Potential extension - Ideas?

9ja4life

Thank you all. It's exactly why I posted so we sort of know what to do as we have no idea about buildings and extensions. Have 2 architects going round next week and it'll decide if we stick to the property or not. Many thanks

Billy_Bullocks

9ja4life wrote: »

Thank you all. It's exactly why I posted so we sort of know what to do as we have no idea about buildings and extensions. Have 2 architects going round next week and it'll decide if we stick to the property or not. Many thanks

Why 2 architects? You won't get anything out of them free.

Doozergirl

Knocking down and rebuilding may encounter planning issues as it looks like a countryside location. There may also be some restriction on extensions.

9ja4life

Billy_Bullocks wrote: »

Why 2 architects? You won't get anything out of them free.

They're both coming out for free actually. Good thing about living in a small place and knowing people who know people. We just want at least 2 professional opinions

9ja4life

Doozergirl wrote: »

Knocking down and rebuilding may encounter planning issues as it looks like a countryside location. There may also be some restriction on extensions.

It is a countryside location plus it's in a conservation area.

Billy_Bullocks

9ja4life wrote: »

They're both coming out for free actually. Good thing about living in a small place and knowing people who know people. We just want at least 2 professional opinions

They'll come out for free but that's it, you want ideas or advice and they'll charge.

teneighty

kinger101 wrote: »

The problem lies in the fact that the dormer bungalow is about the worst option in terms of extending. Single story extensions look odd (flat roof next to pitched) and double story add relatively little space.

Many people's economic basis for buying a property to extend are flawed. Many times it's better just to buy the right sized property to begin with. Extensions don't always add value beyond what they cost. Mostly they're done to save people moving from a home they want to stay in.

I couldn't disagree more.

Dormer bungalows are great to extend as it is a very cost effective option to have the first floor accommodation in the roof space saving in building costs of the first floor walls in a traditional 2 storey house. Also the modern trend is to have more living accommodation on the ground floor compared to bedrooms which again suits a dormer bungalow. You can often take one of those ugly duckling 1960/70's dormer bungalows and transform it into a modern contemporary home very easily and make a tidy profit in the process.

On the second point it is almost impossible to find the perfect property to buy these days, unless you have very low expectations. It makes far more sense to look at smaller cheaper properties in the right location that have development potential so you can turn it into your perfect home. People just need the foresight and courage to create their dream home (plus a good designer and builder).

I applaud the OP and wish more people followed their example.

teneighty

Billy_Bullocks wrote: »

They'll come out for free but that's it, you want ideas or advice and they'll charge.

Most architectural designers provide a free initial consultation which will include some basic design advice and guidance about planning issues etc.

You've obviously been working with the wrong architects.

Billy_Bullocks

teneighty wrote: »

Most architectural designers provide a free initial consultation which will include some basic design advice and guidance about planning issues etc.

You've obviously been working with the wrong architects.

Yes, it's basic and won't be anymore than has been stated on this thread.

teneighty

Billy_Bullocks wrote: »

Yes, it's basic and won't be anymore than has been stated on this thread.

What do you expect for free...a full set of scale drawings?

The point of taking advantage of the free consultation is you get an idea of how the designer works and their design style, their knowledge of the local planning policies and if you think you could work with them. If you play it right you can pick their brains and get some very useful design ideas.

The designer will look on it as a sales pitch to try and win the instruction and also get enough information from the client to calculate a reasonable fee quote.

Anyone considering this type of project would be totally daft not to meet 3 or 4 recommended designers on that basis?