10m bi-folding or patio door?

blackshirtuk

You really are talking about a massive amount of work to both the back, the front and internally.

I would tend to agree with doozergirl, that it may well be cheaper to knock it down and start again! You could then design exactly what you want.

for the amount of work you are talking about, I would think unless the budget is substantially above 6 figures or you are planning to do the work yourself you will struggle.

blackshirtuk

ey143 wrote: »

The idea behind our 8x10m open plan room, was based on a design we saw at another house as part of a house for sale viewing. Granted the guy was a builder but I don't think he would build something similar if he meant spending an absolute fortune.

Looking at the plan again now, I can see and better understand the points you make which never cross my mind before because I though it would be do-able as the architect drew it. Of course his caveat was that it all depended on the structural engineer's recommendation.

I'm not averse to having columns to support an RSJ where the original supporting wall was or even another column somewhere else in the room as long as it doesn't block the patio area.

I'm interested to know what improvements you think I can make to achieve what I want ie thickness of the columns, how many and where to position them.

Thx.

The 8 x 10 room from the other house was probably created either at the time of building or would have been an extension.

You want to create it using a corner of the existing house and removing the walls. To support those two walls will require a massive amount of steel which needs to spread its weight to somewhere. All I, and others, are saying is that there is probably a less expensive way to achieve what you want.

I am sure the architect drew what you wanted but is maybe unaware of the restrictions of the structural calculations or the cost.

ey143

A rebuild value on the property would come in at £0.5m I have been advised as it was something we explored in the beginning.

Doozergirl

If you have a look at Zoopla, see if those property details are online as history in the sold prices section etc. Post it up, photographs will be good but a floorplan will be amazing.

What is the purpose of this house? Is it a forever home or something that you want to get best value from?

Pillars etc are ugly - some will disappear with design but I'm surprised that your architect has gone to the effort of organising your down lights but not highlighting where supports might be. Is he at the stage of producing building drawings yet? I'd like a structural engineer involved right now - the price of your house is in square footage and quality. Logically this is either a renovation where you move *some* walls but the layout is essentially okay for you with some additions - or it's a rebuild.

How did your build budget conversation happen with the architect? How was it set? As he's organising tender for you, this information isn't private between you?

Architects are an amazing breed. One won't let you insulate a roof for fear of being too avant garde and another wants a floating house

Doozergirl

ey143 wrote: »

A rebuild value on the property would come in at £0.5m I have been advised as it was something we explored in the beginning.

Okay, that is fair for a high quality build.

Where do you want the extension/renovation to be, pricewise?

ey143

The rebuild value from our building survey was 475k when were going through the house buying process.

We revised our budget of £150k to £200k but architect says it will come to 250k. The extension as an empty shell I have been told by a builder friend will be about 25-30k. Kitchen, fittings etc double that.
House rewiring prob 10k, plumbing 20k, the rest I don't know yet.

ey143

**Update**

I had one engineer around (to quote for business) who said that for the area near the bifolds, it is possible to have it without a column because there it is not supporting anything above apart from roof. For the inside area where the existing load baring wall is holding up the house, he says I will need a small column / pillar to hold up a T shape steel cross section beam.

On Fri my architect came around and said he has designed bifolds as wide as 13m without columns (with the help of an engineer) and that my 9m/10m bifolds will not be an issue at all. The area inside the extension could accomodate a column/pillar which will save me about £5k in larger steel costs, but he said he can design it so there are no columns inside but it will mean much larger and considerably more expensive steel beams, maybe 330mm (I could be wrong but I think thats the size he mentioned).

My bigger issue now is that we had our PD application declined last week and hence we met with the council on Fri. The issue were:

a) We are not allowed to have a balcony even though it is an existing one from 30 years ago and our proposal is only for a single storey which will start from the original wall underneath it.

b) Even though the house is some 15m wide, as you can see from the previous pics, we had an existing side extension which the previous owner built. Even though we have an L shaped house, I dont understand point 3 below (my architect tried to explain this but I dont understand it). Why are they taking the width of the house into account when calculating the depth of the rear extension, is should be 8m even if it is an original L shaped house?

We've been told by the council we might get what we want under planning permission rather than PD. Any help on this interpretation is appreciated.

http://s1093.photobucket.com/user/ey143/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps6e82cbe7.jpg.html

docmatt

To be honest i think a small pillar dead centre wouldnt be that obtrusive. Less weight of moving all those doors at the same time. You might just like the one set being open and the other closed. Have em all open and it's damn fly central!

I have no clue bout planning, good luck anyway and if you want ali bi folds ill put you in contact with the guy who fitted mine, they have the thinnest uprights on the market and look pretty smart.

Doozergirl

I typed out a long reply and lost it when my battery died. No matter, as a picture will probably explain things better.



When the planners assess for PD, they base it on how your house was in 1948, regardless of new extensions. I've done you a hypothtical drawing, but you can work out what PD rights you have from the scale drawings of your house, excluding the extension.

I think that the balcony is some kind of misunderstanding. If they are goin to cause trouble for you and refuse a PP application because of it, I would email and ask them for all the planning permissions for your house. There are usually more than you can see online. If there is no PP for the balcony, then put in an application for a certificate of lawful development for it by itself - immediately - so that they assess it alone and then assess your planning app more objectively.

Was the house L-shaped in 1948?

ey143

Hi

Many thanks for your reply - and sorry/shame about your lost text. I know the feeling!

Yes, it was a reverse L shape in 1948 and in late 1980s previous owner did a garage and 1st floor extension above it (to the right of the L) and both front and back wall were then flush. The balcony was also done at the same time under planning as was a partial loft extension.

So to reference your diagram, the while of the blue outline represents the original house ie including the "ext" bit and the right PD side that you drew is the exact extension. The balcony is then above the void part.
I'll try to post a pic shortly. It appear my photobucket account has been emptied for some reason.


Thx.