Step by step!

murphy2

Hi,
We are just about to look into getting plans done up for our house, it's going to be a self build as I'm a carpenter myself and will be looking to do as much of the work myself as possible.
I was just wondering if people could give me a step by step guide on the processes, ie
Engage architect, get planning, engineers etc??
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

heavydawson

murphy2 wrote: »

Hi,
We are just about to look into getting plans done up for our house, it's going to be a self build as I'm a carpenter myself and will be looking to do as much of the work myself as possible.
I was just wondering if people could give me a step by step guide on the processes, ie
Engage architect, get planning, engineers etc??
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Before you spend any money, sit down and think about exactly what you want from the house as regards:
1. The number of people that you hope will eventually occupy it
2. The style of house you're interested in (and this can change as you talk through it with an arch later down the line)

One of the best things you can do is spend your Saturdays and Sundays taking a drive in your area looking for new-ish houses. If you like the look of the house, take a chance and knock on the door, tell the owners you're thinking of building and would they mind chatting to you.
We did that and people were extremely generous with their time and information.
After gathering what you want from the house, bring that to an arch.

Before you do all of this, it might be worth your while having a pre-planning meeting with your local CoCo if you've already got your site. They'll let you know:
1. Whether the site is suitable for any dwelling
2. If so, the limitations that might be placed on the dwelling as regards size and aesthetics.

sydthebeat

have a read of this:

http://www.corkcoco.ie/co/pdf/578944050.pdf

cover to cover.....

it will direct you as to what is deemed "good design" and what is "bad design". Focus on the siting of the house, the orientation, the form of plans.

You may find your, or your SO's, wants could fall into the "bad design" category.... (if i had a euro for every time i was told "but i want a bay window" )

after reading this, i would advise to put down in word form, what you want in the house as regards rooms and specifically anything 'out of the ordinary' that you may require.
Then i would advise to allow the architect to do what they are educated and trained to do ie design your house. If you go in with a pre sketched plan, you may find yourself unwilling to change from what you have drawn.

you architect will be able to describe the planning process to you in full. i would also echo the advise to have a pre planing meeting (prior to submission when the architect has finished the design) and speak to the planner to determine what issues you may face in the application.

heavydawson

If at all possible, get the council to come out before even setting out the design. You should know at this stage some basics like whether your house is two-storey or not.

We had a bad experience where we had the pre-planning, got the go-ahead for what we outlined to the council, submitted plans and were denied because the person who did the pre-planning over-looked something.
A couple of thousand euros wasted on plans.

Don't be in any rush to get the plans together. Familiarize yourself with what's constitutes good Irish dwelling design (see syds link above), and spend at least a month forming an idea of the elements you'll want in your house. While you're doing that, ring the council and arrange a pre-planning meeting (it should be on-site). Record everything discussed.

Exiting times! in the middle of my own build at the moment, and it took 18 months of looking for a site, designing and planning to finally break ground in October :-) Well worth it!

atech

heavydawson wrote: »

If at all possible, get the council to come out before even setting out the design. You should know at this stage some basics like whether your house is two-storey or not.

We had a bad experience where we had the pre-planning, got the go-ahead for what we outlined to the council, submitted plans and were denied because the person who did the pre-planning over-looked something.
A couple of thousand euros wasted on plans.

Don't be in any rush to get the plans together. Familiarize yourself with what's constitutes good Irish dwelling design (see syds link above), and spend at least a month forming an idea of the elements you'll want in your house. While you're doing that, ring the council and arrange a pre-planning meeting (it should be on-site). Record everything discussed.

Exiting times! in the middle of my own build at the moment, and it took 18 months of looking for a site, designing and planning to finally break ground in October :-) Well worth it!

Have you actually managed to get the Planner/Engineer out on site prior to submitting an application?

Any pre-planning I've done has been on a set day in the month and you usually only get about 20mins to go through it with them after which you probably haven't gotten any straight answer.

I prefer to go down the Outline planning route now for any sites I think may be contentious due to elevation/exposure so that you at least know they will or won't accept a dwelling in that location.

heavydawson

atech wrote: »

Have you actually managed to get the Planner/Engineer out on site prior to submitting an application?

Any pre-planning I've done has been on a set day in the month and you usually only get about 20mins to go through it with them after which you probably haven't gotten any straight answer.

I prefer to go down the Outline planning route now for any sites I think may be contentious due to elevation/exposure so that you at least know they will or won't accept a dwelling in that location.

Hey atech, yes that's what happened with us. Planners came out before submitting our application. FWIW, it's not just things like elevation and exposure that they should be considering. What caught us in the end was that the road was a high pressure approach road to the town with a significant number of existing dwellings. All that said, the addition of our dwelling would not have breached any ribbon-development guidelines. It was simply that the road was in a poor state and relatively heavily trafficked. We won't mention the fact that the field across the road was zoned for development in that councils 10 year town development plan......

With so few people building new houses at this time, the planners shouldn't have any excuse not to talk with willing to take on board the councils view from an early stage.

Certified

heavydawson wrote: »

With so few people building new houses at this time, the planners shouldn't have any excuse not to talk with willing to take on board the councils view from an early stage.

Depends on which Planning Authority you will have the pleasure of dealing with. I hope you do not have to go cap in hand to the Co. Wicklow PA :eek:
They have no such thing as a pre-planning meeting!
If however, your joined up with any of the other PA's, a pre-planning meeting is the way to go.

Sligoronan

Start with a budget and design to it. To many people decide I need 4 bathrooms a 20k kitchen natural slate etc. nobody thinks of tv,gardens,tar,gates,fences, furniture. People are of the opinion that the can have a house for €80 per sq foot. When what they have is a unfinished house for €80. Be realistic and set a target of having a finished comfortable house for €100 per sqf
Cheap is expensive and expensive is cheap.