It’s also worth noting that having North facing living areas will result in a better NatHERS star rating. This is because, for heating, the Chenath engine that NatHERS uses calculates the energy required to keep living spaces at around 20 degrees Celsius during awake hours (0700 to 2400), and to kee...

That looks like a very nice kitchen. I put my whole 16yo kitchen on Gumtree, including the stone benchtops and Smeg appliances etc of the same age. Got $1,000 for it and the guy came and took everything to set it up in a granny flat. Nothing broken up and thrown out. :-)

Hi @mockkie, if you do switch the position of Rumpus and Bed 2, you will take a lot of space out of the Master Bedroom, as Bed 2 (with it’s ensuite) is much larger than the Rumpus. I personally would prefer not to do that. :-). The enclosed part of the hallway is actually quite short, only about 4 m...

Hi mo

And if the overall dimensions of the top floor need to be the same, this is what I would do: https://forum.homeone.com.au/u/103030_1630620861.png

Hi, thanks oklouise. You are absolutely correct, it is bigger (by approx 19m2) but it doesn’t impact garden space and if it was going to be my house then that is what I would ask for. Obviously subject to the builders willingness and budget and also personal preferences. As per the only constraint m...

Hmmm, I don’t know where I got $20k from. $12k is more reasonable and @alexp79 does have some good points.

Note: to get the cooling load down I changed most windows to awning type as they have a 90% airflow rate in NatHERS compared to 45% for sliding windows. But for upper level windows you will need to have child safety screens specified and included in the pricing otherwise the windows will be made wit...

So, welcome to the wonderful world of NatHERS! (National house energy rating scheme). I went through this recently with my build. Basically what happens is that the builder gets an energy consultant to re-create the whole house in software such as FirstRate5 which performs analysis based on your loc...

And with windows added… https://forum.homeone.com.au/u/103030_1630503682.png

I really like what oklouise has done downstairs and I would make one change to to it, keeping the hallyway at it’s original width of 1340mm ( I like wide hallways). Below is a picture of what I would do upstairs. I have designed keeping the stairs in the same spot and managed to fit in a walk in lin...

Thanks for the answers @VK1978. My answers as follows: 1. 6 bedrooms - too many? Yes, 5 is plenty, better to have larger rooms. 2. Too many bathrooms and toilets? I dont think so. 3. Living rooms - too few or enough? I think it’s fine. 4. It is a family house (2 adults + 2 kids [7 & 11 yrs old])...

Hi, I do have a LOT of thoughts on this and happy to answer your questions. First some questions of my own though. :-) 1. Is this a new build or a renovation? 2. If a new build, is it a custom design or off the plan? Preference for either? 3. Why is it that the stairs cannot move? 4. What are the bl...