Having a wobble - To be (a bungalow) or not to be

[canalsiderenovation]

We are about to pay building control but have put a stop on things. I confessed to my OH I was having a bit of a wobble with our plans (extension of ground floor of bungalow and second storey/upstairs).  It's the upstairs I'm now questioning. OH confessed she was the same though she was always more keen on the second floor, balcony etc and perhaps budget wise a single storey is easier, things like we only wanted underfloor heating and no radiators.

 

Although we did mention an upstairs to our architects we have always been open to a single storey and this was our brief initially. To give us the space we need I think it was easier to just put a second storey onto the bungalow although this then created more space than we actually need. Ironically although we got our plans passed the council did favour a single story extension initially as well.

 

This does mean trying to go back to the drawing board and to try and work our new ideas, I mean we have the garden space to do it but we just don't know where to start as our bungalow is such a weird configuration anyway!

 

 

 

 

[Declan52]

Could you do the ground floor as planned and use attic truss to form your roof. Your upstairs will then be ready for you to do what ever you need to do in the future when you feel the need. 

[canalsiderenovation]

17 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

Could you do the ground floor as planned and use attic truss to form your roof. Your upstairs will then be ready for you to do what ever you need to do in the future when you feel the need. 

 

Well we had planned corrugated roof, 11 velux windows (for privacy no direct facing windows, balcony etc). All of this seems unnecessary if we can get what we want on a single storey. We have what seems like a hundred copies of floor plans and bits of paper everywhere, there's just something we are missing

?

[Russell griffiths]

How old are you, we are building single storey, our last house was single storey, I wouldn’t want an upstairs anymore, as long as you have the room to fit it all in downstairs I don’t see what the second storey adds apart from extra space. 

 

Regarding 11 roof windows, that will be a major pain and cause you no end of trouble trying to get them correctly aligned with the roof. 

Balcony, do you think after the initial honeymoon period has worn off will you actually pour a gin and tonic and walk upstairs to use it, far easier to walk out the back and sit on a nice patio. 

 

 

[canalsiderenovation]

Just now, Russell griffiths said:

How old are you, we are building single storey, our last house was single storey, I wouldn’t want an upstairs anymore, as long as you have the room to fit it all in downstairs I don’t see what the second storey adds apart from extra space. 

 

Regarding 11 roof windows, that will be a major pain and cause you no end of trouble trying to get them correctly aligned with the roof. 

Balcony, do you think after the initial honeymoon period has worn off will you actually pour a gin and tonic and walk upstairs to use it, far easier to walk out the back and sit on a nice patio. 

 

 

You have hit the nail on the head! We are both late 30's and since I left home I've always lived in bungalows and love them (aside from the fact they are always cold but decent heating will address this).

 

My mum's going through so many knee issues at the moment, she's in her 60's and it got us both thinking. The argument re the balcony is one I've had with my OH since day 1, almost verbatim your point!

[canalsiderenovation]

This is an old aerial picture of the bungalow, the issue is the weird configuration. The garages/shed can be demolished as there is space for a double garage at the end of the drive. The only proposed extension to the ground floor is where the veg plot is on the picture which would be a kitchen/diner. We could additionally extend where the garage/shed is and the other end of the house but it's such an odd shape (yes it was built like this)!

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by canalsiderenovation

[Russell griffiths]

A friend of mine suggested I put a patio door in the bedroom as it will be nice to get up and walk outside, I said I thought it was a stupid idea, he said he had one, I said how often do you use it, he said he hadn’t used it in a number of years as he had actually lost the keys. ??

 

[canalsiderenovation]

Rethink definitely needed. This is our current floor plan (ignore the fact doors are missing on everything, we have been playing around with it and somehow managed to get rid of them!)

 

 

 

[Russell griffiths]

I did the full design on mine I started like this. 

How many beds ?

how many baths? 

Then write down the dimensions that room HAS to be

do this for all rooms and keep it a secret it’s like a game, ask the wife to do exactly the same, then sit down and compare answers, add it all up and see if you have similar thoughts, look at hers and laugh at the 40m square walk in robe, 

then cut out all theses shapes on graph paper and wiggle them around trying to find a layout that works, this works better if you have a scale site plan. 

Then chuck this lot in an architectural program nd shuffle it all about.