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Alterations to your house

 Most people know that you need to get plans passed by your municipality if you want to build a new house, but are not sure when you need this for alterations. Increasingly, people are finding, when they want to sell their property, that the plans lodged at the municipal offices are not up-to-date with all the alterations that have happened in the building's history. The buyer should insist on getting a set of approved plans before taking transfer, as there may have been alterations that do not comply with the Building Regulations, the municipal by-laws or the title deeds. This could result in very costly alterations, and could even require demolition of part of the house, for example if it was built over the building line next to the neighbouring property.

As a general rule, any changes to the structure of the house need plans, whether this is the addition of a new room, or the removal of a wall that is part of the structure, say to make an open-plan kitchen. If you are changing the size of a window, rearranging the plumbing fittings in a bathroom or kitchen, or changing the roof, you will need to submit drawings. You do not need plans if you are painting, re-plastering, replacing built-in cupboards, repairing the waterproofing to the roof, or adding/changing a boundary wall that is less than 1.8m high. For almost everything else, it is a requirement to get plans approval from the local authority before you start any building work.

This is a municipal submission from many years ago
Creative commons licensed: 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colonial_Architects_Plan,_1886_%283656387218%29.jpg

If you need plans, the next question is who can draw them for you. Back in the day, anybody could produce a set of submission drawings, providing the building or the alteration was small enough. Larger building work had to be planned by a registered architect. To protect the public, the South African Council for the Architectural Profession now regulates who can do architectural work. This is supported by the municipalities, who require proof of registration with SACAP for any person submitting plans. There are four categories of registered architectural professionals, with the lowest level being a Professional Architectural Draughtsperson, who may only design single storey buildings. At the other end of the scale is the Professional Architect. This is built into legislation in terms of the Council for the Built Environment Act 43 of 2000 and can be accessed through the SACAP website.

What can you expect from your architectural professional if you want to embark on alterations? The first step is to find out whether there are any plans lodged with the municipality - if not, the professional will need to measure up the existing buildings, an expensive and time-consuming job, which is another reason for insisting on being given the passed plans when buying your house.

The architect, architectural technologist or draughtsperson will discuss your needs and ideas and will then produce a sketch plan. This should show the general arrangement of the spaces and give an idea of what the new parts of the building will look like. At this stage, you should be able to get a preliminary estimate of the building cost, either from your designer or from a quantity surveyor. 

A very preliminary sketch plan

If you are happy with the design, the next step is the preparation of the municipal submission drawings. The plans application process may take several weeks, depending on how busy the plans control section of your local authority is, so your professional may forge ahead with the working drawings - the detailed plans for the builder. When these are complete, it is time to get prices from construction companies. Your architect will guide you through this process.

A working drawing of a house
Creative commons licensed: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/306315212155667507/

Two important things to be aware of for alterations: they are messy! Even the most meticulous builder will have to create dust and noise. The second is a caveat: avoid using small builders who need you to buy the materials and/or hire equipment - this almost always leads to a nightmare situation and can be far more costly in the long run than going with an established building company.



Comments

  1. AmandaMay 27, 2024 at 10:00 AM

    Thanks for such a clear explanation and illustration of the process, as well as offering handy tips - much appreciated! I'll be sharing your post with my sisters.

    ReplyDelete

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