Act VI - Scene II - The Consequences of Space
Entry posted by AliMcLeod
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Based on our brief, our architect had taken the original designs that came with our plot, utilised the same house footprint, and had come up with a new set of designs and internal floor layouts.
We had two choices for the external design - a flat roof or two mono-pitched roofs. After a little discussion between my wife and I, and with to the architect, we agreed on the two mono-pitched roofs design.
The house to the west of us had an almost flat roof (they initially submitted plans for a flat roof, but the planners insisted on a 5 degree gradient), and the proposed one to the east had the same plans as those that came with our plot, albeit a little smaller, with a mono-pitched and a dual pitched roof, with dormers. We spoken to the owners of the house to the west, and they said that planners were adamant that they could not have a flat roof. We felt we'd get the same decision if we wanted to go down that route, but we also felt that the two-mono pitched roofs would add a bit more character to the house and fitted in better with the overall streetscape.
So, this was our new house design.
Now, this seems obvious to me now, but what I hadn't quite realised at the time how much roof layout of the the original design had reduced the internal foor space of the house. After we'd made the decision to go with the two mono-pitched design, we let our builder know and asked for an updated cost plan.
As part of our brief to the architect, we'd also reminded him that we lived in Scotland, so probably didn't need there balconies, so this was reduced to one. This was bound to save costs, we thought, and made sure our builder took that into account.
However, our builder soon got back to us asking if we'd realised that the new roof design had increased our floorspace from around 250 m² to around 340m² and, even with the simpler roofs, and the removal of the balconies, that would therefore increase the build cost. The change had also increased the ceiling heights from 2.4 meters on each level (from the bottom up) to 2.5m, 2.675m and 2.5 meters. Finally, he pointed out that the change of slope on the roofs to under 20 degrees meant that we could not longer use slate for our roof and would have to either use a membrane or aluminium zinc, with the resulting additional costs.
Overall, the above increased our build estimated cost by around 20%, including a doubling of the cost of the roof (it would also mean changing soffits, fascia, downpipes etc).
That amount was starting to eat into our contingency, but was something we could afford, even if it eventually meant a little bit more on the mortgage.
Looking back, I do wonder whether we could/should have shrunk the house a bit at that time, saving some costs but still having a house that would still be big enough for our needs - we don't need that space day-on-day but do have family visiting from London and Dublin a few times a year. And, more space is good, right?
I've been happy with our architect, but the changes to the house design, and in particular the reduction in the roof gradient precluding us from using slate, has taught me to always think about, or ask about, the potential consequences of any other proposed changes.
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