Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 a friend drew up these designs for me on the basis of designing a straightforward cheap to build house, what does everyone think? any suggestions welcome, thanks New House - Ground Floor.pdf New House - First Floor.pdf New House - Elevations.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedreamer Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Amateur bob said: a friend drew up these designs for me on the basis of designing a straightforward cheap to build house, what does everyone think? any suggestions welcome, thanks New House - Ground Floor.pdf 147.99 kB · 1 download New House - First Floor.pdf 110.28 kB · 1 download New House - Elevations.pdf 101.98 kB · 3 downloads I'm sure others will offer comments here. But one point on the elevations which way is south, north etc Also if cost is a factor are four bathroom/ensuite/wc required? Edited November 22, 2019 by Thedreamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedreamer Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 And what is the build budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 the front will face south, im thinking of removing en suite on bedroom 2 and just having the bathroom and master en suite upstairs, budget will be around 220k is that feasable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jimbo Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 How much off the work will you be doing ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 17 minutes ago, Amateur bob said: Budget will be around 220k is that feasable? GIA ~175m2, that's £1,250 per m2 Looks like you will need to do a fair bit of work yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 11 minutes ago, Moonshine said: GIA ~175m2, that's £1,250 per m2 Looks like you will need to do a fair bit of work yourself. I worked it out to be 175m2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 11 minutes ago, Moonshine said: GIA ~175m2, that's £1,250 per m2 Looks like you will need to do a fair bit of work yourself. Was planning to find a timber frame company to do the full job once plannings through, can dig trenches for pipes etc myself and transport the soil away thats about it, will prob do the painting etc inside myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 A few observations: If the FRONT (which I take to be the bottom on the plans) faces south, then you have put the most important rooms, facing north where they will get no sun. I wold put Family / kitchen /diner down one side of the house with dual aspect to get the sun at the front and open out to the garden at the back. I would put the lounge at the front the other side to get the sun, and utiliy and bedroom at the back. We had a very similar staircase in the middle with a gallery landing. It certainly gave a wow factor but it uses up a LOT of space. That does not fit with cheap to build? I am not saying change it, as it was a feature we liked, but I was always conscious of just how much space it used up. I suspect you are going to have to do a LOT more work than you are expecting to get down to your price. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 1 hour ago, ProDave said: A few observations: If the FRONT (which I take to be the bottom on the plans) faces south, then you have put the most important rooms, facing north where they will get no sun. I wold put Family / kitchen /diner down one side of the house with dual aspect to get the sun at the front and open out to the garden at the back. I would put the lounge at the front the other side to get the sun, and utiliy and bedroom at the back. We had a very similar staircase in the middle with a gallery landing. It certainly gave a wow factor but it uses up a LOT of space. That does not fit with cheap to build? I am not saying change it, as it was a feature we liked, but I was always conscious of just how much space it used up. I suspect you are going to have to do a LOT more work than you are expecting to get down to your price. Some very good points, the way i see it the lounge is in a good location for sun and views, i thought about mabye putting a window on the side of the house where the family room is as there are good views to the west, the kitchen wont have much view or sun but i dont spend much time in there anyway? Would it look weird having a window in side? I could mabye actually make it the one that opens out onto patio as the lawn will be west of the house? I didnt realise the stairs would take up more space thats a good point though, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Ok ... make all the windows the same size - it will look better and also give more symmetry and potentially save cost. get rid of the utility door - you will never use it. You will use the front door or the patio doors. move the downstairs toilet into the end of the utility off study / bed 5. Will make it more useable as bedroom and also look at how you would add a shower to it. This will open up the hallway and make more of a feature. keep the bathroom and en-suite and change those to have velux windows. Nice detail and cleans that back wall up from having 2 small windows. turn the stairs 90 degrees anti clockwise so they face the front door - make them a feature you will struggle to do this with a main contractor at £220k - plenty of ways to save money but they mean making the place smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 7 minutes ago, PeterW said: get rid of the utility door - you will never use it. You will use the front door or the patio doors. I don’t agree with that, the utility can double as a “mud room” as the Americans call it. A place to come in with muddy boots, wet dog (if you have one) hang wet coats etc, wish we had one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 @joe90 I agree however I’m looking at cost and also where that is located. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 38 minutes ago, joe90 said: I don’t agree with that, the utility can double as a “mud room” as the Americans call it. A place to come in with muddy boots, wet dog (if you have one) hang wet coats etc, wish we had one. this is a good point as its a farm and muddy boots are common Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 38 minutes ago, PeterW said: @joe90 I agree however I’m looking at cost and also where that is located. what am i likely to save by removing the door? £500? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 50 minutes ago, PeterW said: Ok ... make all the windows the same size - it will look better and also give more symmetry and potentially save cost. get rid of the utility door - you will never use it. You will use the front door or the patio doors. move the downstairs toilet into the end of the utility off study / bed 5. Will make it more useable as bedroom and also look at how you would add a shower to it. This will open up the hallway and make more of a feature. keep the bathroom and en-suite and change those to have velux windows. Nice detail and cleans that back wall up from having 2 small windows. turn the stairs 90 degrees anti clockwise so they face the front door - make them a feature you will struggle to do this with a main contractor at £220k - plenty of ways to save money but they mean making the place smaller. ok thanks im going to give this all some consideration mabye i need to increase the budget to 240 and manage trades? what to you think about my idea of putting a window/opening doors on the side of the house where the family room is as there are good views to the west and this is where lawn will be? will it add much cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 17 minutes ago, Amateur bob said: this is a good point as its a farm and muddy boots are common Also why you want a shower accessible from the utility room as well as study perhaps. Muddy doggoes and children, perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 33 minutes ago, Amateur bob said: what to you think about my idea of putting a window/opening doors on the side of the house where the family room is as there are good views to the west and this is where lawn will be? We have dual aspect windows to most of our rooms/bedrooms as we are surrounded by views and it’s great, commented on by every visitor, downside is cost and windows, even good ones are less insulating than a good wall with insulation, but I would not change it fir all the world. I agree with turning the stairs 90’ to face the front door, ours is and we still have storage (fir dwarfs) . Edited November 22, 2019 by joe90 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, joe90 said: We have dual aspect windows to most of our rooms/bedrooms as we are surrounded by views and it’s great, commented on by every visitor, downside is cost and windows, even good ones are less insulating than a good wall with insulation, but I would not change it fir all the world. I agree with turning the stairs 90’ to face the front door, ours is and we still have storage (fir dwarfs) . what if i were simply to move the window in family room from the rear to the side? or would this make it look odd from the rear and side? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 or i could do the same with the window in kitchen so it looks more balanced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, Amateur bob said: what if i were simply to move the window in family room from the rear to the side? or would this make it look odd from the rear and side? If it were me I would add windows to both family room and lounge to be dual aspect but budget may prevail. 1 minute ago, Amateur bob said: or i could do the same with the window in kitchen so it looks more balanced? Yes, our kitchen is dual aspect (actually triple aspect with dining room end) but again budget may prevail, also more windows means less wall space for cupboards, wardrobes etc. (My wife did not want wall cupboards as she is fairly short) I had to find a solution to fit the range cooker somewhere without it being in a corner because of the windows and I did this;- a little waste of space but brilliant (IMO) and works very well, corners in kitchens can be a pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedreamer Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 @Amateur bob I started off with a bit that jutted out at the front. This can add to the cost of the project as you have knock on costs in pretty much all trades later. Seems a bit pointless as you appear to be gaining hardly any extra space. Below is what we started off with. Also for the roof prehaps its different where you are, but it would appear that you have two full height rooms and then a loft space (why not just store in a shed if you live in a farm)? What about building a room in the roof design, with the roof trusses forming the structural walls of the upstairs as well, there are many different ways of doing this. Just out of interest what do you keep on the farm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redoctober Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 For what my input is worth, I would be a touch concerned that the Family / kitchen room along the back could end up looking quite long and narrow - I think @ProDave raises an interesting point about its location, given the orientation of the house. I also agree with @Thedreamer regarding the front elevation and the benefits of that bit jutting out. If budgets are tight, then the fewer angles and corners etc the better I would have thought. Again, it is difficult to advise as we do not know your specific requirements - do you need 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms upstairs? If so great, if not, then a re-configure might be able to save some money. If you can get away with fewer bedrooms then layouts such as mine, @ProDave,@Thedreamerand perhaps @joe90might assist. Finally, we have a utility room / boot room with a door and have found it to be the most useful thing ever. That said, it ties in with the outside car port and drive etc, so again, as @PeterWsays, a door may or may not be useful depending upon how it fits in with the outside space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 On 22/11/2019 at 18:09, joe90 said: If it were me I would add windows to both family room and lounge to be dual aspect but budget may prevail. Yes, our kitchen is dual aspect (actually triple aspect with dining room end) but again budget may prevail, also more windows means less wall space for cupboards, wardrobes etc. (My wife did not want wall cupboards as she is fairly short) I had to find a solution to fit the range cooker somewhere without it being in a corner because of the windows and I did this;- a little waste of space but brilliant (IMO) and works very well, corners in kitchens can be a pain. tbh i think the views from both those rooms could be worth adding windows, how much extra cost is it likely to add per window, roughly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur bob Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 On 22/11/2019 at 20:12, Thedreamer said: @Amateur bob I started off with a bit that jutted out at the front. This can add to the cost of the project as you have knock on costs in pretty much all trades later. Seems a bit pointless as you appear to be gaining hardly any extra space. Below is what we started off with. Also for the roof prehaps its different where you are, but it would appear that you have two full height rooms and then a loft space (why not just store in a shed if you live in a farm)? What about building a room in the roof design, with the roof trusses forming the structural walls of the upstairs as well, there are many different ways of doing this. Just out of interest what do you keep on the farm? i understand what your saying about the bit that sticks out at the front, the only thing i would say is that it adds character although there could mabye be a cheaper way that doesnt involve it tying into the full height of house/roof, a loft room may be a possible consideration but again would add costs, i do have sheds on farm which is why i dont need garage we are mainly cereals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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