Building your own home

sc1

Hi all...im new to this but was thinking of building my own home....found a reasonably priced site but the prob is I dunno wat to do now...its being sold subject to full planning permission for 2 story detached house. When I get quotes off builders-wil the prices include tiles/pain/kitchen/bathroom etc or jst the bare walls of the house?!Help....

braftery

Hi there,

I felt like this when we first found our site ... dont panic !

When you are getting prices from builders, you can specifiy what is included or excluded in the price.

if you are only considering buying the land, before you think about builders consider the following;

1. Do you like the location, aspect and views from the site ?
2. Can you see yourself living in that place for a prolonged period ?
3. From your post it appears that there is currently, No planning permission on the site. What are the limitations on planning in the area ?
4. Have houses been granted permission recently on the same road/area ? 5. Have there been any restriction placed on them (eg: ridge height restriction, etc) ?
6. If you find all of this a bit daunting, then consider hiring an architect to help you with the project. if you do decide to talk to an architect, the more you have thought about the house and refined your brief to them, the better they can find a good solution for your requirements.

We worked through all of the above and then the builders and all their issues so feel free to ask on here or PM me if you want.

ShiverinEskimo

As braftery said you may wish to consult an Architect in relation to the site. Many Architects will consult for free (ours did) and will be able to ream off any planning ideas/issues that may be applicable for the site.

We approached an Architect who designed another house down the road so he was fully familiar with the area etc. 8 months and a couple of local council hoop-jumping snags later we're on the cusp of applying for planning permission using his design.

It's extremely daunting at first and we're lucky enough to know people who are just finished building and moved in as well as people are who are smack-bang in the middle of a build so we are able to bounce questions off them but from your perspective I'd say an Architect is your best bet.

sc1

Ya thanks guys...i think yer right...we love the site n there are houses around it....but eskimo can ask you...the site is coming with an architects drawings already which we dont like...will we have to re-apply for planning for our own architects drawings ya???how expensive is this???another drawing??thanks for yer comments guys

braftery

I know you asked eskimo ....

we bought our site with outline planning permission.
We did not like the plans.
We met with the local planners.

They told us, if we want to change the design of the house, we will need to re-apply for PP.
They further explained that the same conditions that are on the outline planning (ie ridge height, access road sight lines etc) will be the same for any new planning application so make sure that our designer is aware of them.

Normally the first consultation with any architects is free, this allows you to present your brief to them and for you both to judge if you think you can work together. At this meeting they will normally outline thier fee structure and payment terms.

It is usual that following this meeting they would send you a letter agreeing to undertake your work and include in this letter the fee and terms they outlined at the meeting.

Fees and terms vary between architects, but most are broken down into payments for each stage of the job.

Concepts
Planning Drawings
Working Drawings
Site Supervision

Any architects please correct me if I got that wrong.

DOCARCH

braftery wrote: »

Any architects please correct me if I got that wrong.

Spot on.