New House Design Review please :)

mrsWhippy

Your engineer will be able to resolve all those issues for you Magnethead. You may need a supporting column and RSJs or whatever, but that's their remit. I don't think it's an extreme design by any stretch of the imagination!

looksee

Really, do get an architect on board. There have been some very good ideas thrown in here but I would be concerned about your dismissal of some of them. I think your living/ dining/ kitchen area could be much more useful. I would not put the fire in the middle of the area like that, it looks great on photos but seriously limits use of the space.

Quite apart from anything else, if a builder knows he has to work to an architects direction he will take the job more seriously. I rather suspect he would put in a bigger costing to cover the messing he is pretty sure he will have to deal with as you (he will anticipate) change your mind about things as you see them happen.

Your sister got excellent service because she had a really good design and someone who knew what they were doing organising it. It is false economy to save on the architect. Also, if you do have to sell, having a bald block of a house is going to be a more difficult sell than something that looks nice as soon as someone sees it.

fits

OP it's great that you are considering what your needs are from the house. That is definitely useful. But all of the drawings I have seen on this thread indicate that you are not a designer. Get an architect on board. It need not cost 14 k. I paid half that for designs and planning application and it's well worth it in my view.

volchitsa

mrsWhippy wrote: »

I know you like the 'circular yoke' but I think it's really limiting you, and looks very dated. You wont ever be able to increase the size of your table in the long term either.

I think if you did a ground floor 'extension' from where the outer part of the circular yoke is, and brought it up as far as your kitchen, you could incorporate some sky lights over the sink wall and have a slightly bigger kitchen. It's a very small kitchen for a very large house. Since the dining area will be rectangular, you could have a lovely corner window with 2 large panes of glass which would throw a lot more light into that area, and look a bit more contemporary than the circular area. You could also make this corner glazing a continuation of your sliding door for a really bright and modern seating area.

Let me sketch it very badly for you ....

I definitely like that, Mrs Whippy, a small kitchen is really not great, we extended ours by integrating a little back kitchen, and though we lost a (sort of) room we just love our kitchen. (The washing machine was in the garage/cellar/laundry room anyway, so it wasn't a very useful back kitchen, tbf)

I also like the corner glazing and the sharpness of the angles. Much prefer those to a round alcove which requires special furniture and doesn't look as crisp. I know it's a fashion at the moment, but it's quite a sensible one, especially here where it gives a bigger kitchen area as well.

Boaty

Let me sketch it badly for you
What about shifting the bathroom to the other side of the hall? And also put the front door at an angle, although this will mean having to make the garage bigger.

Water John

Going with that Boaty, or Whippy's design. Would it ever be possible to move that fridge to the RHS of the end wall?
I think it's causing a lot of grief butting into the Futility.

By the time OP gets back, we'll have it finalised for him.

sydthebeat

when designing you should always be conscious of the roof construction, and all throughout your sketches i not sure you are.

i cannot tell either where the front of your house is.
if its to the bottom of the page on your first post, then you have a horrible irrregular non symmetrical gable facing the road.

is this a house in a rural area or urban area?

both should be covered in your local authority development plan in regards to design and siting, and you should take account of this if your designing yourself.

edit: just saw the google maps link and the draft site layout
that building to the left of the site is horrible, and it seems like your trying to creating something similar.

Water John

Is that the OP's sister's house, Ouch.
Only problem I see is a garage at the southern side.

magnethead

Looksee: I’m not dismissing anybody’s advise here, I really appreciate it all. I’ve already closed of a doorway under the stairs due to some earlier advise. That’s just advise you have about changing the design half way through the build. I’m aware that’s a big no no, unless you want a big surprise bill at the end of the build. I always laugh, when people tell me there builders were SOO good, giving them suggestions every day as to how they could do things differently  Any changes after the build starts are all icing on the cake for the builder, who’s profit margins are squeezed to nothing in the recent past.
I don’t plan to have a blad block of a building, I’m going to tart it up with some lipstick and a skirt..Hopefully it’ll make a big difference. I'll post the latest design next

Fits: I'd love to have an architect, just because this process I’ve gone through so far has being a pain in the hoop. With regard to my award winning design, you have to understand that we are very restricted in the build area on the small plot we have(basically the Northern half, 6 six metres back from the road is the build area.), and with respect to the sun path, a long rectanglular shape 'insert your username' the bill, I know a Dormer might do it also.

Volchitsa: ok, I'll play, putting a Misswhippy special together now.
Here it is:


Boaty: Thanks for the sketch, I’ll come back on this…Since my Dad gave me the site, he’s weighed in on the design…Hates the side/main entrance and thinks like you it should be at an angle or beside the garage door, which would push the whole block of a house over.

Water_John: Where’s my finished design ;p LOL…..When you asked to move the fridge, are you talking about moving it into the back right hand corner?

Systhebeat: Thanks for your honesty  I love it…..I’ve made some new drawings that should show more of the overall design…I stuck an extra window upstairs to balance out the downstairs windows ;p It’s a bit of a gable end facing the road but I can’t see how to stick on a Front entrance without totally rearranging the inside floor design and I really don’t care if we have a side entrance, but it seem sto upset people all right… Yes, and I’ve heard people making negative comments about the massive 500m2 house that will be next to ours, Lovely Guy living there by the way, but due to his life situation, he lives inside the house 99% of the time and doesn’t really care too much about the exterior…I think it’s got a nice tall Atrium on it also, even if it is a block ;p again we are trying to add some finish to our block, with the liscannor stone, please see a later post for some good photo examples.

Water_John: Nope, I think he was talking about the yellow block structure to the left, the white block structure to the right is a whole different kinda block structure ;p
Please see below for overview, our house is an old design, I haven’t updated this one yet..It was just to line up what I’d see on the other house when we walk out the door.




MissWhippy:
Thanks, and I apologize, I don't know anything about civil eng, but apparently, my design, is gonna need a whole lot of support on the south side, circular yoke and 4M sliding door. I called into a random guy who I saw building in my town and he happened to have a 4M(largest aluclad he could get) sliding door ....and his house was a basic block design (13*11M) and my god, the Steel that was in it was unreal, End to End on both floors/sides with 2 cross members...€9000 steel bill, I nearly died This building game can be bad for the heart!
But Thanks again, for your re-design, it looks SOOO different when walking inside the space, we were walking up and down the bowling alley for so long we got used to it, nice to break up the thinking every now and then.

magnethead

Part of the design upgrade was to stick a Mansard roof on it...

First we went with a 45 desgree mansard, with a standard gutter, which might be the easier build option. see here




and Then we thought it wasn't curvy enough (think circular yoke) so we made a Chinese Pagoda out of it...I'm not sure it this is practical, I don't see how you would get a warm roof slab down to the exterior insulation to join it properly....and that bloody Cornice is about 40CM in width, i don't know if they made PVC Cornices that big and would it cost a fortune?
the current window (not sure if it's gonna stay) is the wrong style in the roof over the front facing gable....need to make a rectangular one, with a circular yoke, little roof one it.






We have to revisit the Garage, I don't think I'll be getting special engineered curved joists(Glued laminate yokes) in to cater for the roof, probably go for something more simple in the end.

magnethead

In order to get the Oven out of the corner, we decided to stick a long press, that pulls out. some like this...It should gives us 20-30cm of elbow room in the corner...



See here the house we really like, the liscannor rusty stone finish is really good!! you can see how the material selection in the software I'm using is not really showing it at ALL!
The Dark Slate roof really work well with the dark Liscannor stone, and the cream color in the middle of the sandwich.

We've got about 58m2 of covering, at €150 a bag covers 3.5m2(supplier says), lets say 3m2... at 60-100 for a guy to lay it...Let's say €85, that's €7830 for the Liscannor finish :eek:

magnethead

We hope to stick in a winding stairs like this, NO pinch point at the turn, it and a bit of a curve at the bottom.
Got a quote of €2900 to cast it in place....

I was just curious, then the sister was building she got charged €2000 for the precast straight stairs, and €3500 for the delivery truck and crane/man for a day....

I guess the main contractor goes the pre-cast route in order to speed up the build process??

Dudda

Is this a joke or are you seriously considering building this?
I know people often say nasty things on the internet but this time it’s justified. It looks terrible. Please get an architect and don’t show him any of these.

volchitsa

magnethead wrote: »

Volchitsa: ok, I'll play, putting a Misswhippy special together now.
Here it is:



MissWhippy:
Thanks, and I apologize, I don't know anything about civil eng, but apparently, my design, is gonna need a whole lot of support on the south side, circular yoke and 4M sliding door. I called into a random guy who I saw building in my town and he happened to have a 4M(largest aluclad he could get) sliding door ....and his house was a basic block design (13*11M) and my god, the Steel that was in it was unreal, End to End on both floors/sides with 2 cross members...€9000 steel bill, I nearly died This building game can be bad for the heart!
But Thanks again, for your re-design, it looks SOOO different when walking inside the space, we were walking up and down the bowling alley for so long we got used to it, nice to break up the thinking every now and then.

Yes, Thanks for doing that model up, MH - I do much prefer it to the small round pagoda thing in the other pics. Love the corner window but I imagine that's expensive.

Obviously cost is always a big thing, but as you say your original design isn't without its problems either.

It's a big house which is always going to be complicated to design to be practical inside without looking too intimidating from outside. I like that side of it now. Not entirely sure about the garage side still?

mrsWhippy

If you could continue that glass full height from the door to the far side of the corner window, it'd look great.

I still think it's turning into a big hack job though, and the outside doesn't look great imo.

Magnethead, you are a gas ticket though!

Boaty

Sorry but the roof looks horrendous.
This house in Clare looks very attractive, you may be able to include some elements of it.

magnethead

ok, I see it's not going down well here

Yes, I'm serious about building it....I think most people here are into the contemporary / Modern design...
Boaty, I have to take it you post was serious, because there was no smiley face and you went to the trouble of posting a picture. I wouldn't park my car in that which puts us on opposite ends of the taste spectrum which is ok, each to their own.

But in fairness, when I look at any Irish town, most of the houses I see are simple boxes, and nothing fancy at all,
the standard box, with A frame roof, and a couple of dutch windows sticking out, seems to cover 50% of the buildings in the last decade...maybe add a porch or whatever.


Maybe I'm like VanGogh, my design won't be appreciated in my lifetime...everybody will be building bald blocks 10 years from now :rolleyes: ....joke people.

ok, Thanks for your feedback, I'm tethering edge of getting an architect involved now...maybe back to the drawing board with this for a couple of months, but we are going to break ground this year for sure! Money is lined up.

mrsWhippy

magnethead wrote: »

But in fairness, when I look at any Irish town, most of the houses I see are simple boxes, and nothing fancy at all,

That's true. But that doesn't mean they're well designed houses which would be pleasant to live in. Typical for the Irish countryside are badly orientated, carbon-copy bungalows with long dark corridors and absolutely no regard for quality of living. And whether you prefer traditional design over modern/contemporary design shouldn't come into it at this stage really.

But you've got such a great opportunity here. A lovely site. A bit of cash to invest in it. Don't waste it.

Have you met with any architects so far to discuss the project and what they might be able to bring on board?

bemak

magnethead wrote:

 I'm tethering edge of getting an architect involved now...

Do it!

magnethead

Yup, I've met two already. Nice people, but I think it's really just a personality test when you meet (to see if you can work with them).
I don't understand by what you mean

discuss the project and what they might be able to bring on board?

Apart from a long list of supplier, and a list of builders,(which they both said they had) ..... Neither one got into the design aspects of the Site...I wouldn't expect them to either, That's what they're getting paid for, why would they give it out for free.

In the end, There's a bit of faith involved, you just pull the trigger and go with an architect for his style and references. Same as picking a doctor or solicitor. I just got a bit of cold feet as the sister poured a lot of money down the drain. and we can't afford to be that wasteful, especially with material and labour costs beginning to spiral.

magnethead

Ok, I have a real live, living, breathing qualified architect doing up some concepts as we speak, should be ready later this week or early next week...

I've learned from this thread that I don't have a panache for house design I thought the NET was where you come to get your Ego pumped but obviously I got that wrong....:eek:

Since, I can't design, I'm resorting to one last attempt(before I get some different concepts)...by using Copy and Paste..from some housePlan site.

So here goes,
I took this house, which has a front door recessed quite a bit from the front of the building, then used the second photo where cover extends from the front door with runway landing lights, to let you know where the front door is....It also becomes the furthest extended point of the building.
The Internal design is actually, not 100% different from before, we've separated the Living room, and left the Kitchen/dining open plan.

Have I bastardized the design by mixing these and expanding the workshop/garage more hen the original design?

magnethead

House design now.. Bouncy castle was put in to keep the kid quiet while I was drawing it up (worked for about 10minutes)








Might try and put in a window like this at the centre Bedroom on the South Side(Like the original design)....I'm not sure if a Shed Dormer would work with such an overhang...

CaraK

I don't understand the curved bay window or need for it at all, all those nice straight lines and then a curve thrown in to add interest. Do a mock sketch without it and make a call on it

If the house is going to be airtight consider putting balanced external air supply into the floor now

magnethead

CaraK That was an old "design" with the curved bay window. It was my introduction to house design,and I can see now, it was a wart on the side of an ugly building, but at the time, I thought it was precious, that's what happens when you get sucked into your own sh&t, you think it smells nice.

anyway, the issue with being a perfectionist (not me ;p) is that you keep other people waiting, still no updates on the new concepts.

But it gave me the time to have another think about my monopoly board house with the natural stone extension bolted on.

Came across this on google


and so now have integrated the building much better with this...
It actually looks like the extension might have being built with the original house afterall.
Might need to make that shed Dormer a little higher

mrsWhippy

I actually think that looks reasonably well. But the garage still looks like an eye-sore. Why does it have to be connected to the main house?

magnethead

Good Question:

Short Answer: to maximize garden space..and hide the front of the house from passersby.
The architect really didn't like it either when I showed it to him. It's partly about privacy(It's a relatively busy road with foot traffic too), The workshop which will rarely ever have a car in it is the most important room for me, and one arch wanted to make it separate building, maybe something behind a main front facing house(where's my privacy?), with a courtyard inbetween(sure what kinda south facing room are you going to be left with for a garden?), That was what one Arch was suggesting at the Ideal home expo last Saturday I mean, everybody has there own opinion on what works I guess. I think the Plot is FAR too small for that kinda messing (only 450m2)

I actually like having the workshop/Man shed attached to the house even though it leaves me open to wife invasion :mad: (No walkig through the Irish rain to work on projects)

Having a Garage at the front is standard in a lot of countries like the states (see the image above where I got the sun shade over the front door from)

We plan to make a proper height hedge with a small wall, coming from the edge of the workshop and then across the front of the path.

I don't want any glass facing out onto the road except a sacrificial bedroom....(see pic below)

Kinda like this house next door, They had the exact same concerns....with privacy and you can see how they dealt with it.



We also both like the garden, growing veg, flowers..etc..so we wanted to be left with as much as possible.
Now in the house above, the house was spread over an equal size plot but it ate up most of their garden leaving them with a garden, half the size as the one on our design.

Can I ask your opinion of the initial design above (taken from a European website - you can just see that European look to it ;p)
Does it work better as just a small extension? It's ok that you think it's an eyesore, I can easily see it would not be for everybody.

THe image in the post just above above is slightly fisheyed....the garden is a touch over half of our plot

mrsWhippy

Where is North on your plot?

I really *really* like your neighbour's house. I think that's whats half putting me off your design, it's too fussy. Too much going on. Then a big stone clad garage stuck on the front with a balcony thing going on. I think the original design is ok. Not really my taste - a bit of an 'alpine cabin' feel to it.

Pare right back and get the shape of the house, the aspect and the volume sorted before looking at those details imo. When is your architect due back with designs?

Kikana

Looks nice there. Probably discussed already, but can't remember, but changing the door from the Plant room to coming into the Futility room (Ha, Ha,). 
Consider bringing in shopping etc or coming in working gear from the garage.

magnethead

mrsWhippy
THe Road runs North-South, All the Glass is facing directly South into the Garden. The Balcony is really just a roof, It'll never be used as there is a small estate (12 apartments and 8 houses) directly opposite the front of the house(Bit of a junction going on). Another reason, I want to privatize the garden and not leave much exposed at the front of the house.

I know what you mean about the alpine feel, I got that too when the misses showed me the house the first time I think it's the huge overhang. I like it.
but we have completely different tastes, I just don't see anything in the house next door, I think it would look well hanging off a Cliff in LA. But there are about 5 similar houses now in the town.

THe Arch was supposed to be due back last week, but that was the only issue when checking references, he can be very slow

Kikana
You are looking at the old design :rolleyes: I haven't posted the floor layout of the current one.

magnethead

THere was a different color render on the previous shots(Lower half of the building), should have been more like this