Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 03, 2012 12:38 pm Some of you may remember that we started down a renovations track ( this thread viewtopic.php?f=53&t=52381 ) After the cost became too much based on what we were getting, we decided to explore knock down and rebuild. We have progressed to where we have a concept design which we are mostly happy with ( some small changes still to come) We are getting this costed with a builder and we hope to be able to start building in the next month or so. I've attached some pictures of the site plan, floor plans and 3d elevations. Happy to hear peoples thoughts. We are very excited!! cheers Site Plan Ground Floor First Floor 3D elevations What you all think??!! My Knock down and Rebuild thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=54685 Our Building Blog http://ourknockdownrebuild.blogspot.com.au/ Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 2Mar 03, 2012 1:08 pm I love it!!! Well done. I particularly love that you have used your North orientation perfectly with all the living + deck on the north side. Then downstairs the kids play room and bedrooms. We also have a custom home on a north facing block with living upstairs. There aren't many of us so it's nice to see another home like this!! You may not have seen another thread on custom homes which you might find useful: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=33027&start=1040 My only comment is that it is a shame the downstairs bathroom has no natural light... Do you access your store room from outside? It seems a bit of a waste to have no window into that room from the north (I think your store window faces east?), but then if you switched the bathroom there it would be too far away from bedrooms. There is always a compromise with these things... Upstairs I love your walk-in-pantry, and I think the layout of the rooms is excellent. We have a similar number of rooms, only ours is longer and skinnier. So what stage are you at? These seem like pretty detailed plans. Have you obtained Council DA? Where are you building and with who? I look forward to following your build! ps: We have views from our block which is why we have moved kitchen / living upstairs. Is that the same reason for you guys? Not many people do it. pps: just read your other thread. OK, yep, like us you have views (yours are of the city ours are of the national park). Like you we also expected to renovate our house but the price was WAY too high. As a rule of thumb I have been told renos cost $3-4K p/sqm whereas KDR is $1-2K p/sqm. We are paying around $1250 p/sqm for high level inclusions so that seems about right. What sort of pricing have you received for yours? Builders always seem to freak a bit at upstairs living (and the external stairs costs a bit extra, which we are also having). To combat the kitchen upstairs, we have put in a sink/bench on the downstairs patio plus powerpoint for bar fridge and cupboards like a mini kitchen for parties / quick meals. Like Carmel wrote on the other thread, it can be a real pain going upstairs for food which is why not many people build like this. But as you can see, I am excited to have found another upside down house!! Building in a month or so seems ambitious though, as you have knock down and Council approval first, don't you? SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 3Mar 03, 2012 1:54 pm SunshineT I love it!!! Well done. I particularly love that you have used your North orientation perfectly with all the living + deck on the north side. Then downstairs the kids play room and bedrooms. We also have a custom home on a north facing block with living upstairs. There aren't many of us so it's nice to see another home like this!! You may not have seen another thread on custom homes which you might find useful: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=33027&start=1040 My only comment is that it is a shame the downstairs bathroom has no natural light... Do you access your store room from outside? It seems a bit of a waste to have no window into that room from the north (I think your store window faces east?), but then if you switched the bathroom there it would be too far away from bedrooms. There is always a compromise with these things... Upstairs I love your walk-in-pantry, and I think the layout of the rooms is excellent. We have a similar number of rooms, only ours is longer and skinnier. So what stage are you at? These seem like pretty detailed plans. Have you obtained Council DA? Where are you building and with who? I look forward to following your build! ps: We have views from our block which is why we have moved kitchen / living upstairs. Is that the same reason for you guys? Not many people do it. pps: just read your other thread. OK, yep, like us you have views (yours are of the city ours are of the national park). Like you we also expected to renovate our house but the price was WAY too high. As a rule of thumb I have been told renos cost $3-4K p/sqm whereas KDR is $1-2K p/sqm. We are paying around $1250 p/sqm for high level inclusions so that seems about right. What sort of pricing have you received for yours? Builders always seem to freak a bit at upstairs living (and the external stairs costs a bit extra, which we are also having). To combat the kitchen upstairs, we have put in a sink/bench on the downstairs patio plus powerpoint for bar fridge and cupboards like a mini kitchen for parties / quick meals. Like Carmel wrote on the other thread, it can be a real pain going upstairs for food which is why not many people build like this. But as you can see, I am excited to have found another upside down house!! Building in a month or so seems ambitious though, as you have knock down and Council approval first, don't you? thanks so much for your interest SunshineT!! As you read, we have views in the City direction, but just a few glimpses. The outlook is still very pleasant , lot of green. We did consider "normal" living downstairs, especially that we have the pool, but because we had gone down the reno track and got our heart set on the plans we developed, we decided to stick with it. I like the idea about a sink etc downstairs so we might see how we can fit that in. The bathroom will have "some" natural light through the carport. Agree that it may be better somewhere else but its probably one of those compromises. One of the reason we are placing it there, is we are on a semi busy road so that way we can put our main beds on the back wall, plus its north as you say. The outside store will be accessed from outside via a small roller door. Good idea about the window, I will put one in for some light. We have a couple of minor changes being : 1. Make the meals area a bit wide - either by 1.a. - pushing north wall back a metre or so 1.b - loosing the study nook 1.c - both a & b 2. roof over the first floor deck - need some shelter for the crazy labrador for the rare time he's outside Not sure if the media room is a bit big given its a dedicated room. As much as I love it and want it, might be a luxury that could be better used. was thinking about making the dividing wall some sort of bi-fold system so it could be opened onto the living area for parties etc. not sure what kind of cost that would add. We are aiming for a cost around $1300 - 1400 p/sqm. we have a (custom) builder who was recommended to us for a second quote for the reno's. He spent 1.5hrs measuring and talking through the process and the designs we had, then just before he left my wife asked about re-build and he said that we should seriously consider that..the rest is history..... We've seen some of his work both finished and in progress and are quite happy with him. He has been involved in the design stage and is also going to recommend changes to the design which make construct costs more favourable but with small impact to design. We are building about 6km south from Brisbane city. 1 month, yes a bit ambitious, but i like stretch goals!! We are in with council next week for demo approval. We are not ins a Demo controlled precinct..the "fun" has really begun!! Oh and yes I've seen the Customer build thread, it's a great read and have got plenty of ideas from it My Knock down and Rebuild thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=54685 Our Building Blog http://ourknockdownrebuild.blogspot.com.au/ Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 4Mar 03, 2012 3:43 pm OK, so that fills me in more. Thanks. I hope you can start soon. It took us 2 years from design stage to knock-down, but we had various turns in there (long story, more on my thread). Your builder sounds great! Makes such a difference when you find someone you like / trust. I hope jodge finds this thread, she is a real wizz at design critique! She found some design errors in our bathroom and we managed to fix them up just in time. I think study nooks are terrific, but they do need to be a decent size to be useful. Covering the deck is a great idea, much cheaper to do it now as part of the main roof. If you are still flexible with the design, my main comment is that you seem to have a lot of corridors which waste space. You also have a very large foyer area. Given the size of your house, you could shift that around a bit to give more room to the living areas. Corridors that have multi-uses are best (eg 1 sqm of space may have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom door opening onto it which is a great use of space). Gotta dash now to get kids dinner ready, but if I have more specific thoughts I will let you know. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 5Mar 03, 2012 5:34 pm Yes the corridors have been a bit of a concern. I have tried to move things around a bit but always seem to have trouble with not having entries into rooms which i think the corridors have helped but I do agree they are a bit of a waste of space. The entry I also agree is a large area but the reason I put that down to is because we have asked for a door from the carport. any suggestions to get around both these very welcome!! My Knock down and Rebuild thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=54685 Our Building Blog http://ourknockdownrebuild.blogspot.com.au/ Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 6Mar 03, 2012 7:13 pm Found it Sunshine! Oh good lordy, you've built me up a bit. . . better make a comment. I'd put the biggest possible stacker doors going from the living room to the deck. . . it seems your doors are only 2.4m wide. . . Ours are about 4.5m wide I think. . . and I love them. You can actually get 5.something metres wide. . . you have an awfully big wall to fill up there. . . make the most of that view! (You can get screen doors for these fellas, order the tracks with the doors and get the screens built separately. . . we have punched aluminium screens and love them (withstand a colllie, cattle dog, cat and Phil). Ok. . . I was going to do some more work on FireFox's design. . . but I think I'll take a look at yours instead. . . I love this! Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 7Mar 03, 2012 7:40 pm What do you mean by punched aluminium screens?. Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 8Mar 03, 2012 7:55 pm jodge Found it Sunshine! Oh good lordy, you've built me up a bit. . . better make a comment. I'd put the biggest possible stacker doors going from the living room to the deck. . . it seems your doors are only 2.4m wide. . . Ours are about 4.5m wide I think. . . and I love them. You can actually get 5.something metres wide. . . you have an awfully big wall to fill up there. . . make the most of that view! (You can get screen doors for these fellas, order the tracks with the doors and get the screens built separately. . . we have punched aluminium screens and love them (withstand a colllie, cattle dog, cat and Phil). Ok. . . I was going to do some more work on FireFox's design. . . but I think I'll take a look at yours instead. . . I love this! I knew I came to the right place!! go for it, all input very welcome. I actually really like how in SunshineT's design there is the narrower deck which then opens up around the corner to the larger one. I was thinking we may be able to do something like that off the meals area. You might notice in our reno plans we had the deck allot larger and off both the meals & lounge. we have had to scale that back a bit, well allot. I think a consequence of that is that we have lost a bit of the "openness" that we had in the reno plans upstairs. Screening is a big thing for us as both me and my son seem to attract bites from any flying insect. We have seen the new range of retractable ones that seem really good. We have a Phantom screen on our french doors, its served us well for the 10 years or so we've had them, but would certainly need something far more robust. My Knock down and Rebuild thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=54685 Our Building Blog http://ourknockdownrebuild.blogspot.com.au/ Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 9Mar 03, 2012 8:42 pm oops. . . sorry doczim, I posted my reply to you on the custom plan thread . . . oops! Trying to multitask. . . I always write my big replies in MS Word first, so I don't lose them (fifteen hundred times bitten, fifteen-hundred and first time shy.) Hi Pattycake! I think they're sheet aluminium, quite thick, instead of being woven metal. The sheets have small holes punched (or maybe laser-cut) in them. (like this http://www.ezyfitdoors.com.au/aluminium-security-doors-screens.html). Though Phil's uncle has the woven stainless screens, and they're impenetrable too. Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 10Mar 03, 2012 9:01 pm Thanks,having french doors looking for screens.Sorry for hijack. Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 12Mar 03, 2012 9:15 pm I moved this to your thread . . . better here I think. .. hope I haven't upset you! Hello! I have some comments. I’m sorry, but I’m going to be brutally honest. . . but they’re just my opinions. . . they’re probably wrong anyway. . . hahaha. . .. ha. . . . . . .. . . .. . .ha. . .. .. . . .. Here’s what I’d do, if it were my house (sorry if I repeat any of yours sunshine): - Move the media room doors, if you’re going to have surround-sound speakers, you’ll need space in that top right corner to mount one (we made the same mistake, having a door in the corner, but were lucky to notice before gyprock, so moved it - Media room will be very hot in summer and cold in winter. You have lovely big eaves on the east wall, I’d put a window in there, and maybe have those sun-reflective windows on the front. . . and put your TV on the west or north wall (it’s also very easy to do your own in-wall cabling for the speakers. . . cost you about $100 for some decent speaker cable from Selby Acoustics). - I agree with Sunshine on the corridors. . . I try to minimize corridors if I can. - Your pantry is on the western wall. . . extra good insulation in here please! I wouldn’t have a window in the pantry, especially on the southern wall. . . more heat. It’s the front of the house though. . . - Can I ask why you have a study nook in the meals area? - is there a reason why you have a cutout in the north western wall of the kitchen (where the wall comes in and then out again? I’d extend the kitchen into here, straight walls cost less than joggled walls. . . more space! YEAH! - I’d try to redesign the main bedroom area so you’re moving the outside store off the northern wall, use that wonderful northern aspect for the ensuite. - I’m afraid Kiwi won’t be friends with you, as there is no basin in the toilet room downstairs. - I can’t help but think that the main bedroom would be better off on the southern wall (edit: sorry, western wall). . . that way the bedroom would benefit from the northern sun, and the kid’s would both have either northern or eastern. . . you won’t need any windows on the bottom floor western wall if you do this (probably!) Bed 3 may turn out to be a complete oven otherwise. - The extension of the theatre room over the study to form a bit of overhang is excellent for the southern summer sun. Study will be cooler in summer because of this. . .but freezing in winter (as will any room which just has a southern window. . . would a further eastern window in the study make it any warmer? I don’t know. . . will there be a lot of working from home done here on a daily basis? (Our study is dismal in winter, as it just has one southern window). I’d put a smaller window in the front for the study actually. . . then you can put a bookcase or desk or something under it! - We have a huge window in our master bed. . . it’s 2.4m wide by 1.5 high I think. . . I hate it. . . no character whatsoever. . . I would love to put a deck in out the back and change our window for some French doors. . . I like French doors! You could have some French doors from your master bed too! You could have French doors with the glass panes either side. . . mmmmmmmmmmmmm. - Oh . . . kid’s retreat? Bigger sliding doors!!! Northern walls scream out for big doors and windows. - Really pity the kiddy that gets bed3. . . smaller, less wardrobe space. . .and hotter during summer, and no view! I tried to make our spare beds equalish. . . . don’t even have any kids! - massive area for the upstairs powder room. . . I try to place powder rooms so they’re rather far away from the main living areas, in a previous rental the bathroom was right off the dining room (old house). . . rather embarrassing when we had people over for dinner. . . lot of whistling going on! - I’d put a double basin in the main bathroom too. .. you can fit it if you turn it 90 degrees. - We have some nice wall cutouts and picture recesses and stuff. . . have you considered this? Your entry would really benefit from some fancy plaster work. .. have you been to Masterton at Warwick Farm? Their Chisholm Grand has some excellent examples of fancy plasterwork and skirting-stuff. . . you’re building a beautiful house. . . make it beautifuller (not that I borrowed any ideas from Masterton. . . not at all!) (edit. . . you're in Brisbane. . . Warwick Farm is in Sydney! Doh!) - You don’t have any overhangs in the island bench. . . you could make a recess under on the dining room side(just in the middle, maybe just for a metre and a half?) But only if you want a breakfast bar type thing. . . not everybody does. - is there a reason why you’re going for a carport instead of a garage? Ermmm, that’s it for now! Other than that. . . house is beautiful!! Street appeal is going to be awesome. Love the use of timber for the carport decks Oh god, have I said too much? Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 13Mar 03, 2012 10:17 pm jodge I moved this to your thread . . . better here I think. .. hope I haven't upset you! Nope havent upset me at all. Happy to hear all comments, happy to also pick the eyes out of the good ones that fit for us!! Agree media room doors have to move. We are thinking of a bifold door system so the room can open into lounge for one massive are when extended family is over. reason master bed and bed 2 are at back are because we live on a semi busy st so road noise is an issue. Third bed is a spare bed as we only have 1 child (9yo). Agree it is a little small , but for us for the next 10 years its just for when mother in law comes down. Not a massive fan of corridors either, but dont see to many options I thought the window in the pantry would be good for light, but didn't consider the heat - maybe double glazed. We dont like the study nook anymore. We will likely get rid of it and make the meals area bigger. Will be putting another window into the study on eastern wall . We arent 100% happy with placement or size of WC & powder room ( too big) but not sure how else or where else to fit it. like the idea of the cut outs and recesses also. We had intended the island to have the over hang designer has just missed that out so thanks for pointing it out. thanks for you comments My Knock down and Rebuild thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=54685 Our Building Blog http://ourknockdownrebuild.blogspot.com.au/ Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 14Mar 03, 2012 10:21 pm Hi Doczim. . . I hope you don't mind me answering your post from the custom plan thread here. And I hope you don't want to pick my eyes out. . . i like them. . . actually, I like the use of them more than I actually like them. . . though I do like my eyes more than my butt, if you know what I mean? I digress. . . Have you thought about sound insulation for the media room? Can you get sound-insulated bifolds? I haven't done any research on this at all, so I haven't got a clue. Will you be mounting your media room TV on the wall? Can you put power points in a bifold door, or will you just not have them in that wall? What kind of flooring will you need for a bifold? Hahaha. . . your MIL will be staying in the hot-room huh? I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON FOR THIS!!! HAHAHAHAHA Glad you like my cutouts and recesses. . . I love ours. Add a bit of character. I wish I had more character in my house now, would do it completely differently if I had the chance again. . . ahhh. . . maybe one day. You may be able to do something like this for the WC/Pantry area instead. . . I took your dimensions and had a bit of a play with them. . . Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ You'd get some extra storage (yay), and you'd still have the double door between the toilet and dining room. The pantry shelf depths differ. . . I wish I had some narrow shelves, for cans of beans and stuff! Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 15Mar 03, 2012 10:31 pm actually. . . I have another comment . . . your media room is right next to the living room. . . what happens when son and dad want to watch a loud action movie in the media room and mum wants to catch up on some episodes of Grand Designs in the living room. . . I only mention this because our living room is right next to our theatre room too! Next time I'll have them at opposite ends of the house. Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 16Mar 03, 2012 10:36 pm OK. . . just one more comment. . . your draftsman has walls of only 70mm wide . . . we had 90mm timber frames with 10mm of gyprock each side (so I generally do my designs with 110mm walls). Do you have some fancy walls up there that are only 70mm thick? I thought that maybe you are using some sort of pre-fabricated walls. Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 17Mar 04, 2012 9:02 am see - I told you jodge was amazing!!! doczim - if you are feeling overwhelmed with jodge's comments, don't worry, that's how I felt at first (but we were much further down the track, ie, at site cut!). Once I digested her comments I realised she is brilliant! jodge is like minded to me in that she takes sun orientation seriously which I really think is lacking in so many designs (particularly project homes). I had the same thoughts about MIL in Bed 3 and laughed when I read jodge's. jodge also picked up the concern I had about the store on the north, which is a waste of lovely natural light. As for the patio / verandah that wraps around with a narrow bit then wider part - seeing our house at slab stage we just love it! Puts the wider (covered) area to our east (which covers the eastern sun) but also creates openness to the north. You have a similar orientation to ours (ie lots of north potential which most people don't have, and we are both building upstairs) so I would definitely recommend you looking into that. Just had a thought - a bit radical - but it is like our design. What about reversing the kitchen and media room locations? That way you can get eastern sun in the morning for breakfast but with the lovely outlook onto the north over the living room. just an idea ... hm... SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 18Mar 04, 2012 10:56 am SunshineT/Jodge - loving your comments, not overwhelmed, just think its great you are interested in helping us in our project!! As long as you dont mind we pick the eyes ( the best ideas) that suit us for our block and our needs. Jodge: great design for the WC/PDR/pantry. we havent been 100% happy with this so this might be a good solution. Have to check with Mrszim that she is still happy with pantry space, as she really loved the pantry as it was esp that she could fit a deep freeze in it also. Not sure about the wall width, I will definitely ask about that. Might see if we can move the Store from the east wall to rear or side of the carport SunshineT: we really liked the idea of a long kitchen, meals lounge. We toyed with the idea of moving the media off the kitchen, but couldn't make it work. I do like your idea of swapping the media and kitchen. This would address a few issues. keeping the WC away from day to day living and also separation of lounge and media. Think we am convinced we want to add to the back deck with the wrap around/narrow part off the meals. Jodge : what program did you use for the pantry/WC mock up? maybe I could use this to do something for the media and kitchen. otherwise I might just get the tracing paper out!! We are also thinking of getting rid of the access door from the carport into the entry and replacing with a covered path from carport to front door. This may help remove the need for the entry to be so large and reuse the space somehow more in the beds/retreat . We are off to the Homeshow today in Brisbane. I am sure we will come back with plenty of new ideas also - now that might be overwhelming!! My Knock down and Rebuild thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=54685 Our Building Blog http://ourknockdownrebuild.blogspot.com.au/ Re: KCC's Knock Down and Rebuild - Concept plans are here 19Mar 04, 2012 11:58 am Good lordy Sunshine. . . I'm just an amateur hack. . . But seriously. . . I'm just commenting based on what I've learnt thus far through mine and others' mistakes (of which there are plenty). My friends bought a double story house a few years ago, have spent ample time and money since then trying to make the top floor cooler in summer. . . They're in Sydney, you're Brisbane. . . Hmmmm . . . You have the unique opportunity of custom designing your dream home. . . Most people can only buy something someone else has built, or maybe pick from the plans of a project building company. Would it be possible for you to stall the build a little while and have a think about the plan? Maybe run it by one of the passive solar design companies? I use AutoCAD for my drawings (so everything is to scale), but actually start designs and work out rough ideas on squared paper (like the old maths paper you'd use at school). About the wall sizes. . . I just pulled our plans out and found that our draftsman actually used "90". . . So it seems that your drafter is correct in using 70. . . But this does mean that you'll get thinner interior walls than we've got, and you'll have to remember that the gyprock goes onto this frame, which takes another 10mm off each side of the room size. This doesn't sound like much, but it's important when you're designing bathrooms etc. (also consider tile thickness too). It's funny, I think our builder was going to go with 70mm walls for inside and 90mm for the exterior. . . I'd specify 90mm to give you the extra soundproofing and less chance of warping. . . But you would have to research to make your own decision. Through-breeze is a good factor to consider too! Let's think about where the nice cooling breezes mainly come from in your area (more research. . . Look up "wind roses"). Would be really good if we could position some windows so the breeze will flow right through your house. Just one more thing, is the footprint of your new house based on the slab of the old house or anything? Or can it be changed? ! 20Mar 04, 2012 12:34 pm What about swapping Bed 3 & Kids retreat, putting main bathroom in the western area where bed 3 currently is and then the space left where the bathroom currently is becomes kid's retreat? Bedrooms become more equal, bathroom gets natural light & ventilation and kid's area becomes a longer, narrower area ( currently works well here for our family room!) Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ We've had the offer of a short term tenant whilst waiting for CDC/DA home approval and demolition for our knock down rebuild. It would achieve a pretty low rent as it's… 0 13691 Assuming you've modelled the TB8, TB10, TB12, TB2 & J1 joists/LVLs there, it appears as per drawing to me. There maybe should be an additional J1 between TB10 and T12 if… 3 31751 Hi I live in a 100yr old semi and my neighbour added an additional floor last yr and our architect has advised that we can knock down our semi and build a free-standing… 0 37601 |