Advice please! House purchase, extension and renovation
ajstracey
4 years ago
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d & b
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Hallway advice for farm bungalow renovation please? Plans included.
Comments (26)I agree - I ended up removing altogether or switching the opening direction on a bunch of doors in my house so they worked better with the layout and furniture. To me the best option is pocket doors which allow the space to be completely open or closed off when needed but you still get a solid wall either side to put furniture up against. They seem to be more common in America and really need planning at the early stages so the 'pocket' can be built in from the beginning....See MoreLoft extension dilemmas - advice needed please!
Comments (7)Hi Heidi, Having just done such a project (and learnt a little from it...): Ceiling heights: minimum thickness of a floor is around 200mm/8" but some of that can be "reclaimed" below e.g. by leaving the joists exposed. Above is trickier because insulation requirements for the roof mean you can't really do that much there; the distance between the outer surface of the roof ridge and the inner ceiling will end up at least 250mm. Do your figures. Regarding the steelwork, there are lots of technical options to build this and "all of them may be right" as in (not) needing a ridge steel beam. Have you got an SE (structural engineer) spec for it? You can talk directly to steelworks fabricators about this. Builders tend to buy RSJs from specialist companies whose business it is to "sell steel made to size / spec" - steelworks fabricators. Some builders like to "cut&weld on site" because it saves them time but workshop welding and steel preparation tends to have more consistent quality and is preferred by structural engineers and/or insurance & building control (the latter often because of the fire risk for welding work on small sites). So this may be a case for more questions to the builder ("who's your steel fabricator and would you mind me talking to them?"), or a 2nd opinion by showing the plans to a fabricator and asking them for how they think this could/should best be built. The technical term is to request a "method statement" - how will the steelwork be made to conform to design, comply with structural spec & building regs and/or constraints of property deeds, and how will it be installed (to satisfy site insurance and Health& Safety regs, and/or other provisions e.g. from party wall awards/consents) ?" On the fire suppression system: building regs part B (fire safety, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485420/BR_PDF_AD_B1_2013.pdf ) extensively talk about "means of escape" which usually are protected / made "safe" by the additional fire resistance hallway walls and fire-rated doors to the hallway/stairwell provide. Where you have open-plan, the guidance says (quote): "Alternatively, it may be possible to provide sprinkler protection to the open-plan area, [ ... long sequence of auxiliary requirements/explanations ... ]" And the devil is in the detail. Not the least because "sprinkler" isn't the same as "mist sprinkler" (let's not go there now, rabbit hole...). It's definitely worth pre-clearing the design / fire suppression method with building control, because once you start, having to "alter" later to put extra partitions in not only blows costs out but also kills the design. From my own experience - do not let the builder "just start" because ... they may hold _you_ to ransom if their (hidden) cost-saving provisions are felled by external agents/influences. With no roof on the building and neighbours breathing down your neck for potential damage or perceived risk, or building control refusing signoff unless major changes, you're in a pretty bad negotiation position. Building regs will pre-clear designs for you, possibly for a small fee. Good luck !...See MoreAsking advice on detached house extension!
Comments (8)An alternative from your plan would be to move the dining table to the left of the back doors ie off the kitchen. Have a couple of chairs and coffee table to the right of the doors to look out over the garden. Then move your main living area to the immediate right of the island so you have a larger squarer space. You can then partition off a smaller space opposite the current study/utility to create two rooms - one utility and one study. Will do a quick sketch now ......See MoreFull house renovation & extension, Sheffield
Comments (4).Hi there! Looks like it's a lot of job need to be done and all works are progressing very well. Very best of luck. Please share the finished project with Houzz community....See Mored & b
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