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Very difficult to make comment without knowing who the house is for, will it be a long time family home etc. Also what is the orientation and environment. A clue to what you think makes this home special i.e features that make it stand out from a run of the mill build, as well as why this type of house works for you.

My initial thoughts were that it looks a bit boxy inside and apart from the 'pool room' the ceiling heights all look the same BUT that is just to my taste, you may hate open spaces and varying ceiling heights!

Why the small roof slope over the window on the ground floor? That will cost thousands extra to build and loses room space on the 1st floor. Agree with Brians comments regarding the main roof - potential to simplify that considerably.

I agree with comments about the roof valley gutter - get rid of it! Every one I have had dealings with has been a problem.

Did I miss something or is there really only one WC/bathroom? Put a shower / WC in the 'pool' room, it will save a lot of mess in the house, WC / laundry room is needed (in plan and not shown?). The room leading to the 'pool' room could be a bit short of one natural light / windows.

Ditto Davids comments re constraints and achievements.

I didnt like the idea of the valley gutter either, but the architect choose this saying that the council would not allow a increase in roof height to make a normal shaped roof. I dont know the difference in price yet, but i suspect rebuilding the entire roof, may be significantly more expensive. I will have to check into this, as it would make other aspects of the build easier, if the roof were completely replaced with new.
Additionally the architect choose the 300mm step back in the front elevation of the extension, again saying that the council would not allow an extension to be in the same line as the rest of the house.

The house is planned to be the family home for next 10 years. Beyond that, it is likely we will sell up and move on to a larger place, cant be sure of this of course.

The long stretch of wall on the south side faces the house next door and so does not have any windows. It is intended to use this large area of south facing wall to mount 4 hot water solar panels and a single electric panel to run the pumps for the pool and heat the pool.

In picture 2, south is to the right. The garden room folding doors face almost directly south.

You can see the layout and current house on the link below. We have removed almost all the overgrowing bushes and trees, leaving only the large tree and a couple small fruit trees in the rear garden. Everything has been laid to grass.

http://goo.gl/maps/E2cTv

JTG, I suppose i should clarify. I have been here monitoring the good practice approach that GBF have been doing with their houses and clients projects. This is because I want my house to be warm and economical to run, even in very cold winters. Because of my job i am home a lot of time, so in the winter the boiler ends up running alot.
I dont want to be "green" or save my carbon fooftprint or any other similar words for saving the planet from its own impending doom, I only want a warm house.
Is there another way of having an outdoor swimming pool "green"? Sun powered heating and pumps looks the best way to go for me.
At present it doesnt make sense for this house to have any other solar heating or PV as it is not economical.

Posted By: eniacsI didnt like the idea of the valley gutter either, but the architect choose this saying that the council would not allow a increase in roof height to make a normal shaped roof.

Don't really see that argument. If the 'top' ridge is a T how will that increase the height (or have I missed something obvious).

Posted By: eniacsAdditionally the architect choose the 300mm step back in the front elevation of the extension, again saying that the council would not allow an extension to be in the same line as the rest of the house.

I really would approach the planning officer and ask him if this correct advice. The line is being followed at the groundfloor level (AFAICS).

I whispered my response but got an error message, so not sure if you got them.

Some tips re pools to consider as we are building one at the moment in Italy. As you suggest, insulate - yes, consider not having a deep end, reduces the heat requirement, reduces chemicals, cheaper to build and is safer - big consideration that last one where kids and animals are concerned. Also consider a heat retaining cover you can walk on, will make a difference as well as keep the leaves out. Lastly, our old neighbour had an outside pool in the UK and got minimal use with our weather and he was a real hardy soul

Posted By: fostertom

Posted By: willie.macleodSwimming pool seems like a good way of wasting heat

What heat?

The heat from the solar collectors/heat pumps that could otherwise be used to heat the house..... OP stated that it isn't economical to use solar for the house. Limited collection of heat available in terms of space and equipment as well as budget no doubt so personally I would use that to heat a house which is used 24/7 rather than a pool that is used for a few hours a week during summer.....

Posted By: willie.macleodOP stated that it isn't economical to use solar for the house

because whereas it's easy to ST-heat a summer-only outdoor pool, it's conventionally a bigger tech challenge, and expensive, to use solar for space-heating, and is at best a small-benefit top-up to a house that isn't near-PH standard.

IMO, every house should in fact be solar space-heated, and can be, right thro Dec/Jan, without double-expenditure on fuelled back-up heating system as well, provided the house is built (or retrofitted) to near-PH standard. At that point, solar space-heating becomes totally economic, a no-brainer - but this house clearly isn't that.

For this poorly-insulated inevitably fuel-guzzling house design/intention, switching the expenditure from cheap, effective ST pool heating to expensive, marginally helpful ST space-heating isn't an option.

Posted By: fostertomIMO, every house should in fact be solar space-heated, and can be, right thro Dec/Jan, without double-expenditure on fuelled back-up heating system as well, provided the house is built (or retrofitted) to near-PH standard.

At the risk of going OT, is that not dependent on where it is built? May well work in Cornwall but is a struggle even in the central belt of Scotland.

I would investigate the options for putting a small area of flat roof on top. This wouldn't be visible from the road or garden & would avoid the risk of flooding due to blocked gutters, snow melt, etc.

If you keep the valley then make sure it has some fall on it.

David

Posted By: borpinMay well work in Cornwall but is a struggle even in the central belt of Scotland

Well, conventional wisdom says it can't be done anywhere, even Cornwall, without ways and means of collecting in deep winter that I've been describing here - but not sure if it's been grasped and certainly the solar industry has no experience - so where does your info come from that it's not poss in Scotland? The Cornwall vs Scotland difference isn't that great, and would just mean more collector area, larger storage etc.