I went into my first project knowing nothing, which is fine, except I didnt realise how much I didnt know. By the end I had made nearly every beginner mistake there is. The extension turned out well in spite of me, mostly because the architect was patient. But I learned the hard way what I wish someone had told me at the start.
If you are about to hire an architect in London for the first time, this is the blog I needed back then. Not a polished guide, just the honest list of things I got wrong and what they taught me. Some cost me money. Some just cost me sleep. All of them were avoidable.
The biggest lesson is that hiring an architect is a skill in itself, and nobody teaches it. You only learn by doing it, or by listening to someone who already has. So here is my list.
Mistake One, Leaving It Too Late
I found my builder before my architect. Backwards, as it turned out. I had already half committed to a builder and a rough idea before any designer saw the house.
That meant the architect was working around decisions I had already made badly. The right order is architect first, so the design leads and the builder prices from proper drawings.
Bringing the architect in early would have saved me from locking in a plan that didnt really suit the house. Get them involved before you commit to anything.
Mistake Two, Choosing on Price Alone
I asked three architects for quotes and nearly picked the cheapest without thinking. Luckily a friend stopped me and said to look at what was actually included.
The cheap quote covered planning drawings only. Nothing else. No technical package, no site visits, no coordination. The dearer quotes covered the whole project. I was comparing completely different things.
Price means nothing until you know the scope. A low number for half the service is not a bargain. It is a bill that arrives later in pieces.
Mistake Three, Not Setting a Real Budget
When the architect asked my budget, I was vague. I didnt want to limit the design, so I waffled. That was daft.
An architect designs to your budget when they know it. Hide it, and they might design something you cant afford, then you waste time scaling it back. Or you build it and the cost shocks you.
Being honest about money upfront isnt limiting. It helps the architect make the right choices from the start. A good design and build approach keeps the design and the cost aligned the whole way, but only if you tell them the real number.
Mistake Four, Ignoring the Planning Side
I assumed planning was a formality the architect would just handle quietly. I didnt engage with it at all. Then I panicked when it took two months.
Had I understood the planning timeline from the start, I would have planned my life around it instead of stressing. The architect knew it would take that long. I just hadnt asked.
Ask about the planning route and timeline early. Knowing it takes weeks, not days, stops the panic when nothing seems to be happening. It is normal, not a problem.
Mistake Five, Skipping the Site Visits
When the architect offered to visit during the build, I waved it off to save a bit on fees. Why pay for visits when the builder knows what hes doing.
Then the builder positioned something slightly wrong, and there was nobody checking against the design. We caught it eventually, but later and more expensively than if the architect had been popping in.
Site visits are not an extra you trim. They are the architect making sure what gets built matches what was designed. Skipping them was false economy.
Mistake Six, Not Asking Enough Questions
I stayed quiet in meetings because I didnt want to look stupid. I nodded along to things I didnt understand. Then I had to ask the same questions later when it mattered more.
A good architect wants you to ask. They would rather explain something twice than have you confused about your own house. My silence helped nobody.
Ask everything, even the basic stuff. It is your home and your money. The dumbest question is the one you didnt ask until it was too late to matter.
What I Would Do Differently
Hire the architect first, before the builder or any firm decisions. Compare quotes on scope, not just price. Be honest about budget from day one. Understand the planning timeline so it doesnt surprise you.
Pay for the site visits. Ask every question, however small. None of this is complicated, but I learned all of it the hard way on my first project.
Six to eight months from that fumbling start to a finished extension I genuinely love. The architect was excellent. I was the weak link, and I only know that now because I made the mistakes. Do it once and you learn. Read this and maybe you skip a few of them.
