Mulberry View

I love and appreciate the feedback here. It's all very useful. Great to hear these opinions. One of the main things that we wanted was a big Master Suite with a balcony, somewhere private for us to sit in the evenings with a cuppa, listening to the Owls in the trees and appreciating the night sky with the remarkably low level of light pollution we have (for only being about 3 miles from the centre of our nearest City!). She certainly got that right. You're seeing the RevA of the first design, this came as a result of us widening the plot to the North, it made SUCH a difference to the layout and created that lovely courtyard area which we never dreamed of but are very fond of and moved the Carport into a much better place. We still aren't 100% on whether to make it a Carport or Garage though. The room sizes do worry me a little. I feel like I want her to squeak it up to 190-200m2 (plus Carport) and spread the extra across the whole building fairly equally, giving a bit more room everywhere and more comfortable bathroom arrangements. We've already asked for a juggle around of rooms on the West side, we like the idea of the Utility Room/Plant Room being most westerly, with a 'back door' into the little undercover bit under our balcony, as opposed to on the South Face it is in that design. There is so much to learn when we get into a more detailed design, but we're already excited and that's got to be a good sign, right?

Thanks!! I'm still in awe of the build costs you achieved, I only wish I had your ability.

The Living Room is my concern. In reality, the Kitchen, Dining Room and Living Room could/would be open-plan. There is a 3/4 height dividing block between the Living Room and the rest because we wanted some sort of division. We have already suggested a juggle around since this concept, to swap the Kitchen area to the Northern end of the Kitchen/Dining Space, then the Dining area, then the Living Room. In that way, we could either lower the dividing centre block down in height, or remove it altogether. The Architect points out that there are long views along the ceiling and down each of the side walls which help the feeling of space. I am of the opinion that I would like it to be a bit bigger though.

Our specification was a luxurious Master Bedroom and Master Ensuite. That bathroom is more important to us than the one downstairs. The Master Bedroom exits through a Patio Door onto a veranda, partly covered by the roof. It sits over an outdoor covered seating area that adjoins the South-facing Patio and is screened to the North for 2-way privacy. The 2nd bedroom upstairs was, for us, the bedroom that would be used by a visiting Grandchild. We don't yet have Grandchildren, not confirmation that we will ever have! I'm not sure what that room will be used for if not! Originally it was assumed that it would share our upstairs Bathroom, but I said I wanted at least a WC in that room. There has definitely been caution with sizing, hence no Shower, which runs the risk of being a bit of a waste. Yes indeed, if the occupant of the upstairs Spare bedroom requires a shower, they do need to use either our Ensuite or go downstairs. One of the compromises we made to gain a good sized Master Suite, whilst staying within the Architects 'sensible' floor area.

First error on my part, I should have pointed that out. The top 2 drawings are shown true North. The Site Plan, perhaps against convention is not. The design does seem to consider the path of the Sun really well actually and perhaps with that better understanding of the correct orientation, it might make more sense. I hear what you're saying about the shape of the building. I wanted something that would be an interesting shape, we specified that we love internal angles, this certainly brings those in droves. Here is a couple of 3D views, but keep in mind they are very early, still work-in-progress. Further comments from me will follow in line...

So, we've had our first concept design from our Architect. She has definitely listened to our brief, it deals well with what we asked for. What we have is a 3-4 bedroom home that nestles into the mature trees of and around our half-acre plot. It respects the neighbours greatly, gives us the incredible garden views we wanted and leaves us a good-sized garden. We are planning to carry out as much of the build as possible, so it is very difficult the quantify costs. We have a starting budget of around £300k. Our Architect is a little concerned about our budget, so she is keeping hold of the reigns in terms of size, that I respect and I feel that I should trust the process, but this is so me, it's a commitment wobble. I know she must see all sorts of levels of confidence, but it is our hope to build using ICF or similar and I am a pretty confident DIY'er with full-time availability, in which case I think we can save a fair bit on build costs with my own labour. However, I'm torn. It's a mature back-land plot, secluded from view, but with good sized properties around it. I am conscious of wanting to do the plot justice. We're not doing this to sell, but I can't get future value and saleability out of my head. On the other hand, there is only 2 of us living at home. We have a grown-up Daughter, no more kids for us! (Grandkids maybe). The design is 110m2 on the ground floor, 58m2 on the first floor and a 24m2 carport. It's sure it's big enough for us, but is it the right balance of sensible and luxurious in terms of space? To throw some sizes in, the Kitchen/Dining Room is 5.6m x 5.3m, the Living Room is 3.7m x 5.3m, the Master Bedroom is 3.3m x 5.0m She has carefully designed it around the trees, which is commendable, but some of the ones she has saved are not important, crucially the modestly-sized tree right in the gap of the L-shaped design closest to the 'patio' area. (though the big one to the South is important). On the one hand, to give us a better chance of coming in on budget is great, it could allow us to up-spec in more areas, but I don't want to finish it and regret it not being bigger. Welcoming thoughts and opinions...

I just called them. Apparently they acquired all private drains that serve 2 or more properties several years ago. So I need a direct connection. £327 application fee, £571 'infrastructure fee', then my responsibility to contract the work. It becomes a little confusing to think about how we'll apply/pay when it comes to connecting the existing property and later the new one, but I sensed a way to merge some of the fees. She did, however, admit that although they acquired these drains, very few of them are mapped. They also suggest that with an indirect connection, they might not even come to inspect it. So, my question is, with the correct provision in the deeds and permission from the landowner, what stops me installing a new chamber further up the drive, even up to the existing property, connecting that to the existing pipe in the drive (of course observing all regs) and then just calling them at some point before we sell to highlight that we've discovered that the property isn't served by the septic tank as we first thought, please bill us for sewage as this doesn't appear to have been done thus far. This removes any complications for a future buyer and will get everything onto the system. Our searches when we bought the place said that we're on the mains drains anyway, but they aren't billing us, so there's been an admin error somewhere. Eventually, when we want to connect the new property up, we'll apply correctly, and will be making a connection to the 'new' chamber and will do that above board. Plan?

Just revisiting this as I've done some more investigating. I've received the Water Authority plans and it shows that their service runs along the road, but does not run into the private drive. So, I'm guessing it'll be an indirect connection via the private drain that we'll be looking for. I can see from the water authority site that their charge for applying for an indirect connection is substantially lower than the direct connection, but does anyone have any experience of what the full quote might be? I'm assuming I'll be responsible for all the physical work on site as they won't want to touch the private drain anyway, but I'm conscious that I might get my pants pulled down by them regardless and end up regretting going down the official route. Is there a chance that they'll reject it on the basis of increasing the number of properties it serves from 2 to 4? It looks in good condition and all runs downhill in a straight line, but I guess that won't stop them from wanting to charge a stupid fee to appraise it or whatever. Presumably, I'll need to also notify Building Control? As far as the deeds go. There is a conveyance in our deeds that was exchanged when the plot was originally sold in the 1950's. Among other things, it grants access for the existing property. When I had it legally inspected, the solicitor suggested that the access granted would transfer to the divided plot, presumably because it applies to the shaded area on the plan and doesn't refer to how it is divided. We would, however, have to tighten up the rights for services and so will seek a modification to the existing deed, with which the landowner is currently cooperating. I would prefer to be above board, but just don't want to end up regretting calling it out, once it is said, it cannot be unsaid!!

We have a decent sized plot, around 1 acre, which will be split roughly in half. Existing bungalow remaining on one half, our new build on the other. The current property is accessed off a small shared drive and is not connected to the mains sewer. Instead it has an old septic tank (probably 1950's), which is not looking great (as was discussed here). Our current proposed build location is about 125-150m from the highway, though fortunately mostly downhill. I have had permission from the owner of the drive to connect to the sewer in his land (as was discussed here). I think that a good drainage run could be installed in terms of fall, but it's obviously not going to be long, and a fair bit of work. We have some trees RPA's to consider too. Keep in mind that we're going to need water into the property, so a long trench of some sort is almost inevitable (although of course much simpler for solely mains water) An alternative solution would be to install a treatment plant of some sort, possibly replacing the ST for the existing house in the same exercise. We could also, if practical, consider a plant to serve both houses, though we'd have to consider how this will affect selling the property. Overall, knowing that we have an option to connect to mains, what would be the better option? Furthermore, regarding treatment plants. The SOH is not on board with the idea yet, mainly due to the unspeakable issue of Sanitary waste. I know this shouldn't be going down the toilet ideally, but how are those with treatment plants dealing with this stuff? Also, bleach, cleaning products, toilet cleaners etc. I assume these are a no-no with treatment plants?

So sorry to hear this, I never contemplated the possibility of it. Good luck with your project!

She doesn't appear to be against it, in fact she might be on board with it, we won't really know until we get into the concept phase over the next few weeks. When we mentioned it, she just didn't have much to say about it. I advised her of my desire to contribute heavily, so I'm sure she'll line up with that, this is more me trying to anticipate what else is out there. I only learned about ICF recently, until then we'd assumed it would be brick/block, but how about timber/SIPs?

We're nowhere near this point yet, but it's likely we use an FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) for this. It's essentially a 'router' that takes a SIM and just needs a mains connection. I know you've solved it, but this might help others and take the rush out of wrestling with Openreach.

That's great, but do you think it represents a real-world cost saving? I imagine a contractor will quote regardless of it. I'm confident with most of the rest of the build, I expect I'll have to sub some jobs out, but the shell build is likely to be a big number and if my own input can substantially reduce it, it'll justify my existence.

Slight clickbait because this doesn't apply to us, fortunately, but we're hearing about lots of self-builders who are having their mortgage drawdowns stopped due to the pandemic. Imagine that you're part way into your build, you go to the bank for your next chunk of money and they say no. Terrifying. Anyone here affected by that?

The curtain conundrum is what's putting us off having a glass gable in our bedroom design. We haven't seen anything that we like the look of yet in terms of a solution to that.

...my own ability. That's the question. I'm in a shitty work situation thanks to the pandemic, I'm a small business owner within a specialist recruitment field, I've earned nothing since the pandemic began, with little prospect of improvement and the probability that I'll have to fold the business, eventually returning to employment. However, we are in the fortunate position of contemplating a build, which is now starting to gain traction. We have appointed an architect, but are in the lead-in phase currently. I want to use my intermediate DIY skills and the current situation to bring about a cost advantage to our build. I am confident at many aspects of the day-to-day work of a self-build, but want to think about construction methods that will allow us to make use of my downtime. We're currently favouring ICF. I'm confident that I'll be able to erect the structure and deal with contracting the pour, thus removing a hefty amount of labour, sub-contracting and mark-up. We also feel that it will give our architect a fair bit of design scope. However, like most we spoke to, ICF isn't high up her list in terms of preference, though this could be because most of her clients are not confident self-builders. She has not suggested she's against it, she just hasn't done many of them (if any?). Are there any other construction methods that we should consider that will make good use of the 'free labour' that I can provide?

We've moved on a little from this. We ruled out the guy I mentioned in the original post, we resonated with so many things he'd said, but still didn't feel as we wanted to for the money. Plus the fact that he's not local just didn't sit very well with me. However, we have met what we think is a great Architect. We resonated with her immediately, she seems to genuinely love our project, she loved out plot, we have lots in common. When she left, we looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. We thought we'd really cracked it. We felt excited. Then the quote came in. HOLYYYY F*********CK. She's seriously expensive, but everything else is right. I'm desperate to be able to rationalise it somehow, is it possible that a great architect could be worth this extra outlay? We can easily see our planning/design costs topping £20k if we go down this route, a sizeable chunk out of our £300k starting budget and a good £5000, even £10,000 above several others we've had quotes from. The biggest component of the quote is the Tech drawings at £9400+VAT. She has quoted for RIBA stage 4a, she says that the level of drawings they supply are better suited to a novice self-builder and will be important to me, as opposed to an experienced builder who will know many of the details from experience. I've asked her for an example output, but perhaps you helpful bunch will offer some support? Will I, as a confident/intelligent intermediate DIY'er need these fancy-schmancy drawings? Or can I have her re-quote for the 'standard' level of service? She can trim a bit of money off by not packaging up the service for discharge of planning conditions and planning committee representation etc. She says that they include a mid-level fee for that on the basis that some they win on, some they lose on (financially I mean). We could apparently take the risk on that, paying her by the hour if needed. For a plot that doesn't overlook anyone, will only really be visible to 2 other properties, isn't in a conservation area, is in the development zone, has no TPO's, no existing building on the plot, already has a favourable pre-plan outcome, what is the likelihood that planning will be a complicated affair?

Well done, looks great ?

Whilst it appears to be a 'backland' development, there was no mention of any concern in this regard in the pre-plan. The indication of the size and placement of a home on the plot was not accurate for where it will actually be (the house was larger and in direct line of sight to the current house), in fact what we build will be even more sympathetically placed for the surrounding properties and not really visible to anyone. They were concerned about trees, but so are we. Our 'likely' build area takes this into consideration. We want trees, so anything that has to be taken down will be replaced anyway. After satisfying highways that we have taken care of the visibility issue from the driveway, my next concern is access for large lorries for deliveries. This will be a challenge for us for sure. But I'm hoping that if we go for ICF, as is looking likely, the deliveries won't be so cumbersome/heavy. Although I've not explored it, I think we'd be unlikely to get a full-sized cement mixer up the drive, so maybe piping concrete in will be an unavoidable factor that we will just have to cost in, along with craning other supplies in, like roof trusses etc. Beyond that, the next biggest challenge is how to screen the bank of garages that form most our Southern boundary. It's just a cosmetic thing. Our tree survey highlighted a hefty 100+ year old Lime tree that's not quite on our property, but is in grave condition (excuse the pun, it's in the Church grounds!). The surveyor told me that I really have a duty to report his concerns to the landowner and I'm worried that they might think I've got an agenda to get rid of it, but it's condition it's obvious really, it has branches big enough to do serious damage if/when they start breaking off. I appreciate the open discussion from everyone, it's good to hear about the challenges we might face.

We own the land, it's essentially a sub-division. A pre-plan was put in last year and had a better outcome than expected. I do feel pretty confident I have to say (though I might be about to be taught a lesson!) It's a substantial plot, with no view from the street, so I can't imagine there being an obligation to blend in with existing properties. The closest 2 neighbours are part of a <30 year old development and are hidden behind a thick tree line, it's hard to see their houses from the plot even now that the leaves have fallen. There is a mixture of properties all around, of varying ages and styles. We have an access issue, but I've proposed a solution to Highways that they are happy with as it affects our current property even without the subdivision, so I would like a solution to it anyway. I had wanted to get some clarity on that before we spend on design and have a solution to put in with the planning application. There are no TPO's, but some good trees that we want to keep. The land itself is virginal. Prior to the current house being built, the plot was a field and the part we want to build on. What significant unexpected stuff did you encounter out of interest?

That opinion is pretty much where we're at and I think will be the end of the line for the original guy, despite a good feeling for his design ability.

@SimonD - Thanks for that detailed reply. In all honesty, we aren't very comfortable with moving the design onto someone else to have it turned into a Tech design, but I get what you're saying about the expertise. I'm certainly not up for spending potentially £20 for the design and tech drawings. Terrifies me. On the contrary, our second place Architect choice is very reasonable in cost terms, my only reservation is whether he is creative enough. I'm hoping we know this at concept/feasibility stage, so might risk having to cut our losses at that point or invest some more money with him to coax a design out. He has the benefit of working in a larger practice and is local.

I had always assumed that to be the case too. I've spoken with another couple today that used our Architect and he wanted to charge them £13k for the Technical drawings, I think that's going to have to be factored. They used someone else to do theirs.

I accept that if you're a brickie or a developer, this might not stack up, especially from a mass-build perspective, but if I can save some of the labour, which I can't do with a brick/block method, that might make the cost viable?

I've always been a fan of traditional building methods, mainly driven by the old-school idea that fixing and chasing fixtures/fittings is much nicer with brick/block walls, rather than having to hunt out joists/noggins etc. Our last house was a 1929 built red-brick Bungalow, where the brickwork was in, what I'd call unsalvageable condition, meaning the render was the only option. We had it done with K-Rend and whilst the job was done to a good standard, I was never truly happy with it and said that I'd only render again if I had to and deliberately ensure that it wasn't designed in to our build! We plan to be very hands on during our build, I'm in a cr@ppy work situation at the moment thanks to COVID, so this could well be my full-time occupation for a while. I am confident in my DIY ability, most things I have self-taught, but not brick-laying. I'm also conscious that the bricklayers are the one significant part of our project that will essentially hold us to ransom. We can't do it, so we're at their mercy, not just financially, but from a timing standpoint also. Enter ICF. Contradicting both of my core values! But certainly very compelling. I'm certainly not trying to cut corners, but am interested in a building method that rules out the need to depend on a bricklayer, when I have a substantial amount of time on my hands. So, what's the low-down? Do you lot like it? Given that I do not put a cost on my own time and will probably be able to get the main structure up myself, how is this likely to stack up against the brick/block "shell build' method that I'll otherwise probably have to resort to?