Totally clueless and overwhelmed.......help!

[Meabh Kelly]

I feel your novice pain!

 

I have a house designed with master bedroom upstairs but also a bedroom ensuite downstairs...I was thinking lifetime homes.  The space can act as a playroom or 'good' room if not required as a downstairs bedroom immediately.  

With a burgeoning family I'd think storage. The space above my garage will be my attic as I am fed up climbing up steps into roof spaces.

 

I have no doubt I will see you on here again...  

[Bitpipe]

3 minutes ago, Joannteg said:

Yes that’s just the house we have the site, funny you should ask my husbands cousin is building a 3000sq ft at the top of the field and is at roof level now. They are slightly more elevated but should be similar ground....hopefully. Watching these building programmes we are yet to see 1 go smoothly, on time or anywhere near initial budget ??

 

That's because bad builds make good tv. Our build would have been very dull watching

 

18 minutes ago, Joannteg said:

I will get on to amazon now to get that book cos those tips of cheapest shape etc are exactly what I want. We do need to do a lot with connections to grid water etc. My husband is an account and runs his own business (not your typical 9-5hrs and I’m due baby number 3 in sept so not a lot of hands on unfortunately) we really need as much help and advise as we can get so things don’t run off on us.

 

Wow, fair play to you both!

 

Do start to get quotes for services and 'preliminaries'  - everything you need to achieve site wise before starting the build itself. This will make your budget for the build itself a lot more honest.

 

You can still be ambitious and defer some things (like internally finishing some spaces, grounds etc) to later in life. Some people even forgo the dream kitchen initially just to get in and then upgrade later.

 

As a new self build, you'll be zero rated for VAT for most elements (with some exceptions) more or less until you move in so that can impact decisions on what to  build when.

 

Even if you're handing the whole project to a contractor, you should still stay deeply involved as it keeps everyone honest and increases the chances you get what you want at the price you can afford.

 

[joe90]

7 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

That's because bad builds make good tv. Our build would have been very dull watching

Ditto. Even my windows arrived on time and I didn’t go over budget ?

[Ferdinand]

There are some good examples of plans and briefs for architects on the forum.

 

This thread has some of the latter. Try also some of the project blogs, but you will need to read back.

 

Either way, you need to work for your supper on this one ... try also visiting karger show homes for different approaches and ideas.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Joannteg]

3 hours ago, Meabh Kelly said:

I feel your novice pain!

 

I have a house designed with master bedroom upstairs but also a bedroom ensuite downstairs...I was thinking lifetime homes.  The space can act as a playroom or 'good' room if not required as a downstairs bedroom immediately.  

With a burgeoning family I'd think storage. The space above my garage will be my attic as I am fed up climbing up steps into roof spaces.

 

I have no doubt I will see you on here again...  

lol thank god im not alone, that’s a really good idea. Could put the baby with my youngest for a few years so we all sleep upstairs and eventually move downstairs as they get older and want more space. It’s so intimidating starting but I’m hoping it will come together.....really hoping!

[Joannteg]

3 hours ago, Bitpipe said:

 

That's because bad builds make good tv. Our build would have been very dull watching

 

 

Wow, fair play to you both!

 

Do start to get quotes for services and 'preliminaries'  - everything you need to achieve site wise before starting the build itself. This will make your budget for the build itself a lot more honest.

 

You can still be ambitious and defer some things (like internally finishing some spaces, grounds etc) to later in life. Some people even forgo the dream kitchen initially just to get in and then upgrade later.

 

As a new self build, you'll be zero rated for VAT for most elements (with some exceptions) more or less until you move in so that can impact decisions on what to  build when.

 

Even if you're handing the whole project to a contractor, you should still stay deeply involved as it keeps everyone honest and increases the chances you get what you want at the price you can afford.

 

? thank god you said that about the tv as I was panicking! Great to hear your obviously went well. That’s great advise about upgrading at a later date never thought of that.

[Joannteg]

1 hour ago, Ferdinand said:

There are some good examples of plans and briefs for architects on the forum.

 

This thread has some of the latter. Try also some of the project blogs, but you will need to read back.

 

Either way, you need to work for your supper on this one ... try also visiting karger show homes for different approaches and ideas.

 

 

Perfect thank you

[Pete]

7 hours ago, Joannteg said:

Thank you Christine, I see what you mean about the separate floors with young kids. Was thinking more down the road to save us climbing stairs in old age lol. We’re debating a family room or sunroom, we have a sunroom now which is being used as the kids dumping ground for toys and another living room which is being used as a temp office for my husband cos of COVID. My main request is a lot of storage as I hate clutter and having kids and clutter go hand in hand. 

Our daughter is a physio and she said you need to keep using the stairs as long as possible to keep your muscles strong so we have two cupboards, one on the ground floor and one directly above so that if/when we cannot use the stairs we can put a lift in so as we can still use the whole house. 

[Ferdinand]

6 minutes ago, Pete said:

Our daughter is a physio and she said you need to keep using the stairs as long as possible to keep your muscles strong so we have two cupboards, one on the ground floor and one directly above so that if/when we cannot use the stairs we can put a lift in so as we can still use the whole house. 

 

My tip in that is yes - stairs, but shallower stairs than regs allow - say at 35 degrees not 42 degrees. Takes slightly more space, but worh its  weight in chocolate.

 

That probably gave my mum an extra 5-7 years of comfortable walking upstairs.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Joannteg]

2 hours ago, Pete said:

Our daughter is a physio and she said you need to keep using the stairs as long as possible to keep your muscles strong so we have two cupboards, one on the ground floor and one directly above so that if/when we cannot use the stairs we can put a lift in so as we can still use the whole house. 

That’s good thinking, husbands all for upstairs bedroom.

[Joannteg]

2 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

 

My tip in that is yes - stairs, but shallower stairs than regs allow - say at 35 degrees not 42 degrees. Takes slightly more space, but worh its  weight in chocolate.

 

That probably gave my mum an extra 5-7 years of comfortable walking upstairs.

Great idea to run past architect to make most of space but look to the future.

[dpmiller]

You know, I've just re-read your story and brief and it's amazing just how similar it is to ours.

 

And this is what *we* ended up with.

dorm093-350-Miller-NI-A.01.pdf dorm093-350-Miller-NI-A.02.pdf

[Ferdinand]

8 hours ago, Joannteg said:

Great idea to run past architect to make most of space but look to the future.

'Tects tend to harrumph about that one. it will cost about a sqm, and is essentially following public building guidance rather than private house.

[Ferdinand]

Wrapping up, I guess for me  the important point is that it is your one forever house, and there is no plan b,  so you need to take sufficient time and learn enough that you get it right first time.

 

And that you are confident enough as the client to make the final decisions where you need to do so.

 

A key skill for a client is to have gained enough knowledge of your own requirement to be able to decide when you need to overrule your architect - you will be the ones living in it.

 

F

Edited July 6, 2020 by Ferdinand

[MikeGrahamT21]

23 hours ago, Joannteg said:

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

 

 

Have a look at Passive House Plug Magazine (https://passivehouseplus.ie/), past digital editions are free to view, some nice houses of all styles in these magazines, and as some are located in the UK, you may be able to visit them. I also like this magazine as it gives an idea of the materials used to construct, and the companies where it came from.

 

Another one, which is more for the technical aspect of building, is superhomes (http://www.superhomes.org.uk/get-inspired/superhome-locator/), depending on what you are wanting to achieve in terms of energy efficiency?

 

Just one point on your list, a walk in pantry (if you are wanting it to be as a traditional pantry, cool to store food) is probably a no no, would need a door to remain cooler than the rest of the house, preferably a solid door.