Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 23, 2010 4:28 pm Hi All, Another person who has been quietly watching from the sidelines and has now taken the plunge and posted something. We are planning a renovation/extension to our weatherboard house, and have just received the floor plans. Would any one like to have a look and offer any suggestions? http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8937 ... lifefp.jpg Our views are to the south but we want north living, so hence keeping it long and narrow. Thanks in advance. Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 2Sep 23, 2010 4:34 pm Congrats on your progress. A think to be aware of in your family room is position of dooways. Make sure your location of furniture such as your dining table, entertainment unit doesn't block the natural passageway for exiting your Family room to your veranda. A small adjustment of moving a doorway a few inches on a plan can prevent years of annoyances. Also ensure your electrical outlets are positioned strategically and conduits are in place for later use. Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 3Sep 25, 2010 7:06 am Thanks for looking Spa Matz, I did think that as well, but the doors are already there and to move them would be expensive, wouldn't it? I would rather have one set of bifolds on the south side so I have a bit more wall space ( which that room is lacking). Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 4Sep 25, 2010 9:02 am Hope you dont mind: http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj187/nurselovescoffee/other%20houses/countrylifefp.jpg Yes, the family room is large but has many doorways/openings which will restrict furniture placement, but not sure of answer to this Im also not keen on that toilet so close to the front entry - personally I would scrap that altogether, 2 toilets is enough IMO and the main bathroom is readily accessible from the liveing areas. Is it possible to post a plan of the original house - makes comments about door placements etc more relevant if we can see what you are starting with? Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 5Sep 25, 2010 9:11 am My immediate thoughts are that both of the two toilets are way too close to the entry. Is there someway you could switch the ensuite around so the toilet is not right at the front door? Also not sure about your circumstances but I would hate not having internal access from the garage to the house. In my case it is because of small children - easier to get them in and out from the inside of the house. Are you planning on having cupboards / benches in your laundry? Best thing I ever did was having both a large linen cupboard (close to 2m) as well as almost 3m of cupboards with a benchtop - perfect for folding up washing / sorting / sewing. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 6Sep 25, 2010 12:01 pm is the air lock for...? escaping, hiding, kidnapping, storing stuff? good idea re the loo at the front door. No one will bother going down there, if they are hanging on the verandah/ family room etc, you could make a larger ensuite. One of the threads I just read (think it was custom build eltherm?) they had the loo and basin, then slider through to bath/ shower basin which is the ensuite. That might work for you too... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37918&p=579104&e=579104 saves buying 3 loos, but it can also be a guests loo if you need it (ie kids are in main bathroom doing their thing) Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 7Sep 25, 2010 2:05 pm I think it's a great plan but I'm also not a fan of the loo at front door. I'd consider reworking the main bathroom space to allow for a separate loo and create a nice big coat cupboard and bench seat at the entry. Perfect for stashing school bags and putting on shoes. I'd also question the need for a second fire. We were planning to do two fireplaces in our current reno and whilst they're lovely to look at, they're an incredible amount of work and the dirt generated is quite pesky. We've instead ripped out the existing wood burner and increased it in size to heat the increase in floor size. Way less maintenance and far cleaner. Is your airlock similar to a larder? I'm considering one for our next house. People make one happy, not houses? I do not think so. Houses are more to be trusted than people. Elizabeth Aston, Mr. Darcy's Daughters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmDX0tgONFs http://lightndreamy.blogspot.com/ Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 8Sep 26, 2010 7:27 pm Thanks for all the help, Great to get other peoples opinions. I agree with the 3rd toilet, but was talked into it for the sake of visitors sleeping in the lounge room. I think it will now go. More room for my ensuite and maybe I will do Kiwi's idea of the toilet access from both sides if needed. Garage is another bone of contention. I actually want it away from the house with a under cover walk way. I hate seeing a garage as you drive in so I have positioned to drive around the side. Also, it is such a long house that I didn't want it to appear any longer. I am waiting for some idea of building costs to see if I can rearrange doors in family room. At the moment there will be 11 external doors which is quite excessive. The air lock (not sure why designer has called it that) is for access to rubbish bins, chooks, worms and recycling, also quick access to BBQ through the pantry. Would you have the one fire in lounge or family room? It is our only heat source in cold Ballarat! I will post some photos of the original house, and plans. Really appreciate the ideas. Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 9Sep 26, 2010 7:35 pm I'd keep the existing fireplace in the family room. Is there one there already? Start looking at the largest fireboxes available. We just bought a fabo insert called the Heatcharm i6000. It's slow combustion but the window is the largest I could find. I think it heats up to 25 squares but the details are on my blog if you want to poke around. The fan is the quietest we could find as well which was important to us. You can easily get a firebox to heat that size home - we're in cool mountain zone and it will warm us adequately. Focus on insulating your house adequately if it's not already and you should be toasty. I too love separate garages but the build cost is slightly more. People make one happy, not houses? I do not think so. Houses are more to be trusted than people. Elizabeth Aston, Mr. Darcy's Daughters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmDX0tgONFs http://lightndreamy.blogspot.com/ Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 10Sep 26, 2010 8:22 pm countrylife I agree with the 3rd toilet, but was talked into it for the sake of visitors sleeping in the lounge room. I think it will now go. More room for my ensuite and maybe I will do Kiwi's idea of the toilet access from both sides if needed. We've got a dual entry into our ensuite toilet but it will look like a hall cupboard from the hallway (floorplan on our thread). It will only be used if we have an overnight guest staying in the spare room next door. Won't be a frequent occasion and the rest of the family will be banned from using it. Any guests will use the powder room. Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 11Sep 28, 2010 11:34 am Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ These are the original house plans to compare, if any one is interested. If I lose the separate toilet, maybe I should try to rejig main bathroom/laundry area to get a separate toilet in there. Does any one have the three way bathrooms, and do they like them? The south hallway wall is loadbearing so it has to stay but others can move, so the designer tells me! Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 12Sep 28, 2010 11:47 am Helyn, If you could do your magic again and make the plans bigger, it would be much appreciated. Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 14Sep 30, 2010 1:07 pm I am having a dilemma re: too many doors in family room. On my original plans the wall between bedroom and lounge is going, to make a big family room, so I thought maybe changing bedroom door/window into a window that is high off ground so I could put a couch under it but still see views, then changing lounge door/window into bifolds and expand it slightly. Do you think this would look unbalanced? I would still have 2 french doors to north side outdoor area. Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 15Oct 03, 2010 8:19 pm I'd be avoiding south facing glazing if possible, particularly if you're in a cold climate. I don't think it would look unbalanced to have just one door in that room, but could you just use the pantry door? People make one happy, not houses? I do not think so. Houses are more to be trusted than people. Elizabeth Aston, Mr. Darcy's Daughters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmDX0tgONFs http://lightndreamy.blogspot.com/ Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 16Oct 04, 2010 1:23 pm Hi mrssnowden, Do you mean avoid any windows on the south side? Not possible, my views are out there, but I am definitely spending more on double glazing etc. I think I will put a smaller window and and an opening of some sort ie bifolds or stacking doors. It is where we do most of the entertaining in the summer. We will use pantry door/mud room for everyday exiting. Re: Extension Floorplans. Any opinions welcome! 17Oct 07, 2010 7:02 pm South facing glass is not a good idea unless your views are worth the sacrifice . We had a south facing house (fabulous views) and put a skillion roof on it with clerestory windows to the north to increase the winter sun. It seems to be the most viable option for a cold climate. You'll love high rating windows though. People make one happy, not houses? I do not think so. Houses are more to be trusted than people. Elizabeth Aston, Mr. Darcy's Daughters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmDX0tgONFs http://lightndreamy.blogspot.com/ Tradie may sit at home but will need to get house plastered as well or will you sit it out? 6 9970 Hi, We have a single story MacDonald Jones house, on a waffle pod slab with steel frame. Are we able to build a second story extension? Other info is we are 900mm from… 0 8476 Hello Josh, This is Irving from PRIMA, we are a manufacturer of the staircase, railings, kitchen cabinets, windows, doors from China. 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