How To Design Your New
Home
The design has to be the most exciting
aspect of building your new home and there
are many ways to approach this:
Our
Architects are used to receiving fistfuls
of photos, magazine cuttings and sketches
with notes pointing out features our clients
would like to see in their own home. Armed
with this information and taking into
account your local council's likely concerns
and restrictions, they will draw up plans
for you to peruse and comment upon.
Alternatively
you can choose a design that has already
been drawn up. There are lots of publications
and websites offering ready made plans
for sale free of copyright restrictions.
Pass Solo your chosen design and we will
prepare a quotation.
You may have
already instructed your own Architect
to design your dream home. Again simply
pass your drawings to us and we will do
the rest.
Although most
of our designs are bespoke and start with
a clean sheet of paper Solo also have
a wide range of standard
and premium house plans available on our
website. The following pages show a small
selection.
Building
control and your Timber Frame Home
Once you have settled upon a design we
will draw up a second more detailed set
that includes information relating to
what buildings, if any, are already on
your plot and showing sectional details.
This is necessary to satisfy your Council's
planning department.
Within 8-10
weeks you should have a decision back.
If it’s a no you can choose to take into
account the planning departments concerns
and adjust your plans accordingly, or
alternatively go to appeal which can be
a lengthy process.
Hopefully
you will get a positive decision; it’s
at this stage that you need to start thinking
about building control which is another
department within your council. They will
ask to see a third set of plans detailing
exactly how your home will be constructed,
as well as surveys detailing ground conditions
and specifying what type of foundations
are most suitable.
If
you are warranting your new home through
the NHBC you can opt to use their services
to both inspect the house for building
control purposes, as well as the regular
inspections they make to ensure that construction
standards are good enough for them to
provide a warranty.
Setting
out plans
Your builder will need to know how to
build your foundations. We will supply
a setting out plan giving precise measurements
of width, shape, diagonals etc.
If you intend using a block & beam
floor this same plan can be sent to your
supplier, note that depending on whom
you use delivery of a block & beam
floor can take up to 6 weeks.
Reserved
matters
The planning department will also take
an interest in how the house is to be
built but will focus on the finished look.
They may have stipulated certain restrictions
and insist on being informed of what materials
you intend to use. It is only when your
council has agreed to your requests that
you can accurately say you have ‘full
planning permission’.
Panel
design
Using a computer aided design programme
(CAD) Our Engineers will design the timber
frame panels. Using the drawings they
create the factory will build the various
panels your home will be made up from.
These are a manufacturing requirement
and you will not need to see or approve
these drawings.
Other
matters to consider
You will also need to submit plans to
the highways authority who will allocate
a postal address and inform the emergency
services among others that your new home
exists.
Other organisations
will ask to see copies of your plans including
the various utility companies, who will
only supply quotes for laying in new services
if they have sight of the drawings.
When the house
is complete you may also require SAP calculations
and pressure testing in order to meet
the new building regulations relating
to energy efficiency and in some cases,
sound proofing.
The NHBC or
Zurich will also want copies
Download our wish list Excel file to help
you design your dream self build home.
