New House Plans opinions

Villain

I have my house plans just about finished hope to get percolation test done next week and then submit for planning.

I have attached plans thats nearly finished, don't worry about the section that was drawn to give me a rough idea of difference in heights.

Have a look and let me know waht you think.

RuggieBear

no bath?

Villain

Corner Jacuzzi Bath in Bedroom 4 on the first floor.

I'll be opening a thread in Home Entertainment shortly for help planning my my entertainment systems.

RuggieBear

ah very good.

Mellor

Looks good, some features i like.
The curved walls by the entrance, what kind of construction, block or stud?
One thing i noticed is that the external dimensions seam a bit random. 247 pops up alot. Where did that come from?
im in the middle of exams and it could be painfully obvious, but my head is elsewhere this week

Villain

Mellor wrote:

Looks good, some features i like.
The curved walls by the entrance, what kind of construction, block or stud?
One thing i noticed is that the external dimensions seam a bit random. 247 pops up alot. Where did that come from?
im in the middle of exams and it could be painfully obvious, but my head is elsewhere this week

The curved walls will be stud, not sure about the dimensions may be due to the internal measurements to be even.

Mellor

For very small sections (you appear to have a few) it is better to size them on block dimensions, it save on materials, labour and time. Obviously cost too.

gibo_ie

Nice plans,
Not a huge amount of wardrobe or storage space in Bedroom 2 downstairs though. No door to comms room? other than that it think it looks great. best of luck
M

Villain

Hi gibo_ie thanks for the comment, bedroom 2 is going to be the guest room so not too concerned about the WD space I thought an en-suite would be more important, the Comms room will have a hidden door.

Anyone else got any opinions

galwaytt

looks good.

one thing I see is the dropped section in the Kitchen/Living. It might be a bit tight, what with the steps taking so much out of it @ 500 between FFL's...? Would you increase that space a tad ?

other thing - front door size - and this is a purely personal thing, y'understand, but a wider door, and/or a door with fanlight over, would enhance the stone facade.

Naux

Where will the sun be coming from in the evenings? If it is at the rear of the house would this make the position of your TV a problem due to the large amount of glazing? I dunno, just a thought.

anon1

Entertainment room might be a bit narrow, what about increasing to 4500mm.
You could move HP to utility space and put an ensuite in Bedroom 1.
Comms room might make a nice larder!

Villain

galwaytt

We have looked at the steps and we may end up reducing the width when we get to contruction stage, these drawings are for planning only so things will chnage a bit as we progress, I would have liked to make it larger but at 2400 square feet I'm at my maximum for budget.

The plans were drawn with a wider front door but I actually didn't like it I prefer the two windows each side as then the 3 windows above it look equal, thanks for the opinion.

Naux

This is one issue I do currently have as the sun will rise to the left i.e. coming in through the sink window and set to the right side i.e. coming in the dining room window. But the TV can be adjusted for it and we end up swtiching the TV to the other corner and move the seating under the window, well spotted though.

anon1

I had an ensuite in bedroom 1 but tbh 5 toilets is enough I think, its costs about 5k to fully finish a en suite!
The entertainment room is as wide as I can can go tbh but I think its going to be ok, my present room with a projector is a lot more narrow so I think the screen will be as big I want it to be. Comms room will store all the AV equipment from the entertainment i.e. the face of it will be in the entertainment room but the equipment will be accesible from the comms room and the cabling will be very accesible, it will hold the hover and brush etc too.

Thanks for all the opinions.

RuggieBear

you looking for lodgers?:D

davidoco

Move comms room to under stairs to allow direct access to kitchen from entertainment room or provide for door from kitchen in wall below comms room.

Entrance to kitchen from front door is very tight with dog leg turn in dark hallway. Last step or two at top of stairs will be dropped into the hall also causing a general sense of tight space going to the kitchen.

The chairs/stools as shown in kitchen would mean your back is to person working in kitchen – sore necks spinning around and also feeling that sitting there would put you in the middle of the way. No provision made for larder type fridge? Kitchen area in general is not laid out very well. Vaulted ceiling will stop short of the full kitchen, so area where hob is shown will feel cramped.

Ideal kitchen would IMO be (all full width)

Entrance space kitchen
Next dining area
Next dropped living area.

edit just say the comment about the orientatation and the requirement for large screen.

I have two small children and I imagine that up until they are teenagers I would want to sleep on the same floor as them. It's something to consider when you go splitting the bedrooms between floors.

Naux

I think a larder area in a kitchen is something a lot of people have started to put into their plans. I know we did. We redesigned our kitchen area to fit it in nicely. All we have to do now is build the house:eek: :eek:.

sesswhat

irish1 wrote:

I would have liked to make it larger but at 2400 square feet I'm at my maximum for budget.

Sounds a bit drastic but have you considered making it a full 2 storey.

You could gain much more space upstairs for little difference in overall cost.

One Cold Hand

Not to convinced by the curved wall and the angled corners - utility and coms room, but thats just personal opinion, don't mind it.

Think you should put an door direct from the entertainment room to the kitchen - if your entertaining guests it's a long way between the two.

Yeah as Davidoco said circulation isn't great from entrance to kitchen. Even pulling the door into the kitchen down to line up with the wall the fireplace is on would help - one less corner.

Is the back of the house facing south / south-west? There's no windows in the entertainment room facing this direction. Would have thought this was a major oversight.

Also there's a regulation regarding the distance from the site boundary that windows can be. You, or the person preparing the planning permission may need to check this regarding the kitchen and entertainment room windows.

anon1

Any room not reachable from the kitchen will be used less frequently:
http://www.notsobighouse.com/

One Cold Hand

yes, the entertainment room needs a bit of work, the door in from the hall way is in the middle of the wall, beside the fire place. Not ideal.

Echelle

I do not mean to be offensive but this is a very very poor design indeed.I am not sure what your background in design/building/ architecture is but this project has very few merits whatsoever. It is a complete mish mash of ideas, obviously gleaned fron other houses, magazines etc.There is far too much of this kind of house design polluting the Irish countryside already and we certainly don't need another. If this house was a dinner ,for example, it would be the equivalent of serving mashed potatoes and ice cream together.If you were a bride would you wear a pair of wellingtons under your wedding dress?
The above examples of bad taste are understood, but when it comes to house design it appears any concoction is acceptable, especialy if it contains at least 5 toilets. Why , oh why are the Irish so incontinent that they need more than 3 toilets in a house...perhaps as a result from eating ice cream and potatoes together?
We Irish are prepared to accept second rate designs from unqualified people ( a woodwork teacher, by the way, is not qualified to design buildings) Would we be prepared to have our childrens teeth removed by the local hairdresser, their appendix taken out by the sister in law who happens to be a nurse or have Leaving Cert Higher level Chemistry taught by someone who had a chemistry set as a child and left school at Junior cert? Of course not, but sure anyone can"draw up" a house.
Just one last thing, there is some evidence of the Irish becoming more design conscious -there are some very good examples of good rural architecture about, just not enough of it yet.

davidoco

When it comes to the external look of the house Irish1 might be interested in getting a copy of Cork County Council Cork Rural Design Guide
www.corkcoco.ie/co/pdf/343708010.pdf

Having now looked at the elevations it came to mind as in the Rural Design Guide page 21 shows exactly that type of house as a BIG RED NO.

See also page 116 where they have an example of a 2400sq ft 4 bed house with the kitchen, dining, family area with seperate living room.

muffler

Echelle wrote:

I do not mean to be offensive but this is a very very poor design indeed.I am not sure what your background in design/building/ architecture is but this project has very few merits whatsoever. It is a complete mish mash of ideas, obviously gleaned fron other houses, magazines etc.There is far too much of this kind of house design polluting the Irish countryside already and we certainly don't need another. If this house was a dinner ,for example, it would be the equivalent of serving mashed potatoes and ice cream together.If you were a bride would you wear a pair of wellingtons under your wedding dress?
The above examples of bad taste are understood, but when it comes to house design it appears any concoction is acceptable, especialy if it contains at least 5 toilets. Why , oh why are the Irish so incontinent that they need more than 3 toilets in a house...perhaps as a result from eating ice cream and potatoes together?
We Irish are prepared to accept second rate designs from unqualified people ( a woodwork teacher, by the way, is not qualified to design buildings) Would we be prepared to have our childrens teeth removed by the local hairdresser, their appendix taken out by the sister in law who happens to be a nurse or have Leaving Cert Higher level Chemistry taught by someone who had a chemistry set as a child and left school at Junior cert? Of course not, but sure anyone can"draw up" a house.
Just one last thing, there is some evidence of the Irish becoming more design conscious -there are some very good examples of good rural architecture about, just not enough of it yet.

Could I ask you to stay on topic. If you want to have a rant about something then by all means go to after hours or wherever with it. Feel free to comment on the OP's design and leave it at that.

Mellor

Echelle wrote:

We Irish are prepared to accept second rate designs from unqualified people ( a woodwork teacher, by the way, is not qualified to design buildings) Would we be prepared to have our childrens teeth removed by the local hairdresser,

Strangely enough, until recently, when the only solution to dental problems was to pull them, the work was provided by the barber. But Im not sure why you brought that up!
AFAIK the OP hasn't told us any information on the identity or the profession of the person that assisted him wth the designs. You rant wasn't really on topic, and besides I imagine that architects have provide a greater number of bad houses than woodwork teachers.

muffler

davidoco wrote:

When it comes to the external look of the house Irish1 might be interested in getting a copy of Cork County Council Cork Rural Design Guide
www.corkcoco.ie/co/pdf/343708010.pdf

A renowned and popular publication indeed. I'll stick the link up in the reference materials thread.

smashey

Echelle wrote:

I do not mean to be offensive but this is a very very poor design indeed.I am not sure what your background in design/building/ architecture is but this project has very few merits whatsoever. It is a complete mish mash of ideas, obviously gleaned fron other houses, magazines etc.There is far too much of this kind of house design polluting the Irish countryside already and we certainly don't need another. If this house was a dinner ,for example, it would be the equivalent of serving mashed potatoes and ice cream together.If you were a bride would you wear a pair of wellingtons under your wedding dress?
The above examples of bad taste are understood, but when it comes to house design it appears any concoction is acceptable, especialy if it contains at least 5 toilets. Why , oh why are the Irish so incontinent that they need more than 3 toilets in a house...perhaps as a result from eating ice cream and potatoes together?
We Irish are prepared to accept second rate designs from unqualified people ( a woodwork teacher, by the way, is not qualified to design buildings) Would we be prepared to have our childrens teeth removed by the local hairdresser, their appendix taken out by the sister in law who happens to be a nurse or have Leaving Cert Higher level Chemistry taught by someone who had a chemistry set as a child and left school at Junior cert? Of course not, but sure anyone can"draw up" a house.
Just one last thing, there is some evidence of the Irish becoming more design conscious -there are some very good examples of good rural architecture about, just not enough of it yet.

You may not have meant to be offensive but you failed miserably. Why shouldn't the op build what he wants, especially if the council grant permission? You can also cut out the silly analogies, as none of them are relevant. I saw this post and my first thought was you were "flaming", and that it warranted a ban. You made assumptions about the op's qualifications because you didn't like the design and then launched into a rant about Irish house designs in general. I then saw Muffler's reply and I will follow him on this one. Consider this a warning. Any more off topic posting and/or flaming will result in an immediate ban. In the meantime, if you want to start a thread about design issues, feel free.

muffler

smashey wrote:

In the meantime, if you want to start a thread about design issues, feel free.

Is that not flaming?

smashey

muffler wrote:

Is that not flaming?

Potentially.

Naux

Echelle wrote:

especialy if it contains at least 5 toilets. Why , oh why are the Irish so incontinent that they need more than 3 toilets in a house....

This is the only valid point(if very badly put across) that I can see in your post. I personally think that 3 toilets is enough in any house unless you are running a B&B.

The rest of your post is just silly & unhelpful

I must say the Cork CoCo rural design guide is very good........much more comprehensive than the Galway one.

Villain

In the Uk so can only make a quick reply, the design was created by me and a friend who has drawn houseplans for over 100 people now, but I created the design as its what I want. i.e. I don't want light in the entertainment room as it will be mainly for a projector and I don't want light but thats just my opinion. I also want the comms room in its location for entertainment reasons although the idea to make a doorway instead was excellent.

Also I have had a pre-planning meeting with Carlow CO CO and they have given the front elevation the green light. The 5 toilets is something I have a problem with but everyone local keeps telling me to put them in I may omit 1 or 2 when I go to construction phase, these plans are for planning purposes only.

Thanks for all the opinions I will reply tomorrow when I have more time.

grodge

Mellor wrote:

Strangely enough, until recently, when the only solution to dental problems was to pull them, the work was provided by the barber. But Im not sure why you brought that up!
AFAIK the OP hasn't told us any information on the identity or the profession of the person that assisted him wth the designs. You rant wasn't really on topic, and besides I imagine that architects have provide a greater number of bad houses than woodwork teachers.

true, its where the red and white poles came from. the barbers would hang out the bloody towels on a pole outside their shops.

anywho i just looked at the downstairs bathroom and i think it might not comply with part m of the TGD. i could be very wrong but provisions need to be made to be able retrofit a bath downstairs in case, god forbid, someone becomes incapaciated and has to live downstairs.

anon1

Can the design be modified to make the cost of construction cheaper yet retain all the features required?
Simplicity is best.

Mellor

I think the downstairs WC is ok. The sizes look fine.
Because of the size of the house it requires a fully visitable WC.
This needs a clear space of 750x1200 inside the WC with the door closed. This space should be inline with the centre of the bowl or the cistern, at least 200 from the wall.

grodge

Mellor wrote:

I think the downstairs WC is ok. The sizes look fine.
Because of the size of the house it requires a fully visitable WC.
This needs a clear space of 750x1200 inside the WC with the door closed. This space should be inline with the centre of the bowl or the cistern, at least 200 from the wall.

its good now. but if ya had to put a bath in dya reckon would it still fit ?

Mellor

possibly, would fit but be on the tight side.
if, god forbid, the situation arose, its acceptable to convert any room not just the existing WC. Say a downstairs bedroom, would be the comfortable option, and easier on everyone.

If you are thinking along those lines, it would be better to make a downstairs room "bathroom ready" then you don't have to dig holes in the floor etc.

Or better still make the downstairs loo large enough to take a bath but use the space for storage until needed.

Villain

If that issue does arise it will be easy enough to make one large bathroom in downstairs and get rid of the ensuite.

In relation to making it 2 storey thats not an option due to planning restrictions also there is 2 main features I wanted in the house.

1: Long entertainment room with little to no light, btw there will be a raised floor to the rear of the room allowing two couch's to beplace behind another and allow all seated to see the screen.

2: Large Vaulted ceiling for the Kitchen/Living room with large window facing South.

Keep the opinions coming all welcome negative or positive.

Echelle

I was criticised for my earlier opinions and was recommended to comment on the house design only so here goes:
Poor understanding of how stonework actually works on front elevation. Those little slivers of stone between the windows wouldto be diffficult to build properly and will look ridiculous.Reduce the amout of windows.
The front door is one of those apalling "Georgian" creations . The "fanlight"should be over the door not incorporated into it. But as the house has no reasonn to have Georgian elements, get rid of the fanlight altogether and use a solid door with sidelights incorporated, ie no stone slivers as above.
The qouins are cheap affections of grandeur
Refer to the Cork design Guide for information on acceptable dormer windows
There was some attempt to provide symmetry to the front elevation even though the strict division of the entire front into 3 equal portions is poor design. All the other elevations are random and not designed at all ( the principle being that no one will see them from public road?) The gable with the pathetic back door is especially poor.
And then there is the plan.
Do you really want to have 5 wcs to clean? On your own admission each wc costs €5000 and this money could be better spent.
The kitchen /living area would be particularly unattractive.That huge "vaulted "ceiling area would be impossible to heat. The space will feel like a railway station, it is far to wide and thus far too high as a consequence.
The hollow area in the corner is a pathetic little space and think of the expense of building this. I asure you this area will look like a pit and feel pokey in the extreme.The vaulted area stops halfway over the kitchen area. This would look very wrong indeed.
I would suggest having the Entertainment room in the vaulted area,which would be reduced in width and the kitchen dining area should be moved to the present entertainment area.The Coms room could be fitted between the rsj and the utility room.
But really you should reconsider the whole design.

muffler

Echelle, are there any positives in the design? (in your opinion)


Oh, you weren't criticised by me earlier for your opinions - you were warned about ranting and going off topic if it was not made plain to you at the time

Villain

Echelle I appreciate the views any opinion is welcome, I'll reply to give some reasons why I gone for this design.

Echelle wrote:

Poor understanding of how stonework actually works on front elevation. Those little slivers of stone between the windows wouldto be diffficult to build properly and will look ridiculous.Reduce the amout of windows.
The front door is one of those apalling "Georgian" creations . The "fanlight"should be over the door not incorporated into it. But as the house has no reasonn to have Georgian elements, get rid of the fanlight altogether and use a solid door with sidelights incorporated, ie no stone slivers as above.

There will be no stone work between the windows either side of the door, I prefer two small windows than one unslightly window its a personal opinion, I haven't decided on the front door yet it probably will be solid with a fan light above it or no fan light. Please remember these are planning permission drawings not constructions drawings so things will change sightly i.e. like the door type it won't be georgian.

Echelle wrote:

The qouins are cheap affections of grandeur
Refer to the Cork design Guide for information on acceptable dormer windows
There was some attempt to provide symmetry to the front elevation even though the strict division of the entire front into 3 equal portions is poor design. All the other elevations are random and not designed at all ( the principle being that no one will see them from public road?) The gable with the pathetic back door is especially poor.

The qouins will be plastered and will look fine imo, I don't live in Cork and Dormers look the same as every dormer on the road where the house is being built.

The side elevations are restricted by the Council I can't put any more windows in it due to possible planning in the adjacent sites and also too many windows in a bedroom restrict bed placment, I can't stand beds under a window.

Echelle wrote:

And then there is the plan.
Do you really want to have 5 wcs to clean? On your own admission each wc costs €5000 and this money could be better spent.
The kitchen /living area would be particularly unattractive.That huge "vaulted "ceiling area would be impossible to heat. The space will feel like a railway station, it is far to wide and thus far too high as a consequence.
The hollow area in the corner is a pathetic little space and think of the expense of building this. I asure you this area will look like a pit and feel pokey in the extreme.The vaulted area stops halfway over the kitchen area. This would look very wrong indeed.
I would suggest having the Entertainment room in the vaulted area,which would be reduced in width and the kitchen dining area should be moved to the present entertainment area.The Coms room could be fitted between the rsj and the utility room.
But really you should reconsider the whole design.

As I have said all the WC's will probably not be built, the huge "vaulted" ceiling is my main attraction, don't worry about heating this is will be a very well insulated house the glass will even be triple glazed. The pit as you call is exactly as I want it i.e. room for 2 or 3 people to watch TV I'm not into two half sized sitting rooms I want small area for watching TV and then one large entertainment room plus dropping the level allows people sitting at the breakfast bar and dining table to see the TV.

The coms room is exactly as I want it too as that corner would not be usable for anything else, it will also store the hover etc.

I know the design may seem a bit odd but I don't like standard designs, I want this to reflect what I like and while appreciate your opinion it will be me at the end of the day that will be living in it. Thanks

irish1

irish1 wrote:

I know the design may seem a bit odd but I don't like standard designs, I want this to reflect what I like and while appreciate your opinion it will be me at the end of the day that will be living in it. Thanks

That's one of the main attractions of "self-building", ending up with a house that suits your lifestyle rather than one that is generic.

Just be sure to future proof the design as much as possible, ensure that maintenace costs are kept to a minimum - fewer "twiddly bits" will mean less to go wrong and need replacing/repairing.

Mellor

Out of curiosity, (and because its really my department),
how exactly are you planning on constructing the pit, including finishes

Villain

Umm not sure if I like it being called the pit lol

It will have a step in the foundation and the floor level will be 500mm lower, the 500 mm solid wall internally will be plastered and have a timber railing around running along side the dining area, the kitchen will have a timber face in front of teh breakfast bar, probably be carper flooring although maybe timber.

Mellor

I know current drawings are only for planning, and you may be aware of this. Its not a issue really, but it may affect how you think of the lower level space (not calling it the pit). You should reduce the number of steps. No of current steps is too high, steps would have a rise that was too low.
AS i already said, its nopt at all important, but it may affect the way you imagine the space. Number of steps was probably miscalculated when doing drawings.

Villain

Acually I believe regulations govern that you must have a minimum of 3 steps now thats why it shown that way.

Mellor

irish1 wrote:

Acually I believe regulations govern that you must have a minimum of 3 steps now thats why it shown that way.

That was my point, at first it looks like three, but look closely you actually have 4. The three wodden steps going in, and concrete of the main floor level. This works out at 125mm high. By using two wooden steps and concrete level you have 3 steps which works out at 166 each, much better size.
Our course, you may be intending to have the top wooden step on the same level as the concrete, but this wouldn't look as good imo, and could create a problem area between step and wall.

Echelle

As I have said all the WC's will probably not be built, the huge "vaulted" ceiling is my main attraction, don't worry about heating this is will be a very well insulated house the glass will even be triple glazed. The pit as you call is exactly as I want it i.e. room for 2 or 3 people to watch TV I'm not into two half sized sitting rooms I want small area for watching TV and then one large entertainment room plus dropping the level allows people sitting at the breakfast bar and dining table to see the TV.


Just a word of warning on your assumptions that the vaulted space will be easy to heat because it will me well insulated and triple glazing will be used. These measures help to prevent heat loss but the volume still has to be heated and the proposed volume is huge...hope you van afford the heating costs.And dont forget this area is going to reduce substantially the Building Energy Rating of the house.
Also despite your opinion that this house is something unique, you are mistaken. It really is pretty bog standard stuff.You shoulkd also consider that, in the future , if you ever have to sell , for some unforseen reason, your own quirky ideas could well reduce the attractivenes of the house to a potential buyer ( who else willl see the sunken area/pit as attractive?)

Villain

Well its all a matter of opinion I suppose, I have actually supplied 3 people with copies of the drawing as they want to use the design of the kitchen for their own house. Plus if you don't like the pit you can also just install a raised wooden floor!

I don't intend on selling and I love the design it's exactly what the way I want it, I mean if you were design a house I might think its awful but at the end of the day you will be the one living in it. Most house designs I see now have 2 small sitting rooms something I just don't understand.

eoghan.geraghty

I like the vaulted ceiling, did you design this yourself or commission it?
Good luck with it, remember a selfbuild is for life not just for christmas:D

Villain

Cheers Eoghan, I designed the majority of and a mate gave me some good ideas. Planinng is going in tomorrow so fingers crossed hey!

muffler

Echelle wrote:

As I have said all the WC's will probably not be built, the huge "vaulted" ceiling is my main attraction, don't worry about heating this is will be a very well insulated house the glass will even be triple glazed. The pit as you call is exactly as I want it i.e. room for 2 or 3 people to watch TV I'm not into two half sized sitting rooms I want small area for watching TV and then one large entertainment room plus dropping the level allows people sitting at the breakfast bar and dining table to see the TV.


Just a word of warning on your assumptions that the vaulted space will be easy to heat because it will me well insulated and triple glazing will be used. These measures help to prevent heat loss but the volume still has to be heated and the proposed volume is huge...hope you van afford the heating costs.And dont forget this area is going to reduce substantially the Building Energy Rating of the house.
Also despite your opinion that this house is something unique, you are mistaken. It really is pretty bog standard stuff.You shoulkd also consider that, in the future , if you ever have to sell , for some unforseen reason, your own quirky ideas could well reduce the attractivenes of the house to a potential buyer ( who else willl see the sunken area/pit as attractive?)

All opinions are more then welcome and Im sure that the OP will understand that design is not an applied science and hence varying views.

Just out of curiosity Echelle have you found any positive elements in the design?