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Are we falling into the classic home extension pitfalls?

Brital

We are currently planning a kitchen/dining room type extension in South Dublin. We have used an architect who has designed an extension for us. However, having sat back from the project (incl having read a recent article in the sunday times homes section) about the pitfally of extensions we are concerned that we may be falling into some of these. We would therefore like to obtain an independent opinion on the plans prior to plunging into the project. Does anyone know the best way to go about this and how much it would cost. Thanks.

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Mellor

What were the articles listed pitfalls

Nocaster

If you're taking the advice of a newspaper above that provided by your architect then yes, you've fallen into a pit. :rolleyes:

antiskeptic

Nocaster wrote: »

If you're taking the advice of a newspaper above that provided by your architect then yes, you've fallen into a pit. :rolleyes:

That would assume that there are no architects churning out poorly thought out extensions.

sydthebeat

antiskeptic wrote: »

That would assume that there are no architects churning out poorly thought out extensions.

why would you engage this designer if you do not trust them???

did you not see any previous work from this person?? did you not take to previous clients as to what their working relationship is like??

sinnerboy

Mellor wrote: »

What were the articles listed pitfalls

+1.

sydthebeat wrote: »

why would you engage this designer if you do not trust them??? did you not see any previous work from this person?? did you not take to previous clients as to what their working relationship is like??

To your architect. Without trust on BOTH sides you are in a pit.

Brital

Thanks for the responses. It's a big decision involving a lot of money and so I'm naturally cautious. As a rule I tend to like getting second opinions when I can on big decisions. Its no reflection on the current architect. The pitfalls I'm concerned about are:

. Making best use of light
. Not making best use of the existing space - ie building out on to the side of the property rather than reconfigering the existing rooms.

sinnerboy

They are judgement calls and a second opinion may only unsettle you . However if you need a second opinion - like with a doctor - make an appointment with another architect.

It is your house , your money but best to be upfront with the incumbent.

mel o

Brital, FWIW we've finished a ground floor extension/reconfiguration in the last few months. We had previously extended and really didn't think it through properly and made mistakes. Here's where we went wrong:-
We built behind the back room to extend the kitchen. This meant that a few months later we had to put glass french doors between the front and back rooms to try to get light in there. Which meant the sound travelled through the doors. Which drove me mad! We never again used that "middle" room because although light was coming in from both sides, it was always dark.
Also, the three spaces - front room, middle room and kitchen- were all running into each other. While I know the trend now is for open plan, I don't like a lot of noise so I hated that I could hear the TV while I was listening to the radio in the kitchen.
I went around the world before we started this time, in fear of making another mistake,and in the end employed an architect. While I didn't warm to him personally, it was the best money I ever spent because without him I would have made a costly mistake again. I had planned to move the kitchen to the "middle" part, and he convinced me to spend a bit more and build out more than I had planned. We basically reconfigured the downstairs of our 3 bed semi. Our front room is extended (into the middle room). The rest of the middle room is now a utility room - my absolute pride and joy. Big enough for coats, bags, shoes, sports gear etc. And the kitchen goes the whole way across the back of the house with huge gorgeous windows. We also managed to fit in a downstairs shower room. The extended bit only adds maybe 15sq m to the floor space, but the difference is in how we use each room now. Think think think about how your family uses each room, what works and what doesn't.

Best of luck, it's so hard to be sure you're doing the right thing, you don't want to do it again.

JuniorB

Second opinion? Throw up the plans here and you'll get 20 more opinions

Slig

JuniorB wrote: »

Second opinion? Throw up the plans here and you'll get 20 more opinions

...and none of them good:D.

bath handle

With 1pc stamp duty, it can make more sense to move. I considered a kit/diner extension a few years ago. Got plans drawn. Two architects. I never built it. My existing kitchen would have become a part of the hallway into the need place. To get the increase in space meant covering half the garden an leaving dead corners in the remaining garden. It wasn't worth it.

Slig

The most successful extensions I have designed have mostly been ones that have impacted on the whole house, one in particular only extended 2m out the front which was enough to add a dining table to an existing unused living room. We created an opening between this and the kitchen behind and completely transformed how the clients used the house because the layout suits how they live. People used to call to the back of the house and they always ended up sitting around the kitchen table, now they are naturally drawn into the new area. It might not suit everyone but thats the point.

Unless you are just adding another room like a bedroom or utility room its worth looking at the entire floor plan and possibly changing the layout.

Wally Runs

On the money front if you are worried about over runs etc be sure to tender with some very detailed specifications. You need to be able to see exactly what each item is going to cost and you need to know why too. You can tender with options. Why is this layout/door/finish/ more than that etc. You can go as far as tendering with a Bill of Quantities (BoQ) which should tell you down to the last nail what things are to cost or really what the builder is going to charge you.

With regards the over all scheme, you have to imagine how you will use the new build. We went with an open plan kitchen/living but had a playroom put in. The kids (young) do not use the playroom as theya want to be where you are. In time that will change.

Sgt Pepper 64

What sort of prices are people paying these days?

Does it cost much for an architect?

How much should a bog standard kitchen ext cost going to the max without planning permission? I think its 40m or something

sinnerboy

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

What sort of prices are people paying these days?

Does it cost much for an architect?

How much should a bog standard kitchen ext cost going to the max without planning permission? I think its 40m or something

With respect there is an entire sub forum dedicated to such queries please search there and let this thread run it's own course

Brital

Guys, thanks for all the great comments as always - many of them had real value. I ended up fixing an appointment with an architect near where I work by Merrion Square. The architect was good enough to give me half an hour of his time and considerable experience without charging. He was very experienced and already knew the layout in the estate that my house is on and so had a real insite into the houses. He considered the extension we were planning made a lot of sense for the property and us and gave us great confidence to move forward with the design. Great meeting and very worthwhile. It's great that there's still people out there who are honest professionals and I will definately recommend him to other people. Would love to have posted up the plans but felt the anonymity of the post and design would have been lost. Thanks to all.

JuniorB

Great to hear that you have it sorted - and that you experienced some great service. Best of luck

work

Great thread Brital, please keep us informed on how things go.
Good luck

Brital

As an updfate to this thread, we have now completed our extension and love it. The original design continued to nag us and we ended up sitting down with our architect and talking it through and making some changes to our design. However, the original design was done by a senior partner at the partnership but the architect we ended up working most with was a junior colleague who we found to be more on our wave length. Lessons learnt:

1. If there's a nagging dount, listen to your gut and talk to as many people as possible (including reviewing the many good threads on boards.ie) before going forward.
2. Make sure you find an architect who can relate to what you want. We found an architect who was closer to us in age was more in tune with what we wanted and what we would need with a young growing family.
3. A good architect is well worth the money.

Slig

Glad to hear you got sorted and had apositive experience with and architect. Good advice for anyone else thinking of building.