New build floorplans - opinions welcome

[Bitpipe]

2 hours ago, Indy said:

The balcony design was somewhat dictated by those concerns. Architect's recommendation that we have a balcony within the structure rather than externally protruding one, as it has a greater chance of being approved. Something also to do with shading and SAP calculations (which I didn't completely understand at the time!)

 

We have two first floor balconies at rear of master and guest bedroom. Both face garden, west. 

 

Expensive to construct (balustrade, decking etc).

 

Never use them. Ever.

 

But they do look nice and break up the rear aspect which is probably why the architect included them.

[Mr Punter]

The front elevation is visually poor.  If you look at any house it is the main thing that will either draw you in or put you off.  Yours will not win any beauty contests.  Even if you make no other changes, sort the front.

[Bitpipe]

Just now, Thorfun said:

massive amount of guts I'm sure! and the OP has said they've been at this for 7 months with the architect so it's hard to fathom the amount of guts it would take to start over. but, sometimes those hard decisions have to be made and it's, generally, for the best at the end of it all.

 

You do get into a woods / trees mindset.

 

I believe the OP has already said in another thread that the build cost estimate is north of £1M (which they don't have) so that would be another red flag for me - admittedly that was on a very juicy £3500/m2.

 

Maybe take a step back from the detailed design and go back to thumbnail sketches like @ETC has been generously creating.

 

Try a basement config, more vertically stacked. Let someone else be creative with it.

 

If you're spending close to £1m on this (even 2/3 of that) on top of the plot, take a moment to really make sure you're happy with it.

 

[Thorfun]

11 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

 

You do get into a woods / trees mindset.

 

I believe the OP has already said in another thread that the build cost estimate is north of £1M (which they don't have) so that would be another red flag for me - admittedly that was on a very juicy £3500/m2.

 

Maybe take a step back from the detailed design and go back to thumbnail sketches like @ETC has been generously creating.

 

Try a basement config, more vertically stacked. Let someone else be creative with it.

 

If you're spending close to £1m on this (even 2/3 of that) on top of the plot, take a moment to really make sure you're happy with it.

 

agreed. with that sort of budget/build cost then spending another £1k to get a second architect/designer to go through some preliminary ideas would be worth it in my opinion. at the very least I'd be confident that I'd done due diligence.

[Wumpus]

I think there’s some great advice here. I hope you don’t mind the opinions expressed which will be hard to hear.

My view is that I would want to get some natural light into the living room space and not have it be a corridor to the kitchen and dining area. You have a huge sliding door to the garden, would that not be better used for a larger living room area with some natural light? The kitchen could be further back into the darker area of the building and still be reasonably accessible from the garden.

 

Secondly I agree that the front elevation will be hard to make appealing and does not, in my opinion, reflect a £1m house. I would explore the option presented earlier of putting the first door to the side so the front elevation is less complex. When coming into the house you are walking into a corridor - could this be a more impressive and welcoming space with more light and height?

 

Finally I would try to get more natural light into the building, whether with more or larger roof windows, opening up the middle of the building in some way, especially in the hall and stairs which will have very little light.

 

All that said, everyone looks for different things in a house, and there is never a single right answer. If space is the single most important thing, that’s what you have. I realise you have been working at this for many months, and I absolutely understand how hard that can be, but with the kind of budget you are talking, a slight rethink may be a good plan?

[Zak S]

Some great discussion points here which no doubt be useful for the brief I need to put together for the architect for my own project. Given @Indy is demoslihing the house and rebuilding it I can understand the desire to maximise the floor space as floor space is equal to value is most cases. However, the layout out seems to standard out of the box new build house (similar to what a developers would do). You can add the wow factor by internal fitout but the the way the internal layout is set out I am  not sure if its wow enough in the design. The trend these days seems to be of vaulted ceilings in the hall to create galleries in the hall landing and loft. This is what my architect mentioned to me. @ETC design seems to take this into account plus there is lot more light end clever use of space and light to create circulation space though personally, I am not a big fan of side. But the property width is a limiting factor. I would say OPs design is standard value for money and hence easier to resell but lack the vision that an Architect would have if designing his own house to live in it for longer term (so pretty in line with what others have said). 

[Zak S]

5 hours ago, Thorfun said:

agreed. with that sort of budget/build cost then spending another £1k to get a second architect/designer to go through some preliminary ideas would be worth it in my opinion. at the very least I'd be confident that I'd done due

For a similar design, I am currently paying side and rear extension to 1930s BTL semi c2.5k including building regs. Whereas much more for the self build.

 

I just don't get why it would take c1m to build. That's surely is wrong or miscalculated or the plot is in very expensive place like Chelsea or Mayfair.

 

@IndyIndy has it been costed via QS? Where is the main spend if you dont mind me asking.

[ETC]

@IndyI’m afraid I haven’t had time to read all the posts but I have had a very quick look at your drawings.

 

I really think your architect (if he/she really is an architect) could have done so much more with the plan form and the elevations which I think are contrived and over-bearing. The massing of the dwelling is quite over-powering - especially the side elevations and the creation of the gables to the front for aesthetic reasons appear contrived.

 

I’m afraid I’m not convinced by the porch - it really looks out of scale and will be a nightmare to clean and heat or cool. I’m afraid it reminds me of post-modernist commercial architecture.

 

I think you’ll end up with quite dark areas in some of the rooms and if your boundaries are close you may find that you will have to limit the amount of glazing to the side elevations - especially the Snug and ground floor living room.

 

I am by no means advocating the use of any of the ideas that I proposed but I think your need to create a symmetrical front elevation is severely restricting what you can do with your plot and creating a house which will be appear over-powering, cramped and dark.

 

Sorry - I’m not a fan.

 

ETC.

 

 

 

 

 

[ETC]

On 06/10/2021 at 20:36, Indy said:

Agreed, that was very much our brief - I.e maximise the space on the plot by going edge to edge. Was told to keep 1m on either side to (a) give it a detached look and feel, and (b) allow access from both sides for building it and maintenance in the future.

 

Light wise, agreed but that’s one of the disadvantages I guess of having a narrow but long plot. Have tried to keep windows and glazing in each room to maximise light and airiness but the central/service rooms will be affected somewhat. 
 

For the overall size, I’ve actually reined it in somewhat to 280m2, as one of the drafts was about 50m2 bigger. Looked awesome but I had to compromise to keep the build costs in check. 

@IndyWith a little bit of imagination you can bring light deep into any floor plan.

[ETC]

12 hours ago, Iceverge said:

@Indy

 

What are you ridge height and overlooking constraints? 
 

I'll have a bash at a sketch if I get a chance. 

Very much looking forward to seeing them.

[ETC]

9 hours ago, Bitpipe said:

 

You do get into a woods / trees mindset.

 

I believe the OP has already said in another thread that the build cost estimate is north of £1M (which they don't have) so that would be another red flag for me - admittedly that was on a very juicy £3500/m2.

 

Maybe take a step back from the detailed design and go back to thumbnail sketches like @ETC has been generously creating.

 

Try a basement config, more vertically stacked. Let someone else be creative with it.

 

If you're spending close to £1m on this (even 2/3 of that) on top of the plot, take a moment to really make sure you're happy with it.

 

@IndyI really can’t believe that anyone spending over £1m on a home wouldn’t hire the best architect he/she could find to design a dream house. If I had that amount of money to spend on a build I’d be looking to appoint the best architects out there rather than try and get the cheapest plans drawn by the local plan drawerer.

 

if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

[ETC]

9 hours ago, Bitpipe said:

 

We have two first floor balconies at rear of master and guest bedroom. Both face garden, west. 

 

Expensive to construct (balustrade, decking etc).

 

Never use them. Ever.

 

But they do look nice and break up the rear aspect which is probably why the architect included them.

Balconies - Absolute waste of time. Never used in this climate.

[ETC]

9 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

The front elevation is visually poor.  If you look at any house it is the main thing that will either draw you in or put you off.  Yours will not win any beauty contests.  Even if you make no other changes, sort the front.

Absolutely agree. Contrived and ugly.

[Bitpipe]

8 hours ago, ETC said:

Balconies - Absolute waste of time. Never used in this climate.

 

Now you tell me...

 

They did look nice on the planning drawings though.

[Thorfun]

37 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

 

Now you tell me...

 

They did look nice on the planning drawings though.

we have one too from our bedroom overlooking the flat wildflower roof.

 

 

I love it already and can't wait to be sitting on it, drinking a beer and watching our existing house be demolished! may not get much use after that but who cares. looks great.

[CharlieKLP]

I really like balconies. I hate heights but I like to see distances (if that makes sense). It makes a room feel bigger without the ugly flat Juliet balcony and few people have them - if you have a view you need a balcony.

@Thorfun I really think that’s an awesome balcony, doesn’t look like it has enough balustrade but I love it. It looks so secret and classy. 
 

is the existing house the one at the end there? So you get a view after?

Edited January 21, 2022 by CharlieKLP

[jack]

20 hours ago, Bitpipe said:

We have two first floor balconies at rear of master and guest bedroom. Both face garden, west. 

 

Expensive to construct (balustrade, decking etc).

 

Never use them. Ever.

 

But they do look nice and break up the rear aspect which is probably why the architect included them.

 

We have exactly the same. We have never set foot on the balcony off our master bedroom, and the one off my older boy's is similarly unused.

 

They do look nice though, and the overhangs provide some shade in summer. Shame that they collect leaves and need cleaning periodically.

 

10 hours ago, ETC said:

Balconies - Absolute waste of time. Never used in this climate.

 

Couldn't agree more. 

[Iceverge]

@Indy

 

Right it's taken about 40 iterations ( no exaggeration)  to alter the face but I'm reasonably happy with this effort. It will fit in with your exiting plans. I have no idea if the style is to your taste (mock neo Georgian) or importantly the planners and the feel of your location (let us know). However it is symmetrical, relatively straightforward to build, shouldn't suffer from much overheating, fits within the 9.35m width and 7.8m ridge height, and shouldn't make people grimace when they learn you have spent £1m on it. It's got a fairly broad appeal to potential buyers too. The chimneys are optional but always add balance. You can always use them for MVHR or soil stacks to justify them. 

 

BEFORE
 

 

 

AFTER. 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Iceverge

[Zak S]

@Iceverge looks very classy!

[Thorfun]

1 hour ago, CharlieKLP said:

I really think that’s an awesome balcony, doesn’t look like it has enough balustrade but I love it. It looks so secret and classy. 
 

is the existing house the one at the end there? So you get a view after?

it's not finished yet! a balustrade will eventually be installed but I'm not even at first fix yet so things like that can wait. ?

 

yes, the really old bungalow just at the end of the flat roof is the current house that will be demolished and become our garden. so view out over the neighbours house and woodlands beyond after that. plus ancient woodlands to the left of the roof. South facing as well so just setup perfectly for a bevvie or two on a summer's evening.

[Indy]

57 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

@Indy

 

Right it's taken about 40 iterations ( no exaggeration)  to alter the face but I'm reasonably happy with this effort. It will fit in with your exiting plans. I have no idea if the style is to your taste (mock neo Georgian) or importantly the planners and the feel of your location (let us know). However it is symmetrical, relatively straightforward to build, shouldn't suffer from much overheating, fits within the 9.35m width and 7.8m ridge height, and shouldn't make people grimace when they learn you have spent £1m on it. It's got a fairly broad appeal to potential buyers too. The chimneys are optional but always add balance. You can always use them for MVHR or soil stacks to justify them. 

 

AFTER. 

 

 

 

I have to say I really love this one. Neo-Georgian is very much up my street and was one of the things we had asked for in the initial brief, but the way the design developed - I think its one of those things that got put to one side and never really revisited. 

 

I am reading all the comments in the thread with great interest and its hard to ignore the logic. I shall go back to the architect and see what we can do, even though it may mean a month's delay and added cost to their initial quote! Tempted to only change the facade and then leave the internal layout unchanged as a compromise though once the tinkering starts, will be hard to stop... 

[Indy]

A little more visualisation of the current design - which adds a little depth. I do still really like it, especially the porch/front entrance bit with the double height glass. 

 

Decisions decisions... 

 

 

 

[Zak S]

Think you can attach a garage on the left hand side as additional building to the front?

Edited January 21, 2022 by Zak S

[Indy]

Its not in the renders, but we did have a structure at the front on the left hand side in an earlier version of the floorplans. Plan was to have Parking bay 2 as an oak framed open carport attached to the bike storage structure.

 

However, when we saw the 3D render - it was too imposing and completely blocked the views from the front study so we've given that up and retained a clean view from the street, to keep the light flooding in, at least in the mornings.

 

[CharlieKLP]

I like the lion statues!
 

I think maybe go on Pinterest and look at some other houses.

 

I feel so bad since you really like it, but it’s truly very ugly. I don’t think building that roof would be easy either, there doesn’t seem to be anything for the vaulted areas roof to sit on.