Altering Houses and Small Scale Residential Developments

Ann Bridger, Colin Bridger

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781135141288
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architektur
• Subtopic: Architektur Allgemein

'Altering Houses and Small-scale Residential Development' is a practical guide for home owners and those undertaking residential building projects. It is also useful for students and emerging professionals concerned with the built environment, especially small-scale development procedures. Undertaking house alterations can be daunting, not least because considerations of cost, design and method can simultaneously demand urgent and careful attention. In addition, there are regulations and the law to be satisfied, contracts to be entered into and a host of potential problems concerned with the form and condition of the building itself. It is a rare building which is not defective in some way, but putting things right can be very satisfying. The Bridgers' book assumes that many home owners now wish to understand more clearly what goes on when they commission contractors and consultants to convert and adapt their homes. Or course, there are also people who intend to manage a project themselves, while others may undertake work on a DIY basis, and the secret then is getting the right kind of help. This book will be invaluable in either situation because it explains how to perform certain functions yourself, yet clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the professionals who may be needed to help with the processes of buying, altering and selling a house. The economic factors in development are not overlooked since, for people who wish to develop in order to sell or let property, market conditions will be paramount, as will the forecasting and control of costs. This book provides practical guidance on these matters; it avoids theory, but does suggest further reading. It is also highly illustrated with over 100 illustrations clarifying parts of the text. The main theme of this book is altering houses but, in practice, the differences between some alterations schemes and building a new house can be relatively small. As a result, much of the material will be useful for those who wish to acquire a plot of land and undertake a modest residential development. Altering or building houses and selling them can be a complex business, covering a wide range of interrelated factors. This book will make these processes easier.

1 Appraisal and design

DOI: 10.4324/9780080938905-1

This chapter deals with the important factors to be considered at the outset of a residential development project. It begins with a discussion on the purpose of undertaking such a project and explains the factors which influence the selection of a suitable property for improvement or extension. The most important sources of information related to a property are reviewed and guidelines are provided on how to approach a detailed site investigation. Finally an outline of the most relevant design procedures is provided. These are the procedures by which the project moves from being feasible to being buildable. Consultants may become involved and what they seek to achieve is discussed finally.

1.1 Establishing a purpose for development

Development suggests a wide range of activities, many on a very large scale, but in this book development means those activities in which the form of a dwelling is altered to achieve an objective. The objectives vary and can be incorporated with works of repair and adaptation. Since many large extensions are virtually new buildings, many of the principles can be applied to this form of development as well.

Bearing in mind that building owners have altered buildings for as long as there have been buildings to alter, we shall consider in this section only the reasons which currently appear to influence owners to undertake what are often rather complex operations.

1.1.1 Pleasure

Many people derive a great deal of pleasure from working or having work done on their homes, particularly if the property is upgraded or increases in value as a result. The frustrations and inconvenience often experienced during the course of the works are clearly overcome by the satisfaction felt with the result. A 1997 report (Davidson, Redshaw and Mooney (1977) The Role of DIY in Maintaining Owner-occupied Stock. Policy Press, University of Bristol) showed that in 1991 some £4 billion was spent by owner-occupiers on materials and tools for decorating, repairing and upgrading their dwellings. This is a major contributor to the UK economy. Apart from DIY enthusiasm there is much enjoyment to be experienced from seeking out properties ‘in need of improvement’, investigating potential sites and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of particular localities. Clearly people do not always move for the most practical of reasons.

1.1.2 The need to ‘personalize' an environment

Many people have neither the resources, the opportunity nor the desire to move house to achieve satisfaction with their domestic surroundings. If by effecting an improvement an urge to personalize their homes can be satisfied then the benefits are considerable. Small schemes of this kind include:

• adjusting the experience of daylight: more with larger windows, less with smaller windows, considerably more with a conservatory extension;
• adapting a kitchen to suit a lifestyle: minimalist approach or country style, welsh dressers and quarry tiles; cooking to be enjoyed; an abundance of appliances (to remove the drudgery); experimenting with new techniques;
• adapting the bathroom: making it decorative; fittings of a style to suit the house; bath or power showers or both; bigger baths; the trend to ‘en suite’ arrangements;
• changing spaces: open plan living spaces or separate rooms;
• redecoration, often unnecessary but refreshing, inexpensive and immensely popular.

1.1.3 Spatial needs

Domestic accommodation rarely wholly satisfies the spatial needs of the occupier. People's requirements vary enormously and few have the luxury of a ‘made to measure’ home. Changes in lifestyle can make some rooms too small, in the wrong place or in the wrong relationship. Typical of such changes are:

• more people to accommodate: a new baby, an elderly relative, an au pair perhaps;
• an office is needed: someone needs to work at home using a computer network, fax machines and photocopiers, for example;
• entertaining of friends or business colleagues perhaps: more space needed in the ‘reception’ rooms;
• health and fitness becoming popular: space in the basement possibly for a Jacuzzi, aerobics, table tennis and so on;
• independence: youngsters needing separate rooms at an earlier age than they would have in the past.

1.1.4 Upgrading

This is the most popular reason for undertaking DIY work and forms a part of most alteration and extension jobs. When the prevailing economic conditions deter householders from moving house, they will tend to make the best of what they have and there is a great deal of guidance available on what can be done and how to do it. Popular forms of upgrading include:

• improving thermal insulation, particularly by laying down insulating materials in the roof space and double glazing the windows;
• providing an en suite bathroom or shower room to the main bedroom in addition perhaps to a ‘family’ bathroom;
• providing a ground floor cloakroom with a shower;
• installing an energy-efficient heating system — using a condensing boiler perhaps and thermostatic controls;
• adding a conservatory as a link between house and garden and, if facing south, making some use of solar energy;
• adding a garage or car port, at the same time incorporating storage for an increasing use of bicycles;
• improving the appearance of the property — new materials to replace old, new paintwork, new fences, putting everything in good repair and so upholding its value;
• replacing obsolescent and potentially defective services such as electrical wiring, fittings, pipework and so on but at the same time increasing the capacity to accommodate modern appliances and accessories;
• replacing kitchen fittings, introducing new appliances and creating a dining kitchen;
• converting the loft for more than just storage;
• providing access for disabled people;
• improving security by the introduction of security locks, lighting, alarm systems and so on.

1.1.5 Income or capital appreciation

The prospect of an alteration or extension providing additional income may add further weight to the householder's desire to effect some improvements to his or her home. Contrary to popular belief, improvements do not always increase the value of a property in financial terms and may even decrease it if done badly. As we shall see in the next section, there are many factors affecting value. Making alterations pay is a more tangible benefit. Some of the ways that can be used are listed below.

Income

• Income from letting a room or rooms to a lodger; taxes change, of course, but in early 1998 up to £4250 per annum could be obtained tax free in this way.
• Income from holiday lets; clearly in appropriate locations only and generally through an agency which will require a minimum standard of accommodation to be provided.
• Providing bed and breakfast; standards are improving such as en suite bathrooms, television in all rooms and so on; hard work for the hosts, a degree of uncertainty but seasonal.
• An assured shorthold tenancy; for a small apartment perhaps, where separate facilities and access are available; a degree of security.
• As a continuous activity; buying, improving and selling properties in succession; the role of a developer.

Capital appreciation

• Buying a house, living in it and selling. An attractive option when the housing market is buoyant. This usually involves no Capital Gains Tax liability.
• Buying a house, letting it and selling. An alternative option, particularly where the rent obtained can be set against costs and the sale can be delayed until the economic conditions are favourable.

1.2 Selecting a property

Three of the several factors which affect the selection of a property for development are worth particular attention. They are:

• Location
• Neighbours
• Potential or latent value

In this section we discuss their importance.

1.2.1 Location

It is often said that only three things matter in buying a property — location, location and location. This is because a location embodies the image of a lifestyle and it is that image which is the most fundamental, but often the most difficult to define, reason for selecting a property. Improvements in transport and communications may have affected some of the practical considerations for location but the importance of access to a wide range of facilities which affect lifestyle would appear to be growing. People have been known to approach an estate agent with a list of factors they will not accept, such as semi-detached or half-timbered, but end up buying a house with just those features because the location and image of a particular house were right.

Householders will appreciate that whereas they can change their properties, within certain legal constraints, they can do very little to change their surroundings, so looking for the location that best fits their requirements in the first place makes good sense. The low value of an area as a whole may reduce the value of any single property, however much is spent on it. On the other hand, the value of a location can be improved by changes in its infrastructure as we shall see in Part 1.2.3.

The location factors which most affect selection fall into two main categories which can be summarized as follows.

Practical factors

• Public transport availability — bus, rail, air etc.
• Accessibility to major road networks
• Availability of shopping centres
• Availability of schools and other education facilities
• Availability of leisure facilities — sport, theatre, cinema, boats etc.
• Accessibility to public open spaces for dog walking and so on

Environmental factors

These are the rather indefinable things which affect the quality of an area such as:

• Spaciousness or density of development
• Quality of infrastructure
• Relationship between buildings and landscape
• Noise, particularly road traffic and aircraft
• Exposure to extreme weather conditions
• Air quality and risk of pollution generally

1.2.2 Neighbours

D...