House size

stringbean

Apologies if I come across as naive, but we currently have foundations in place on a family site. The existing house as a square footage of approx 2000 sq feet, I am wondering whether this will be big enough to meet our needs.

The existing plans, allow for 3 bedrooms upstairs, one with ensuite, and a bathroom whilst downstairs there is a guest bedroom, and a open plan lounge and kitchen area and a conservatory.

My worry is that the original plans are trying to do too much in a tight space. We are by no means looking a grand house, however would just like to ensure there is sufficient space for raising a family of 5 or 6.

Any suggestions or advice is much appreciated.

bee06

Do you mean 5 or 6 children plus you and your partner or 5 or 6 total. If it's 5 or 6 children then you are talking about most/all of them sharing bedrooms which might be problematic when they are teenagers.

If it's 5 or 6 in total then I would say it all depends on how well your house is designed. If you are having trouble imagining the size of the rooms in your new house measure the ones in your current house and how well you manage now. For example if your current living room feels too small and your new one is the same size then you'll probably have a problem.

The other consideration is your budget. Can you afford stop stop progress on your build, pay an architect to redesign the house, go through planning again and then actually build the bigger house?

muffler

stringbean wrote: »

Apologies if I come across as naive, but we currently have foundations in place on a family site. The existing house as a square footage of approx 2000 sq feet, I am wondering whether this will be big enough to meet our needs.

The existing plans, allow for 3 bedrooms upstairs, one with ensuite, and a bathroom whilst downstairs there is a guest bedroom, and a open plan lounge and kitchen area and a conservatory.

My worry is that the original plans are trying to do too much in a tight space. We are by no means looking a grand house, however would just like to ensure there is sufficient space for raising a family of 5 or 6.

Any suggestions or advice is much appreciated.

If I'm reading that correctly you have went through the design process, obtained planning permission, have began building and now you are having second thoughts about the design/size of the house. Is that a fair summary?

stringbean

Thanks for the replies.

Muffler, in answer to your question, yes and no.


The plans were originally submitted by my father and foundations put in a few years back in order to maintain planning permission, I had no input into the original plans. I now intend to build on site in the coming months (all being well) so am I looking now as to whether we should amend the existing plans to suit my own needs before we begin the build in earnest.

I realise there are additional costs involved and the issue of time with the planning permission, however I just wanted to get the general feel as to the house size and whether it would be comfortable for a family of 5 or 6.

Bee06, yea I meant 5 to 6 in total, I think 6 children would be a lot tougher to take on than any self-build lol!

bee06

In that case it's really hard to say whether it would be suitable without knowing the plans. I think the number of rooms for the family is appropriate but it probably depends on how the space is distributed through the rooms.

Are you happy with the overall design of the house other than being unsure about the size? It's probably worth really thinking about how it works and whether everything makes sense for you since you didn't have any input in the original design. Now is your only opportunity because if you start building and then realise something isn't right you're either stuck with it or it could be costly to change.

stringbean

To be honest it is a beautifully designed house and I have no issue with the number of rooms. My main issue is that there appears an awful lot trying to be squeezed in and as you say I want to make sure I have it right before we start.

I have contemplated keeping the same layout of house only extending a side wall out about 6 to 10 feet simply to provide more space (planning permission and architecturally provided of course).

BryanF

stringbean wrote: »

To be honest it is a beautifully designed house and I have no issue with the number of rooms. My main issue is that there appears an awful lot trying to be squeezed in and as you say I want to make sure I have it right before we start.

I have contemplated keeping the same layout of house only extending a side wall out about 6 to 10 feet simply to provide more space (planning permission and architecturally provided of course).

Seek professional advice form an architect, you need to sit down and go throught the drawings, and set the parameters your willing to change ie leave foundations but adjust internal walls. When was planning granted , as in, when do you need to have the house complete by?

stringbean

BryanF wrote: »

Seek professional advice form an architect, you need to sit down and go throught the drawings, and set the parameters your willing to change ie leave foundations but adjust internal walls. When was planning granted , as in, when do you need to have the house complete by?

We live in the north, therefore as long as the footings are in there is no specific timeframe to complete the rest of the house. We ourselves have no deadline to have the house built, hence why we would prefer to make sure it's done right and to meet our needs