extension drawing software

ninjaef · 5 June 2023 at 8:49AM

maybe nephew should have undertaken research first, as i am doing, viewing approved drawings on the planning portal, reading the guides and watching videos from home improvement agencies and reading the build regulations of course..indeed had he done so he might of come across Approved Document A, section A1/2 Diagram 17 that ststes where openings are permitted and location of windows. it's all there.
It really is common sense, doing the homework and taking time to learn and ask questions, assimilate data and check. another thing i will be doing is providing the PD plan to an architect for BR drawings , i have agreed one already who offers a free check service then will take plans to compile the BR drawings.- i wouldn't attempt the BR stuff myself, but there's no reason a sensible pragmatic intelligent individual cannot produce PD plans ánd have them checked by a qualified architect prior to submitting to the council.
all common sense really and good learning activity. why not🤗

oh, btw, many of the PD plans on the council site, that have been approved, are very basic and much less information than i would have expected and put out by these software packages I'm trialling

ninjaef · 5 June 2023 at 10:56AM

block outer, brick inner, std cavity, but as you will doubtless know being an expert, none of that information is required for PA drawings - certainly not by this council looking at the approved floor and elevation plans, but clearly is a consideration given the drawings will be used as a basis by the architect for BR submissions.

ninjaef · 5 June 2023 at 10:57AM

the OP has been answered. I will unsubscribe and thank you to all.

Section62 · 5 June 2023 at 11:17AM

ninjaef said:

maybe nephew should have undertaken research first, as i am doing, viewing approved drawings on the planning portal, reading the guides and watching videos from home improvement agencies and reading the build regulations of course..indeed had he done so he might of come across Approved Document A, section A1/2 Diagram 17 that ststes where openings are permitted and location of windows. it's all there.
It really is common sense, doing the homework and taking time to learn and ask questions, assimilate data and check....

Not really.

Document A1/2 is about the structure, and in particular loadings and the way in which the structure needs to be designed to resist these loads.

There's much more to openings than Diagram 17. For example you'll also need to consult Document F1, Document L1 and Document J.

Much of it is common sense, but there is also a lot of information that you need to know, some of it being counter-intuitive. It isn't "common sense" to know that Document J contains critical information about the placement of windows.... you need to know that, and unless you are very lucky, it won't necessarily be information that you can pick up from videos.

ninjaef said:

another thing i will be doing is providing the PD plan to an architect for BR drawings , i have agreed one already who offers a free check service then will take plans to compile the BR drawings.- i wouldn't attempt the BR stuff myself, but there's no reason a sensible pragmatic intelligent individual cannot produce PD plans ánd have them checked by a qualified architect prior to submitting to the council.
all common sense really and good learning activity. why not🤗

You are right that a sensible pragmatic intelligent individual can produce plans for permitted development. In the same way a sensible pragmatic intelligent individual could perform open heart surgery on themselves if they do enough research first.

However, those who are especially sensible and pragmatic would appreciate that surgery is part art, and not something which a purely formulaic approach can deal with. And as a result would probably give the DIY approach a miss.

The same applies to architecture. As an engineer I appreciate the work of architects because the work they do goes beyond what my scientific/technical training equips me to do. As an engineer I believe I'm also part artist, but my art differs from that required by an architect.

I can compute the ventilation requirements and make sure the thermal efficiency complies with the building regs. I can ensure the window openings are Ok from a loading perspective. But I recognise that fenestration of a building is one of the most important things in the design process and that the difference between getting it right and getting it wrong can turn a building which is pleasing to the eye into something the King would call a 'carbuncle'.

That kind of art requires training and practice. You can't learn it from a book/video/etc.

You need to have a clear understanding with the architect you've approached exactly what their 'check' service involves. Will they tell you if your design looks 'odd', or will they only give an opinion on whether or not it will be accepted as PD? (in this regard, bear in mind many architects have a shaky grasp of planning rules and a planning consultant would nomally be the relevant professional to ask)

ninjaef said:

oh, btw, many of the PD plans on the council site, that have been approved, are very basic and much less information than i would have expected and put out by these software packages I'm trialling

The prior approval process is itself very basic. The planners are only confirming whether or not the proposal meets the criteria to be permitted development. Very basic drawings are all that is needed, it doesn't need a complex set of plans spat out by a software package.

Section62 · 5 June 2023 at 11:40AM

ninjaef said:

block outer, brick inner, std cavity, but as you will doubtless know being an expert, none of that information is required for PA drawings - certainly not by this council looking at the approved floor and elevation plans, but clearly is a consideration given the drawings will be used as a basis by the architect for BR submissions.

It doesn't need to be explicitly stated on planning drawings but that detail is a key thing which is embedded within the plans.

The planners are concerned primarily with the external dimensions of the building, but the extenal dimensions are a function of room size and wall thickness. Where minimum room sizes are required (for example a porch, lobby, passageway or WC) the wall thickness can be a critical factor.

"block outer, brick inner, std cavity" doesn't really mean very much. To start with it would be unusual to have blocks on the outer leaf and bricks on the inner, but "blocks" come in different sizes. Depending on the thermal performance design the blocks could be anything from 75mm to 225mm (or more) thick. "std cavity" is also meaningless - cavity size will be dictated by what (if anything) you need to fill it with, the location of the building, and other factors.

The key point here is that once you've committed to outer dimensions through the planning process, if the BR process requires you to have thicker walls then you have to compromise on internal space. Or in some cases switch to an alternative wall design, in which case you may have budget issues.

So you don't need to show the wall construction (other than external materials) on planning drawings, but you need to know what they are in order to produce a buildable design.