House plans - need some input/HELP

begby

Hi Folks,

Could you please comment on my attached house plans? My brief to the architect was a 4 bedroom house and include an office area + everything else you see on the attached plan. The 4 bedrooms were meant to be upstairs.

I did not ask for a carport but architect included one to make the house look wider. He said it would make the house suit the site better with a carport added and it would fit in with the houses either side.

Instead of a carport could i extend the house by adding a room where the carport is downstairs and upstairs? This would maybe incorporate a bedroom and office area. But then where would my utility go? and how would I gain access to the extra rooms?

To be honest my head is wrecked with this and I need to go for planning within the next few weeks.

Any advice both negative or positive would be much appreciated at this stage.

sydthebeat

in fairness we cant see the site in context, with the houses either side.. but from a general point of view:

1. planners frown upon car ports in my experience, especially an unjustified one like you have. In my opinion it doesn't serve any purpose but to elongate the mass of the house, which is actually against most rural planning development plans. i think the house would look better without it, and build a detached garage to the side and behind the dwelling.

2. putting a two storey extension in place of the single storey car port actually increases the issues with the car port. again, it must be taken in context, but in general planners prefer to see the mass for the house reduced as much as possible. If you really need another room, then use a single storey annex in place of the car port... two storey will make the house look massive.

3. he has already provided 4 bedrooms and is incorporating an office area onto the fist floor landing, which is appropriate in some cases if its wide enough. only you will know if that suits your brief or not. If youd prefer a separate office space you could put a ground floor bedroom where the car port is and incorporate the office and gf wc where the gf bedroom is currently.

a few observations:
1. do you really need 4 doors in the playroom? i definitely think the one from the lounge to the playroom is over kill and detracts from both rooms, seeing as its only about 4 steps from the other doors leading to the hallway.
2. there are steps showing from the kitchen area to the living area, but these aren't reproduced on the elevations. do they suit the site levels are can they be gotten rid of?

BryanF

where do people find these architects!! i think there are some fundamental layout issues with this house. I'm extremely biased here but I feel you need to substantially change the layout to a more a L shape gaining way more sunlight, and that the neighbours are far enough away not to hinder this entirely..

BryanF

sydthebeat wrote: »

a few observations:
1. do you really need 4 doors in the playroom? i definitely think the one from the lounge to the playroom is over kill and detracts from both rooms, seeing as its only about 4 steps from the other doors leading to the hallway.
2. there are steps showing from the kitchen area to the living area, but these aren't reproduced on the elevations. do they suit the site levels are can they be gotten rid of?

1. sunroom? its not even facing south:D
2. there are several inconsistencies with drawings including the 'sunroom' roof not shown on first floor

sydthebeat

BryanF wrote: »

1. sunroom? its not even facing south:D
2. there are several inconsistencies with drawings including the 'sunroom' roof not shown on first floor

theres no mention of sunroom bryan?

and the orientation is not too bad, the main living space has a long southerly orientation with all the living spaces having a westerly orientation, Thats ok in my opinion, are you sure you read the north point correctly?

as for the layout, i think its ok. The main ridgline is parallel with the road which seems to be, for whatever strange reason, a must for planners (still!). the main living space is brought out in an L shape in single store construction to allow for extra height in these spaces. the plan itself is narrow plan form.

Gallant_JJ

Some thoughts:

My instinct straight away would be for a much simpler L shape plan, defining a courtyard type space outside.

The massing of the house is cluttered and without reason. The carport idea certainly doesn't help

Elevations aren't helped by the massing but are in general poorly considered.

Living room should be orientated to allow considerably more aspect South west.

Kitchen may get direct light during the summer solstice, other than that never.

Playroom/family room is like a roundabout.

No natural light / ventilation in your GF bathroom. Understandable in a 3 bed semi-d, not in a big house like yours.

Would love to see a much more considered relationship with outdoor spaces.


I hope I don't sound too critical. I for one always try to incorporated a bedroom on the ground floor, you never know whats down the line. From your post you sound somewhat frustrated, whatever you do, please don't rush into a planning app, make sure your 100% happy.

Gallant_JJ

1 Q, is your 'architect' an architect?

begby

sydthebeat and BryanF thank you both for your comments. To be fair to the architect I think he did use the sunlight as best as he possibly could.

sydthebeat we planned to still keep the steps as this was something we requested.
The door from the playroom to the lounge has now been blocked up thanks to you.
Your idea about turning the carport section into a gf bedroom sounds very good but where would you put the utility? Would you have to walk through the utility to get to the gf bedroom?


If anyone else has any observations please let me know as I really

BryanF

sydthebeat wrote: »

theres no mention of sunroom bryan?

and the orientation is not too bad, the main living space has a long southerly orientation with all the living spaces having a westerly orientation, Thats ok in my opinion, are you sure you read the north point correctly?

as for the layout, i think its ok. The main ridgline is parallel with the road which seems to be, for whatever strange reason, a must for planners (still!). the main living space is brought out in an L shape in single store construction to allow for extra height in these spaces. the plan itself is narrow plan form.

i wasn't having a go at you Syd;) . the sun-room / playroom with wall of glass facing west : this could be such a great space/ natural heating element for the house but the orientation is off..
yes point taken re lving spaces but that's about it : I would have removed the two front bedrooms and placed them as an L shape above the living dining and try & stack as many of those en-suites above service areas on gf as possible.

to the OP consider a phpp as this will highlight some of the glazing orientation issues and as for all the corner windows..

to Gallant_JJ i agree, especially with the connection to outdoor, L shape and solar orientation, but i don't think you need to be an architect architect to do a better job than this..

all that said the unknown here is how the client controlled the brief.. imho there is further design required here..

begby

Gallant JJ, thank you for your observations and I don't mind you can be as critical as you like. The reason I posted was to get feedback whether it be positive or negative. My wife has shown the plans to a few people and she usually gauges how good a thing is based on peoples reactions, people she has shown the plans to have not reacted enthusiastically. I had put this down to jealousy and decided to post the plans on boards.

I am very frustrated but hopefully by the end of all this I will have a house that I am 100% happy with.

And yes the architect I have is an architect.

begby

BryanF, this is the first house I have ever gone about planning/building. The wife and I met with the architect, we went through the brief for 2 hours, he visited the site with an engineer and carried out a site survey. He viewed the houses either side of the site and basically came up with the design.

sydthebeat

begby wrote: »

Your idea about turning the carport section into a gf bedroom sounds very good but where would you put the utility? Would you have to walk through the utility to get to the gf bedroom?

you can easily extend the hall to enter the bedroom, and the utility would be located between the kitchen and the bedroom.

i agree that the gf wc could be offered an external window for a house of that size, and a redesign of that area could allow for this.

if the steps are not required by the site, then i would get rid of them. the form should be designated by the site. Steps cause untold extra knock on effects and the architect hasnt taken any into account in the elevations. best to get rid of IMHO.

personally i wouldnt put rooms over your dining / living area as id enjoy the extra height here for such a large open plan space. but thats my own opinion.

you need to sort out your worries before you go in for planning. delay your architect and dont allow him to submit something you are not happy with.

beyondpassive

begby wrote: »

And yes the architect I have is an architect.

*EDIT

Unfortunately this borders on legal debate which we dont allow here.

sydthebeat

sydthebeat

guys please dont pull the thread off topic. deal specifically with what the Op asks and if you have any other concerns PM the Op or start a new topic.

But remember that issues of a legal nature cannot be discussed here.

begby

sydthebeat just 2 questions

1) steps are not required by the site. The site is ver flat. What are the extra knock on effects of the steps?
2) How would you redesign the gf area in order to give the gf wc a window?

sydthebeat

begby wrote: »

sydthebeat just 2 questions

1) steps are not required by the site. The site is ver flat. What are the extra knock on effects of the steps?
2) How would you redesign the gf area in order to give the gf wc a window?

1. stepped DPC levels.... steeped foundations.... forced level changes which could lead floor levels to be below the natural ground level..... stepped or sloped pathways.... extra hardship on foul water pipes to drain by gravity to treatment systems... may even need pumping.... examples among others.

2. one simply change could be to locate the wc where the bed is in the current gf bedroom. this smaller room could then become the study... and a nook conveniently created behind this wc for a pc and desk.

the kitchen area can then be extended into where the wc currently is. the utility can be located between the kitchen and the new gf bedroom. there would be a desire to retain a window in the kitchen area, so that will define where you can start the utility from

Supertech

You seem to have about 500mm of a fall across the site from side to side, but over the area into which the lower room is placed, there's only 250mm. You're going to be excavating an awful lot of material to get the floor level down enough to accommodate three steps (assuming they're at 150mm) and then to get the external ground level 150mm below that again. You're going to end up with a sunken patio area which will mean you'll need three steps (or four) at the door out of the Play Room to get out to that level. You'll also have to consider waterproofing and insulation and avoidance of cold bridging around the split level.

While the steps are a nice feature, they do entail an awful lot of work – even more so where the site doesn’t merit them.

The balcony, the split level, and the corner windows will all require careful detailing and execution on site.
It seems a shame to have the Lounge with a huge south facing wall with no window in it (over-looking constraints I presume ?) and also to have the Kitchen / Dining / Living Area with no access to morning sun which will basically be blocked by the remainder of the house. The route to the Kitchen/ Living area from the Entrance Hall is also a bit tortuous, and having to pass the Utility Room door to get to it might not be the best arrangement.
I’d certainly agree that the layout might merit another look. As has been said previously, don’t rush in to it – you’ll be stuck with the decisions you make prior to a planning application being lodged as these will be difficult to change once planning has been granted

brdboard

begby wrote: »

Hi Folks,

Could you please comment on my attached house plans? My brief to the architect was a 4 bedroom house and include an office area + everything else you see on the attached plan. The 4 bedrooms were meant to be upstairs.

I did not ask for a carport but architect included one to make the house look wider. He said it would make the house suit the site better with a carport added and it would fit in with the houses either side.

Instead of a carport could i extend the house by adding a room where the carport is downstairs and upstairs? This would maybe incorporate a bedroom and office area. But then where would my utility go? and how would I gain access to the extra rooms?

To be honest my head is wrecked with this and I need to go for planning within the next few weeks.

Any advice both negative or positive would be much appreciated at this stage.

I had the same architects design my house not too long ago (rising blockwork finished, so should see ground floor walls going up in the next few weeks, very exciting!)
The first draft we started with was fairly similar to the drawing you posted, however we went through 4 or 5 revisions before settling on the final layout that we are very happy with.
This was our second time designing the house (first architect ddn't work out!) so we knew exactly what we were looking for, so maybe the process was that bit easier second time around.
My advice to you would be to make a list of what you're not happy with, and go back to the architect with the list and see if they can work what you want into the design. It sounds like you're not overly happy with your design, but you have to let the architect know this for him to improve on it!
Don't go to planning with something you're not happy with, you'll regret it. We made that mistake and ended up resubmitting with a new design. take an extra month or two to get design right and it'll be worth it in the end.

ftnbase

I agree with previous post about the benefit of including a downstairs bedroom. To allow full accessibility throughout the ground floor I would remove the steps into the dining room if they are not required.

Is there a reason for having the shower seperate from the downstairs bedroom? I would try to readjust the hall layout or make the bedroom bigger so as to make the shower room en-suite. That would avoid people having to cross the corridor to use the bathroom - and would avoid having to see them as well!!

In relation to your desire to have planning permission submitted in a few weeks dont forget that in a years time when you are waiting for a plumber or a sparky or a chippie to complete some bits of work the delay in getting the layout right will be well worth it.

ShiverinEskimo

ftnbase wrote: »

Is there a reason for having the shower seperate from the downstairs bedroom?

I'd imagine it would save people going upstairs for a piss. If it were another en suite and you're in the kitchen/living or you have guests visiting the choice would be to enter a bedroom or go upstairs.

Always ideal to have a communal toilet downstairs.

Poor Uncle Tom

begby wrote: »

Could you please comment on my attached house plans?

It has been brought to our attention that the drawings have the Architet's name address and contact details as well as the Clients names.

If the plans could be posted without personal identification details, that would not breach the charter.

observer2u

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

I'd imagine it would save people going upstairs for a piss. If it were another en suite and you're in the kitchen/living or you have guests visiting the choice would be to enter a bedroom or go upstairs.

Always ideal to have a communal toilet downstairs.

Is it my imagination or does it not come as a requirement under part M that a dwelling be visitable for a disabled period for a period of time. (i.e - the need for sanitary facilities at ground floor level?)

ShiverinEskimo

Not sure but afaik a downstairs bedroom is mandatory for new builds. Would make sense that a WC would to but in the context of this discussion I just think he's making the right choice by having it seperate from the bedroom.

muffler

Just to clarify the regs.... ground floor wc required but bedroom is optional.

Personally Id like to see a ground floor bedroom incorporated into every house but that's another days discussion.

begby

Folks, thanks to you all for the replies. It's back to the architect with me with a load of very good information on how to improve my house design. He'll think I went away and got a degree in architecture.

Thanks again and much appreciated.

Begby.

beyondpassive

begby wrote: »

. He'll think I went away and got a degree in architecture.

At least one of you will have.

archtech

beyondpassive wrote: »

At least one of you will have.