I love it when a plan comes together!
Extending a house is easy, no? Draw up a plan; get the local council to agree it; find a builder; boom, done. I'm all for simplicity, but even I'm not naive enough to think this is going to be an easy undertaking. What I'm absolutely certain of is that it's going to need a bit of a plan to make sure everything comes together at the right time. Having never done this before, I'm fully expecting this to evolve and change as we move forward, and for us to miss key steps along the way as we fumble our way to what is hopefully a respectable home-win (see what I did there?). So let's start with a little brainstorming on the kind of stuff we need to get right, in no particular order.
Objectives Layout Ideas Architects Plans Planning Building Regulations Structural Engineers Builders Plumbers Electricians Carpenters Lighting Design Garden Design Landscaping Kitchens Bathrooms Play Equipment Loft Conversion Flooring Doors Windows Lighting Roofing Tiling Appliances Patios Fencing Paving Home Automation Furniture Project Management Financing
Given that this list is far from complete, let's start at the beginning and think about the critical bits we need to get right to move things off the starting blocks
| 1 | Objectives | It's probably the software engineer in me, but I'm always a fan of having a clear view of what it is we're trying to solve at the otset in order to guide any decision making and hopefully make sure that the result ticks the right boxes. |
| 2 | Layout Ideas | You could argue whether this is even needed or something that you pay an architect to help with and ultimately drive, but we decided that we're only likely to do this once, so taking the time to work through ideas and really make the renovation our own was important to us. This goes for each room and space, working through the entire building (and in our case outside the building too) to amke sure we'd thought of all our options, thrown around some ideas, and come up with at least a rough idea of what we want and how it might look. We'll probably spend a lot of time in this area, and expect a number of posts detailing some of the things we're thiking about; the tools we're using to help us document our thoughts; and (hopefully) something that resembles a good realisation of our objectives that makes the work with the architect (and ulti mately the builders) much easier. |
| 3 | Architects | Our creative skills probably aren't going to stretch to the levels required to build out architectural drawings suitable for council planners and builders to operate with. We have some ideas, and a bunch of enthusiasm, but our experience is largely non-existent. I've heard countless times on the TV property shows how a good architect can make the difference between a successful; cost-effective renovation and an overbudget disaster, so we need to locate and engage an architect that can realise our dream (and ground it in reality). |
| 4 | Plans | For planning approval purposes; for the builders; and for our own edification we're going to need plans of the proposed work (probably for both the building and the garden landscaping) to make sure we have a well thought through design and something to work from as we get into the weeds of the build process. |
Looks simple in a table, but if we get to point 4 and have ticked all the boxes to a good degree of satisfaction, then we expect to be well on our way to a successful outcome. Let's start by ticking off the objectives.
Objectives
The first and most important item on our planning list are objectives. Possibly not something that most people think of as the first step to a house extension or renovation, but we thought it was very important to capture our most important outcomes from the project to make sure we tick them off as we work our way through, and to help us with any critical decision making that's needed to progress. This isn't meant to be a wish-list, but something much more achievable. In fact, you might consider it the MVP (minimum viable product, not most valuable player) as it represents the core items of the build that we need to get right in order for it fulfil our needs. For us, that list is pretty extensive:
- Large, open plan kitchen-dining-living space, open to the garden
- Increased desk space in study
- Open fire or log-burning stove in family area
- Children's playroom, with desk and lots of storage capacity
- New master bedroom, with en-suite and good storage
- Increased floorspace for girls bedroom
- Direct access to garage from kitchen/utility room
- Landscaped rear garden incorporating seating and eating areas, and play are for children
So, with our high-level objectives nailed down and a good idea of our next steps, it feels like it's time to pull the trigger on this one and move forwards. Let's go!
Searching for inspiration
We've (kind of) decided where we want the walls of this new and improved family home, but what about all the bits that go inside those walls (or outside for that matter)? Time for some inspiration to strike, methinks.
Piles of fun for everyone
"Made up ground" he said. What on earth is "made up ground", I said. "Expensive..." he replied. Turns out our foundation needs are 'non-standard'.
Plans are nothing; planning is everything
Clearly Eisenhower was intimately aware of the British local council system when he said 'Plans are nothing; planning is everything'. We have some great designs, but if the planners decide they don't like them (sorry, that they don't 'adhere to planning regulations') they won't make it any further than drawings on a piece of paper.