"Permitted Developments"

[J4CKO]

looking at extending the back of the house, apparently until 2019 you can, with certain provisos go 8 meters back on a detached, we need about 4 so thats well within and height wise you can go 4 metres.

Is it that simple, do you not need any planning permission ?

Also, any good packages for designing a 3d walk though to try different ideas for the resultant accommodation ?

Also, for an extension, do people always engage the services of an architect to plan/design it or do some go straight to a builder if they know what they want ?

[SunsetZed]

J4CKO said:

looking at extending the back of the house, apparently until 2019 you can, with certain provisos go 8 meters back on a detached, we need about 4 so thats well within and height wise you can go 4 metres.

Is it that simple, do you not need any planning permission ?

Yes sometimes, depends on distance to the boundaries and also if you live in certain areas, e.g. greenbelt, or have covenants on the property.

J4CKO said:

Also, for an extension, do people always engage the services of an architect to plan/design it or do some go straight to a builder if they know what they want ?

Some people go straight to the builders but some people work as graphic designers and have good vision, can produce drawings etc., I'd suggest that most people would use an architect, it's a relatively small cost compared to a 4 metre extension and can easily provide value for money (and I'm tight and not an architect!!)

[Davel]

Might be worth a call to the Duty Planning Officer for a bit of informal advice.

I find our Council pretty helpful.

[C0ffin D0dger]

J4CKO said:

looking at extending the back of the house, apparently until 2019 you can, with certain provisos go 8 meters back on a detached, we need about 4 so thats well within and height wise you can go 4 metres.

Is it that simple, do you not need any planning permission ?

Also, any good packages for designing a 3d walk though to try different ideas for the resultant accommodation ?

Also, for an extension, do people always engage the services of an architect to plan/design it or do some go straight to a builder if they know what they want ?

Having done similar a few years back yes it is that simple.

We did ours when it was still a max of 3m so that's what we went for. The architect sent a copy of the plans to someone in the council planning dept. to ask if it was okay to do what we wanted without planning, they replied yes so on we went.

Personally I'd use an architect, they'll usually think of some stuff you haven't considered, just seek the middle ground. We had one architect to quote who was probably desperate to appear on Grand Designs, he added a lot of things to the table which whilst good would have added a lot of cost to the project. His quote was over twice that of the architect we did use.

Any builder will want a proper set of plans, a specification, and the structural calculations. You'll also need this stuff to submit to building control for building regulations approval. Our architect (and his structural engineer) did all that for us.

[13m]

J4CKO said:

looking at extending the back of the house, apparently until 2019 you can, with certain provisos go 8 meters back on a detached, we need about 4 so thats well within and height wise you can go 4 metres.

Is it that simple, do you not need any planning permission ?

Also, any good packages for designing a 3d walk though to try different ideas for the resultant accommodation ?

Also, for an extension, do people always engage the services of an architect to plan/design it or do some go straight to a builder if they know what they want ?

You won't need planning if it's going up less than 4m as far as I recall. If it's 2-storey I think you'll need PP. You will need Building Regulations either way.

I would not trust a builder to design it. Nor would I engage an architect, unless your house is something special.

I would seek out a draughtsman or "provider of architectural services" - basically someone who bunked off too many lectures to get his architect's papers.

I have a chap who designs stuff for me and is au fait with the latest demands of building regs. I don't ask him to get artistic, but if I just want an extension drawing, building regs compliant, he is ideal and cheap.

[SonicHedgeHog]

Don't ask a builder to design it. It'll look crap. Spend a grand and get it designed properly. It's a tiny proportion of your overalls costs and you stand more chance of getting something that looks and works great rather than something that doesn't. And, no, I'm not an architect.

[J4CKO]

Yeah, thought that would be the case, dont spoil the ship for hapethof tar and all that.

We are getting closer to being able to kick it off, just need to check the other bits we have had issues (cracks in bay) with arent going to require more work and expense than the £1500 or so I have allocated.

Want to turn the existing kitchen into a downstairs bathroom (existing one is a lash up in the garage) and utility, use the existing dining room as the new kitchen and whack a 4m by 8 m (approx) extension across the back, levelling ti off with the existing small extension on the back of the rear lounge.

So will need to fit out a small bathroom with shower, build the shell, put a kitchen in, add floorings, relay the patio etc.

Am reckoning on 30 grand for the building and 15 to put a kitchen and all the rest in, so hopefully no more than 50 grand allowing for budget creep.

benefits are, get a decent utility,

Proper downstairs bathroom rather than a plasterboard stuff partition box in the garage.

get my garage back

need a new kitchen anyway

Decent size dining room

[V8RX7]

As always it depends.

For an extension on a standard house I'd be staggered if an architect could come up with a better design than a decent builder - frequently the builder will have more experience having worked on hundreds of similar projects with differing designs.

The problem is finding a decent one.

When a friend wanted an extension I told him to have a look around the area then look at their plans online.

After he found what he wanted I told him to knock the door and ask the owners what they thought and who built it.

They were happy to chat and he used the same builder to do his job.

[J4CKO]

V8RX7 said:

As always it depends.

For an extension on a standard house I'd be staggered if an architect could come up with a better design than a decent builder - frequently the builder will have more experience having worked on hundreds of similar projects with differing designs.

The problem is finding a decent one.

When a friend wanted an extension I told him to have a look around the area then look at their plans online.

After he found what he wanted I told him to knock the door and ask the owners what they thought and who built it.

They were happy to chat and he used the same builder to do his job.

Next door are in the process of having one done and they seem to be doing a fine job, may just harass them.

Where I think we need an architect is bits like how we integrate it with the existing extension to the back of the lounge, currently has a window but would be inside after the extension and how to approach that whilst keeping decent light etc.