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We have been working on layouts since April and managed to come up with something that worked for us and we were happy, however after a meeting with planning consultant we were advised to change orientation of the house (previous one was unlikely to be approved by planning). Now we have received two options for layout but we are not keen on it as we are losing a fair bit of space to the 'views' and everything seems a bit more squashed. the site is not an easy one as we need to have front facade look like its the main entrance but in reality it will be utility door and the main entrance to be on the side by the driveway. Main views are to the left and some views at the back of the house. We asked for both entrances (utility and main) to be connected for access to utility/laundry/ cloakroom we don't want the back of kitchen counter to be by the windows as we are losing cupboard space Architect seems to only take exact directions from us rather than give his ideas of what might work better. So I guess I am here to ask if anyone has any clever ideas/ suggestions what else could work here? Many thanks

Hi, I have just joined the community so thanks for letting me in! After a few months of looking into buying our final and forever family home and discovering the compromises that would have to be made regarding the size of garden, layout of the house, being overlooked by 10 other houses on the estate etc etc I have decided that self building could actually become a reality for me. I have always been a fan of Grand Designs but I have never thought it would actually be possible to build a home that I helped design and that fits the criteria of my family and I. Now after doing a bit of research I can see the possibilities, I just need to find a plot (the hard bit) and decide if I want to stick with my ideology of a solid brick built house or explore the many different types of timber framed houses and the varying options that they provide. I have my own business (not in construction) that is currently doing pretty well so I'm in the saving phase whilst looking out for a decent sized plot around Taunton, Somerset. I have an overall timescale from now of 36 months for the completed project, I'm not sure if that is being optimistic or not but goals and timelines are always necessary for me to complete anything! From a financial point of view I will probably need another 12 months saving in order to save enough for a decent sized plot to build a spacious 4 bed detached property with a nice sized garden, driveway and double garage. So the next 12 months will be spent on educating myself and doing as much visiting of show homes and exhibitions etc as Covid allows. Any advice on finding a plot would be gratefully received, I have signed up to Plot Finder and Plot Search and will be registering my interest with local estate agents. All other general advice would also be appreciated, I'm sure there are many pitfalls etc that I am unaware of so advanced warning from the experts on here would be gratefully received.

As the title suggests I am lost! I am a mother of 2 soon to be 3 kids homeschooling and a husband who dropped this idea on me roughly a month ago! We are looking to build a 2-2500 sq ft 4 bedroom 1.5 story family home with double garage on a green site in Northern Ireland. We have full planning permission For a 3000sq ft 5 bedroom modern home (plans from seller of site) but we want to build something to suit out taste and budget so will need to redo plans. But here is where the problem lies. We had a brief meeting with an architect and my husband is too easily swayed by modern looks but it’s not to our taste. i would love to be able to view houses with plans before going to an architect so we can show him what we like not the other way around but I’m really struggling. Pinterest isn’t great as when you click into view most are gone or not available to view in any detail. We are complete novices to this and a lot of it is being left to me as my husband says I’m the artistic one! There’s one thing being creative and a whole other thing designing a family from scratch with literally no experience. We have started to watch channels 4 building the dream for inspo. Has anyone got advise or tips on what they have learned from experience. My list is short and sweet: * 4 bedrooms all with walk in closet (nothing too big or fancy needed) * master bedroom downstairs with walk in shower en-suite (open to pros & cons of this being down stairs) * open plan kitchen dining living area (walk in pantry) * family bathroom * W/C downstairs * Utility * plenty of light and storage space Any advise would be greatly appreciated as I am pregnant and home schooling a 6 & 4 year old so really want to get started on this so we can get things moving. Thank you

Hi everyone! We are at the foundation stages of a newbuild. It's a replacement dwelling for a chalet bungalow in the centre of Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Very keen to read about other projects and get some advice on ours. Cheers, Steve 3_Westwood_Road_Design_&_Access.pdf

Hi everyone, im hoping to start a self build in my garden plot! Planning should be granted next week so very excited. I wonder if anyone had any advice when it comes to self build especially garden plots? I’ve been told by my mortgage company that I will need to split the deeds, has anyone done this before? Know Costs? And how long would this normally take? Once this is done I would need to get a separate self build mortgage for the dwelling - does anyone have any recommendations for good providers and who to avoid? sorry for all the questions