Building a house - what you wish you knew!

[Irie1982]

Hi there,
We've just recently got planning for a 150 sq.m detached house which we will be starting later this year. We are almost ready to go to tender and will have our architect project manage the build.

I was just wondering if anyone has been through this process before, and if you have any titbits of information or recommendations now that you're out the other side :)

Many thanks
Irie

You will always need more money than you think you will. Allow a budget for the garden and fencing. Buy good taps as they get used every day. Be energy efficient if you can. Put a rainwater tank in to collect water for flushing loos.Insulate the house well. Buy extra tiles so that when one cracks you can replace it. Shop
around for materials. Put more plug sockets in than you think you will need.
Plan everything and do a site visit every day. Those are my pearls of wisdom

Ps i would start to build in the spring not now.

Get your sap calcs done at design and by someone who knows what they are doing. Can save quite a bit on the spec (trading off expensive items for cheaper ones whilst having the same effect vis a vis the regs)

Put a LOT of thought in to which rooms you want south facing. Unlike us.

Thanks for all the replies!

Our plans have already been put together (see attached plans) we're kinda restricted in layout because of the nature of the site, but luckily the aspect is perfect, and the rear of the house is south/west facing. Here are a few decisions we're still pondering ....

• We will be going for UFH upstairs and down. Not sure whether to put carpet or engineered wood in the bedrooms.
• We are in ROI so have to adhere to building regs regarding renewable energy. So we either have to decide between an Air to Water Heat pump, or a combination of a Gas Boiler and Solar Tubes. Leaning towards the heat pump ....
• Lighting. Want to get this right. Has anyone ever worked with a lighting consultant?
• Wondering if a 5 sq.m roof light over our living area will be too big.

Any other suggestions regarding the layout would be much appreciated. I always value getting other opinions! We have 2 children btw :)

Thanks a lot