Hi all,
I have developed the attached plans and 3d renders for a block of land I own. As you will see I have estimated the slope on the block and very roughly, built the house to suit. The land is 20m x 35m. I have not had a soil test or a proper contour map constructed of the block.
This will be the first home I build and I am interested in others opinions and ideas for improvement of my designs.
Becuase I won't be building for at least five years, I have plenty of time up my sleeve. This creates the problem, that I don't know what to do next. I don't want to talk to builders too much, as I don't want to committ to one yet, and therefore I don't want to waste their time.
At this stage, I want to build the living area on one level, with open space underneath. But. I would get the final designs to contain allowances for future building underneath the house i.e. garage, rumpus, guest etc. (I may even find that by not building a garage at the top of the block, I could get some of the bottom floor filled in to make a garage. )
I am split between a queenslander style facade or a beach style home that is rendered and has a few dutch gables. Either one would fit into the areas current housing.
The one builder I have spoken to has said that a split level might be a cheaper option, amongst other things, due to less scaffolding and a slab instead of post and beam. Obviously budget will have the final say, but for now, I would prefer my designs remain orientated to take better advantage of the winter sun etc. Also, the land has a good view to the rear and a split level will lower the height of the rear deck.
I created these images using the better homes and gardens design package. Unfortunatly, i could not figure out how to use it correctly and the dimensions may not be correct. I have just downloaded the Google Sketch up and will try to redevelop the drawings using this.
Like I said, building is years away, so I have plenty of time to refine the plans and figure out what to do next.
Look forward to the feedback...
Cheers
Alf...