Affordable building plans, home designs, extension design, planning permission, building regulations,Affordable building plans, home designs, extension design, planning permission, building regulations,Affordable building plans, home designs, extension de

Providers of House Building Plans & Architectural Design of Home extensions, Loft Conversions & New Builds Leading to Planning Permission & Building regulations Approval in Bristol, the South West & Wales

Thomas Building Plans specialise in creating professional building plans & architectural design drawings for home extensions, loft conversions and home alterations for our private clients. They are the type of drawings that would be required for Planning Permission applications and drawings that a builder can follow to produce your home extension, loft conversion or internal alteration.

Home extensions, loft conversions and alterations can add significant value to your home, as well as the benefits of a larger home. Thomas Building Plans will talk through your ideas and desires for your new home extension or conversion, provide guidance and bring our valuable experience to produce your building plan designs and architectural drawings.

......... we take your ideas all the way through to Planning Permission and Building Regulation Submissions.

We have many years' experience in the Bristol, South West and Wales area. We are a family business and focus on helping local people realise their dreams for a larger home or a sound investment.

Find out how we can help you with home extensions, loft conversions, internal alterations, new builds, conversions, building plans, architectural design, planning permission applications or building regulation applications.... we would be happy to help.

Builders will, almost always, require a set of building plans or architectural designs of your home extension, loft conversion or home alteration before they are able to provide quotations. So to get the overall costs of the project, do you need the architectural designs and building plans to be completed ?

Not quite. But how do you start the process, without committing to the initial costs of having the building plans or architectural design drawings being completed for your home extension, loft conversion or home alteration ?

This is where we are able to assist. By providing guidance and drawing upon our expertise and experience, we can help to explain everything. Also, more importantly, we provide build cost estimates for your potential home extension, loft conversion or home alteration.

Although only estimates, this provides you with the potential costs of the build as well as the various other costs that a home extension, loft conversion or home alteration would entail.

Some of these other costs for your home extension, loft conversion or home alteration are for the architectural design or building plans to be produced (our principle service), planning application fees to your local authority, building regulations fees to your local authority, structural engineering (if required, a service we also provide) and any other costs that may be applicable to your potential project.

Having home extensions,
loft conversions or home alterations
should be exciting not daunting !

Having a home extension, loft conversion or home alteration can often seem to be rather daunting. However, it needn’t be ! In most cases, as our clients will confirm, it is quite exciting. Many options are available, from the internal layout of your home extension, loft conversion or home alteration, through to the external appearance of the extension… Therefore, embarking on an extension or conversion should be exciting and a lot of fun…. And that’s just at the designing phase !

We share this enthusiasm… we know how important your home is to you and your family… it simply helps that we have a real passion for what we do and enjoy the design process as much as you do !

Once you have all of the various costs that your home extension, loft conversion or home alteration would involve, it then comes down to selecting the various options from those available, and proceeding with the project. It sounds simple, doesn't it... actually, it is !

Have a good look through our web site. We have many happy home-owners across the Bristol region, as you can see from the 'Google map of projects' section.

Also, we have provided several examples of the different types of project, in the 'Recent Projects' section.

We hope you have found the information that you were looking for... but we would be happy to answer any questions you may have... so don't hesitate to call us.

We feel the most important aspect of having a home extension design, loft conversion design or new build is choice ...

We have always found that talking through some of these ideas leads to the best design for you and your family, for resale value or for all the many other reasons that exist to make changes to your home.

The point to always remember....we can advise and make suggestions, but the great part is that the choice is always yours !

Our Proven Skills

Thomas Building Plans have experience in many areas:

Loft conversions
2 storey home extensions
Single storey home extensions

Over-garage home extensions
Garage conversion into living space
New home build

Our services cover all aspects of your home extension design:

Architectural design
Structural engineering
Approaching and selecting reputable and reliable builders
On-going advice as the build progresses

You can see many examples of our building plans & architectural design services in the ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site.

Single storey home extensions – rear extensions

If you are considering a rear single storey extension, there are several choices available to you.

If the rear extension is approximately 3 metres deep, then a lean-to roof may be appropriate, regardless of the width of the extension. If the extension is for the kitchen only, for example, then a rear single storey extension may be all that is needed to make a dramatic change for the better to your home. However, since a lean-to roof allows for any width of rear extension, then this opens up the possibility of having the rear extension across the entire width of the back of your house.

If your rear home extension is likely to be deeper than 3 metres, then a lean-to roof may not be appropriate. This is because the new roof over the extension may be too high when it ‘joins’ onto the back of your house, which would require the windows at first floor to be reduced in depth…. Not a great idea !

Therefore, in rear home extensions where the depth of the extension is over 3 metres, a duo-pitched roof may be the best option. This, in plain English, is a roof that is similar to the roof over the main part of most houses… it consists of two (duo) roofs, that meet in the highest point in the middle. Once a duo-pitched roof is used, the depth of the rear home extension can be any depth that you want…. With the approval of the local planners, of course ! However, a duo-pitched roof does not have the design flexibility of a lean-to roof. This is because the height of the roof increase as the width of the home extension increases… these are the type of options that we can discuss with the help of sketches and explain further !

We have many examples of single storey home extension designs in our ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site and many more examples in the ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ section also.

Whichever option is best for your rear home extension, you can be confident that we can help explain and guide your through the options.

Single storey home extensions – side extensions

Similar to rear home extensions, single storey side extensions can have similar options available to you. Due to their location on the side of your house, the design becomes far more important from the local authorities point-of-view. Side extensions may look far better and blend in with the existing house if they follow the design of the main roof of the house…. more than likely to be a duo-pitched roof.

You still have the choice of the depth of the side extension, since the depth of the extension could be the same as the main house, meaning the roof would be very similar to the main house roof.

We have many examples of single storey home extension designs in our ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site and many more examples in the ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ section also.

Single storey home extensions – front extensions

You may think that an extension to the front of your home would not be possible or indeed, desirable. However, these types of extensions follow very similar ‘rules’ to other extensions, although have obvious limitations in terms of size and design, due to their visibility and therefore importance to the planners.

We have many examples of single storey home extension designs in our ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site and many more examples in the ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ section also.

Two storey home extensions – over-garage extensions

A two storey home extension over your existing attached garage is often a very effective way to add valuable first floor space to your home. Whether the garage is converted into habitable space as part of the building plans design, or whether the garage is retained, building above your existing garage remains a very popular and attractive way to add space and value, whilst achieving a huge benefit for a minimal budget.

In terms of the roof design, this is likely to be similar to the roof over the main part of your home…. Providing a seamless blend and therefore a very attractive end result.

We have many examples of over-garage two storey home extension designs in our ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site and many more examples in the ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ section also.

Two storey home extensions – side extensions

A two storey home extension to the side of your house offers huge benefits in terms of potential space being added to your home. Similar to the over-garage extension above, this option may indeed include the architectural design of a garage as part of the new building plans, although this is not usually the way forward chosen by clients. Instead, the space where a garage could sit can be used to fantastic effect as additional living space, extended kitchen/diner, utility room etc… lots of choices !

At first floor, depending on the width available to the side of the house, the new extension is often enough floor space to add two additional bedrooms, often with built-in storage space and even shared bathrooms/ensuite.

We have many examples of two storey home extension designs in our ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site and many more examples in the ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ section also.

Two storey home extensions – rear extensions

Sometimes space may be limited on the side of your home, therefore excluding a two storey home extension to the side as a possible choice.

However, a two storey extension to the rear may be a great way of adding a similar amount of space to your home. Many factors come into play with these types of extensions, with careful thought having to go into the access to the rear extension. This is since the back of a house is usually occupied by bedrooms or a bathroom. However, with thought and expertise, many of these two storey rear extensions have been designed and built, providing a great addition to your home. We have many examples of two storey home extension designs in our ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site and many more examples in the ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ section also.

Loft conversions

A good deal of our time is spent providing building plans and architectural design of loft conversions. This option remains a very popular way to add space to your home. Loft conversions can transform a dark, dusty and unused roof space into a bright & spacious living area, resulting in a valuable addition to your home.

Each loft conversion design is very unique from the last, but several factors make a big difference between a GOOD loft conversion design and a GREAT loft conversion design. Careful placement of the stair for your loft conversion design is vital in providing the best use of space, both in the resulting loft room and the first floor landing. Headspace is important as well as the need to maximise the available space within the loft, to ensure you get the most out of the loft space available to you.

There are many choices with loft conversion designs. The design may include roof windows in both the front and rear roofs, or may involve the architectural and structural design of a rear dormer window. A rear dormer window/roof can provide full head height to the loft space, resulting in almost all of the roof space being used… effectively an entire new floor !

We have many examples of loft conversion designs in our ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site and many more examples in the ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ section also.

Internal alterations

Not all of our architectural designs and building plans involve adding space with home extensions and loft conversions. Some of our clients require help in improving their homes’ internal layout.

This may involve the removal of walls to provide a more attractive open-plan layout. Often, in the Bristol area, many houses have separate dining rooms which are rarely used as living space. By merging this dining room with the adjacent kitchen, an open, bright and airy space can transform the ground floor living space.

We have many examples of internal alteration designs in our ‘RECENT PROJECTS’ section of this web site and many more examples in the ‘GOOGLE MAPS’ section also.

We are able to draw upon a wealth of experience of designing home extensions, loft conversions, internal alterations and submitting planning permission and building regulation applications. We have a thorough understanding of the limitations and scope of the Planning rules and the detailed knowledge of the Building Regulations.

We can show you various design options and only when you are completely content that you have made the best choices, do we then proceed with detailed drawings and plans.

We use the latest computer-aided design systems, so you can ‘see your new home in 3D’ and make any changes or additions, or change your mind completely after realising the potential for your home.

If you require any changes to be made, it does not mean we have to "go back to the drawing board" ! We can change the design on our computers and show you the result....

Having an extension or conversion can be a rather daunting process … we take all of the jargon and the difficult processes of obtaining Planning Permission and Building Regulations approval and translate them for you.

We will achieve the results that you want within the stringent rules and regulations that exist. These rules are governed by your Local Authority.

In the first instance, call Thomas Building Plans to discuss your ideas. Usually a short visit to your home will enable you to explain your thoughts to us.

There will be no obligation to progress any further, the choice to proceed will, of course, be yours.

Feel free to contact us today to see how you can improve your home and make the best investment that money can buy.

Planning Permission
This is usually required if you intend to alter your home in any way such as an extension, loft conversion, changing the use of a building (from a house to a shop, for example) or dividing part of your house for use as a separate dwelling (two storey home into separate flats). Planning permission is also required in many other situations so it is well worth contacting us to discuss your ideas and plans and for us to advise accordingly. Even a simple case of adding a driveway to your home may, in some cases, require planning permission.

There are also other permissions that are required the most common being for Listed Buildings, proposals in Conservation areas, sites with Tree Preservation Orders (TPO's) and Party Wall Agreements. A Party Wall agreement will be very important when you wish to build onto an existing wall shared between yourselves and your neighbour, or create any structure that comes into contact with a shared wall, even if you do not alter the shared wall.

Once you have planning permission approval, the next stage will be to get building regulation approval. Whereas planning permission approval ensures that the building does not break any laws, fits in with the local environments and is not affectively a blot on the landscape , the focus is then turned to the manner in which you construct the building. For example you may be granted planning Permission but the building is constructed very badly with poor workmanship which could be unsafe for its inhabitants. Building Regulations exists to ensure that any work follows a strict and thorough set of rules. These rules vary from the type of insulation to be used in a building, and its resistance to heat loss, to the location of stairs, direction of door opening in proximity to stairs and many other energy-saving and safety conscious issues.

In summary, Building Regulations exist to protect you and future users of the building.