ultramods

I was quoted £2500 for the supply of the flue (approx 9 metres) and installation of flue and stove (putting stove on concrete base). This did not include the cost of the stove or boxing in the stove and flue. A crazy price for what I would imaging would be 1 days work and £500 - £1000 in materials.

If you aren't an expert, how easy would it be to spot a flue made to incorrect spec or materials? That's what I would be concerned about.

Thank you Alphonsox, I will give them a call.

Can you tell me where you bought your Bora from please as we were quoted £3200 for the Basic in June?

Thank you for the feedback. I have decided that we are going to propose the materials from the original application, slate, granite and render (similar to existing buildings) and hope that this time they accept it, with the other changes we have made to the orientation and form of the building. https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/93389382

When we met with the planners one of them didn't like the double height windows. However when I explained how they fit into the design, they agreed that they could stay. It seems that for the zinc cladding they haven't justified why we can't have it on both walls and roof. I don't want to use a third cladding, just for the sake of it. It just seams very subjective. I guess the the reason I posted was to see if people had experienced similar issues and how they were resolved.

We have bought a plot in the grounds of a former victorian hospital. The site is now a conservation area and the old granite hospital buildings have been converted (started in 2006) into flats and a few hundred new standard developer houses have been built - The criteria for developer houses was natural slate roof, cream render and wooden white windows and doors. We submitted our planning application back in July, which was a slightly more modern take on the existing buildings, but using the same materials (slate roof, white render and granite walls), however the council asked us to withdraw the application as they didn't like the design, specifically: The orientation, they wanted it rotated by 90 degrees. The shape was too boxy. Not allowed white render walls, has to be similar to developer new builds (a pinky cream) They think because our house is marginally closer to the old buildings it needs to be 'more special' Too Symmetrical Not allowed a wall or hedge for boundary After withdrawing the application we met the planners and they indicated that they they would support a more contemporary design as planning has progressed since 2006, they are keen to seen a distinction between old historic buildings and new buildings. We discussed using standing seam Zinc or Vieo cladding (RAL 7016), they seemed OK with this. We made the following changes: Changed orientation Changed the design and materials to be more contemporary Added a gable to make the building less boxy. Changed the fence to a hedge Architect sent a couple of sketches to the planners last week of the new design, they replied today saying that: We can't have white render, it needs to have a pink hue, to match the other buildings We can't have metal cladding on roof and walls - they suggest either: Metal roof, wood cladding and render for walls slate roof, metal cladding and render for walls What do people think about the councils suggestions regarding the cladding? I am pretty disappointed TBH, it feels like they keep contradicting themselves, in one breath they say the house needs to be different from all the other buildings and can be contemporary, but then say the walls need to be the same as the existing buildings. And we can't use a modern material on roof and walls that is often used on roof and walls.

If you have equity in both houses, could you sell both and rent? Might be worth speaking to buildstore. I have heard that they can add delays to the process, however the person we have dealt with so far has been helpful. You could also potentially look at commercial type lending, whereby you can borrow based on the final value of the property. You may find that this gives you the money quicker, but fees will probably be higher.

Yes definitely use Pintrest/Houzz. We used Houzz (basically Pintrest for houses) for finding a lot of ideas, you can filter by room type, style, size etc. And save ideas that you like in your own scrap book(s).

Also looking at the design: 1: Entrance to the family bathroom looks like it's actually on the stairs 2: design in build in wardrobes early, as trying to get them in later can impact the design 3: I don't like the idea of entering the master bedroom via the ensuite area 4: possible wasted space in landing area at front between the two bedroom if it's not intended as seating/study area. 5: move the front bedroom doors closer to the stairs to make better use of the area in 4. 6: the space for the dining table may be a bit tight (close to the island), if you have 600 mm units, 1200 mm between units and island and 1200 mm island, that leaves 2800 mm for dining area. 7: why is the island not in a straight line, think it would flow better straight, rather than have the bits at the end.

I think there is nothing wrong with starting to design your house before you get a plot, in terms of refining/deciding what sort of rooms you would like to have in the house. And even the layout of rooms such as bedrooms, Kitchen and bathrooms/ensuites. I had been playing about with designs for 3 years before we arrived at our current design for our site and I think it definitely helped. I saw you mentioned having the design ready for buying the land, are you aware that you would probably need full planning permission (and possibly building warrant) before a mortgage lender would start the application process? Some sellers may be open to selling you the land once you have the funds from lender however others wouldn't wait that long. We have been told by build store that in Scotland planning application can take 6 - 8 weeks, then building warrant takes 6-8 weeks, only once we have building warrant can the mortgage application begin, which can take up to another 3 months.

Thank you for all the feedback, it has confirmed a lot of the issues I could see and a few new ones as well.

I have created some new plans that I will show the architect tomorrow. The new house size is around 280 SQM. The bathrooms and ensuites need rejigged, however I think it's a better use of space. Only major issues I see are: 1: The position of the stairs and then linked to that the length of the halls. I have put a store under the stairs as the ground floor ceiling height will be 2.7 - 2.8 metres. 2: The porch

Thank you for all the comments. I have been working on a revised design tonight, starting with the ground floor. What do you think of this layout?

Thanks Peter. I was also wondering about putting the downstairs wetroom in the space of the cupboard and shelving, which would also make it an ensuite for the snug when it is a bedroom, but still have access from hall as well. The store could then go in the void underneath the stairs.

Peter, your comments are similar to my thinking. We did want at least 2 more ensuites. The snug may double up as a bedroom for my disabled mother in law when they are visiting, so does need to be quite big for bed and wheelchair access

Thanks Peter. For the I requirements I added lots of photos to Houzz Scrapbook https://www.houzz.co.uk/ideabooks/67831575 I have attached another image that includes our written requirements to the architect.

Hi, Received the first draft of our house designs today. Can anyone give me feedback on them please? The plot is in a conservation area on the former site of a hospital that consisted of half a dozen large buildings laid out in a villa format. Unfortunately the derelict building pictured to the house east doesn't belong to us and there are no plans for anyone to be converting it. 565-02 Proposals.pdf south west North East South East North West New build houses next to one of the original buildings Another South East Another North East Another South West

Thanks Dave. I am hoping Aberdeen will have diversified within 12 years. We plan have a reasonably high spec and interesting architect designed house which should hopefully mean the house stands out when compared to a lot of the current houses in the area.

I have finally sold my house and have almost had my offer accepted on a plot. My original plan was to build a near passive house using passive slab, ICF walls and warm roof. However this will not be our forever home (currently 34), we plan to build our forever home in around 12 years time, in a more rural location, once our son has left home. From a cost perspective I don't see the point potentially spending a lot of extra money reducing the u-value in the house, when we know we will be moving again. I am still contemplating constructing the slab and ICF walls myself with the help of a local builder, only problem is there doesn't seam to be local builders with ICF experience. I would also be willing to build the house, using timber frame or blocks, however this would probably mean that I couldn't get as involved in the construction, reducing chance to save some money. We want to build a two storey house, around 260 sqm, the plot has mains gas. Another issue is the property values in Aberdeen are still declining due to the slump in the oil price, which is another reason that I would prefer to spend less money on the house as I know I wont get the money back when I come to sell for the better u value. Any suggestions on what we should do?

Do you mean since the referendum? I talked to build store about 6 weeks before the referendum and we had a mortgage in principle lined up for once we have sold our house. Do you think I should be speaking to them again?

ah OK, ta.

Thanks Jason. Do you have any photos of the service voids?

Thanks.

Thanks Jeremy. Could the cold water pipes run below the slab, to keep the water cold? Also is there any reason that it would need to be cold, rather than room temp? I know for brushing teeth in the bathrooms i want cold. But apart from that I don't know when I need cold water, apart from the kitchen. In the kitchen we would need to put the cold water pipe in the floor anyway as the sink will be on an island. We are planning one of the instant hot water taps (apart from island there will be no other worktops for a kettle), which I think also make the water cold. When you say ducting, do you mean running the pipes in the ceiling (will be using posi joists)?