Not sure where to begin

Donal27

Hi all,

I've recently inherited my family home, it is a bungalow in rural location, around 1 km outside a village in the west. I am happy with the location, however the house is too big for my needs (single, no family or plan to have family), the house through various extensions has now 4 and half bedrooms, it is structurally sound, but has always suffered from poor light and as bits were added on over the years, the heating has never been sufficient (its oil fuelled heating). Apart from being too big for my needs, being dark and costly to heat, it is also situated extremely close to a busy road, ie walk out the front door and a passing lorry is likely to shake you to the core, gravel also occassional bounces off the road and bounces off the front windows its that close.

The thing is it is on a large enough site behind it, plenty big to build a new house. My options as i see them are to do a big renovation job on teh house, including changing the orientation of house away from teh road, so it benefits from natural light and have living space away from road noise. i would also need to completely redo the heating system so it is functional and affordable. ideally i would just like to live in the original part of the bungalow as it has thick walls and is the warmest part, thinking i could block off the 2 bedroom extension which i really don't need and its hard to heat?

I only have a mortgage of 150k approved, I could possibly push for more but its probably all i can comfortably afford. The other option is to knock the original house and start from fresh in a better location away from the road up the garden, again i would be thinking of a small 2 bed bungalow, i know the price of building materials and labour maybe prohibitive for this. unfortunately i have absolutely no diy skills or family who work in the trades so can't get any of work done myself to save money it would have to be contractors all the way. Another option would be to build a timber frame modular home, one of the ones that actually meet planning permissions, which are actually around the 225k mark and probably as expensive as a new build.

So my question is who do i go to to decide which is most practical option, revamp current bungalow or try for a new build away from the road. Would hiring an architect or structural engineer be my first port of call, i would like to get a professional opinion as i don't want to pump money into the current house if its not practical… ie too big, hard to heat and it will always be too close to the road. on the other hand, i don't want to knock a livable in house, which coudl potentially be much improved with 150k cash injection.

any thoughts appreciated!

Calahonda52

You won't get planning to knock the house.

You will also need planning to change front of house, say you want to make window out of the front door

A new house at back may not get a new entrance onto the road so right of way through existing….

The thing about road noise is that if it gets into your head you will always hear it.

Good quality 3G windows properly fitted at the front will help but it will still get in through the roof space, the old walls might take a hollowcare slab as a new ceiling.

My sense is sell it and look for something else that you can spend the 150 on.

You don't have any skills in this area and it's a prime example of where you could be taken for a ride by unscrupulous builders.

Another idea is demolish all the crap extensions and focus on the old part only.

Having said that you won't get all the 150 back if you ever sell.

standardg60

I would look into getting planning for a new build with separate entrance to the back of the site, and then sell original house on smaller site.

Otherwise as above sell the whole lot and buy/build something that suits better.

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122471392#Comment_122471392

RE the planning, given its a rural site, I presume its on its own septic tank so you may not have room for/ get planning for two.

\The other point re the ST is if its not registered with the EPA/LA and not up to scratch, if you apply for planning on the existing they will make you redo it, c 10k

Donal27

Hi all, thanks v much for replies and advice, plenty to consider. For peace of mind, think I would like to talk to someone to go through options, ie renovation, new build and all the possible obstacles re planning permission etc just wondering who would be the best to approach for this, a structural engineer, architect, builder. Just want someone to take a look, explain the pitfalls, set my mind at ease that I've given it a try, then I'd be happy to try sell up and move onto somewhere else.

Many thanks

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122474153#Comment_122474153

You dont need an engineer or a builder at this stage. Contact a local architect or architectural technician and they will be able to run through your options.

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122474264#Comment_122474264

As above, planning obstacles might be LA specific so you need someone who has a track recored of LA engagement.

You could also explore ideas with your local councillor.

I know there is some sort of work to rule FUT going on in the LAs re engagement with councillors but give it a twist.

standardg60

Should be a planning officer in the local council you can make an appointment with to come out and give you an idea whether planning is feasible.

muffler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122474998#Comment_122474998

Planners won't do that.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122475275#Comment_122475275

Is that not what a pre-planning application is for?

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122475591#Comment_122475591

No, you will need to go into them, they do not travel out to you, unless as a big favour.

preplanning meetings are there so the applicant is made aware of what possible issues they may face in an application.