Will his objection be reasonable? ... and ... is this proposal likely to be accepted?

[thomp1983]

I hand drew the drawings as attached for our extension and as it turned out they were more detailed than required too.

For the floor plans I used sweet home 3d, took a bit of getting used to but it's free and you can print your layout straight to a pdf at scale ready for the planners

Block plan i received the one with the house so edited it appropriately with black and red pens then scanned it in ready for email.

Your drawings just need to be accurately sized and show what you intend to do, you don't need to show all the individual detail such as each roof tile or fascia or downpipe etc. Unless there's something relevant about them.

 

[IfYouBuildIt]

Yeh, I've used auto cad once or twice a very long time ago, and remember it being a steep learning curve (I didn't master it then either).

This might be a stupid idea, but ... I've no objection to paying a pro for plans, but what I'd like is a really basic (cheap) outline of what I plan to do, to submit as an application, so the council can say either "yes, potentially, if you provide more details" or "no, absolutely not, no matter how many details you give".

I'd rather avoid wasting the money on a really detailed plan that was never going to be accepted, if possible.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the correct terminology.

Thanks once again for everyone's replies.

 

[thomp1983]

You really don't need someone to draw your plans to get a yes or no from planning, the neighbour in the street behind sort of borrowed some of my ideas, attached are his plans which were also passed by the council and you can see what I mean about they don't have to have loads of detail, paper drawings are perfectly fine

 

[IfYouBuildIt]

Thank you @thomp1983 , this is really helpful.

Actually, I've been using sweet home 3D as well for the floor plans... It's been very helpful for the internal layout. I got a bit carried away with it and started adding every single detail!

This has been very useul. Cheers

 

[biryani_boy]

A few thoughts:

1. The neighbour might refer to a restrictive covenant, you will know about this, your solicitor would’ve highlighted that when you bought the house. The second option is an easement of some sort, once again this is written in the title deeds. Any “agreement” he has with a previous owner can’t be passed down, that’s what covenants are for, so forget about it.

2. I can’t say what the house layout is and why extending at the front would be beneficial, so without knowing that, why not change your plans? Convert half of your garage into what you want and simply connect the house and the garage through some clever walls that don’t require proper foundations or brickwork, hence no planning permission required (other than for the garage).

3. Start again with your needs in mind and “forget” about the garage for a second. It’s easy to get stuck on something if you start with a specific idea such as “I want to convert the garage into an office and shower room”. Much better to start with “I need office space and a second bathroom” and reassess what else you could do.

Having said that, a planning application is not expensive, so just go for it, you’ll know where you stand.

PS: Librecad or FreeCAD for more professional drawings.

 

[IfYouBuildIt]

Thanks biryani.

To be honest I believe he was talking out his a***e and saying what he wanted to believe.

You're right I think I'm too close to this project now, and I'm probably fixating on one particular approach.

This is why it's great to get other people's opinions.

I've attached some more photos for inspiration... Really appreciate you helping with different ideas. Thanks again.

 

[thomp1983]

Looking at the pictures I'd stand by what I said earlier, whole 2m projection across the entire front. That 'odd' window you will end up with 2 details similar to how the right side of the bottom bay window finishes now with a flat piece under the window.

You could keep the existing height of the porch and bay window roofs and run right out over the passageway and either build it into the garage roof or I think hip it off into a valley that the garage roof could also drain into

 

[thomp1983]

Very crudely like so, can't do any better in hospital on far too many drugs

 

[IfYouBuildIt]

Nice. Great sketch!

It's a really good idea. I'm not sure how I'd split the front up, I guess 60% of it could be in the living room side and the rest designated as a porch.

Sorry to hear you're in the hospital. Hope it's nothing too serious..

For funsies I've attached another photo taken taken from inside the bay window.

I'm worried that his window (far left) would mean that going all the way across would fall foul off the 45 degree rule, and he could argue about his right to light.

Thank you & speedy recovery

 

[thomp1983]

Maybe but it's one of the reasons I'd submit your own drawn plans, when we did ours and the planning officer had a couple of questions I explained I was a layman and basically making it up as I went along and they explained everything and the reasons behind there issues, whereas I think if you just submit architect drawings they'll expect your architect to resolve any issues and be less helpful.

By all means get an architect to do a set of building plans once you get planning permission if your not happy making it up as you go but I don't see what you need it for now to get a decision from the council

 

[IfYouBuildIt]

Excellent, that makes sense.

I'll have a go at the drawings myself. That's really helped, and it's good to know I can explain that I'm making it up as I go.

Wife's just asked if we can squeeze a utility room in, along the front, as we don't have one. I can't see a reason why not...I'll have to look at floor plans again.

Cheers

 

[IfYouBuildIt]

Turns out that window I was worried about is a utility room, which isn't a "habitable room" and therefore doesn't count for the 45 degree rule.

 

[biryani_boy]

Not only that, but for aingle-storey extensions only, most councils adopted a 60 degree rule .

45 is more relevant when you get a two-storey extension, where you can cause some serious shade.

 

[IfYouBuildIt]

Oh, I thought it was the other way around! 45 for single storey, 60 for two storey... But I might have my angles inverted (I was going from the house, not perpendicular to the house).