Papillon

Can you split the difference? the glazed doors inside look good, it would irk me if they weren’t inline with the back doors. It’s possible this won’t show in the rear elevation but we can’t tell without you showing it to us. The glazed doors on the outside look tiny are you sure they are all in proportion.

Douglas Fir is fine for post and beam. Glulam is not as nice looking. I would be doing something like this: https://ibb.co/5TLVKt7

That one ETC has posted would match the site better lol You have two balconies there, common sense would dictate that you should take that glazed porch monstrosity off and instead, make an attractive glazed end of some kind. It doesn’t have to be super modern, no need to scare the planners, it just needs to be attractive and a feature. basements - ridiculously expensive. oak - very expensive, other wood is fine and looks the same porch and unsupported balconies - waste of money An architect/good designer might be an actual investment. Not to put down this person who drew this, it’s a good stab for a novice, they just need practice.

That porch is a bit rough. Why is it such a grand feature, yet seems just to be a glass box aimed at your fence. I assume you mean it to be two storey? Because why would you have all that light and then close it off with an internal door… isn’t the point of that to make the hall seem light, it’s expensive and you get nothing from this. I suggest maybe finding an image of something in that style and using the window proportion from that, because those are not quite right for a modern barn. They are the proportion of computer monitors.

You can pretty much do anything with timber lol secrets they don’t want you to know 😂

what is it you would like to know?

You can absolutely pick what tiles you want, put your foot down. Take it to the boss if you need to, it’s your house and you don’t have to do that just to make it easier for them to calc/draw… assuming there’s no good reason to do with pitches etc

You can use any window supplier you like, but they usually go with Bereco or Rational yes. I don’t work for them btw but I’ve been around a bit happy to share info. Any roof or external finish is fine also. They don’t suggest fitters, you would pick your own contractor and they would subcontract this out. Potton would do your frame design and erect.

Oh welcome!! Also from west Cumbria and now I’ve done houses that are old enough to get renovated!!! Am Cleator/Whitehaven located myself hope it goes well!

Looks in-keeping from the back to be sure, big - but I wouldn’t worry about that lol People are always going to have an opinion, often it will be jealousy and dislike of new things. I always try to think from their perspective and don’t take the mick, but I’ve heard every daft complaint under the sun at this point. ‘The ASHP will trigger my diabetes’, ‘the fire escape is onto our shared pavement’, etc If your neighbours are coming over, or you feel like you want to run it past them before you build, do so with the proviso that they will probably shaft you on the planning website as soon as you leave the room, it’s not personal. And also, if you yourself want to object, the planners have a list of reasons they will pretend to care about and don’t need to know about your life story and irrational fears of timber cladding.

Potton do use brick dims, I’m also curious as to why those numbers are so apparently random. Just ask them. assuming there’s some sense behind that… If you’re going to change the mortar depth then that’s going to be a bit of a problem as it will add up. Probably not much but it depends how fussy you are. The dimensions should be the structural openings, you will have to change the size of the windows if you want them to look perfect - but that’s doable.

Oh that’s unusual. I guess they have described the materials in your application somewhere. hmmm yes, contact the planner firstly. Then they will probably ask you to do an amendment.

What do your conditions say? It will be on the approval letter. Often they treat materials as reserved matters, and you decide after you get planning.

I also think the glass entrance is out of scale and keeping with the rest of the house. it’s a little bit of a fad to have those now, in my opinion they are a bit of a self-builder trope. I’d scale it down.

I’ve only helped self builders, I haven’t built a house (yet). But I think if I were doing a self build, I’d get an architect for the initial concept (this should cost about 1k), but use a timber frame company and a contractor for the majority of the build. I would keep an eye on the final details myself as a project manager. Some timber frame places will do your planning for you, cheaply as they want you to buy a frame. You can get a decent level of insulation from the timber kit, and a lot more help than from an architect for far cheaper. But lord, some of those designs by the timber frame companies are absolutely tragic. They really struggle with the initial design and also the final touches and detailing. Once they have done the frame they couldn’t give two hoots about how the outside looks, and most of their designers are really just technicians.

I don’t get why you have done so many drawings and a finalised your scheme before engaging an architect? They would traditionally be the one who gave you some ideas and let you know what you could achieve. on the plus side though, that looks like an excellent survey.

2k/m2 with foundations is about average right now. Your QS is bonkers. https://www.fleminghomes.co.uk/self-build-resources/cost-calculator/ stick your info in there, you’re fine.

Draw it in sketchup then send it off to someone off fivrr. They are freelance workers and it’ll cost you like £30. I do a lot of renders and learning the software and picking out the hatches to make them 3D ready is a pain.

Now I want to see your church houses!!!

Materials have gone up in cost, not that much though. Your architect should have some remorse and reduce the size for you if it’s their fault… but honestly in my experience I draw things then the customer makes it larger and takes out walls so they need more steels every time. Easy fix, I’m sure you have realised, is to reduce your spec and don’t do Passivehouse level.

You’d be so much better off not using a shipping container! They just aren’t designed for that kind of thing and so hard to work with. Buildings need more than just to be insulated and that’s it… Check out prefab units instead of you like that aesthetic. You can at least alter them to your own spec without damaging them structurally. etc’s links are great.

You just need to be sensible with it, work with what you got. I’ve seen people with small floor plans that just worked perfectly, just really lovely spaces that use garden space to extend the rooms etc. I’ve also had a massive house where people had bedrooms that were vaulted and 8m long and ugh, horrible. There’s more room for error, but that’s just as bad to me. I have a pet hate of houses that just ‘fill the plot’ and just end up a charmless lump. The worst one I did was for a woman who had a smaller footprint and wouldn’t listen so every room was awkward and stupid too. I think her main problem was she had a larger house and wanted the same things (in the same arrangement) in a small one. so yes, “it’s how you use it” 😉

ARB, as others have said. They will be able to offer you advice and kick him in to touch. So many things here that he’s done are enough to get him struck off, from having no contract to the ‘the fees were just resting in my account’ stuff. I bet he doesn’t have PI, but that’s your next stop. I don’t think you’ll have to pay if you navigate this properly and don’t be tempted to just pay in order to cut him off cleanly. There are things in place to help you through ARB.

Is it like a 10m2 space? Have you ever been in a space that open. I know you’re not asking for design advice but you might need to look at how you’re going to divide and use it a bit before you move to the next step. you could put in a seating pit, shelves or something, furniture all looks a bit plonked.

I don’t think batteries are a pressing concern to be honest lol