What about your back door??

Hi all
What ever happened to the traditional old back door? Most Australian homes had one, we have a front door so what happened out back. I see a lot of floor plans with a side door towards the back of the house. Is there a reason for this? Do you have a back door? Could it be that the size of the back yard is getting smaller and side yards are becoming popular so to alfresco off the side of the house.

Hey, I’m old fashioned and I think I would miss not having a true back door. I’ve had to change the plan to get my door, it may be a bit different what do you people think? It’s off the Laundry so I have to be careful as to what space I use. I moved the washing machine & suds cabinet over to the wall. What do you think of this set up for ease of use for washing and going out the back door to hang it out on the line. Will the door get in the way? Its 820mm I could go for a 720mm unless there is some safety rule about exit door way size. Is there such a thing? Open to any ideas or suggestions.

Laundry with back door 2..jpg
ABOVE ARE MY CHANGES.
Laundry 1a.jpg
ORIGINAL PLAN.
Thanks & Kind Regards to all.
KW………………

Not sure what you mean Willy - our house, and most houses I see, has a sliding door off the family room and a back door off the laundry. Some have more exterior doors, say, one off a rumpus room as well but nearly all modern homes have at least 3 exits -front door, laundry door, sliding door from casual liveng.

Our old 1950's built house only had 2 exits - a front door and a back one which went through a 'lean to' porch with toilet one side and laundry the other.

In our particular design (new house) the sliding door opens to a side alfresco area and laundry door opens to other side, but right at back of house. I don't see the issue whether the laundry door opens directly to the back or slightly to the side so not sure what you are gaining by moving your laundry door like this - but you are making the working space more difficult IMO by cutting across the middle of it.

I have seen many houses which have a sliding door directly to the back, probably more than to the side - just depends on house plan and block shape, I guess.

Yeah your plan looks fine.. Glad to see you're installing a door instead of a sliding door (I just got a brochure on the corinthian door range.. theres a few great nice doors in it for "back doors" and the like so it doesnt need to be a boring plain door if you want to add a bit of style to it too)

As Helyn said, most homes have many exits to the backyard now via either sliding, bifold, french or standard laundry doors etc.

Since most people still have a back door from their laundry. ( yes I know that one H1 member has removed this) i'm guessing by "back door" you mean a traditional door instead of a sliding door.

That's what we have done. I really wanted a traditional door and separate window for light. Unfortunately the sales lady talked us out of it. She told Dh it would be very much more expensive. I wish I'd insisted that she investigate it. ( since found out it wouldn't have been) so we have a back door still but with a glass pane in it. A window makes good sense as it can be left ajar for air flow for example when a drier gets used. Something that for us would have been a wise thing to have. given that our linen cupboard is in the laundry.

We have 4 external exits from our house and our laundry "back door" is on the side.
front door, back door, and 2 sliders. No internal door from garage otherwise we'd have 5.

A back door wasn't always at the back.....we had both laundry and sliding door from the kitchen/family room opening off the side of our old house, which was built back in the mid-80s. We had a large back yard, and also a reasonable amount of side yard. It's just the way the house was designed, the laundry flowed better with the door on the side.

The new house has seven exterior doors, so we can take our pick where we want to exit.....

7 kek? wow!

I think it depends where the bulk of your outdoor space is. We have a relatively big bit of space out the back so we changed our plan to have a sliding door from our rumpus straight to the back yard. We also have a sliding door from the living area to the alfresco on the side, and the laundry door also opens to the alfresco.

If you don't have a lot of out-the-back space it might be wasteful to put a door out the back.

Our living areas and laundry all back onto a large deck area - so the laundry has a sliding glass door as does the toy room, the living and dining areas both are bifolding doors.

Hi folks



It seems I’ve been living in the same house for too long. Got used to the traditional 1950s style

We also have the Side Alfresco area (love it) with 1 large sliding door. I’ve a large back yard ½ acre. I spend a lot of time in the back yard, not enough according to some. LOL I was thinking I would have more privacy with direct access to the back, which would have some sort of decking and side privacy screen. As I’m on acreage with no colorbond type fence just farm wire fences. Next door is only 14m off the side of my house. I can sit there and get some afternoon sun, watch the sun go down etc. I was thinking it would be easy to get to the line also.



Yes, this one flows better also the way it is. I know if I change it and it does not work I’m in trouble with the washing machine & suds cabinet I know they will fit in the new area.

Helyn



Helyn you are right & I know it. But for some reason I would like to enter the back yard direct, not have to walk around the corner. We blokes have a close relationship with our backyard and shed. Your point is one I’m concerned about will it make the area to difficult to work in. If the back door is closed I have 1.560mm from the linen Cabinet to the suds Cabinet, should be Ok. I think it must be a personal thing as it’s not an issue with most others. This is the trade off between a custom designed home and a project home, I have to make a few allowances for that.

Thanks Kindly for all your input I will post the before and after house floor plan soon so stay tuned.

Regards to all
KW……………

Your laundry could work well with the door at the back, KW. You'd have room to extend the broom cupboard (maybe add shelves for extra storage), or even add a small floor cabinet with benchtop next to the washing machine. Sorting space next to the machine, or just somewhere to put your washing powder and pegs is always good.

That layout is quite similar to our old laundry - I had overhead cupboards above the washing machine, and having a front loader gave me "bench space" on top of the machine. I also added a fold-out clothesline to the wall opposite the washing machine, great for rainy weather. When it wasn't in use it folded flat against the wall.

Is there any reason why the external access door can't be directly opposite the internal door into the laundry?

Then you can have a big U built in area. One side built in floor to ceiling cupboards, then and L shaped bench with the washing machine and trough on the side of the L.

Seems to get the exterior access you desire and you maiximise your storage and work area in the process.

I love you folks, that a team.

Getting plenty of good suggestions form all. Over head cupboards, now whey did n't I think of that? Thanks I like it.
There may be a little room to extend the linen cabinet as on the old plan, but I think I will take it up with the new door. Suds cabinet will be in the same spot just turned around to the wall. I did think of having the 2 doors line up but it made me have all the other stuff moved over.

Thanks to all
KW……….