conversions (dormer, hip-to-gable and mansard), garage conversions, internal remodels such as knocking through walls, and custom new-build homes. We also take on commercial conversions and redesigns.

Our fee depends on the size and complexity of the project and which stages you need: planning drawings only, or planning drawings plus Building Regulations drawings and structural calculations. We give you a written quote after the free consultation, so you know the design fee before you commit.
Because our architectural designers and structural engineers work in one team, you pay one firm instead of two, and you avoid the extra fees that come from redrawing plans when a separate engineer finds a problem.

Build cost depends on size, specification, ground conditions and your location, so no honest designer can give a firm figure before the design is drawn. At the consultation we talk through your budget and design to it. Once the drawings are complete, our tender pack lets several builders price the same detailed information, which gives you comparable quotes and a realistic build cost.

Yes. We plan the structure at the design stage, which prevents the most common cause of overspend: a structural surprise found on site that needs a redesign or extra steel. Seeing the design in 3D and VR before planning also means fewer changes once building has started, when changes cost the most.

Both options are available. Many clients use us for design, structural engineering and approvals, then appoint their own builder. We can also prepare the tender pack, help you choose a contractor, and provide build management. For some projects we can deliver a complete design and build service.

Yes. All of our services, from concept design and structural calculations to planning and Building Control, are available for commercial property as well as homes.

Planning permission

Often you do not. In England, many single-storey rear extensions and loft conversions on houses fall under permitted development, which means no planning application is needed if the design stays within set limits on size, height, position and materials. You do need permission for most two-storey side extensions, wraparounds, anything forward of the front of the house, and work to flats or maisonettes.

At your consultation we check your property against these rules and tell you which route applies: permitted development, prior approval, a Lawful Development Certificate, or a full householder planning application.

Under standard permitted development rules in England, a single-storey rear extension can go up to 3 metres deep on a terraced or semi-detached house and 4 metres on a detached house, with a maximum height of 4 metres. Through the prior approval process, which involves neighbour consultation, those depths rise to 6 metres and 8 metres. Earlier extensions to your house count against these limits, so check what has already been built.

A Lawful Development Certificate is written confirmation from your council that your planned work is permitted development and does not need planning permission. It is not compulsory, but we usually recommend one. Buyers' solicitors often ask for it when you sell, and it protects you if a neighbour questions the work.

Usually yes, but with more restrictions. Conservation areas and streets covered by an Article 4 direction lose some permitted development rights, so side extensions, roof alterations and two-storey extensions normally need a full planning application. Parts of Cobham, Esher, Weybridge and Guildford sit in conservation areas. We design in materials and proportions that suit the street and prepare the heritage information the council expects.

Councils in England have a statutory target of 8 weeks to decide a householder application, counted from the date the application is validated, not the day it is submitted. Prior approval for a larger rear extension has a 42-day target. In practice, allow 8 to 12 weeks for a straightforward application, and longer in a conservation area or if neighbours object.

The biggest avoidable delay is an application returned as invalid for missing drawings or documents. We submit complete applications so the clock starts as early as possible.

A refusal is not the end of the project. The decision notice lists the council's reasons, and in most cases the design can be amended and resubmitted, or the decision appealed. We review the reasons with you, speak to the planning officer where useful, and advise on the quickest route to approval.

We design to your council's local planning policies and design guides from the start, and we submit to Elmbridge, Woking, Guildford, Mole Valley and Kingston councils regularly, so we know what their officers look for. For sensitive sites we can recommend pre-application advice from the council before you submit.

In England, planning permission normally lasts 3 years from the date on the decision notice. Building work must start within that time or you will need to apply again.

The fee is set nationally by the government and changes from time to time, so check the current figure on the Planning Portal. The council fee is separate from our design fee. A Lawful Development Certificate for proposed work costs half the householder fee.

Structural engineering and Building Regulations

Almost always, yes. Building Control will ask for structural calculations whenever you remove or open up a load-bearing wall, add steel beams, put new floor joists into a loft, or build a new structure onto the house. Our in-house structural engineers produce those calculations alongside the design.

Structural calculations are the engineer's workings that prove each beam, column, lintel, joist and foundation can safely carry its loads. They specify sizes and materials, for example the steel beam needed to open up the back of a house. Building Control checks them before approving the work, and your builder uses them to order and install the right parts.

In most houses, yes, as long as the wall's load is carried by a correctly sized beam and supports. We survey the wall, calculate the beam and its bearings, and produce drawings your builder can follow and Building Control can approve. This is the work we did for the Woking home on Renovate Don't Relocate, where a new box frame opened up the back of the house.

Planning permission is about how a building looks and its effect on neighbours and the area. Building Regulations are about how it is built: structure, fire safety, insulation, drainage and ventilation. A project that does not need planning permission still has to meet Building Regulations. We handle both.

Yes. We prepare the Building Regulations drawings and structural calculations and manage the Building Control application, whether you use your local council or a registered building control approver. Because the work stays in-house, questions from the inspector are answered quickly.

We build one connected 3D model of your project. Our engineers use MasterSeries 3D structural analysis linked to BIM and PlusSpec design software, so the calculations and the architectural drawings come from the same model and cannot drift apart. Clashes between steelwork and the design are found on screen, not on site.

Yes. Even when a loft conversion does not need planning permission, it must meet Building Regulations. The rules cover new floor joists strong enough for a room, a permanent staircase with enough headroom, fire-safe escape routes, insulation and sound. We check your loft's height and roof structure at the start and tell you which type of conversion will work.

It may. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in England and Wales when you build on or near a shared wall, or dig foundations close to a neighbour's. Semi-detached and terraced houses are the most common cases. Your neighbours must be given formal notice before work starts, so raise it with us at the design stage and plan the notice period into your timeline.

Process, timelines and VR

  1. Free consultation. We meet at your home, our Cobham studio, or by video or phone to hear what you want, your budget and your timescale.
  2. Survey and concept. We measure the property and draw design options, then build a 3D model you can explore in virtual reality.
  3. Planning. Once you approve the design, we prepare and submit the planning application, Lawful Development Certificate or prior approval, and deal with the council until a decision is issued.
  4. Technical design. Our engineers produce structural calculations and we prepare the Building Regulations drawings.
  5. Building Control. We submit and manage the Building Regulations approval.
  6. Tender and build. We prepare a tender pack for builders, help you compare quotes and choose a contractor, and can provide build management through construction.

For a typical extension or loft conversion, allow roughly three to five months from first consultation to approved, build-ready drawings. Most of that time is the council's planning period of 8 weeks or more. Survey and design usually take a few weeks, depending on how quickly you settle on a design. Projects that are permitted development can move faster because there is no full planning application.

A single-storey extension typically takes around 3 to 4 months on site, and a larger two-storey extension or a loft conversion can take longer. Your builder sets the programme. Complete drawings and calculations before work starts reduce stoppages on site.

A virtual reality walkthrough lets you put on a headset and walk around your new extension or loft before it is built, and before the plans go to the council. You can judge ceiling height, room sizes, where the light falls and how the kitchen island feels to walk around, things that are hard to picture from 2D plans.

A change made at this stage costs a revised drawing. The same change made once the walls are up costs materials, labour and time.

Yes, and that is the reason we offer 3D models and VR. A room in 3D is far easier to judge than a line on a floor plan. We walk you through every drawing and answer questions in plain English.

Yes. We offer face-to-face meetings at your property or our Cobham studio, as well as video and phone meetings, whichever suits you.

Builders, tendering and the build

Start with complete drawings and structural calculations, then ask at least three builders to price the same information. BetterLivingSpace prepares a full tender pack for exactly this purpose and can help you compare the quotes and choose the contractor that fits your build and budget.

A tender pack is the set of documents builders price from: the approved drawings, structural calculations, a specification of materials and finishes, and the scope of work. When every builder prices the same pack, you can compare quotes line by line instead of guessing what each one has left out. It also gives you a clear written scope to hold the builder to during the job.

Usually because each builder is pricing a different guess at the job. Vague drawings leave gaps that one builder fills with a low provisional sum and another with a safe high figure. A detailed tender pack removes most of those gaps, so the quotes you receive reflect price and quality, not guesswork.

We can. Alongside design and engineering we offer build management, and for some projects a full design and build service. If you appoint your own builder, our engineers remain available to answer structural questions that come up on site.

Old houses hide surprises, such as a lintel that is not where the plans assumed or foundations shallower than expected. Because our structural engineers are in-house, we can assess the problem and issue revised calculations quickly, which keeps your builder working instead of waiting on a separate consultant.

Book a free, no-obligation consultation. Call 03301 757601, email enquiries@betterlivingspace.com, or use the contact form on our website. Tell us your address and a line about what you would like to do, and we will arrange a time to talk.
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