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Form factor

Square Feet

Entry posted by Square Feet in General

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This month I've been working to figure out the form factor of the house I will build.  The options were:

 

  • 2 storey 
  • 1.5 storey with dormers
  • 1.5 storey with Veluxes
  • 1.5 storey with mezzanine
  • 1 storey with vaulted ceiling
  • 1 storey with flat ceiling

 

Local planning vernacular is for 1.5 storey with dormers, which I really don't want to build. The dormers are expensive to construct, feel pokey inside and are tricky to detail for airtightness and heat loss.  They will also cause issues with solar panel layout and shading.  Looking at the topographic survey, it is clear that I am never going to get permission to build a 2 storey building.  The massing is just too great on an elevated plot like mine. I played around for quite a while with the 1.5 storey + Veluxes option, but I think if I am completely honest even that is going to stretch me too far financially. Ultimately I have settled on a single storey with vaulted ceiling. I've seen a lot of examples of this which I have found myself really drawn to. They feel spacious inside and should solve a lot of the issues (such as ceiling height) which I was trying to solve with other styles of building. 

 

Advantages of single storey

 
I can have a 2 or 3 bedroom house instead of feeling forced into a 4 bed by the ground floor footprint. As I want a downstairs bedroom and bathroom for 'future proofing', the floorplan inevitably leads to 3 beds upstairs - far more than I need at my time of life.
There is more roof on single a storey building. Whist this means poorer form factor for passive qualities and more roof material it is balanced by more solar being possible.
No upper floor to pay for - saves on ceiling boards and flooring, posijoists, staircase etc. 
Less glazing to pay for. 
Less scaffolding - it should be easier to construct a building with a lower ridge height. 
More even heat throughout from UFH.
Less bathrooms and one or two less bedrooms all saves money. Less plumbing cost, less electric costs, less MHRV ducting costs, less doors, skirting, walls etc.
Less visual impact with a lower ridgeline. 
I can get a spacious, airy house without needing a lot of wall height in the ground floor - this should save on materials.
It might be easier to tailor the roof angle to optimise for solar gain. 
I can argue for planning that this building is better for future-proofing as I get older.
A smaller, more modest house suits the ethos of 'just enough'.  I don't need a McMansion and I can't afford to saddle myself with something I can't afford to live in. I would rather have more disposable income every month to enjoy life with.  My finances are very tight and I need to be realistic that costs will inevitably rise during construction.
 
The best example of a single storey, 'just enough' house that I have found is Old Holloway in Herefordshire. It is passive certified, 3 bed, 99sqm internal footprint and built with straw-filled panels. It cost £135k (after VAT refund) to construct in 2017/18.
 
Using Old Holloway as a starting point for the design shows that passive can be attained using this form-factor. The Old Holloway blog contains a wealth of data regarding solar generation, heating, cooling, and heat demand which will take a lot of the guesswork out. I don't want to build that exact house, but it's a good place to start from. 
 
I feel pretty good about this decision. It's taken a lot of the financial stress away that was nagging away in the back of my mind.  Just please don't ever call my cool, funky house a bungalow - it won't be - bungalows have flat ceilings.
 
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ProDave

ProDave 9293

Posted

Have you considered 1.5 storey with "gable end" dormers like I built?

 

Cut roof built on a ridge beam gives a very open space inside far less cluttered than normal dormers, easy to detail air tightness and insulation.

 

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Square Feet

Square Feet 125

Posted (edited)

Hi @ProDave Thanks for your comment. Yes I did look at your build and others of a similar roofline too but if I'm completely honest I just don't like them. As I said I am also very tight on finances and taking the upper floor away will be the compromise that is needed to ensure this house gets built, finished and ticks all my comfort boxes.  I've seen so many episodes of Grand Designs where people say 'I've got £150k to build a house' and end up spending £300k with a massive mortgage they have to work into their old age to service.  A lot of the floorplan of my current flat is taken up with gear for hobbies etc that will live in the garage in my new house, so I can afford to go a bit smaller without it feeling cramped.

 

I read a comment you made somewhere on here a while ago about how you built your first home as a 5 bed and then realised you didn't actually need one that big so built another smaller one down the road. To avoid following the path of building something bigger than I need and then having to go through it all again to get what I actually need I am just going to build smaller from the start. I really like a lot of single storey houses - here's a few examples...

 

 

 

 

Edited by Square Feet
BotusBuild

BotusBuild 666

Posted

24 minutes ago, Square Feet said:

I am just going to build smaller from the start.

Good for you.

  • Like 1
SteamyTea

SteamyTea 5930

Posted

I did this a while back, may, or may not, help.

 

 

  • Like 1
JohnMo

JohnMo 4554

Posted (edited)

I'm not a 1.5 storey fan although I have lived in a few.  Single storey form factor is pretty pants especially if every ceiling is vaulted, like our house.

 

You can compensate but insulation value needs to be sub 0.1 everywhere. We settled for 0.09 floor and 1.1 roof and 0.14 walls and triple grazed.  But would add more insulation doing it again.

 

Single storey is great to live in, when my wife broke her ankle, life was pretty normal - toilet, showers, beds all just as normal, no special arrangements.

 

We did 193m² and it's 3 bed all bedrooms are generous doubles, lounge is good and roomy etc.  It all could have been smaller.

Edited by JohnMo
  • Like 1
Square Feet

Square Feet 125

Posted

Thanks @JohnMo that's really helpful.

I'm thinking mine will be around 110sqm with a lean to of around 9sqm for the plant room/mudroom/porch.  There'll be 2 good doubles and a study/small 3rd bedroom. I think that'll be enough for me. 

Good info re the insulation, thanks. Yes, I'm planning on having most of it vaulted.

  • Like 1
ProDave

ProDave 9293

Posted

If doing single storey, I would still say a decent pitch on the roof and for the small extra cost built the roof using attic trusses, so you have the option to convert the loft space later of your needs change.

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