Q's re Building a House

R

Roc

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Hi folks. We've made an offer which has been accepted on an old house and site but to be honest I haven't a clue how best to proceed.
The house is just about livable but there is no kitchen (just a cooker and sink - no units etc etc). There is however, planning approved for a kitchen (in time we'd need to do a huge amount of work to the house)
We can't afford to get everything done at the moment (we'd need to apply for planning for the rest of the house and we want to build up and out - maybe even demolishing existing structure) and we were thinking that if we even just got the kitchen done that it would be ok to live in for a while until we could afford to do more work and apply for planning.

So, my round-about questions are :

Should we get an architect or an engineer to determine structure and to design the overall plan ?

Would you go ahead with incorporating the kitchen first and then apply for planning for the rest later on?

Has anyone any other alternative ideas ?

If anyone has recommendations for Planners / Architects etc I'd really appreciate any pms (we'd be looking at North Kildare area)

Timewise - how long can it take to get planning permission and to do a full build (I'm sure that's like asking how long is a piece of string but as you can see I'm completely green in this area ).

Any info/suggestions etc much much appreciated (and sorry about so many questions). Many thanks
 
You will need to get an architect/engineer/technician to inspect the house and give you first hand advice. Its the age old debate as to who to get. putting it in a simple form an architect would be more into the design aspects, the engineer into the structural side of things and the technician will do a bit of both. In any event make sure that they have professional indemnity insurance cover.

Im not clear on exactly what you have in mind but generally speaking you should try to get all the planning end of things sorted out with a single application.

If the house isnt structurally sound it may be more economical to demolish and rebuild in the new.
 
Sounds like you should decide what you want to achieve long term before shelling out on a kitchen extention that you may knock in a couple of years. Some professional advice on what is viable would be a good idea at this stage.
Leo
 
Hi Roc
Assuming you need somewhere to live in the short term and that budget is an issue I would advise getting a full structural survey from a reputable company with all the required qualifications and insurances before you complete the sale. Tell them in advance what your needs are and they should be able to make recomendations regarding costs of repairs/renovation or rebuilding etc. Then you can see where you go from there regarding extension or demolition. If the property is in very poor condition it may not be immediately habitable and you may end up only buying a site. Also advice should be sought re the local planners and their thoughts on the site if rebuilding or major extension works are needed as their permission is by no means guaranteed.
Best of luck
M
 
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