House planning from scratch, can I get advice?

Atomic Pineapple

Firstly thanks to muffler for allowing me to start this thread and for his guidance on what it should contain.

My girlfriend and I have a site for a house and over the course of the next year or so want to look into what we need to start on the road to planning the build, sorting out whatever the site needs and getting planning permission.

The problem is we are pretty lost as to where to start and what we need to do to make sure we get what we want and get it done properly.

So we are looking for advice on what we need to:

Get the house designed and planned to our needs and requirements
What we need to make sure applying for planning permission is successful
How we seek tenders for the work

We are not looking for specific opinions on technical build type things but high level help with what we need to do to get the ball rolling. What's the best way to find an architect that will take our ideas on board, what do we need for planning permission, etc....

If you require anymore information from me to help please feel free to ask and thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.

mfceiling

Maybe not a bad idea to take a few photos of houses in the area that you like.

Keep a folder of what you like - house styles, finishes, kitchen layouts, bathrooms, landscaping etc.

At least if you go to meet an architect you will be giving him some guidance instead of him trying to guess what you like or what you don't.

Atomic Pineapple

That's a great idea, thanks, one thing though, our ideas for a design are completely different to any houses in the area, would this present a problem with planning permission?

bee06

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

That's a great idea, thanks, one thing though, our ideas for a design are completely different to any houses in the area, would this present a problem with planning permission?

Check to see if your county council has issued a rural housing design booklet which outlines what they find acceptable for houses. It will give you a good idea of what your house should look like as well as give you some design ideas. Cork county council has one and I think Tipperary does too and I'm sure a good few others. That was one of the first things me and my fiancée did and it meant we weren't going to our architect with ideas that were non-runners when it comes to planning permission.

When it comes to picking an architect meet as many as you can. You quickly get a feel for who you can work with. Make sure they show you some if their designs. We met with two who didn't even bring designs to the meeting and were more interested in how to get you planning permission than discussing designing a house fit for your needs.

Our architect is doing the tender process for us as well. Extra money obviously but for two people who don't have knowledge of construction we feel its worth it.

sinnerboy

Before engaging an architect think long and hard about costs. The advice so far is excellent but before you act on it consider what you need from your house first as opposed to what you want.

Brief the architect with magazine cuttings and your wish list and you will get the house of your desires. But can you pay for that ?

Will it be so terrible if kids have to share a bedroom growing up ?
Do you need a spare room ? A separate Family Room and Living Room ?
Every bedroom needs an en suite ? Right?
Can occasional guests not sleep on the couch?

Every m2 you desire has to be built , finished , heated and cleaned for the rest of the best part of your earning years. The less you burden yourself with nice to have but not essential m2 the easier it will be to pay for summer holidays, school books , family health care , education , to save for your retirement and a host of other non property related outlays .

Be prepared to think hard about this and not influenced by "the pack" who 1 in 8 of them are falling behind with mortgage payments.

Budget €2500 -3000 / m2 all in i.e. furnished house with all consumer goods (down to egg cups) . Let that be your starting point and limit your total m2 accordingly. OR - why exactly are you requiring more than 150m?

Atomic Pineapple

I can't find a rural housing design booklet for county Louth but I have found a PDF detailing the counties development plan for 2009 - 2015 that has some good information about the do's and don'ts of house planning in the county.

Our design ideas would be quite modern compared to the houses in the area but we do plan to build into the landscape and use local materials to lessen the impact a modern design would have in the country side as well as keeping the front of the house as hidden as possible with as natural surroundings as possible. It's not going to be a gleaming white building standing tall on a hill.

Hopefully this wouldn't pose too much of a problem?

We would probably also like to get the architect to do the tender unless the savings of us doing it ourselves would be quite significant? In addition to that is there a recommended way of finding architect's or should we search for local ones and pick from who impresses us the most?

In terms of cost and scale we would be quite realistic with what we want, scale is small and our focus would be on design and quality of materials and focus on creating a place we want to be in for the rest of our lives, we intend to keep the scale to just what we need as you say sinnerboy and have no unnecessary rooms in there such as bedrooms that will never be used, en suites that are not required etc...

sinnerboy

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

We would probably also like to get the architect to do the tender unless the savings of us doing it ourselves would be quite significant?

From next March you have no choice in the matter. Read this.

muffler

Before embarking on the design of the house you need to get an "opinion" on your site first. Things like the suitability for sewage treatment, water supply, sight lines, zoning (if any) in the Co. Development plan, flood planes, wildlife sanctuary?, National Monuments, etc etc.

A lot of things surrounding the overall suitability of the site needs to be investigated first before deciding on a suitable design

Atomic Pineapple

Thanks muffler, who do I go to for an opinion on the site?

BryanF

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

Thanks muffler, who do I go to for an opinion on the site?

best to start with:

bee06 wrote: »

an architect.... interested in how to get you planning permission

beyondpassive

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

That's a great idea, thanks, one thing though, our ideas for a design are completely different to any houses in the area, would this present a problem with planning permission?

its not within a Planners remit to concern themselves with the style of the building, they can assess the form, size and context of the building and assess its visual impact on the character of the area. As planners have no design training, they can often misunderstand what character means. In Meath, the planners can sometimes push people towards a house style with a symmetrical 5 bay farmhouse with a porch and sash windows to the front, while allowing the rear to be contemporary, but this is a very clumsy pastiche design with a very fat footprint. The stairway and hall taking up the middle of the house is a waste of space.

A better approach to sensitive design in a rural area is to use a clean contemporary design, which borrows its form from vernacular houses and farm enclosures. So a shallow plan, sharp gables and well balanced ratio of solid to void, with a playful composition of roofs will sit comfortably in the landscape. This more design-led approach also lends itself well to low energy and passive and also makes better use of daylight and views.

In the meath design guidelines here they make reference to a very modern but vernacular influenced design. Their is also a strikingly modern and unusual Timber, Zinc and glass house being built on the way into Mornington which breaks all the rules of the 'what planners like' myth. Let the site and your own particular needs, design the house rather than trying to appease planners. (and I'm a planner)

yoloc

sinnerboy wrote: »

Budget €2500 -3000 / m2 all in i.e. furnished house with all consumer goods (down to egg cups) . Let that be your starting point and limit your total m2 accordingly. OR - why exactly are you requiring more than 150m?

This seems very expensive to me. going by your price, a 15mx8m bungalow should cost 360k! I know people who have built 4bed bungalows for half that price and they were kitted out with decent kitchens/bathrooms etc...

BarneyMc

Here are some guides I used from my county council when working with my architect. Put yourself on a brew some evening and read through - well worth it!

sinnerboy

yoloc wrote: »

This seems very expensive to me. going by your price, a 15mx8m bungalow should cost 360k! I know people who have built 4bed bungalows for half that price and they were kitted out with decent kitchens/bathrooms etc...

I am including EVERYTHING. Builder. Architect. Engineer. QS. BER.
ALL siteworks including fences gates driveway. All fitting all decorations. All capital connection fees . All loose furniture. All white and brown elec goods etc.
In other words all that the new house will cost you to truly complete it.

muffler

Guys, while a mortgage will be part of the process Id rather not see the thread getting bogged down with the nitty gritty of mortgage applications so I have moved a few posts to a new thread here.

Cheers

Atomic Pineapple

OK, so what we need to do first is grab as much information as we possibly can, I plan on taking pictures of the site from various points around it, the road it's on, marking it out on the daft plot thing and printing that out, print out pictures of what we like and would like to see incorporated into the house from exterior design, to interior designs to landscaping. Have a detailed idea of what we want in the house from rooms, utilities and the size and scope of these. Gather as much information on the site as possible.

And we should then start meeting with architects about this and when we find one we like then we can start with that architect checking out the site for suitability?

Sorry if this is all basic stuff but we really are clueless and want to take in as much information as possible to learn as much as possible.

BarneyMc

An architect familiar with your local council requirements will soon give you a guide as to what's allowed and what's not. You would be surprised at what can stop a site ever becoming a site. For instance you need x meters of vision coming out onto the road on both sides, you may not be able to build a 2 storey on an elevated site, etc. These are the things you should be asking from day 1. So yes, looks like your on the right tracks.

Tedddy

The Cork County Council Rural Housing Design Guide is also worth a read. It seems to be the most detailed version in the country.

1100010110

Get lots of detailed quotes for services available, in writing, and keep them safe

sinnerboy

1. Think HARD about what you need vs want
2. Gather magazine cuttings / photos to help communicate tastes for style / visuals.
3. Have the site assessed as described - "coldly" i.e. without too much focus on 1 + 2 above. Sitelines/sewage/trial holes/locate building on plot
3. Find the architect . The right one for you
4. Develop the brief and agree your design
5. Appoint BER Assessor to do prelim DEAP calcs for Part L compliance and assist Architect to prepare specification.
6. Appoint QS to cost now. Don't obtain planning permission for a house you cannot afford
7. Appoint Structural engineer to do topo- survey and soil test and analyse trial holes to give high level advice on suitable foundation type
8. Apply for planning permission ( assume you get it )
9. Appoint architect and engineer and QS to prepare tender documents.
10. Get QS to price same
11. Invite tenders.

Woodlandkids

Any views on structure? Concrete or wood? Or is there more to choose from? What are the differences?

bigreddog

Also bear in mind how the house will be used in the future.

• does it make sense to build a 3 bed now (with kids doubling up), with having designed it to easily allow the building of an extension later on (properly integrated into the overall structure, or grouping of structures).
• does it make sense to have a playroom - or is this an expensive waste of space, that will become redundant in a few years?

Mod edit: last item on list moved to here

Atomic Pineapple

Woodlandkids wrote: »

Any views on structure? Concrete or wood? Or is there more to choose from? What are the differences?

We're not really at that stage yet to be honest, we're just gathering everything we like from books and the web in a folder.

bigreddog wrote: »

Also bear in mind how the house will be used in the future.

• does it make sense to build a 3 bed now (with kids doubling up), with having designed it to easily allow the building of an extension later on (properly integrated into the overall structure, or grouping of structures).
• does it make sense to have a playroom - or is this an expensive waste of space, that will become redundant in a few years?
• can you close off part of the house later when occupancy reduces? (thereby reducing heating costs)
  

3 beds makes sense to us for our long term plans however as you point out we do intend to have the house designed in such a way that an extension can be added so that it fits in with the house rather than being an after though years down the line.

Personally I don't see the need for a play room. I never thought about being able to close apart of the house off, that's an idea!

muffler

Guys, I talked this over with sinnerboy and we agreed to move some posts on the specific topic of heating/ventilation to a new dedicated thread here.

Cheers