Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 26, 2009 3:58 pm Hi all,
Corner blocks don't seem to sell as fast. I can't work out what's wrong with them. (Except maybe more chance of a drunk driving into your property). I'd love to hear your opinions on the pros and cons of corner blocks and axe heads are appriciated. Cheers, Douglas ----- Thinking of building but horror stories have me still thinking and not doing yet! Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 3Feb 26, 2009 4:14 pm Do you mean battle-axe blocks? ie one that you drive down a driveway as the property is fully concealed behind other properties?
We personally love battle-axe blocks. Ours will be classified as one when we eventually subdivide off the front two bits of land - then you will have to drive down a long common driveway before you will come to a electric gate and intercom to be let in. Love the privacy aspect. Lack of privacy is what most people dislike about corner blocks - you are open on two sides rather then just the normal frontage. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 4Feb 26, 2009 4:18 pm We bought a corner block July last year. I have always lived on a corner block and so has my partner. The reason we bought a corner block was so that we can have a gate down the street side and be able to get thing in and out of the backyard whether that be a trailer, caravan or even to let someone in if later we decide we want a pool etc as if we had a normal block it may not be possible to get the above mentioned items downt he side of the house depending on block width. We alsdo like the fact that we don't have to contend with neighbours from both sides and also we have more parking down the side street aswell as out the front. I suppose the only down points i have found living on a corner in the past is i used to live on quite a busy corner and it was a pain at times otherwise i love corner blocks! 2nd build here we come in Whittlesea! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=92617 1st Build - Henley - Cooper in Doreen! (2009) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17354 Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 5Feb 26, 2009 4:21 pm For people who like battle axes - where do people park when you have parties?
My family (aunties, uncles, cousins etc) is about 60 people - so we've always dismissed battle axe blocks because people would have a long walk from the street to our house. Nice thing about corners is that you will only have 2 neighbours instead of 3. After 4 years - we're in! reply 6Feb 26, 2009 4:24 pm What is a battle-axe block? I'm confused.. Built the Atlantique 37 Mk2 with Carlisle Homes - WE'RE IN!! Building thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=14413 ATLANTIQUE 37 MK2 PHOTOS THREAD - updated 22nd August '09 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22399 Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 7Feb 26, 2009 4:31 pm Thats where you have a narrow street front (just a driveways width) going down to your block
T Thats the shape of the block, the bottom part is the driveway, the top part (which is far bigger, normal block size) is where your house will be. http://www.aussiehome.com/images/proper ... 143_SM.jpg Like that, driveway to the street at the top, then the block Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 8Feb 26, 2009 4:31 pm stonecutter1309 For people who like battle axes - where do people park when you have parties? My family (aunties, uncles, cousins etc) is about 60 people - so we've always dismissed battle axe blocks because people would have a long walk from the street to our house. Nice thing about corners is that you will only have 2 neighbours instead of 3. Stonecutter - easily fixed don't have parties or alternatively don't invite the relatives We are lucky enough to have massive amounts of land so there will be ample parking available once you are through the gates also the driveway itself is only about 30-40m long so they can park on the street and walk down the driveway in need. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 9Feb 26, 2009 4:56 pm I love battleaxe blocks. Way more privacy. If you position the house correctly and choose the right house you can maximise the backyard space for pets etc.
Plus, being at the end of the court, they give a nice safe front area for kids to play. I love courts for this reason. We lived in a court til I was six and them moved to a reasonably busy road, then moved to a corner. I had always been able to play out the front safely til I was six, then I just couldn't. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 10Feb 26, 2009 4:59 pm I built my house on a corner block, thinking it would be nice to have only 2 neighbours instead of 3 and for the extra side access to the back yard. Perhaps I've picked a bad location but I've had a lot of trouble with property damage due to kids going past. I've had my meter box graffitied, my fence graffitied, rocks thrown through 2 of my massive windows and wooden tree stakes thrown at my front door. Not only that, but I'm finding the noise incredibly annoying...I can hear every single car and person going past. If I ever get the chance to build again, I will definitely try and avoid a corner block. Fence, paving, retaining wall - CHECK! Still so much more to do..... Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 11Feb 26, 2009 5:03 pm joles I love battleaxe blocks. Way more privacy. If you position the house correctly and choose the right house you can maximise the backyard space for pets etc. Plus, being at the end of the court, they give a nice safe front area for kids to play. I love courts for this reason. We lived in a court til I was six and them moved to a reasonably busy road, then moved to a corner. I had always been able to play out the front safely til I was six, then I just couldn't. Joles we are the same. The last house we built was in a little cul de sac of about 10 houses. No traffic unless it was a neighbour or visitor of a neighbour so all the neighbours' kids were able to play safely. It was wonderful and oh so quiet. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 12Feb 26, 2009 6:41 pm I wouldn't be keen on a battle axe block because I like haveing street frontage, also they tend to be smaller blocks as a result of old blocks being subdivided. That's the case around here anyway.
Re corner blocks, we lived on a corner block for 22 years, put up a high fence around the street side, solves problem of privacy, also side access is handy - we had a very large block, over 1000m2 and had a driveway at the back, off the side street, good for access for trailer etc. Corner blocks are also often larger, same length as your neighbours but often have extra width. Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 13Feb 26, 2009 6:50 pm Helyn, that's interesting about the battleaxe blocks. In most of the new estate around Melbourne they are the biggest blocks, and they don't charge more for them because a lot of people prefer a bigger frontage. With a well designed house there is still street frontage, so they can be quite a good buy. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 14Feb 26, 2009 6:55 pm I guess a new estate is different, the only ones I have seen have been as a result of subdivisions of old blocks and I haven't seen any with street frontage- for the back house, I mean - the ones I have seen have a house at the front and then a long driveway next to it which leads to the garage of the back house, from the street all you can see of the back house is the garage, set at back of driveway, the back house looks onto the back fence of the front house. Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 15Feb 26, 2009 7:02 pm Yep we have those too. I know what you mean. The ones I'm talking about are at the ends of courts and all the land is to the side if that makes sense....
Like block 1445 on this... or am I thinking about the wrong thing???? http://www.brimbankgardens.com.au/Uploa ... age29a.pdf I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 16Feb 26, 2009 7:13 pm Joles - that is exactly what a battle-axe block is. Helyn - I suppose what you are also describing is also a form of it but I agree with Joles. Normally in new estates battle-axes are bigger then standard however sometimes incorporate some area that is not able to be built on (ie slopes or easements).
Our block for instance is 3800sqm roughly but at the street level it is only 12.5m wide then it goes down around 25m at that width to then spread out behind three neighbouring properties. Really weird trapezoidal shape but will work fine for us and the in-laws. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 17Feb 26, 2009 7:19 pm Ok, I haven't heard of those referred to as battle axe blocks, this may be one of those terms which have slightly different meanings from state to state.
Here the term battle axe blocks or hammer head blocks refers to what I was describing in my first post, as far as I understood it anyway. Obviusly the pros and cons of each type of block would be quite different Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 18Feb 26, 2009 8:25 pm I thought that battle-axe ones were where the block has been divided so you have a long driveway down the side and a property in front so you had no frontage.
When I saw the titel of this thread with the axe-head description, I immediately thought of the ones like in Jo's link, when it's like a funny-shaped cul-de-sac. I think they are 2 very different type of blocks though. I wouldn't mind either, although I would prefer not to have a corner I think. "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 19Feb 26, 2009 8:32 pm We are building on a corner block. I didn't vote though since none of the options fit us. Ours was all about location, location, location.
We've never , ever considered a corner block before. But our block is up from the road on the long side and up from the land behind us. Down side is the main living/entertaining area faces south. Our block is 3/4 of an acre, and the bonus of not having a neighbour on one side made us decide to buy it. If it had been a normal suburban sized block I doubt we would have considered it. Re: Corner blocks and Axe Heads - Pros and Cons? 20Feb 26, 2009 8:38 pm Kexkez, I am the same - i have chosen another corner block (first one in different estate fell through last week because of low valuation) not because it is a corner, but because it is bigger than the standard blocks (809m2 as opposed to 600m2) it is on the high side of the road, is nearly level and has lovely views and great potential street frontage- would definitly have preferred a non-corner block but this one best suited my lifestyle and the house plan I had already chosen... 2014 - Prepping to build the Soho 4 with Plantation homes, industrial style 2009 - Built the Brampton with Coral Homes viewtopic.php?f=31&t=15399&start=280 Standard uninsulated double brick has an R value of around 0.7. An insulated standard 90mm stud timber frame can have an R value of around 2.7. Even if you insulate a… 17 12153 Those span tables can be pushed a little for a low deck if you dont mind a little flex. Last deck I did, I pushed it a little and it was still rock solid - no noticeable… 6 13846 4 14493 |