Building your own house - help and advice?

Bondgirl83

Hi There,

I'm looking for any advice on building a house.

I received planning permission last year for a house on a plot of land beside my parents. However the plans we put into the Council were deliberately 'modest' as my architect technician didn't think we would actually be granted the permission. In granting their permission the County Council also restricted the height of the house so a 2nd floor won't be possible. We are now being advised by our architect technician that we should get proper plans drawn up, altering the plans we submitted, to get a house closer to what we’d like - but it would have to be a bungalow due to the restrictions set by the Council.
And this is where I’m completely lost. I don’t want to spend more money on getting plans drawn up (can anyone give an approx. cost for this?) and again more money submitting them to the Council (again any idea of these costs would be great, are they the same as submitting the original plans) when we have no guarantee we’re going to get the house we want.
We’ve decided that if we cannot get the house we would then buy a house but don’t want to waste a deposit for a house on finding out!
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

sydthebeat

Bondgirl83 wrote: »

Hi There,

I'm looking for any advice on building a house.

I received planning permission last year for a house on a plot of land beside my parents. However the plans we put into the Council were deliberately 'modest' as my architect technician didn't think we would actually be granted the permission. In granting their permission the County Council also restricted the height of the house so a 2nd floor won't be possible. We are now being advised by our architect technician that we should get proper plans drawn up, altering the plans we submitted, to get a house closer to what we’d like - but it would have to be a bungalow due to the restrictions set by the Council.
And this is where I’m completely lost. I don’t want to spend more money on getting plans drawn up (can anyone give an approx. cost for this?) and again more money submitting them to the Council (again any idea of these costs would be great, are they the same as submitting the original plans) when we have no guarantee we’re going to get the house we want.
We’ve decided that if we cannot get the house we would then buy a house but don’t want to waste a deposit for a house on finding out!
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If the planners deem the "house you want" is unsuitable for the site you have, then im afraid your decision is made for you.

You will then either have to change site or amend the plan to one more acceptable to the planners.

There is never any guarantee in a planning application, however you can have meetings with planners prior to any application to gauge their opinion on the design. This should relieve some financial risk. You simply pay for rough sketch designs in according to what you want and ask the planners what they think.

The vast majority of councils now have design guidelines which the design will have to adhere to.

The climate of "building what you want" is no longer acceptable.

Gumbo

You need to assign an Assigned certifier and compy with all the new Building Control Regulations.

You have no option other than approaching a Registered Archited, Chartered Surveyor or Chartered Engineer to draft new plans and over see the build and certify it during and at the end.

Bondgirl83

Thanks for the responses.

Sydthebeat thanks for your note. We've basically gotten planning permission for a bungalow of 1800sqft. I can cope with only being able to build the bungalow but would like to increase the size to 2,400sq ft. We basically submitted plans that our AE had on file, as I said we weren't hopeful of getting the permission at all as the site is near protected land, so were happy to put in these plans with a view to testing the water. I think I will try to speak to the planners about it, thanks for the advice.

Kceire - my mistake we used an Architectural Engineer not a technician for the process. I assume that this is ok.

Does anyone have any ball park figures on costs for getting plans drawn up?

DOCARCH

Bondgirl83 wrote: »

We used an Architectural Engineer not a technician for the process. I assume that this is ok.

By the sounds of it, possibly not. Either a Registered Architect, Chartered Building Surveyor or Chartered Engineer would not usually describe themselves as an 'Architectural Engineer'?

Ask them what their qualifications are and/or can they act as Design Certifier and/or Assigned Certifier under the new Building Control Regulations.

However...there is nothing stopping you from having your 'Architectural Engineer' submit a new planning application for you...it's only when/if you come to actaully build the house that you will need to be more selective about the professionals you have involved.

Whoever did your original planning application would probably be the cheapest to submit a new/revised planning application (as they would have all the original drawings, OS maps, etc., etc.).

sydthebeat

Bondgirl83 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses.

Sydthebeat thanks for your note. We've basically gotten planning permission for a bungalow of 1800sqft. I can cope with only being able to build the bungalow but would like to increase the size to 2,400sq ft. We basically submitted plans that our AE had on file, as I said we weren't hopeful of getting the permission at all as the site is near protected land, so were happy to put in these plans with a view to testing the water. I think I will try to speak to the planners about it, thanks for the advice.

Kceire - my mistake we used an Architectural Engineer not a technician for the process. I assume that this is ok.

Does anyone have any ball park figures on costs for getting plans drawn up?

You need to apply for planing permission again....

what did you pay for the 1800 sq ft application?

Bondgirl83

We paid €1900 which was for the Planning Application, Planning Fee to Council and Advert in Paper.

When you say apply for permission again can we do that under the current permission or do we have to start a whole new process?

acehigh76

Ask your architect about putting a basement instead of an upstairs. You can get lightbulbs that recreate daylight or if the site is on a slope falling away from the entrance you can have windows or a 2 story at the back and a bungalow at the front. Just an idea, there is extra expense water proofing and excavating, concrete costs but its an option

sydthebeat

Bondgirl83 wrote: »

We paid €1900 which was for the Planning Application, Planning Fee to Council and Advert in Paper.

When you say apply for permission again can we do that under the current permission or do we have to start a whole new process?

no it must be a new application, but once the design is acceptable it should be hassle free is development guidelines havent changed.

if you paid that for a previous application id suggest youd have to pay about 2500 for a new application

Bondgirl83

Ok great, thanks for all your help.

BryanF

kceire wrote: »

You need to assign an Assigned certifier and compy with all the new Building Control Regulations.

You have no option other than approaching a Registered Archited, Chartered Surveyor or Chartered Engineer to draft new plans and over see the build and certify it during and at the end.

For planning, which is what the OP requested info on. There is no problem using an arch tech.
OP get 3 quotes as syd says, what you need is a good sketch your happy with and a pre-planning meeting where you and your chosen professional attend

Bubbling

While money is always a critical factor when people pay for something (along with time and quality), be careful - no point in making a small saving now to the detriment of the whole project and the big investment that you will be making.

You can get 3 quotes - but really what do you want? the cheapest design you can get? Or, a design that creates a beautiful house of you, adding value to your lifestyle while you live there?

"It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little".

Give consideration to the implications of wanting to only pay for a cheap design.

Gumbo

BryanF wrote: »

For planning, which is what the OP requested info on. There is no problem using an arch tech.
OP get 3 quotes as syd says, what you need is a good sketch your happy with and a pre-planning meeting where you and your chosen professional attend

My apologies. I misread it as for construction.

ghosty1

hi, I don't know is this the correct thread but someone may have advice.
the situ is that I have seen a site with FPP and the house construction is actually started, the current owner ran out for money so construction is halted for a year or more. The existing part of the house which is a dormer bungalow looks (visually) well done and unaffected by the elements when I went and had a look around. This house is currently to first floor level, there is no work started for the 2nd floor yet like rafters or the like. my query is - would it be cheaper to finish off this house from this point seeing as the foundations and planning are out of the way or will it still be roughly €100 per sq to finish this. (roughly to B ber standard and basic fit out for the time being like kitchen, bedroom, sitting room) the over all house is 3000 sq ft and the upstairs is1300 sq ft.
thanks in advance