English speaking Architect in North 24?

[Lee&Nik]

English speaking Architect in North 24?

 

Does anyone know of an English speaking architect in the Nontron area?

 

Small barn conversion that’s over 170sm

[LesFlamands]

If you are sure it is over 170 sqm then it is not small.

This is not a recommendation as I don't have much faith in Architects but if you need one to do the plans for a Permis de Construire try Stuart Parkes at Milhac de Nontron on 05 53 09 33 45

[Phillippe]

Have I understood this correctly, please.

1. An Architect must be used only with French credentials/ registration. As opposed to English credentials..

What are these?

2. An Architect is only registered to work within a set department- check because if he works outside his department his work / advice is not insured. This is second hand info- please, can someone confirm this?

Is there a web site you can check if Jo Bloggs credentials are valid?

Would a project manager come under this criteria = needs to be registered with a French department. Thanks in anticipation.

 

 

[LesFlamands]

They must be registered with the Ordre des Architectes which is regional (Aquitaine, Centre etc.). It wouldn't surprise me if they were limited to working in their home region but I don't know if they are - you would have to ask one. Project managers or Maitre d'oeuvre have there own professional body. A lot of foreigners who claim to be PMs are registered as something else ( one I know of is an ornamental gardener), I think this is because the qualifications for a Maitre d'oeuvre are quite specific or perhaps they have to pay a lot of professional charges.

[Boiling a frog]

There is a newly established British Architect ,also french qualified,in La Rochfoucauld,Dept 16 but not that far from Nontron

[BIG MAC]

I am doing my own spec having drawings done and translated here then I shall get a French Architect to review and adjust them.

I have electrical and heating schemes well advanced however I suspect the normes will require a few tweaks. I was speaking to somebody the other day who had calculated the 6% of project cost that they had paid a French Architect to project manage was money very well spent and that they suspected that they had saved well in excess of the cost.

[breizh]

I am surprised more Brits don't go the route of getting an Architect to Project Manage. Yes you pay the Architect, but in return he uses Artisans who he knows and works with regularly, so no trawling through Pages Jaune, missed appointments, waiting for devis, and then waiting forever for the work to be done. Yes the materials he sources may not be THE cheapest, but at least he knows what to use and where to get it. It seems common practise for my french family, and the MIL thought we were absolutely mad for trying to do it any other way as we had no family in the Department, she even threatened to pay an Architect herself if we didn't. The Architect easily paid for himself by the money he actually saved us, never mind the hassle and stress he saved us.

[LesFlamands]

breizh, you have a lot of faith in Architects, most of the ones I've come across haven't a clue. You are much better off getting a good builder - make sure you see and check out his references and all his insurances (as you should with an Architect). Most builders will do all the project management for no extra charge and will also draw the plans necessary for a much smaller fee than an Architect. The 170 sq.m. rule is, in my opinion, a farce. If the SHON is 169 sq.m. anyone can supply the minimal plans required with no construction drawings, nothing to do with the complexity of the build. If the SHON is 171 sq.m. the plans have to be drawn by an Architect but they're the same plans again no construction drawings, no calculations or reference to the complexity, just a whopping great fee and it's still the Artisan who has to insure the work. Work creation scheme!

[breizh]

I can only comment on my experience and that of my wife's family in other parts of the country, we have 5 or 6 success stories. I live and work in Paris, my wife's French, but I am English enough to begrudge paying for something I reckon I can do myself, however I couldn't see how I was going to find a good maitre d'oeuvre, and monitor him, from 300km away, and it was over 170m2 anyway. So I went the French route and employed an architect, recommended by several different sources, and negotiated the fees. End result project on time, under budget, no hassles----and us happy. He even responded to e-mails, whereas normally businesses in France think messages on computer screens are some sort of witchcraft.

However I am aware that some Brits have had experienced problems with architects, maybe I'm just lucky. At our second meeting, he bought in an Assistant who had worked for 5 years in London to explain some of the more technical aspects of the work, I was struggling with the vocab, and my wife (bless her) is not technically gifted. There was absolutely no possibility of any misunderstandings, could this be where things have gone wrong for other people?

I have PMed the OP.