designing a house

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Im about to approach an Architect about getting a house designed, currently Im tending towards
a 4 bedroom dormer, I was wondering have the people on the board any suggestions about getting a house designed or things they wished they considered when they were designing their own houses. Suggestions like getting hollowcore floors etc
 
Well that's what the architect is for: he or she should get to know you and design according to your individual tastes and personal needs.

The one thing I would say is: always put in more electrical outlets than you think you will ever need. And always buy the best quality materials you possibly can.
 
Pretend you are walking around the rooms in your head. I've helped a few people with plans but could never do it for myself cos I'd drive myself doolally with my perfectionist ways.

Watch wall space; keep an eye where radiators, doors, windows are going. Will there be anywhere to put furniture that is not in the way of something?

Having lived in houses with and without concrete/hollowcore floors, I cannot stress the wonderfullness of them enough. I've been told it's a pain re wiring and plumbing but nothing ever happened me and that stuff is always a pain as far as I can see. For day-to-day living it's the bees knees. It's quieter (v. v. important!), warmer and makes the whole place feel really solid. People who haven't lived with it don't really appreciate just how big of a difference it makes (IMHO).

Watch dormers; they are space inefficient and the light from the cutesy windows is usually rubbish. Too much roof-hipping can make headroom a bit of a disaster and make furniture hard to place; often making small rooms smaller. Velux are much brighter but rain on them can wake the dead. Make sure your architect is firing on all cylinders for that part.

Don't leave the small windows on the North-facing wall or the rooms will seem even more dull/cold. Light is one of the things that really make a house for me, so it would be something I would spend a lot of time on; lighting at night, aspect of house, window placement, size and design etc.

I wouldn't let the architect go mad with all sorts of weird room sizes. Carpets, furniture etc come in fairly standards sizes and unless you are loaded custom making is expensive (or wasteful or both). Keep an eye on rooms with extra corners or corners cut off; they can look great but can be a bit pointless as regards effective space usage. Halls and landings are great if spacious and give a lovely airy feel but there's no point in having a huge landing and a small bathroom or a huge hall and a cramped TV room.

Downstairs loo; lots of new houses have it off the utility to save kids traipsing through the house if they are playing outside (or so I'm told). To me, this is daft and it would make far more sense to have it off the hall so guests could go to the loo without you having to either tidy the utility room or send them upstairs where they might a) wake half the house or b) get nosey in themselves. Make sure you have a cloakroom/cupboard.

I'd be thinking about open plan v seperate rooms type of issues too at this stage. Things like do you want the kitchen and dining area combined or the dining and living area. Lots of people go for the former, I far prefer the latter.

I'd also be thinking about what you spend most time doing; watching TV, reading, cooking, bathing/make-up or whatever and make sure that you dedicate lots of time to thinking out that area.

If it's 4 bed, will there be a room downstairs for a play room or study? If not, will the downstairs be adaptable re extensions down the line (I know, I know, you're only building it) because in a dormer expansion is going to be a little more difficult.

You've probably thought of most of this yourself but I'm having a very quiet day at work! :)

Rebecca
 
We are just going through the process. We both had varying ideas on what we wanted so the way we approached it was Mrs Cushtie went out and Bought / Borrowed a few books with house designs on them, when we both agreed on a particular design we liked then went with it to the architect to use as a template. He then sat us down and asked us alot of questions e.g Budget (V Important) Use of Rooms (Where we would spend more time) all the stuff you would expect. He was a little bit pushy in that he steered us away from lot of the stuff we liked and make alternative suggestions so don't be afraid to speak up. Also don't be afraid to ask questions, loads of them. If you have any any at all ask?
 
Pet subject!

I'd love to build another house, just to correct all the things I did wrong in the first, and to do something completely different just for the hell of it.

Some of the things I would do ( will do? ) in the next house:

1. Have underfloor heating- especially if you have very young children.
2. Consider solar panels and/ or a heat pump.
3. I would have at least one very large social space- enough for parties/ special occasions and on the same theme, would have the design arranged so that rooms such as dining room, sitting room, kitchen, study/ library all open into each other with an accessible bathroom also. Then I would have the bedrooms and perhaps a private study or den in a seperate space- i.e not interlinked with the 'social' rooms. I might have one guest en suite linked to the 'social' space though.
4. I would have a large ( heated) linen closet.
5. When getting the house built I would have the builder quote for a totally finished product - i.e including a land scaped garden, finished driveway etc.
6. I would never again paint a house myself- not difficult, just too time consuming.
7. I would have wooden floors in all bathrooms- sealed properly of course- warmer underfoot than tiles- although if had under floor heating...
8. I would have window seats in any rooms with a view.
9. I would incorporate special storage in the kitchen or utility for recycling.

I would definitely have an architect draw the plans, because I think they can provide amazing insight and vision.
 
I think you have to be very specific with what you want...what type of finish you are going for...do you know anyone in the building trade that would be able to give you independent advice.

It's a lot easier to design correctly the first time then correct it later.

A family member has recently bought a house for 350K which incurred stamp duty and it needs to be completely rewired, replumbed refurbished. They are going for a high standard of fitting and the overall cost of doing this is approx 100K. Cost of house is now nearly close to 500K.

They are going for a very high standard of fittings...underfloor heating...expensive kitchen...expensive flooring...etc etc.

It's also very easy to design a big beautiful house that will be very expensive to build. Another friend had a house designed and ended up having it redesigned, scaled down, as it was too costly to build when they approached several contractors.

Best of luck with your designing.
 
It's also very easy to design a big beautiful house that will be very expensive to build. Another friend had a house designed and ended up having it redesigned, scaled down, as it was too costly to build when they approached several contractors.

Thats what I am really worried about with ours, It's 2800sq feet, we said we were willing to scale it down but archtitect said the rooms worked best that way. He reckons it can come in on budget as we are going self build and we manage it very closely (Also my brother is a chippy and wll be doing the roof etc at cost)
 
Some people below have recommended underfloor heating however it should be noted that it is not ideal for the Irish climate. it can not be controlled as easily as radiators and Ireland experiences extremes of heat during the day. Cold in the morning, warm during the day and then cold in the evening. Underfloor heating is more suited to Scandinavian climates where if it is warm it is warm all day or if it is cold it is cold all day.
 
I would be a bit wary of the underfloor heating too. We have it in our house (ground & 1st floor) and it is a bit of a problem. It can be wonderful in the mornings when it's cold, but it can be a problem when the temperature changes alright.
Another big problem in our place is the temperature settings. We have a thermostat in each room but, it seems the wiring was messed up. The kitchen controls the sitting room, one bedroom controls another and so on. We still haven't sorted it out after 4/5 years and we've had a fair go at it. Too many pipes underground going in different directions.
So be careful if you are looking at this.
 
cushtie said:
Thats what I am really worried about with ours, It's 2800sq feet, we said we were willing to scale it down but archtitect said the rooms worked best that way. He reckons it can come in on budget as we are going self build and we manage it very closely (Also my brother is a chippy and wll be doing the roof etc at cost)

Your brother should be able to assist you then which is a great help, and doing a self build will enable you to control the budget. Also if it did go over cost, you could leave a few rooms unfinished and do them at a later stage when you do have the funds.

Get a good few quotations for each part of the self build and get your brother to check them out. I've seen huge differences in the quotations a family member got for renovation work. But another family member is supervising and able to tell if the prices are good.
 
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