Worried house is too big

[kildarebuild]

Hi - We are currently seeking planning permission. All is going well. Their is just one snag. The house is too big altogether. It 3300 square feet Dormer. Im afraid i might end up breaking the bank trying to finish it off.

The architect was a nightmare - originally we intended 2500 sq feet max. But the eejit went ahead and made it too big. We decided against the 3300 sq ft - he brought it down to 2600 but it completely made the house look horrible. He simply shaved off 4 feet from the front of the house etc. Talk about the lazy way of doing things. So we said feck it at the time. We did not want to have anything more to do with the architect and put the plans in. Now things have calmed down and i have realised just how big a house is 3300 sq feet.

Currently right now the plans are with us after coming back from the county council. Apparently they needed more information. Thats fine. But im wondering what options do i have in trying to make the house smaller.

1. Leave upstairs of the dormer do it in 5 years time.
2. Redo the plans and submit them into the architect.
3. Go ahead it be fine stop worrying.
4. Create a huge balcony out of half of the upstairs.

What is the most cost effective way forward.

Worried self builder.

Thanks

 

[Squonk]

1. Leave upstairs of the dormer do it in 5 years time.

 

[JPSaltee]

You need to consider the cost of completion and the cost to run the house as well as your current and future needs.......
Cost to complete - it is very easy to go over budget and you should have a bit extra to cover the "surprizes". also do you want to feel under pressure financially and therefore end up buying cheap furniture etc that you wont really enjoy...
Cost to run - time and money - heating & cleaning
Current needs - how many of you are there? 2 to rattle around in a large house or 12 to fill all the rooms?
Future needs- are you planning on having a large family? having granny move in with you? or will you soon be empty nesters? ( my mother now lives on here own and is finding the house and garden too much to handle)

While having a large house is lovely, how large do you really need it? I have recently completed a self build that i will be using myself in the winter and I rent in the summer..... It is approx 1,850 sq ft, on my own i only use 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom( a couple would use the same)......so the rest of the bedroom/bathroom space is "wasted" 90% of the time unless I have visitors. However, when it is rented to a family if 4/6 they use all of the house, so far all have said taht they find it really spacious. It is painted in light airy colours and I have alot of glass letting in light - the design can make a house feel smaller or bigger than it really is.

If I was in your situation I would either redo the plans or make a large balcony......an extension can always be added on.

One of my biggest regrets was my choice of architect, just going by my own experience I would get out now!!!!! I was annoyed at the planning stage but decided to stay- it only got worse..... one set of measurements sent to me/blocklayer another to steel fabricator - thank god my father is an engineer and figured out how to get them to fit. bathroom window so small it too dark and had to be taken out and replaced. double doorway not big enough for double doors. Never responded to emails, would tkae 3/4 calls to get to speak to anyone. best thing about them was that the receptionists were nice !!

 

[hanorac]

If this is your one off build (ours will be built on a family site so can't really sell it) then I'd go to another architect. It's bad enough the council putting limits on what you can/can't do without your architect giving you something you don't want.
I'd spend a few extra bob getting the house right.

 

[Betsy Og]

I think you'd be mad to drive ahead with plans you're not happy with. Its relatively easy change them now as they are only lines on a page. The council arent going to object if you're going to make it smaller.

We have 2,750sq ft dormer which is probably a bit too big (3 at the mo but early days....) but at least I could never forsee an extension (which are wildly expensive for what extra you get). Would be a crying shame to build while knowing/thinking you might need to later extend (ok if you're cut to the bone on money but even that would be a false economy).

Solutions like a big balcony are "making the best of the situation" but you're lucky in that its not too late to get exactly what you want.

 

[laserjet]

Hi Kildarebuild,

I had the same worries my house, which I havent stated yet, due to submit plans, is 2756sqft. Like yourself i worried that it would be too big and too expensive to build, but the advise i have been given by people older and wiser than me is build as big as you can now you can always decorate cheaply at the beginning and only decorate what you need for the moment. The biggest costs in building is not the actual build itself its when you have to lay floors, second fixing, tiling, bathrooms, kitchen etc so just do what you can afford it will all get done in time.

I think down sizing would be a mistake I know loads of people with small house that are now trying to make them bigger and its costing them a fortune.

Tip
A bigger house is always easier to clean and maintain. you will always have plenty of place for storage NO CLUTTER

best of luck with the build
Laserjet

 

[bertson]

Hi,
Our house build last year is 1600SqFt, and we are really sorry we did not go bigger. Even now space is a premium. Already planning an extension


In you case
- Dont worry about the size (you dont have to finish every room straight away)
- Make sure you are happy with the design, if it a big house make sure the design is YOURS
- Any future extension will cost more than if you did it now.

On the other side
- If you don't need a large house, then re-check the plans
- If cost is an issue, go smaller

 

[Magoo]

There are very few family units that would NEED a house of 3300 sq ft. Whether you WANT a house of this size is, of course, your own business.

From your post, it seems you'd be happy with the smaller unit (which is still huge!) so I think you should consider the additional cost of building and maintaining the larger house.

Apart from the initial building cost (€150 per sq ft) there's also the additional cost of furnishing, heating, cleaning, insuring, painyting, decorating etc which are recurring LIFETIME costs.

Why would take these on if you have the choice not to?

While you might feel pressurised to get things moving, I think you're compromising your wishes to an unreasonable extent. MY advice would be to start again, write off the planning expense you've incurred to date, get a new architect and use the experience you've gained with the previous one to proactively ensure that you get the new one working for YOU.

My two cents worth.

 

[AJL]

Hi

I would not try to tell you what to do. Only you know what your future needs will be. I can just tell you my build. I have a daughter that has special needs and as such the house needs to be wheelchair accessible. I intended to build 2500 sqft and bungalow but taking into consideration the wide corridors and size of site went with building a dormer. It is 3400 sq ft. I have two fairly sized roomsupstairs as storage. These will need nothing other than a light bulb and you always need clean dry storage for clothes etc.
I have 3 children and I can gaurantee that all the space will be used and as one of the other bloggers was saying plenty of room so no clutter.
I would say to look at your situation visit some of your friends houses to get ideas of sizes v's needsetc. Then you can sit down and make a calculated decision. I know myself I am in the middle of a build and it is easy to get flustered. In a few weeks you'll look back and wonder why you got so worried about it.


By the way if it costs 150 euros per sq ft I'm in the s***thouse!!! I would estimate anywhere from 85-120 depending on alot of factors.

 

[liteweight]

A bigger house is always easier to clean and maintain. you will always have plenty of place for storage NO CLUTTER

best of luck with the build
Laserjet

Our house is approx 2,800 sq.ft. and I have not found this to be the case. I think a family grows into its space and manages to fill every corner anyway.

 

[ACA]

originally posted by liteweight

Our house is approx 2,800 sq.ft. and I have not found this to be the case. I think a family grows into its space and manages to fill every corner anyway.

I second that!! It's one of those strange phenomena, like getting a big pay rise and STILL finding the money doesn't last til the end of the month!!

My home is spacious, airy and 1/2 the size of the one you're contemplating at 1500 sq ft.

Personally I'm glad I didn't go bigger - more to clean!!

If you're not happy with the size/shape etc. I'd go back to the architect and stay they til he gets it right. You've already paid him once, why fork out again? As stated by previous poster, council aren't going to be worried if you down-size.