House Plans - Looking for Opinions

AidanD12

Hi All
After many months reading this forum and gleaning great advice have decided to finally take the plunge and put up a post as I embark on building my dream house this year. At the design stage and after a few rounds with my arch tech have settled on a plan (attached). Would love to get a few views/opinions from the many helpful guru's who frequent the forum. A few points

Its coming in around 2800 sq ft which is bigger than I intended, but I like the layout and want to make the best use of space

I'm striving towards a low energy house within financial reason i.e. I'm happy to put the money in if the payback is worth it. Trying to get the balance of solar gain and not overheating so hoping canopy to south will achieve this. Will prob get a PHPP done.

There are a few minor changes. Windows added to office and possibly bedroom 4 facing west. South-West Corner will be glazed. Front door is marked on front of porch in some of the 3D sketches and some at the side. Can't decide which looks better. Velux windows over dining area.

Lots of nitty gritty details to sort out but hoping to get design right first.
Thanks in advance for all opinions.

sydthebeat

just three quick comments...

perhaps a floor to ceiling corner window in the north west corner of the living room to make use of evening light at the height of summer

are you sure you will get planning permission for the side window in bed 3 on FF. Some local authorities flat out refuse side bedroom windows on first floor... especially in view of the proximity of this window to the existing dwelling to the west.

front windows, its unsettling to see first floor windows being deeper than ground floor. Personally id prefer the gf windows to be deeper than ff.

Slig

I like the design alot, its simple and conservative and traditional at the front but a little bit different at the back with a modern twist, very nice. Might be abit disappointing not to get the early summer morning sun into the kitchen because of the garage but it is a good position for it with regards to the house layout.

I would seriously consider building regulation compliance a little bit more though, especially part M (access and use.) The ground floor WC will have to be wheelchair compliant which will add abit more to the size and may throw out the size of your utility judging from the sketches, you'll also have to look at the minimum circulation widths in order to get to it. I know these arent the finished drawings but its something to consider early on.
As Syd said the taller windows on the first floor over the ground floor will be something the planners will almost definately comment on as it isnt a vernacular arrangement.

With regards to the glazing at the dining area it will be alot easier, neater and cheaper if there is no blockwork between the top of the window and the roof.


I'm not one for putting down someone elses design, especially one as nice and obviously well thought out as this, so I hope the above points can be viewed as improvements and not criticism .

AidanD12

Thanks guys for the constructive and interesting comments so far. Makes it worthwhile putting the plans up and everything is appreciated.

Sydthebeat - having a north-west corner window is not something I had considered and is worth a look, in fact quiet like the idea. Not sure if planning (its cork county council) will have a problem with that or with side windows so might give them a call on it. Agree with you on the front windows dimensions and I know planning are very picky about what faces the road so I'll change this.

Slig - will def make sure about compliance with regs and appreciate you pointing it out. The dining glazing detail isn't really specified in detail yet but I'll keep that comment in mind when it is. Its a tough balance to get the amount of glazing right. Want plenty light but don't want to overdo.

maryb26

How many people are going to live in this house? What is going to heat that big living room or the whole house for that matter. Who is going to clean all these windows? 2,800 seems like a big house if just for two people.

AidanD12

maryb26 wrote: »

How many people are going to live in this house? What is going to heat that big living room or the whole house for that matter. Who is going to clean all these windows? 2,800 seems like a big house if just for two people.

Thanks for reply MaryB.

Just myself and 2 young kiddies so you are correct it is probably bigger than I had in mind but allowing for 4 bedrooms and a comfortable but flexible layout its hard to reduce without compromising too much and loosing the nice features.

Hoping to go towards A1 standard so keeping heating requirements to a minimum but will prob do a DEAP to make sure I get the right mix of heating. Haven't fully decided but thinking that combination of stove and either oil or air-to-air heat pump along with MVHR should hopefully do the trick.

I might live to regret the amount of windows in combination with sticky fingers but again I'm trying to get that balance of light, heat, aesthetics and of course cost.

BryanF

Aidan, I think you could move the living room chimney wall in line with the side wall of the house (there is a lot of doors going on in the living rm, so think about how this will be work in use). possibly reduce the playroom sightly so that the living Rm/kitchen could incorporate more of the central corridor (wasted space) - if it was tightened up you may not need the separate roof + the playroom windows would get more southern light. in reality you may find the open plan kit/din area could easily accommodate a sitting area or if you keep all the glazing maybe look carefully at the cost of achieving thermal comfort in this sun space, maybe this should be outside of the building envelope(unheated space)? or just offered a folding internal screen to close it off in winter ?
As you say why not consider doing the provisonal BER now prior to fixing the plans - if your thinking air-air heat pump then imo get a PHPP calc done to more accurately predict your kwh/m2/y and also consider a layout of where an how the MVHR system and pipework will be integrated at this stage.
best of luck

AidanD12

Thanks Brian. As usual your comment is insightful and well thought out. You do some great work in this forum

BryanF wrote: »

Aidan, I think you could move the living room chimney wall in line with the side wall of the house (there is a lot of doors going on in the living rm, so think about how this will be work in use). possibly reduce the playroom sightly so that the living Rm/kitchen could incorporate more of the central corridor (wasted space) - if it was tightened up you may not need the separate roof + the playroom windows would get more southern light. in reality you may find the open plan kit/din area could easily accommodate a sitting area or if you keep all the glazing maybe look carefully at the cost of achieving thermal comfort in this sun space, maybe this should be outside of the building envelope(unheated space)? or just offered a folding internal screen to close it off in winter ?

Good idea with the wall. Would reduce the area/cost & thermal bridging and like you say the roof could just continue from main section rather than separate. Although quiet like the fact there is a living room window facing the entrance. Was originally going to just have window between living & playroom but feel direct access would be better

I know what your saying to try and recover some of the wasted corridor space (a real bug bear of mine) but can't quiet see how best to achieve this for the living room. Might be handier to widen kitchen and include it there.

On the dining, I am worried it would be cold in the winter with the volume of glazing so a screen could counter this although wouldn't blinds be more effective? Hadn't intended that area to be a sitting area but it could evolve yet. Do you think there would be enough light getting into the kitchen as I'm wondering whether velux's in the roof is overkill or not? I will def do the PHPP if its not too expensive.

BryanF

when you say thermal bridges: do you need the two chimneys - especially the rear one given that their both are for stoves maybe just an SS flue would do. or could they both be back to back..

From your site plan, i dont think you'll see the entrance from the liv rm win

blinds nah, imo deal with the fabric ie be prepared to spend the money on glazing or make it an unheated space. forget the velux's, i cant see what they'll add to a kitchen space, you might find another small window towards the utility wall would help

AidanD12

Chimneys - I've no idea what the pros and cons of a stainless steel flue vs chimney so I'd better do some homework there. I presume they do the same job? If I were to change the roof to just be one long span then the chimney probably wouldn't look right so should check out flue's.

I've played with a few layouts of back to back chimneys but the living room layout never seems right (see attached) - actually in this option we had lined the walls up too. The goal was primarily to reduce square footage (which it did by about 200sqft) but it just seemed I was compromising a lot (too much) in layout.

You're correct I don't see the entrance but I do have view north ...for what its worth.

BryanF wrote: »

blinds nah, imo deal with the fabric ie be prepared to spend the money on glazing or make it an unheated space. forget the velux's, i cant see what they'll add to a kitchen space, you might find another small window towards the utility wall would help

Sorry I misunderstood the original point. Do you reckon if I go for triple glazing windows I will have a thermally comfortable space there? the purpose of the velux's was purely light for the kitchen in late afternoon.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your idea's.

BryanF

AidanD12 wrote: »

Chimneys - I've no idea what the pros and cons of a stainless steel flue vs chimney so I'd better do some homework there. I presume they do the same job? If I were to change the roof to just be one long span then the chimney probably wouldn't look right so should check out flue's.

I've played with a few layouts of back to back chimneys but the living room layout never seems right (see attached) - actually in this option we had lined the walls up too. The goal was primarily to reduce square footage (which it did by about 200sqft) but it just seemed I was compromising a lot (too much) in layout.

You're correct I don't see the entrance but I do have view north ...for what its worth.


Sorry I misunderstood the original point. Do you reckon if I go for triple glazing windows I will have a thermally comfortable space there? the purpose of the velux's was purely light for the kitchen in late afternoon.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your idea's.

the chimney is a minor thing, its just that many of us worry about thermal bridges everywhere but the chimney, which has blocks travelling through the house to the external..
its not about triple or double, there's more to it than that. lets just say there's can be a big difference in performance and often cost in window frames and when its 0degs outside and you stand in that space (now correct me if i'm wrong lads this is from memory) the internal surface temp should not the less than circa 4degs below the room temp or you will feel the (radiant) cold..

BarneyMc

Hi Aidan, your design looks good. One thing that might seem trivial now but I've thought about is where you'll place your telly in the living room. It look to me that the only place it could go is where you've the stove. How about moving the stove to one of the smaller walls? This might become more evident when your architect adds in sofas so you can see how your room will operate. Anyway it's a minor thing for now but might be worth considering.

Regarding the stove in the sitting room would it be good to have this there if it is going to be used as a playroom? One in the living room might be best.

This post refers to your original layout - just seen the alternative one now!

AidanD12

BryanF wrote: »

..its not about triple or double, there's more to it than that. lets just say there's can be a big difference in performance and often cost in window frames..

So in a nutshell Brian, do the homework and get good windows and that space will be comfortable during summer and winter. Probably better approach than screen in the long run.

BarneyMc wrote: »

..One thing that might seem trivial now but I've thought about is where you'll place your telly in the living room. It look to me that the only place it could go is where you've the stove. How about moving the stove to one of the smaller walls? This might become more evident when your architect adds in sofas so you can see how your room will operate. Anyway it's a minor thing for now but might be worth considering.

Regarding the stove in the sitting room would it be good to have this there if it is going to be used as a playroom? One in the living room might be best.

Thanks for taking the time to comment Barney. I planned on putting the TV over the stove like you said which hopefully would work (definitely not trivial, lets face it a lot of time is spent looking at it). The reason the stove is there is for the chimney to be at the apex of the roof and I suppose its a good enough location in that its a bit away from doors.

On the other stove, the logic is that the room would eventually turn into a sitting room when kids grow up. You're correct in that realistically I'll not have a stove in there right away and its questionable if its needed in terms of heat, the PHPP would hopefully answer that. Definitely a good point alright and would save a good bit of cost and better space usage in both floors if it wasn't there.

BarneyMc

AidanD12 wrote: »

I planned on putting the TV over the stove like you said which hopefully would work

I didn't actually suggest that but if it works then bingo! However would it not be bad for the tv to have heat from the stove coming up at it? If you have a receiver box, DVD player, etc. under the tv and above the stove you'd have the same heat problem as well as being awkward leaning over the stove to operate? Anyway worth thinking about.

pamweld

Just had quick look and few suggestions,

first of all practial - you have your utility room to the front, when at front door you can see straight into this room, not the prettiest room to view when you approach the house(depends on how good house-keeper you are too)

Living room has alot of openings/doors etc - leaves high possibility to draughty room especially in winter.

Have you shown these plans to a structual enginer? if not I would recommend consulting one at least, the external wall to the right in bedroom one has no support below and also carries the roof, you will need quite a substantial support for this that may infringe in ceiling height in your living room and depending on span may require uprights(columns) Plus the wall spans onto your glass doors so consideration may be taking as to how you carry this wall without losing your full length glass wall.

Hope these point help you finalise your plans and best of luck with the build.

I would definitely consult Building regulations Part M for your Wc facilities, know its only a sketch but looks a little on the small side. Hope the link comes up http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,24773,en.pdf

AidanD12

Thanks for comments Pamweld and really good observations.

On the Utility room I'm hoping it won't look too out of place in front but its north facing and the living space is towards the back so its a kind of unavoidable compromise.

I agree with you on the living room and I'm seriously thinking whether the door between living room and playroom is needed or not. Actually based on some really good feedback here and others I'm probably going to relocate office upstairs and drop the 2nd en-suite. And also make the living room smaller and squarer - in fact very much along the lines of the alternative layout in my earlier post. I save a little under 200 sq ft and hopefully a cosier and more practical layout.

pamweld wrote: »

Have you shown these plans to a structual enginer? if not I would recommend consulting one at least, the external wall to the right in bedroom one has no support below and also carries the roof, you will need quite a substantial support for this that may infringe in ceiling height in your living room and depending on span may require uprights(columns) Plus the wall spans onto your glass doors so consideration may be taking as to how you carry this wall without losing your full length glass wall.

Really good comment and you are spot on so going to talk with my architect on this. Could have so easily been missed. Thanks Again.