House plans

dfader

Hello All,
Attached are plans and elevations of a house I hope to build some time. Seen some great constructive criticism here on peoples plans so looking to see what you think of mine. All suggestions welcome.

Planning permission already granted. Hoping to build high energy efficiency standards but not fully passive. Really looking for imput on layout/design here to see what possible changes I might need to make within the constraints of the planning. By the way I had originally left out windows on north elevation and the planner asked me to put them in so thats why they are there. I've kept them quite small.
Thanks,
dfader

silverside

hey,

thanks for posting, it's interesting to see peoples designs

I may be a bit negative / devils advocate but I'll throw in my comments to stir things up...

the first thing that strikes me looking at the kitchen/ living and at the central corridor is that there is a lot of linear, "dead" space. Also that the aspect of the house gives the rising sun in the living room and the setting sun in the kitchen, where I might have rotated 180 degrees to get the opposite.

How about taking out the dividing wall between the kitchen and the utility (or have it as an archway)? this could make the kitchen seem more airy and avoid a bit of duplication - do you really need two big sinks particularly since there is no direct external access to the utility (I'd plan to have the utility as a dirty room where I could walk straight in and take off wellies/ sports gear etc)

I'm also not sure I'd like the island unit where it is in the kitchen, how about putting a breakfast bar in as otherwise it is quite a long room with no natural divider between the living and the food preparation areas.

the WC downstairs and bathroom upstairs seem absolutely massive, would the space be more usefully allocated to the living room or a bedroom ?

best of luck, I'd be interested to hear what you thought about in the design and what your aims / use patterns are.

StillWaters

I don't understand why that 2nd door is in the hall? I would agree about having the kitchen placed at the front to maximise morning sun, also it seems an awkward path now to bring guests in to the kitchen, certainly in my house most guests settle in the kitchen.

Definitely put a door in the utility space. Your heart will be broke cleaning that hall floor, bringing wet clothes in and out through the hall, as well as muddy boots, hurleys etc

BarneyMc

You've a big glazing area in your living room which looks great but will you be able to hang curtains there or what's the common way to cover (if any) at night? Also will it loose more heat than it will gain over the year? Glazing is great but also need to think of the practical side of things.

shaunie007

silverside wrote: »

hey,

thanks for posting, it's interesting to see peoples designs

I may be a bit negative / devils advocate but I'll throw in my comments to stir things up...

the first thing that strikes me looking at the kitchen/ living and at the central corridor is that there is a lot of linear, "dead" space. Also that the aspect of the house gives the rising sun in the living room and the setting sun in the kitchen, where I might have rotated 180 degrees to get the opposite.

How about taking out the dividing wall between the kitchen and the utility (or have it as an archway)? this could make the kitchen seem more airy and avoid a bit of duplication - do you really need two big sinks particularly since there is no direct external access to the utility (I'd plan to have the utility as a dirty room where I could walk straight in and take off wellies/ sports gear etc)

I'm also not sure I'd like the island unit where it is in the kitchen, how about putting a breakfast bar in as otherwise it is quite a long room with no natural divider between the living and the food preparation areas.

the WC downstairs and bathroom upstairs seem absolutely massive, would the space be more usefully allocated to the living room or a bedroom ?

best of luck, I'd be interested to hear what you thought about in the design and what your aims / use patterns are.

Have to reiterate all the points made above, these were exactly what I was thinking.

Firstly, the utility room: imo you must have an external door from your utility,for sheer comfort!!

Secondly: I'm not sure on the dimensions, but I'm pretty sure you could make the rooms a little wider, because of the span of the joyces.

Lastly: build it as big as you can!! Extensions are a serious pain and you have to dig up all the work you've completed on the grounds.

Just my two cents worth.

Best of luck with it!

JackPerry

First thoughts.
Externally the house has a reasonably acceptable traditional feeling. I dont like the arch over the front door however. Better to have a flat lintel overhead.These "flattened" arches are very unattractive.
Is this a rural location?
The front windows are 1215 wide, this seems too wide.
The ground floor planning is wasteful in space and that long living dining kitchen area is too big and needs to be divided up. The 3 doors into this space is an admission there is a problem!This would be a boring hangar like space and that glazed wall is excessive. All that space in the hallway, back lobby area, utility and wc is extremely wasteful,
I would remve the wc on ground floor and incorporate it into the utility room which is oversized. The sitting room could then run from front to back of the house and would be a decent size.
Winders in a stairs are used when space is at a premium. They are not needed here and i would get rid of them.

dfader

silverside wrote: »

hey,

thanks for posting, it's interesting to see peoples designs

I may be a bit negative / devils advocate but I'll throw in my comments to stir things up...

the first thing that strikes me looking at the kitchen/ living and at the central corridor is that there is a lot of linear, "dead" space. Also that the aspect of the house gives the rising sun in the living room and the setting sun in the kitchen, where I might have rotated 180 degrees to get the opposite.

How about taking out the dividing wall between the kitchen and the utility (or have it as an archway)? this could make the kitchen seem more airy and avoid a bit of duplication - do you really need two big sinks particularly since there is no direct external access to the utility (I'd plan to have the utility as a dirty room where I could walk straight in and take off wellies/ sports gear etc)

I'm also not sure I'd like the island unit where it is in the kitchen, how about putting a breakfast bar in as otherwise it is quite a long room with no natural divider between the living and the food preparation areas.

the WC downstairs and bathroom upstairs seem absolutely massive, would the space be more usefully allocated to the living room or a bedroom ?

best of luck, I'd be interested to hear what you thought about in the design and what your aims / use patterns are.

Thanks all for comments, Not concerned about the criticisms - giving me lots of food for thought.

Silverside,

Good point switching kitchen/living. Am considering that now. A constraint of this design is the position of chimneys. I want the house to look very traditional. I hate houses where chimneys pop out randomly on roofs. The chimneys are to be centred on ridge. In saying that though it should not be a problem switching kitchen/living. Chimneys can be moved to gables.

On the utility. I was influenced by advice that the utility should be 1. big 2. long rather than box shaped 3. designed such that you dont have to bring guests through. I know that there is a front door for guests but they tend to arive at the back door a lot dont they. Thinking of moving utility to where back hall is and making downstairs bathroom smaller. this will allow for one big living room where kitchen/utility is. Would it be strange to have a back door on the north side straight into this living room and a seperate back door into the utility.

On the island. The breakfast bar is a good suggestion and one Ive been already thinking of having visited a friends new house where they have a nice one that hides everything behind it.

Upstairs bathroom is a little big alright. might let more into bedroom.


Stillwaters,
The idea of the second door in hall was to limit air movements when either door is opend. But not sure its necessory as planning for good airtightness and MHRV.

As for utility. see above.


Barney,

They reason for the large glazed area to the living room is to maximise solar gain on the south side. Im sure you can get blinds to suit.



Shaunie,
on the utility - might move it see above.

On making the rooms wider. Not really an option. Limiting the width of the house to 7.5m to satisfy planners and keep it traditional looking. makes it look less bulky.

On making it as big as I can. I agree that this is it - no extensions but as has been pointed out theres no point making it big and having wasted space either. So I am open to changing layout, this might even allow me to decrease it slightly.


Jackperry,
Kind of like the arch. but will have a look at alternatives. The width of the windows is something I based on other houses Ive been in. but could be descreased slightly particularly because they face east.

On dividing up the livlng/dining. Im not convinced about doing this. The aspect of the house is such that natural light will filter this whole area all day. Dont want to block it. I dont really understand your hanger like space comment. The glazing is to maximise solar gain also this side of the house has best view and the garden is out to this side - not to the back, so think that during the summer it would be nice to be able to open theis glazing.

For the stairs there are doors at the top and bottom restricting its overal length, but I take your point and will look into it.

On the utility - see above.

JackPerry

I've attached a sketch explaining my suggestions.
Still not perfect but an improvement, I think.
By reducing the external walls by 300mm all round( ie reducing the floor area my 300mm all around) I'd reckon you would reduce the footprint by approx 30sq.m and stil have a large house. 30 sq m could save you 15000- 20000 euros.

dfader

JackPerry wrote: »

I've attached a sketch explaining my suggestions.
Still not perfect but an improvement, I think.
By reducing the external walls by 300mm all round( ie reducing the floor area my 300mm all around) I'd reckon you would reduce the footprint by approx 30sq.m and stil have a large house. 30 sq m could save you 15000- 20000 euros.

Thanks for taking the time to do a sketch jack. cannot see attachment though

JackPerry

sketch

Mod edit: Sketch removed - see my post below.

dfader

JackPerry wrote: »

sketch

Thanks for this jack. have to say i like it. that divider is a great idea. will allow some light around it and gives shelving and somewhere it put the telly. Still it isnt switching the kitchen and living room around as others have suggested, however does seem a practical layout.
I will have to convince the wife though as she says she doesnt want people walking through the utility. she also wants a big one.
The extra size of the sitting toom is great and i can see how with this new layout it might be posdible to reduce size overall.
thanks again for your time and advice

dfader

AidanD12

Fair play jack for going to that effort and its definitely a step in the right direction. Gained a lot of space with no loss in function although upstairs might be an issue. The utility would def be too small though (biggest complaint you'll hear btw) so I'd give up some of the space saved to the utility. In fact maybe extend that whole wall north and move the utility to where the toilet is and there should be enough space to have toilet beside it with small corridor. That way you'll avoid walking through utility. I'd drop the door from that space into the kitchen as there is door from hall just feet away and you will gain valuable kitchen wall space and room for shelving/coat hanger in utility area.

Agree with most of the other sentiments expressed. Def break up the huge kitchen/dining space and I think you have too much glazing in dining. You'll need sun shading there.

Upstairs your office is large for an office but it could serve as an extra bedroom down the line. With changes downstairs you might make bedroom 2 master bedroom and give it the walk in and you could prob have en suite as the bathroom is quiet big.
Overall nice layout and hope it all goes very well for you dfader. I stuck my own plans up a while back and got some great feedback. Keep going until you are 100% happy with it.

muffler

Guys would you all have a read at Section 3 of the forum charter please particularly 3.(g)

As the issue of "redesign" was only included in the charter recently we can leave it that now. Please dont comment here if you have any queries in this regard. Myself or any of the mods will explain or answer any questions by PM.

Thanks.

muffler

Lads, the above post wasn't intended to stop any of you from posting written comments. Its just that we no longer allow a "redesign" of a plan to be posted for reasons I wont go into here.

So feel free to carry on with all comments. Thanks.

dfader

muffler wrote: »

Lads, the above post wasn't intended to stop any of you from posting written comments. Its just that we no longer allow a "redesign" of a plan to be posted for reasons I wont go into here.

So feel free to carry on with all comments. Thanks.

Muffler,
Its hard to carry on discussing Jackperrys sketch when you have it taken down. However Id still like to receive comments on the original plans posted up.

Aiden,
Thanks for your suggestions. I am not sure though which plan you are referring to though. The original of Jackperrys sketch (now removed). What wall are you referring to to move north to move the utility into the toilet. Sketch would be great:D only joking - we'll stick to words

AidanD12

Aiden,
Thanks for your suggestions. I am not sure though which plan you are referring to though. The original of Jackperrys sketch (now removed). What wall are you referring to to move north to move the utility into the toilet. Sketch would be great:D only joking - we'll stick to words

Jackperrys sketch. Referring to wall where back door was on ... as far as I remember.

Old Jim

Jackperry (or anyone else who has seen it), could you describe the changes in the sketch that was removed?
Interested in what improvements were suggested as some of them might apply to my own design also.

JackPerry

Very strange that Old Jim and dfader have almost an identical house plan even down to the dimensions in both metric and imperial. I suspect one has copied the other's plan or both have copied an existing plan from someone else. I and others made some suggestions on dfaders plans and at least he was gracious enough to respond in appreciation to some of the comments. However I am not going to make any more suggestions to either from now on. (Yes, the thought came to be that maybe Old Jim and dfader were one and the same person. But a private message to me seemed to scupper that suggestion!)

sydthebeat

yes jack.. definitely a case of repetition happening here.. i wonder if both have been sold a pup??

silverside

I was wondering how much you could shrink the corridor / utility and still have it in compliance with building regulations ?

sydthebeat

silverside wrote: »

I was wondering how much you could shrink the corridor / utility and still have it in compliance with building regulations ?

corridors and passageways should have a minimum unobstructed clear width of 900mm... localised obstructions may be allowed down to a minimum of 750mm.

this wouldn't make sense in a utility as units are generally 600mm wide so 2 units = 1200
and give a bit for easy of installation / removal... say 75mm... so 1275

dfader

Hello all,

I have made revisions to the floor plans incorporating some of your suggestions. I have two options now for the ground floor plan - see attachment. Have also revised first floor. I would like to hear what you think of the revised options and suggest which you like best and why and any further tweaks to be made. the windows need a bit of tidying up whcih will be done once plan is finalised. I am leaning towards option 2 because of the evening sun in the living room and this is now a big room which is important as it will get most use.

By the way myself and old jim know we have similar plans, we know each other and intend building this very similar house in two different counties. So dont let this dissuade ye and feel free to continue making comments about the plans.


In relation to cutting the cost of build; I intend bringing in all the external walls by 150mm. Gables will decrease from 7500mm to 7200mm. this brings the overall floor area down to about 2300 sqft. Also considering taking out the front porch; saving here not sure if its worth it - your views appreciated. Also i may have to extend the plannin on this so might get to make changes to roof - considering making it a hipped roof as the external walls will be expensive - wide cavity so saving here also. I appreciate there will be design views on this. I have already accepted that I might have to build my garage at a later date cutting another 15,000 euro.



Thanks again for all your help really happy with the changes made.
dfader

sydthebeat

option 1 definitely.

the lounge in option 2 is way to small.

a few points

i dont do not see the requirement to have a door into the living space... the door into the dining area would suffice as access for this space. Currently the two doors squash any area for a fireplace.

the screen wall between the dining and lining areas has no co-relation with the double doors... which appear to be oversized.

the door into the utility from the hall is not required.. its almost the exact same distance to use the dining / kitchen doors.

the ground floor shower rooms doesnt comply with part m regulations in its current layout.

theres enough space in the master bed wardrobe and hotpress to design an en suite in here.... it would be a valuable addition.

dfader

sydthebeat wrote: »

option 1 definitely.

the lounge in option 2 is way to small.

a few points

i dont do not see the requirement to have a door into the living space... the door into the dining area would suffice as access for this space. Currently the two doors squash any area for a fireplace.

the screen wall between the dining and lining areas has no co-relation with the double doors... which appear to be oversized.

the door into the utility from the hall is not required.. its almost the exact same distance to use the dining / kitchen doors.

the ground floor shower rooms doesnt comply with part m regulations in its current layout.

theres enough space in the master bed wardrobe and hotpress to design an en suite in here.... it would be a valuable addition.

Thanks syd.
Your right the door into living can go and pull the fireplace down a bit
the location of screen cannot move as table and circulation around it constricts. id like the doors to be centred on the gable -looks good. could pull them to one side to suit screen better or use two smaller doors. i like those concertina?? type folding doors so thats what i had in mind.
We have no ensuite as we do not like them and we do like massive walkins. that was a reason for the door from utility to hall-quick access down the stairs through to downstairs wc for when the teenagers are hoggin the bathroom upstairs.
will make wheelchair accessible
thanks for comments

dfader

For anyone who may be still interested I've finalised my plans, see attached. Thanks alll for your input, in particular Jackperry.