Weavers Down

Weavers Down Lodge planning was commissioned in February 2015 and granted in April 2016. The brief was to design a compact 3 bed ‘upside down house’ to exploit the views and to make best use of the beauty of the oak frame. Planning restrictions were tough and the new structure had to fall within well-defined limitations as to total floor area and height.

The structure is in 3 bays with the central bay forming the hall and stair well. Bedroom 1 only is en-suite due to space restriction, hence bedrooms 2 and 3 share a bathroom. A discussion with the planners took place as to whether the porch should be included in the space calculations or not! We were able to convince them that this would be an acceptable exception.

The upper floor is entirely open plan with a compact kitchen diner on one side of the stairwell and a lounge with wood burning stove on the other. Views across the stairwell give a feeling of spaciousness that belies the fact that the building is only 10.8 x 6.7 metres overall. The balcony will be a wonderful feature of the new dwelling, greatly assisting in creating more space when weather allows the sliding folding doors to be opened to utilise the large deck area.

The structure is storey and a half to as much as possible reduce the height of the building overall. Dormers to both south west and north east elevations give good headroom where it really matters. Note the small flat roof section over the landing in the central bay to allow good access through.

3D visuals help the clients to get a good feel for what the upper living space might really be like. We have avoided having to have stub ties in the frame trusses through introduction of truss posts at the collars.