Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 18, 2009 7:15 am We are looking at at house atm that has just been completed, however it doesn't have much of a backyard (prob enough to put in a lap pool that would be it or to put a trampoline with small bit of grass). It is PERFECT for us in the layout and ticks all the boxes ie enough bedrooms etc. I am hesitating due to the fact we have kids and they are used to a backyard, although they haven't always used it.
Has anyone biult with hardly any backyard? Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 3Jan 18, 2009 8:19 am Sometimes we just have to compromise!
We wanted to stay in the area (close to family, schools etc, and great neighbours). We demolished our home of 12 years, to make way for a bigger, more child/teenage and entertaining friendly one. We will go from a small backyard to almost no backyard. It will be 4 m from the end of the alfresco to the back fence, 8m from the edge of the house to back fence, but a small area none the less. We have a setback of 7.6m, so there is actually more area in the front than the back! We decided to have the house we wanted with more living and storage space we would compromise on the back yard. There are many bike paths and parks nearby for the kids anyway. Less garden and lawn to look after, particually with Melbourne's very dry climate at the moment. If it's the perfect house, I probably wouldn't hesitate, as kids will make fun/play in any area that's available. Backyard cricket might have to be played at a park though Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 4Jan 18, 2009 9:27 am HEAPS of people do. It's simply the same old compromise formula:
Size VS Location VS Cost. Unless you have unlimited funds with which to make your purchase, you will undoubtedly have to compromise on at least one of those 3 criteria. For us it was Location where we compromised, so we bought a large block in Pakenham for a very reasonable price... (4 years ago. Sold it now - looking for even bigger block ...) Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 5Jan 18, 2009 10:24 am My kids were used to a big back yard too, but as they got older, they made less use of it. When we built, we deliberately opted to have a small yard, mainly because there's less work in looking after it (no mowing, yay!). The barely-used trampoline that we no longer have room for was donated to the next door neighbours who have small children.
We did choose a block near a park though, so the kids and their friends can always go kick a footy over there. Actually, the park was more for me to run around in.... Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 6Jan 18, 2009 10:52 am I'm with Rodda.... I bought a block further out because space was important to me. My backyard will be 25m x 30m and the side yard will be about 11m x15m.... so that was my priority!
But it may not be yours... only you can decide. But I'd never by as house without a back yard if I still had kids. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 7Jan 18, 2009 11:22 am I dont think we will have much room left once we build, but we has a couple of parks near by so Im happy with that, and I dont have to worry about FH complaining about how long it takes to mow Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 8Jan 18, 2009 2:00 pm My kids are 11,7 and 1 and two teenage girls who never go outside!
This house has a park across the road, but the only ones who could go there unsupervised is the eldest three. I would have to take the younger ones. The road is fairly busy Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 9Jan 18, 2009 3:52 pm Ours will be a very small backyard.. which I am happy with. If I had a bigger block I would probably just build a bigger house. Too me a bigger block is a waste of money when we have parks all around us. Why pay for it when it is free (I have the same opinion on private health cover!!).
But that is me.. My dad is the opposite to me and loves gardens and would never buy a place with a small yard. Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 10Jan 18, 2009 4:01 pm We won't have much of a backyard but enough for a swimspa and we'll have a large alfresco which will get a lot of use. Doesn't bother us to not have more space as our estate has loads of open space and a park we can walk to with the kids. Think of the money you'll save on landscaping! Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 12Jan 18, 2009 4:43 pm We won't have a huge backyard either...8m from back of house to fence x 15m wide. This doesn't include a small alfresco area and a small side area.
We have 2 young kids - 3 and 1 and plan on having more, but I think as long as you can fit a trampoline/swingset/small cubby you will be fine. Like others have said we go to the parks once a day. My mum has a huge backyard and my kids only ever use the one space or the trampoline, they don't run laps of the yard or do things that would need a huge amount of space. My karma ran over your dogma Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 13Jan 18, 2009 4:43 pm The one thing that always, for me personally, went against the idea of "we are right next to a park" or "there are plenty of parks on our estate" was that for my kids to be able to use any of those facilities either me or my wife would have to go along with them to keep an eye on them. That basically means one (or both) of us would have to put that time aside to do that.
Having our own backyard for them to play in means, once it's been made 'safe' by me, they can play out there to their hearts' content without me needing to be out there with them the whole time. Then I can get some other tasks accomplished at the same time Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 14Jan 18, 2009 5:10 pm I agree with what Rodda just said (again! ), but to add to that, not only does a backyard free up time for parents, equally importantly it gives the opportunity for the kids to have uninhibited play when they are not being watched. Personally I believe this is of vital importance for kids of all ages. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 16Jan 18, 2009 5:46 pm Don't forget space for a Shed! Cause that's the one thing we will miss when moving house - 80m^2 of outside storage space down to 10m^2! Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 17Jan 18, 2009 6:30 pm My first home is a semi-detached courtyard home close to the city and across a park. It is close to amenties and transport. I bought it in the late 90s when the property market started to boom. I purchased it with a view that I could possibly sell or rent it out within 5 years if circumstances changed. It was a perfect low maintenence property for a single bachelor and later as a professional couple.
Now that we have a toddler and stay-at-home mum, our needs have changed and we need a safe place for them to wander around close to the house and be protected from the road. This house could be easily occupied by a DINK couple, retirees who wish to downsize or students at the local uni. Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 18Jan 18, 2009 6:47 pm I totally agree with what Rodda and Jo said too, however, I don't think the size of the backyard (unless it is courtyard style like my current home ) will limit their ability to play on their own. My karma ran over your dogma Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 19Jan 18, 2009 8:58 pm Re a shed, we wouldn't have room for one (well there would be room, but it would take up precious space we could use for other things) so we wouldn't have one. Having said that, though, the double garage is massive. It has well and truly the size, if not bigger than a large shed worth of space, even with my big 4wd in it and our sedan. It is bigger than any garage I have seen.
We have put an offer in to buy this house..will just have to wait and see. Re: Would you build /buy if there was hardly any backyard? 20Jan 18, 2009 9:03 pm I think yards for kids are very important. And it's way more than the ability to kick a ball. My kids have places where they can dig holes, throw rocks, plants their own vegetables and flowers, investigate bugs, collect interesting rocks, shovel dirt, climb trees, appreciate the view, listen to the wind in the trees, lay on the grass and watch the clouds, ride tricycles, throw paper planes, (carefully) fly a small kite, play under the sprinkler, smell a rose, play catch, chasings etc etc
They have done all these things in the past few months. It's a massive slice of humanity and experience. But the yard also needs to be robust - don't plan every square centimetre of it - there's got to be some areas that kids can interact with - dig, poke, rip, flood etc So in answer to the question: with kids I would *always* prefer a house with a decent yard. In fact that's exactly why we bought the place we're in now. Before that we lived in a lovely big house with the most amazing view and wonderfully positioned to amenities. But it had just a tiny yard and deck. My one-year-old almost sits as a guard at the back door and when anyone comes near yells "Door ! Door !" and if opened, will crawl with amazing speed into the backyard. Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves. - Dale Carnegie Bought in Nov 21 at the height of the market (classic). Good area, atrocious floor plan. BUT has land out to the left-hand side that we can extend out on (see second… 0 8766 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39468 Hi It came to my attention after the handover that - The facade cladding on the face and the side are not straight. -The face tapers down by 50mm from left to right and… 0 2447 |