Writing a Renovation Brief Before the Works

A renovation is decided before any wall comes down. The owner writes a brief that states the rooms concerned, what each room must do, the budget range and the deadline, then compares interior architecture missions against that brief. The brief is the document that turns a wish into a set of checkable requirements, and it is the only fair basis for comparing proposals.

Why the brief comes before the mission

A brief is not a mood board. It is a short written record of the existing state and the intended result, room by room. It lists the address, the surface, the number of rooms, the occupants and how they use the space now. It states what is fixed: load-bearing walls, party walls, the position of the soil stack, the electrical panel, the boiler. It states what can move: partitions, doors, cupboards, floor coverings. It states the budget range and the deadline, and it says which of the two is firmer.

Owners who write this down before contacting anyone can prepare a renovation project with a document that architects and contractors can price, rather than a conversation they have to repeat. The brief also protects the owner: a mission compared against a written brief is compared against something stable, not against the memory of a first meeting.

Keep it to two or three pages. Photographs of each room, with a note on the light and the defects, do more work than adjectives. Note the damp patch, the sloping floor, the window that does not close. These observations become the questions you ask later, and they are the reason an estimate changes after a site visit.

What should each room in the brief contain?

One block per room, in the same order every time. For each room, write four lines.

First, the current use and the intended use. A second bedroom that becomes a study, a dining room that becomes a bedroom, a kitchen that stays a kitchen but gains a laundry corner.

Second, the fixed elements that cannot move and the elements that can. Mark the walls you suspect are load-bearing as "to be confirmed", never as "to be removed".

Third, the services. Where water arrives and leaves, where the electrical panel sits, how the room is heated and ventilated. A room that gains a bathroom needs a supply, a drain and an extract; the brief should say so before anyone draws it.

Fourth, the finish level in plain words. Standard, mid-range or high, with one example each: a painted plasterboard wall, a tiled shower, a solid oak floor. Finish level drives cost more than surface area, and it is the first thing an owner forgets to state.

Add a line for storage in every room. Storage is the requirement owners under-write and later regret.

How do you compare interior architecture missions?

A mission is the list of tasks the professional agrees to carry out, and it is priced as a set of phases. The common phases are: preliminary study and site survey, sketch design, detailed design with drawings and specifications, help with the tender and the choice of contractors, works supervision, and handover with the snag list.

Compare missions on four points. The content of each phase: what is actually delivered, not the name of the phase. The deliverables: drawings at what scale, a specification, a schedule, a 3D view, a cost estimate. The number of site visits and the number of meetings included. The exclusions: structural calculations, thermal studies, surveyor work, furniture purchase, project management of the contractors.

A mission that stops at detailed design leaves the owner to run the tender and the site. A full mission runs to handover. Neither is wrong; they are different jobs, and the brief should say which one the owner wants. Ask for the fee as a percentage of the works and as a flat sum, so the two can be compared when the works budget moves.

Ask also for the references, the insurance certificates and the professional registration. In France, an interior architect who produces drawings that affect the structure or the safety of the building must hold the relevant cover; the certificates are named in the contract. Read the contract for the payment schedule, the termination terms and the ownership of the drawings.

Which rules and documents must be checked before signing?

Three sets of documents decide whether the project is feasible.

The first is the planning position. In France, changes to the external appearance, to the openings or to the roof generally need a prior declaration or a permit, and the local planning rules set the limits. A listed building or a protected area adds a further step. Check this before the design is fixed, because a refusal changes the design.

The second is the building's own rules. In a co-ownership, the rules and the minutes of the general meetings state what is allowed on the facade, on the common pipes and on the floors. Works that touch a shared element need a vote. Read the last three years of minutes for the works already planned, since a facade project can overlap with yours.

The third is the contract package. The estimate must state the quantities, the references of the materials, the unit prices, the labour, the VAT rate and the validity period. The contract must state the mission, the fee, the schedule, the insurance and the dispute procedure. A quote that says "renovation of the bathroom, lump sum" is not comparable with anything.

How does the brief guide the site and the handover?

The brief becomes the reference for the works order and for the final check. The order of the trades follows the existing state: demolition and structural work, then partitions, then the services rough-in, then insulation and ventilation, then the finishes, then the fittings. A brief that records the existing state helps the professionals sequence this without surprises.

At handover, the owner checks the finished rooms against the brief, room by room, and lists the snags in writing with a date. The retention sum and the guarantee periods are set in the contract. The snag list is closed when each item is done, not when the works stop.

A brief written in this way is short, dull and useful. It lets an owner compare missions on the same basis, ask for the missing documents, and decide before the works begin rather than during them.