| ||
| ||
|
Home Improvement Information | |
|
|
Planning Permission Tips UK - Free Design Advice In The UK - How And Where To Get It
Isn't it funny how people shelve projects for the new year - perhaps the new year feels like a fresh canvas or something - I don't know. Many potential clients I saw in Q4 of last year our now coming through as confirmed commissions - it's a funny old world with no rhyme or reason... Providing advice to these potential clients is always a dilemma. On the one hand you want to be helpful & prove your metal in order to gain their trust but on the other hand you are also giving away the family silver without any prior commitment from them that they will actually be engaging your services. Ideas & suggestions on how to achieve a clients building objective is often all we have to offer. Sure there is the technical & craftsmanship element of your service but that's often taken for granted. The creative element is often the bit that actually makes a good development work. Fortunately, residential development isn't exactly within the realms of Richard Rogers stature especially when developing an existing dwelling with well needed extensions. So, where does the ordinary householder obtain good independent advice when they are considering an extension to their home? And, is this advice worthy when offered for free? Finally, who do they select as their final design Agent if they lack the necessary skills in producing the design onto paper? Firstly, There are loads of ways to obtain design free advice. The first step is to consider worked examples already constructed within your street or local area. Be critical & analytical. Decide what works & is pleasing on the eye & what doesn't. Decide what details can you transfer over to your own scheme. Secondly, go to your council or research a few other councils web sites & download their readily available design guides especially if your property is within a conservation or sensitive rural area. Most councils now have quite good design guides amongst their simplistic do's & don't's pamphlets. Read these design guides and do take on board their messages. Thirdly (and after completing steps 1 & 2 above) invite a few professionals to come & take a look at your property with a view to perhaps engaging one of them. These 'professionals' range in terms from Chartered Architects, Architectural Technicians, Surveyors & other Designers of various stature & background. I wont promote any one over another but a lot will depend upon what type of overall service you may be looking for & how much of your potential build budget you are happy to hive off in fees. However, as a guide, the one to stay well away from is your 'kitchen table top' designer - you know the sort, pencil tracings at the weekends while he works for the Gas Board during the day. Bargain basement prices they may be but they will have little interest in ensuring a pleasing design is accomplished at the end. Most professional building designers still don't charge for their time at the initial site visit which is a shame in my view as this tends to instantly sort out the serious from the tire kickers. Invite 2 or 3 round for their opinions & gauge their reactions & comments. You will be amazed at the varying attitudes you will encounter. Hopefully all of your invited professionals will have been sourced from recommendations. If not then you have a little research to do. In order to get the best advice out of these people it is important that you are clear on your objectives. It has been my experience that most homeowners do actually know what they want from their homes. Temper that with a degree of flexibility & an enquiring mind that will allow the building designer to input some of his/her own thoughts from their initial first impressions of what they see. As with everything else in life, there are always options to be explored - the obvious well trodden path through a wood main not be the prettiest. Now test the designers metal by throwing in an obvious 'no-no'. For example....talk about your idea for an extensive flat roof or an obvious overlooking side window. If he/she simply panders to your thoughts on these points then you know the advice is dubious. Conversely, if the Building Designer is not listening to your principal requirements & shooting off all manner of other design concepts or projects then you also know that you wont end up with a building that satisfies your main needs or budget. Somewhere between the two is what you are seeking. Someone who can clearly latch on to achieving your space requirements but who is not afraid to question or challenge your preferred siting, materials or layout in order to gain a better overall external appearance & internal design solution. You will probably discover that you will actually need a building designer to carefully present your scheme through Planning & for the detailed design & specification build up later on so the exercise was worthwhile. For those with rudimentary drawing skills & a passion for 'doing it themselves' they will also find the exercise worth while. No matter which route you take, time invested in these three simple but often time consuming steps stated above is usually an invaluable part of obtaining a well considered final design for your residential development. Those that 'crash in' without seeking prior advice or without completing a little research will often have regrets either in an awkward looking development that they are having trouble selling or incurring abortive fees from having the scheme refused at Planning. Our 'Maximum Build Planning Guide' explains further the issues involved when extending or developing a property for planning permission. http://www.planning-approval.co.uk
MORE RESOURCES:
Home-Improvement - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Your Building Your Dream Home, But Where Do You Start? You have finally found the perfect lot, in the neighborhood of your choice, and at a price you can afford. Now you have to decide what type of house you want built. Window Dressing from the Outside Looking In Window coverings are important to the overall look and feel of a room, of course, but when designing window treatments, don't forget to take into consideration what your overall design will look like from the outside of your home.As a general rule, window coverings should all be of a similar coloring, which will significantly improve the look of your home's exterior. Interconnects for Your Audio/Video System - Choosing The Proper Cables Research & Development I began designing audio and video interconnect cables in 1988. I was asked to develop custom interconnects for discriminating audio and videophiles, who wanted to see and hear the quality of their components and the source material without added personality from their interconnects. How Stained Glass Can Add Elegance To Your Home If there is one way to throw a new light on your home, it's through the stained glass you put in your windows. Whether you want to enhance old windows by replacing some of the panes, or are complementing the new Pella windows you've installed, stained glass can lend an air of grace and quiet elegance to a room. Why Laminate Flooring is the Perfect Choice for Families If you've ever had carpets or vinyl flooring you've probably had your share of stains, spills, and rips that no matter what you do, you can't quite wash out. Or perhaps the family pet has scratched the carpet edging, or even worse - had a bathroom mishap on the children's favorite playing area?Your flooring nightmares can finally end! Laminate flooring was designed to stand up to the rigors and demands of a busy family household and when compared to other types of flooring solutions easily outperforms in almost every category. Building Wood Stairs Building a set of wood stairs is not nearly as hard as you may think. With some basic wood tools and a bit of algebra you can easily build your own. Homeowners - Here is a Step by Step Guide to Help You Hire a Quality Home Improvement Contractor Before talking to any contractors the first thing to do is create a budget for the project. Without a budget you will be flying blind and may end up over spending. Make Your Home Secure The following list offers some inexpensive ways to make your home secure:* Do not leave a ladder outside of your home. A thief could easily, and they do, gain entrance to a second story window. A Guide to Home Dehumidifiers It can be difficult to choose from among the countless home dehumidifiers out there. First, determine the square footage of the largest room you plan to dehumidify. Add Sizzle to Your Surroundings Is your home décor lacking that extra something that spells the difference between comfortable and vibrant or between comfortable and tranquil? Candles might be just the polish your décor needs. Take advantage of the sparkling colors, rich textures, and fresh scents of candles without draining your decorating budget. What is Injection Waterproofing? Injection waterproofing is often used to fill and seal cracks and crevices. The material is most often made from a polyurethane compound. Using A Hardwood Floor Sander Refinishing your hardwood floors yourself can be time consuming and a bit scary at first but well worth it in the long run. It can cost a bundle to hire a professional to refinish your floors for you, but if you have the time, you can do it yourself. Trading in Corporate Office for Home Office Six years ago, I had not yet turned on a computer. Today I run several successful Internet Businesses and by me being a single parent of 4 children my friends calls me a marketing expert. An Affordable Shortcut To Designing Your Dream Home You have likely been making mental notes for years. Every book or magazine that you read and each home that you visit has become a source for pieces to the puzzle that can become your new home. Key Bathroom Remodeling Ideas One of the simplest ways to start planning your bathroom remodeling is to tour other bathrooms to get bathroom remodeling ideas. Pay attention to what you like and don't like. A Guide to Commercial Steel Buildings Commercial steel buildings are prefabricated and custom-designed for use as offices, stores, distribution centers, freight terminals, service stations, aircraft hangers, commercial garages and more. Since they can be molded into a range of shapes and sizes, steel buildings are finding applications in most any industry imaginable. Natural Gas vs Charcoal Grills - Which One Is Right For You? Barbequing outdoors is a pleasure that anyone can partake in and with so many types of grills available you can practically cook anywhere. One exception to the list is a natural gas grill which needs a permanent hook up. Georgian And Victorian Style Conservatories Georgian Conservatories Georgian architecture was the style of the 18th century, especially from the reign of King George I who ascended the throne in 1711, into the reign of King George IV. Design and architecture of the Georgian period naturally flowed from British styling for many decades in advance of the period. Got Attic Mold? Lets Talk Energy Conservation! It happens to countless homeowners around the end of the year - you make the annual visit to your attic to collect the holiday decorations and what do you find? Spots and blotches covering the bottom of the roof sheathing.Worse yet - it turns out to be attic mold!What does energy conservation have to do with mold in the attic? Well if you take a step back and consider how the house behaves as system, they are often directly related. 3 Kinds Of Wood Used In Real Wood Furniture Real wood furniture is the most popular furniture in existence. It's been around for hundreds of years and probably existed when the cave people got tired of squatting on the dirt floor of their caves and looked around for a better way.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
