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Square Way

Notes

Notes

Written for clients rather than for other architects: what the decisions cost, what they buy, and where we have been wrong.

What an architect actually costs17 September 2026 What an architect actually costsStage by stage on a real house, with the build cost next to it.We got a roof wrong in 201417 September 2026 We got a roof wrong in 2014What it cost, who paid for it, and what we changed in the office afterwards.The section is the drawing that matters17 September 2026 The section is the drawing that mattersPlans sell buildings. Sections are where they are won or lost.Planning: what the authority is actually asking17 September 2026 Planning: what the authority is actually askingThirty-eight applications, two refusals, and the pattern in the refusals.Building for the rain, not the photograph17 September 2026 Building for the rain, not the photographOverhangs, falls and thresholds: the unglamorous detailing that decides whether a house ages well here.

What clients ask first

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What do you charge?
Each stage is priced separately and the prices are on the services page. Construction administration is a percentage of build cost rather than a fixed fee, because its length depends on the contractor rather than on us.
Can I stop partway through?
Yes, at the end of any stage. You keep the drawings and you are free to take them to somebody else. About one client in six stops after planning and we do not treat it as a failure.
How long does a house take?
Fourteen months is our median from first meeting to keys, of which about five are drawing and nine are building. Planning is the stage most likely to add time.
Do you work outside Kingston?
Yes, across the island. We build travel into the fee rather than adding it later, and for anything more than ninety minutes away we say so at the first meeting.

We would rather meet you where the building is going

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