ultramods

The relationship was still OK at the point he initially refused. My original point is still valid, I was naive as this was my first build and my advice to anyone self building would be to have it contractually specified that the architect will provide the CAD file to any supplier that requests it. This way if the relationship with the architect deteriorate at a later stage they are still contractually required to provide the CAD file.

I personally don't want the CAD file. I just want the ability for any suppliers for the house to be have the CAD file if required. in my case the timberframe company and builder asked architect directly and were refused.

The professional body is just protecting it's members (from a financial perspective) - MAGA

Exactly technology is becoming more and more prevalent, I would imagine in 10 - 20 years if an architect isn't willing to provide CAD files they will be out of business. Although I am from a software development background I work for a large manufacturing company that rely on a number of external vendors to manufacture different electrical and mechanical sub components. I can assure you that providing the CAD files does reduce the likely hood of human error. I'm not saying it removes human error but it does reduce it.

IMHO the only actual reason that architects retain the CAD files is to retain as much business from the client as possible. All this PI stuff is nonsense as it can easily be mitigated. My timberframe company said a couple of architects won't give them the CAD files but majority do. My original point was to highlight this issue to the person that created this post so hopefully they don't find themselves in this situation. As I have said above I have learnt from this and in future I simply would not use an architect that wont provide the CAD files, clearly I now know to ask this when initially engaging with architects. If they will provide CAD files I would then ensure I have a contract that states this.

I knew the risk of doing this, however I said to the architect I would sign a document to state that I was accepting the risk. However us having the CAD files to give to the timberframe company etc would have still lowered the risk of human error in one of these companies in reproducing the drawings.

surely the builder only needed a tape measure, a string and some pegs.......... Do you not get my frustration? The architect by not giving the CAD file as the single source of the design is increasing the likely hood of human error in another stage of the build. When I initially asked him for a quote at no point did he tell me that when we come to the construction of the house various companies would ask for the CAD files but he wouldn't give them. The architect not giving the CAD file increased the risk that the timberframe company etc may have made a human error in translating the 2D drawings into a new CAD file, which could have resulted in the house being too high for example. It's like Chinese whispers, what if the timberframe company wouldn't then give the company supplying the granite their CAD drawings of the house,? There would be an increased risk of the granite not being the correct size. What if the timberframe company wouldn't give the builder their CAD file? Again more chance for human error resulting in the foundation being wrong dimension for the timberframe base/sole plate. As a self builder you could say that I was naive in not knowing that all these companies would also be using CAD. My parents built a house around 6 years ago and there was no CAD used! However as the architect is a professional I would have appreciated that he would have told me this before I appointed him, to then allow me to make an informed decision.

The builder wanted the CAD file for the setting out as the CAD file had the house positioned on top of the topographical survey.

I was stung here with the difference between building warrant drawings and construction drawings. Initially when I asked my architect for a quote to design the house he quoted for planning drawings and building warrant drawings and managing the submission to the council for both stages. At no point did he mention construction drawings. Once the planning and building warrant were approved we started engaging with the companies that were going to supply our: timber frame, windows, granite building blocks and even the builder for the foundations, they all wanted the CAD files for the house. The architect wouldn't give them the CAD files as he said the plans were not construction drawings and therefore his PI insurance wouldn't cover him giving the CAD files to the various companies. This was very frustrating. If when or we build again and use an architect I would contractually insist that we own all the CAD files that are created for the house design.

can we see inside?

You could maybe have two separate wardrobe areas bed the bed if the walkway depth is an issue. And make the walk in wardrobe maybe 1600mm deep to get a bit more space in the ensuite if you wanted a larger shower area. or thinking outside the box a little, change the layout to below.

I was planning pocket doors for our ensuites, however they mean you can't put sound insulation in that part of the wall, which put me off them, unless you want to make the wall double thickness. Also the wardrobe space behind your bed might feel a bit cramped, if you assume 600mm wide for clothes hanging, that's a 500mm walkway.

I would say it depends on what you are wanting to achieve, what is your vision and priorities? the ensuite and dressing room practically speaking are not small however they are not luxuriously large.

I was talking to a cabinet maker about oak treads for my cantilevered stairs. He recommended not using solid oak in case it craves or distorts over time. instead he recommended some sort of engineered board such ask oak veneered ply. You might be OK as your treads are thicker (the cantilevered stairs ones are essentially a hollow sleeve that slots onto the steel tread. Have you looked on ebay?

You could try Craigmile Joinery in Inverurie. This is the company that will be erecting my timberframe in 3 weeks. They also do roofing and k-rend.

As @ProDave has said, the proposed extension doesn't make much sense just now. What are you trying to achieve overall? Are you extending simply to make 1 or 2 of the bedrooms bigger? Are you wanting to add ensuites? Are you wanting the extension to allow you to resize any of the other rooms in the house?

From a cosmetic perspective the layout may be dependent on the style of the house. i.e a more traditional style house might have a farm house style kitchen layout, whereas a more contemporary house might have a more minimalist layout. My design (which I came up with rather than professional designers) is here: I have had various quotes from kitchen companies based on my design and none of them have suggested any improvements. From a practical perspective I have the fridge, freezer, boiling water tap, sink, oven, microwave, hob, integrated bins and dishwasher all very close to each other, which means when you are cooking you aren't moving all around the kitchen. I know my style of kitchen with only one worktop (island) will not be for everyone. However the only compromise I see us making is having the toaster in the utility room next door. We could have put the toaster in one of kitchen cupboards with the retractable doors. We have made sure that the worktop is large enough to have 2 people preparing food at the same time. In your design it looks like you will have a lot of worktop space, do you really need all that? I find with lots of worktop space it's very easy for the kitchen to look cluttered as more and more stuff is left of the worktop space. if you don't need as much worktop space you could have more tall banks of units, which I think makes better use of a space. Are you not having a dining table in the house, are you going to be eating at the island? Personally I don't like sitting on bar stools (obviously this is a personal preference) I have stayed in holiday houses with the same layout as I have designed, however i have increased the width of the walkway between the island and the tall bank of units as I found any less and you are bumping in to other people if there is more than one person cooking.

Are you able to share any photos of your wood effect tiles please?

Thank you for this, a lot of good points.

Hopefully the interior designer isn't laurence llewelyn-bowen. My fear is that we choose flooring that we don't like after a short period and would then be expensive to replace.

Looks like we have missed the ideal home exhibition for this year and the next one will be too late ?

We are really struggling to decide of what flooring and bathroom wall tiles to go for. We want a contemporary look, currently thinking either grey or wood effect porcelain tiles for the floors. We have studied 1000's of photos online, however I think we really need see some of the styles we like in situ. Can anyone recommend any large showrooms (anywhere in the UK) similar to Porcelanosa please?

I was hoping to use if for interior design inspiration. Do you think it would be worthwhile for this?

I am planning on going to Grand Designs Live in Birmingham next month. As I will be flying there can anyone that has been there previously please tell me how long I would need to comfortably see all the exhibits, is one day 2 short, should I go for 2? Also I would be visiting for interior design ideas (flooring, wall tiles, kitchens etc), is it worthwhile for this?

How can the estimate for the sanitary ware be wrong? If he said 17k and you bought all the sanitary ware for 10k? Is the 17k simply the cost for purchasing the sanitary ware or does this cost include first, second and final fix for all your bathrooms?