Well, it's finally happened: we have our bit of paper which says we can build the house. It's been a bit of a roller-coaster, for us novices at least, but we didn't have to go to appeal etc which is a relief.
There is a long list of conditions: we have to get approval for pretty much every material we use, but as the plot is within an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) this is pretty much what we expected.
The Quantity Surveyor is currently working a basic costing plan. This is the first attempt to put a realistic cost together and we have been warned the the results might give us a nasty shock....
There are various charts you can use to estimate a build cost but there are various additional consideration for this plot and build. Firstly there is alot of excavation to do. The house will be fit in snuggly against the hillside and to do that we to chop out a bit of the hill, plus we have to level the car parking area. The spoil will then need to be taken off site and disposed of. There will also be some reinforcing work to ensure that ground behind the house stays where it is when we do the excavation.
We are also costing in things like use of Welsh slate, local stone to clad half the house and self cleaning render for the upper half, not to mention triple glazing to suit the Passiv house type design. These are all expensive items. I really hope we don't have to compromise on too much. The thought of having to use Chinese slate to cut costs doesn't sit very well with us - especially as the Welsh hills are within view of the house.
We have a meeting with the Architect, Quantity Surveyor and Structural Engineer to go through the costings and plans next Friday. Exciting but scary times.
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