#Ask The Architect - Why Do Scottish Houses Have So Little Storage Space?

Here's one of the questions I received for Ask The Architect. Right or wrong my comedian friend, Mr Scoular suggested to me that women are the main decision maker in choosing the home and love cupboards. Well in my many many FREE Consultations I have to say that I have not found this to be the case.

Anyway, it is true that storage in a house is not always a high priority particularly in modern houses. I will come back to this point as I don't think that storage generally, even in old houses, was ever a priority.

At block architects my team have for the last 6 years designed dozens of new builds and assisted 100's of client's with home alterations and rennovations so I have seen many house types of various ages. None of them in my opinion have ample storage.

Let's tot it up. In an ideal world each house would have 1sq.m cloak at the front door, and at least another 2sq.m on the ground floor for crap to be stored in (if it's anything like my house). Then on the upper floor we would love 2sq,m per bedroom and a few sq.m off the top landing for linen and this doesn't include the cupboard with the huge water storage tank in it. Now, let's say that in a fairly standard 3 bed home that we would like 8-10sq.m additional storage. That's a staggering £8,000 onto the build cost based on £1,000sq.m and yes you will pay that for a cupboard. And yes that's the reason why people and developers do not add more storage into the build. Simply because people and the market will not pay for it. Think about it. Would you rather have 8.sq.m of storage space which adds little value to the property or would you prefer a 4th bedroom at 8sq.m? It's a no brainer really isn't it.

Now onto the issue of older properties having plenty of storage. Well there is perhaps an argument to accept that older properties with thicker walls had spaces build in the walls ie either side of a chimney, however many people forget that historically dwellings were occupied by a whole family ie kids, parents, grand parents and maybe an aunt or uncle. When you imagine the density of people in one dwelling there wasn't really that much storage space.

What I would suggest is that if you want a house designed from scratch that block architects can and will design storage to your needs but remember, someone has to pay for it!

Looking For - FatBuzz - Engaging in Niche Markets

This is the fabulous new brand and site of my friends Marion and Gorden White and of course all of their Team at the new FatBuzz. Check it out now...

Looking For - FatBuzz - Engaging in Niche Markets

Ask The Architect - What To Do When My Planning Approval Runs Out?

Following on from yesterday's post, I was asked: ''What To Do When My Planning Approval Runs Out?''

In essence any Planning Approval should last for 3 years from the date of approval. I have been told in confidence that so long as the site has started ie drainage and foundations the Council will honour the Approval indefinitely however if no works have been started on site then you will need to re-apply for Planning Permission.

Oh, and don't expect that you will necessarily get a renewed planning approval for something too easily. It may well be the case that planning policy has changed from your original application and as such the new policies may restrict development or infact rule it out.

For more information on Planning Approvals contact us at our official webpage.

Ask The Architect - What Do I Do When My Building Warrant Runs Out?

(Image Left - Typical EPC Certificate)

Every Day I get asked a question relating to the industry so I thought I would post these as a regular thing. Mind you I have no intention of doing this daily!

I was asked by a Client who deals with relatively large scale projects: 'What Do I Do When My Building Warrant Runs Out?'

Well it largely depends on what the Warrant Approval was for however, in short you would typically get 3 years after the date of Approval of the Warrant to have the project completed and signed of by Building Control. You can get an extension to this 3 year period through a formal application but in fairness most people tend to miss the deadline. In these circumstances it's important to reappraise the project.

I did this recently for the Client that I mentioned earlier. They got Warrant Approval for 28 flats and 3 years later and in particular with the down turn in the market they never built out the flats. Now with the flatted developments the noise and insulation requirements have largely changed becoming more onerous in their requirements (this said onerous is obviously better for the end user). I advised the Client that we could reapply for a new warrant using largely the information already submitted and approved by building control and that we would need to supplement the package with Energy Performance Certificates. (EPC's). An EPC is a computer calculation which assesses the carbon footprint of each individual flat and is issued positioned within the flat so that a surveyor has an indication of the Carbon Rating of the Flat.

So there you have it. If you need advice on renewing a Warrant Application contact us at our official webpage

The Scottish Building Control Regulations Are Changing - 01st October 2010

Just as we are getting familiar with the last revision, the Scottish Building Control Regulations are changing again effective from the 01st October 2010.

I've just finished reafing them and they are very similar in many ways to the last set of regulations apart from sections on Energy and Noise.

From first glance it is apparent that there is a huge push to further reduce carbon emissions from dwellings such that there will be a substantial increase to the thicknesses of building fabrics in order to achieve the new requirements. For example we are currently required to provide a wall with a U-value of 0.27W/m2K which we can do with 145mm timber kit consturction filled with 140mm mineral quilt insulation and therafter clad in brick however under the new October regulations this standard wall construction will change by the addition of a 50mm quilt now within the cavity increasing wall thicknesses and material and labour costs on site. There will be a few detailing issues surrounding this that we (the industry) will need to get a greater handle on but that's what we have got to do for the greater good of the planet.

Also, Section 5 Noise has been re-written with what appears to be mandatory sound tests for all new build houses. This was never typically done. There is also a preference for sound tests to be done for attic conversions! It's all going to get costly.

As Architects we face the unenviable challenge of trying to work with material suppliers to ensure that the buildings and specifications we use will meet these new criteria but unfortunately we cannot monitor workmanship on site for all of the projects we are involved in. I suppose the question then is, who will re-train the tradesmen on site? The answer is obviously no-one. 'That's the way I've been doing it for 20 years son' will be the response.

Good luck everyone.

Small sites could meet demand for land | News | Inside Housing

Small sites could meet demand for land News Inside Housing

Here's an interesing read!