CharlieKLP

Was also going to recommend Heb Homes. You can use their website to make a modular house it’s really snazzy. I like their styles too, not too complex.

I just said to check out some standard details, but sure good luck.

I don’t understand why you’re reinventing the wheel on these things. Just use a standard detail and buy a window. I don’t think you can do these things better or cheaper than professionals.

I remember a similar lady stand there and claim one of those little electricity substation thingies would give her diabetes. I mean I don’t like them either to be fair, but they definitely don’t give you diabetes.

yes exactly this! it’s like your own personal “Handforth Parish Council” live show! read the standing orders!!! Read them and understand them!!! You have no power here Jackie Weaver!

They rarely ask questions don’t worry. I found with planning committee meetings it was political and pointless. I appealed their decision easily. as for the nitrate situation, have you looked into paying for a reed bed or something like that. I had a few clients fall foul of ‘nitrate requirements’ which were really unfair and imo, incompetent on the case of planners and local councils. although I’ve never found ‘objections’ counted for much in reality, you seem to have been hard done by. I had 80 objections once, and not committee. Got approved.

I think your PD would only apply to your plot. The removal seems like it was a ridiculous one the council probably can’t justify, maybe they could appeal it not sure how long ago it was.

I think you can make anything look good or bad with lighting. I really mean more of the ‘warm/cool” and lighting a room where you focus on things like furniture or a painting or something. You can really tell if someone with thought has lit a room, and personally I’m not a fan of disco strips in coving or uplighters on stairs, but it seems to be the fashion. What I have in my house is strips of LEDs around the bath, and around the tv too, I like it because it’s functional. lighting and texture and space, that’s what I think is quality.

yes that’s just what I said?

same with the McMansions, so what’s your point. Am I not allowed an opinion or something?

Haha I get you lol. What kind of a friend would I be if I designed you a big ugly, lightless blob and charged you per m2 for it? And to answer the earlier question, there are lots of ways to mitigate it. I understand the financial need to fill the plot to the brim. I just wouldn’t want to live in it.

The ‘book’ link just leads to this thread? If I think someone wants a big rectangle with a flat roof I do tend to give it to someone who isn’t a designer to be fair. It does cause me physical pain to draw up that kind of thing. Often the windows are all different sizes too.

I don’t have a problem with mansard roofs, I’ve a problem with massive ugly blobs. They will usually have a grand, (curved) daylightless stair, a big porch, too many bathrooms and a home cinema. People who just fill the plot deserve what they get.

I think if your house is deeper than it is wide, then having a ‘pyramid with a flat top’ roof is just cringe. There are so many better ways of breaking up the form that make more sense than that. It just strikes me as someone trying to fill the plot up out of greed rather than sense. This happens a lot in Surrey, which are the UK’s ‘mcmansions’.

I love that website, she’s so witty and knowledgeable. I wish all self builders knew about it, and avoided the mistakes therein. mainly; complex and greedy mansard roofs, lawyer entrances, randomly placed windows, hideous garages given pride of place in the front elevation… I designed a gorgeous Tudor-style mansion and the new designer described it as a ‘mcmansion’ and I died a little inside. They’re an awful person and I hope they read this ? the sad thing is I think they were right. to avoid a McMansion, please listen to your architects ideas about style, hierarchy, massing, concept, approach… really all of the things McMansions shows re not important to people with more money than sense.

It has hardly changed from the original design?

Oh yeah Graven Hill. Seems expensive though. There are smaller custom build sites that are cheaper which are a lot easier than finding a plot for yourself. The nearest one I know is Swindon, maybe that’s too far, but try a search for custom build.

If you go with ICF bear in mind dormers are tricky, especially the cheeks. Your dormer is a part of the front so I’m not sure how you would keep it the same plane and support the sides. I’m sure it’s doable, but I’d like to see a detail before you pick ICF. Otherwise maybe clad it with weatherboard.

Lol! No disagreements here… I would call it a Master Suite and put a chaise lounge in there, classy. I prefer a bathroom opening off a dressing room than a bathroom too. I was in France in a hotel with my other half with no door on the bathroom, absolute scenes. 0/10

I wouldn’t do that either, even without the crazy amount of timber it’s still a lot of shape complexity that isn’t necessary. I don’t see how you could bring in a front porch and still have enough room for the study window above. If you have your heart set on a front gabled porch then the house isn’t the right shape to look right.

The back could use the same treatment, just make that single storey area a bit longer. You might want to make your bedroom the main gable, and give it’s dressing room a skylight. It’s more cost effective. honestly I think once you fix that you have a lovely house on your hands, personally I would find it hard to sell, nice layout, nice elevations. Has personality but makes sense and isn’t weird or anything. Hope you get planning.

I like ETC’s. Every part has a different ‘feel’ to it, and he has balanced the proportions. On the original design it is like the entrance and the store has the same weight. Your entrance should be more important than where you stick the lawnmower. Although I don’t know about the ridge heights since people don’t post context on these threads for anonymity reasons I guess, you could still trim the roof corners off should the planners complain.

It just makes no sense to me, I’m guessing it’s expensive; but you aren’t going to sit in there and it doesn’t bring light into the house as it leads into a dull corridor. To me that’s wasteful and not used well. If you had asked me for a stunning entrance porch, I’d have made that thing do all kinds of things. It would have been the focus of the house. to me this looks like you are just displaying to people that you have a porch, it isn’t for you it’s for some random walking past.

That’s actually an improvement. although I would make the porch smaller and make that stone to match the window bits.

@Selfbuildnewbie for what it’s worth, I think you have done everything right. The image you provided is far better than what you have been designed. I also think you have a good attitude to the design process and are asking the right questions. I think your designer has let you down with no ‘spark’. if you had come to me with that style image to start from, and a workable arrangement of rooms and open attitude, I’d have been delighted. If I were you, I’d send them the image and go ‘no. More like that’ and try again. It’s got all the proportions and hierarchy of the front so much better than the layout you have been drawn. Even the store looks quite pretty the way they have done it. I’d have pushed it back but it’s quite tidy. It’s a pretty house tbh. it could also work with a hipped roof if you wanted.