Olly P Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 Alot of good advice there thanks all. My question was to find out if anyone on this forum had taken this route of using off the shelf plans instead of getting an architect to start from scratch and if it was successful or not. My planning consultant is applying for OPP with a location and site plan only-so no drawings required at this stage, but my research on house design and planning is only in preparation of the OPP getting passed. If it doesn't- well I haven't spent any money only time and I have enjoyed it to be honest! If it gets passed, I've made a head start and know a route to take. My site is a section of flat field between a large dormer bungalow and a farm building, opposite houses built in 2000's and old houses of various age, so it's hard to judge what would be in keeping with its surroundings but I'm looking towards a large dormer bungalow which would suit our requirements and fit in with next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 (edited) On 30/08/2018 at 13:37, epsilonGreedy said: I have only been interested in self build for 6 months and have already spotted the divergent approaches to delivering a property between self builders and pro developers. Excellent thread. I sort of agree with @epsilonGreedy but it is not a dichotomy. A number of the things on the list can be treated as overheads by developers or architectural practices, whilst the self-builder will have to hore another expensive ologist from scratch. eg even in a small architectural practice there will be relative specialists in eg planning policies of council X, layout of parking, and perhaps use of phpp. In this case the skills are available at much smaller cost and risk, an become part of fixed costs rather than options. The self-builder has to select what to use from a list of far mroe than 15, what to self-do (and take the time to become sufficietly competent), what to hire in, and what to ignore. Of course, there are people around who want (and can afford) to go in with all guns blazing and appoint a main contractor and take the hit of not having (or not wanting to) spend time optimising everything. It is all about risk vs cost vs time vs quality, as ever. Ferdinand Edited September 1, 2018 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 @Olly P you could do worse as an exercise than to look at the website of our guy. Some of his designs veer more towards the Irish than others... www.irish-house-plans.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly P Posted September 2, 2018 Author Share Posted September 2, 2018 Thanks for the link @dpmiller. I've had good look at the website and one of the dormer bungalows pretty much perfect for what we want. I take it the firm customised it to what you wanted and a local architect put it on a site drawing for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Shaun did pretty much a full redraw of the parent design for ours- look at dorm093 and compare it to our finished product here: and yes, our Planning Consultant did the site maps but I'm sure Shaun could handle those too tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly P Posted September 2, 2018 Author Share Posted September 2, 2018 @dpmiller , the link for your plans doesn't work but i watched the fly around video in your intro. Looks fantastic! We really like the look of this: http://www.irish-house-plans.com/dorm_catalog/dorm141/dorm141.html. Are you going block and brick or TF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Hmm that's odd, the attachment appears to have scarpered? We're going TF. dorm093-350-Miller-NI-A.02.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Along the lines of the original question, have any of us ever approached someone whose design (even if only floor-plan) they liked sufficiently, to negotiate copying it. Likewise has anyone ever had such an approach, and if so what cost did you agree on if anything and where there any special terms to the agreement? Obviously if you kept quiet and were somewhat morally flexible, you could do as you liked. It does seem however that there could be a cost benefit my not doing this and just being honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 9 hours ago, Big Neil said: Likewise has anyone ever had such an approach, and if so what cost did you agree on if anything and where there any special terms to the agreement? Depends what you do tbh. The old rule used to be that more than 3 changes made something not the same for copyright so it depends what you keep ..! I wanted a paper copy at A2 of a set of plans that an architect had drawn for planning and the permission had been sold with the land (as part of the price) and he wanted £500+vat for the plans ... Suffice to say, the whole lot got redrawn from a scabby image off the council website, but only to get the original dimensions as it was resubmitted with a shiny new set with different floor plan, windows moved, doors and dormers changed etc. The architect never came back to me after the original discussion sp obviously it was just a punt for money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 11 hours ago, PeterW said: the whole lot got redrawn from a scabby image off the council website I certainly wouldn't have any compunction about doing that if the plan I liked belonged to a volume housebuilder. I was thinking more about self builders like many of the people on here. I did see a design from someone one here although I forget whose it was, which subsequently served as the inspiration for a sketch of mine. Now in that case i seem to remember it was a massive chunk of a house so I couldn't have afforded to build it anyway. But I was interested to understand if it has been a situation anyone found themselves in. 11 hours ago, PeterW said: only to get the original dimensions as it was resubmitted with a shiny new set with different floor plan, windows moved, doors and dormers changed etc Did you do this yourself or get a technician to do it? what was the cost? 11 hours ago, PeterW said: just a punt for money. This is certainly something I would want to avoid, but from a moral standpoint again, I would certainly want to pay for something if only in a notional sense, if someone else had gone to all the effort and expense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 24 minutes ago, Big Neil said: Did you do this yourself or get a technician to do it? what was the cost? Me ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Neil Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 righteeeo - time then. Ta.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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