House Design Explained

House design is an exciting and highly enjoyable process - its the moment when your distant dreams become focused reality - but it is important to remember that it is also, by far, the most critical element of any project. Bad design is easily the biggest contributing factor to projects that go wrong, while all successful self-build projects start off with a sound, intelligent design.

So how do you ensure your project gets off on the right foot? Avid viewers of Grand Designs and similar programmes will be party to endless tales of self-build woe - but the script is remarkably similar. Ambitious self-builders approach architect who designs a remarkable new house, guaranteed to be the envy of their friends and family; building work commences, only for builders to bring a sense of grim reality to the proceedings, which usually ends up with our ambitious self-builders going way, way over budget (often double their initial idea), falling out with their architect and emitting a general sense of disenchantment with the whole process. How do you avoid a similar calamity?

The Budget:

The conclusion to be drawn from these situations is that the design was never realistically matched to the self-builder's budget. The truth is that for all successful projects, the number one starting point for the design process is money. Work out to the nearest £10,000 what your build budget is (use the Build Cost Calculator as a start) and set all of your design choices (from how big a house you can build, to the actual house design, through to choices on the final fixtures and fittings) around this figure. And, of course, make sure you communicate this figure to your designer, and stress your intention to stick to it. Ask him/her how he can be sure that the house can be built to your budget - many will employ a Quantity Surveyor on your behalf to check the viability of your scheme.

Inspiration and coming up with your own ideas:

The key for any designer is getting inside the mind of his/her clients and trying to come up with a design which is the realisation of what they have in their head. Some clients are not very good at communicating their desires and are likely to find their initial discussions with a designer to be polarised. It's much better for a designer to see what kind of things their clients imagine in their dream home than for them to have to guess, and for this reason you should be collecting images and keeping them to present to your designer at your first proper meeting.

The idea is not necessarily to create a list of features that your designer should include, but rather to give the designer an impression of the kind of things that you like in design terms (which is why things like kitchens, fittings and furniture are just as important as big spaces). Present this to your designer as a mood board and comment on why you like certain aspects

Assessing your site:

Another critical element in the design process is to analyse the plot you are intending to build on. Every plot is unique, not just in its shape and size and slope, but also in its orientation and surroundings. All good designers will know your plot before designing a house for it and you should make them aware of any issues that you think might influence the scheme. While the more obvious ones include slopes and odd sizes and shapes, factors like views, orientation and overlooking will have a critical impact on your design. Do an initial assessment of what you think might work best. Take inspiration from the houses around you and ensure that the house design you come up with is a result on these issues. Some sites may make certain design ideas unfeasible; others, for example those with slopes, may make some design ideas (such as upside down living, or basements) much more of design priority. Don't forget too, if finances are an important factor, to consider the end value of the house you intend to build, in terms of style, fittings and number/size of rooms.

Planning:

The final external factor that will influence your design will be local planning guidance. While individual local factors are too complex to go into here, you should make an assessment of the neighbours to see what style the houses have been built in, and make an informal first approach to your local planning department to see how they react to your initial thoughts.

Finding a designer:

You can get your new house designed by any one of a number of professionals:

Architect: A house designer can only call him/herself an Architect if they have completed the seven years worth of training to become chartered (and with it gain membership of the Royal Institute of British Architecture, RIBA) and are registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB). Because not all Architects specialise in one-off housing, you can search the lists at www.architecture.com for house design specialists in your area or, perhaps more easily, contact an organisation called Associated Self-build Architects, a group of Architects who cater specifically for selfbuilders (www.asba-architects.org). Another option for those carrying out extension or remodelling work who want an innovative solution is to contact Architect Your Home (www.architect-yourhome.com). Architects fees vary enormously depending on the individual and fees for a whole project can be anything between £5,000 (for design drawings only from a small practice) up to £50,000 and beyond (for a recognised Architect to provide designs and a supervisory service). Ensure you get an agreement on fees up front and ask to see previous examples of work.

Architectural technologists: A large number of house designers don't go through the process of becoming a Chartered Architect and many of them opt to become technologists instead. The name is slightly misleading, as while many of them do indeed do the nitty-gritty drawing work for Architects, many more act as fully-fledged house designers in every sense of the word. Many self-builders find technologists to be more grounded in budget issues and, in some instances, more approachable than Architects. The group has recently achieved Chartered status itself and a list of members can be found at www.ciat.org.uk

Surveyors: While this type of professional includes everyone from building surveyors to some estate agents, many Chartered Surveyors offer comprehensive design services. A full list can be found at www.rics.org

Other designers: Look in an Yellow Pages under Architectural Services and you'll find a collection of loud adverts for local house designers - with names ranging from the solid-sounding through to the rather lively 'Plans People'. Quite distinct from the more austere Architects section, this varied bunch offer a broad range of different qualities, skills and levels of experience. In general terms, they are likely to be cheaper than Architects and some may well be just as talented. There is no vetting process for general house designers and so its essential that you see previous work and, again, establish fees upfront.

Package companies: All of the package companies offer a design service (as part of an overall materials/labour contract), but the details of what is offered varies from company to company. While almost all of the leading companies have a range of standard designs, they encourage clients to suggest alterations of these basic plans; others offer a standard book of plans with no changes permitted; others offer totally bespoke design services, fresh for every project. While design is included as part of the overall package, you will find it factored in to your overall costs, although many clients find the fact that they are not paying upfront for design services a big benefit of this build route. Another advantage of using a package company is that they are much more able to link your design to your build costs.

The initial scheme:

Having chosen a designer and given them a brief, expect to receive back a first look at your new house on paper within 2-4 weeks. As the designer will make clear, you should look closely at these plans and see how they relate to the brief you have given them. Ask why certain elements have been missed out and others included. Most importantly, check the sizes of rooms to ensure that they are sufficient for your needs. Look at the overall scheme and analyse it carefully, and at the follow-up meeting ensure that all avenues have been fully explored. Finally, confirm estimated build costs with the designer.

Having agreed any amendments, the scheme is now ready to go through the planning process. Once approval is given, your designer will then need to come up with building regulations drawings for approval by the council. Gaining approval on that means work is ready to start on site but with a well-considered design behind you, the seeds of success have already been sown.

Further reading:

• A Guide to starting out on your self-build
• The essence of good house design
• Design problems and their solutions
• How to get the most from your House Designer