Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 23, 2010 11:01 am Hi, I have been hanging around this forum for a little while and all your advice and you posts have been extremely helpful! We thought we would build double storey as it is better for resale value (is this true? comments?). We are looking to build a house around the 40sq mark. After seeing some of your plans I can see that single storey 40 sq have everything i want and need. Our land is about 17 m by 35 m so I think it will fit most of the plans quite comfortably. I was thinking to build a guest room (or study) downstairs that has a robe and connects to main bathroom/powder room with a shower. Now I am thinking the hell with it can't I just build single! I think I can afford either......so what's your opinion? Single or Double and why? Thanks. Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 2Feb 23, 2010 11:20 am We went for a double story only because the footprint of the home was smaller than the single we were looking at, and the money we saved on the size of the lot that would be required was put into the home instead. The price for a slightly narrower block of land that fit the two story we chose was actually somewhat less than the larger block of land we originally decided on, with a more sprawling one story home. Stefan Building the M3tr!con Liberty 42 at Stonecutters Ridge. The New Build Blog - "Life, In Progress." Stonecutters Ridge Community Website | My photos Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 3Feb 23, 2010 11:21 am single storey for me why? after 6 years in a double storey stairs become real old real quick I would never have a double story again unless it was in a mansion with a lift or its a basement with a very large wine cellar Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 4Feb 23, 2010 11:33 am I personally DONT think your land size is big enough. Friends of our just built a 37sq house on a 18X36mt block (650sq) and they have NO backyard, and it seems (to me) kinda silly? They have a 4 b'room, 3 living and a study and 2 littke kids and NOWHERE for the kids to play. But each to their own. I think if your building a house that will mostly house a family, that for resale they will want some sort of yard? Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 5Feb 23, 2010 11:37 am Where are you building, I know in WA if you go 2 story the price jumps up dramatically, unless you go loft style. If you can build a single story and still have space around you, that would be the way i would go. We tried to do a single story on our block, but we couldn't do it without compromising too much. We have 4 kids too, so a garden and pool was important for us. Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 6Feb 23, 2010 11:45 am Agree on the opinion that the land is not that big and after considering the setback restrictions (I assume your site is 17x35 not just the space where you may build) it will be even smaller. I'm failing to see a 40 sq SINGLE storey house on such a block -- I'm building a 47 sq double-storey and the house itself as 13.4x21 metres... How will it be possible to fit a 40 sq in such a block in just one storey? Regarding own preferences... hmmm... .they are just own preferences. For example, I'm not the target segment for single storey houses. However, someone is. I might change my opinion when I'm struggling to cope with stairs but not in the moment. No until I've stopped running. ... built a Promenade with Clarendon. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25104 20-10-09 - excavation and piering completed ... 12-04-10 - Basins fixed. Connecting to the electrical grid 23-04-10 - PCI 07-05-10 - HANDOVER! Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 7Feb 23, 2010 12:00 pm The land does seem a tad small, and I can't see it fitting comfortably unfortunately. Even if you built to within 1 metre of each boundary (making it a 15m wide home), then your house would have to be about 25 metres long to fit into 40 squares. Taking off the front setback of say 5 metres, then you would only be left with 5 metres at the back of your house for a yard, and no space at all down the sides. Some councils also have restrictions on the % of land you can build on. Your house would take up about 63% of the land, which seems pretty high. Blog is now up - http://www.jbdave.blogspot.com/ Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 8Feb 23, 2010 12:04 pm Our house is a single story 41sq house on a 644sqm block of land. We're happy with the size of the backyard as we'll mainly be entertaining rather than 'playing' in the back yard and there is a reserve just 100m's or so away from our house. We would have liked more backyard space but we personally preferred to have a single story home than a large backyard. Personal opinion. Pics of the actual block with the house on it are here: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=18335 Our house thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=18335 Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 9Feb 23, 2010 12:22 pm Quote: Our house is a single story 41sq house on a 644sqm block of land. We're happy with the size of the backyard as we'll mainly be entertaining rather than 'playing' in the back yard and there is a reserve just 100m's or so away from our house. Your block is 49m2 bigger than pravvy's, which is considerable. It's like deleting the backyard area from your alfresco down to the back fence - it makes a big difference. Blog is now up - http://www.jbdave.blogspot.com/ Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 10Feb 23, 2010 12:51 pm My preference was to build single story. Other than wanting to avoid having stairs and a toddler, double story places are often more expensive/harder to heat and cool. We're building a 330sqm place (including garage) but are on a 866sqm block so still have plenty of outdoor space. Might have made a different decision on a smaller block. Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 11Feb 23, 2010 2:01 pm Wow! Thanks for all the replies! I think that I might stick with the single storey. I should have mentioned that our house is only 560 m2 so I guess it is on the small side! Thanks all for your opinions. Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 13Feb 23, 2010 3:41 pm I'm another preferrer of single storeys but not at the expense of a reasonably sized back yard. as someone else stated, its all about personal preference. pravvy I should have mentioned that our house is only 560 m2 so I guess it is on the small side! I would consider that pretty large actually. "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: Double Storey or Single Storey 14Feb 23, 2010 4:22 pm donuts I'm another preferrer of single storeys but not at the expense of a reasonably sized back yard. as someone else stated, its all about personal preference. pravvy I should have mentioned that our house is only 560 m2 so I guess it is on the small side! I would consider that pretty large actually. You are not alone on such a consideration... 560 m2 - it is huge... And expensive, considering flooring ... built a Promenade with Clarendon. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25104 20-10-09 - excavation and piering completed ... 12-04-10 - Basins fixed. Connecting to the electrical grid 23-04-10 - PCI 07-05-10 - HANDOVER! Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 16Feb 23, 2010 6:26 pm I prefer single storey, but we are going to be building a double to give us more back yard. That being said, advantages to both, but in terms of resale value, single storey houses appeal to a wider variety of buyers than double. Good luck with your decision. My house and my rants.... - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=26937 We are in!!!...and still unpacking. Thankfully there are always Tim Tams Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 17Feb 23, 2010 7:42 pm My other half is an ex real estate agent and I have frequently heard that you are reducing your potential buyers with doubel storey so it reduces the number of people to look at your property so not necessarily increases resale value. There are more people who "don't" want double storey when looking for properties. If the option for the size on your block for single storey is there I would go for that. It will cost your more to build a double storey, so the end value will command a higher price because of that, the resale might be proportionate to that extra expense in building. Look at older properties in the areas surrounding, with double storey and single storey houses of similar size. Double storey houses lose some space with stairwells. On average around 1 room (half a room upstairs, half a room downstairs) dependeing on the size of the stairwell. So perhaps 37-8 squares for single storey is quite possible too. (for example have you noticed double storey 34 squares tend not to have a study, but single storey 34 squares often have a study) Land coverage might be an issue, we are building a 34 square including the concrete alfresco section that is not undercover on a block that is 18m x 34 (615) and it is 56% land coverage. So it would also depend on the council's regulations for land coverage. So your block at 595 if the council regulation was 60% (which many are) then you can't go more than 357m2. Don't forget that the site coverage includes the driveway as well (so maybe 16-18 m2), porch area and I think even the concrete under a a water tank. Your market is also reduced if there is a small back yard for a large family home too, so placement to park/reserve would need to be a consideration. I think you need to consider if building double storey is overcapitalising or not as well. Is the extra expense of double storey worth it for the quality of life and long term. Are you planning to sell within 15 years and knee's deteriorating. I've also heard in the rumour mill that adults with double storey houses weigh on average about 2kg less than those living in single storey houses. (oh that makes me giggle really) Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 18Feb 23, 2010 7:53 pm A good justification for 2 story homes is building upwards to take advantage of a stunning view (ala Miss Vintage's house). Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 19Feb 23, 2010 8:05 pm Excellent point. If I could see water from double storey that I couldn't see form single storey then I'd be doing that for sure and then the second storey configuration would be important for me too. I'd want the view off an upstairs large balcony adjoining an upstairs living space. I know others who want that view from their bedroom though Re: Double Storey or Single Storey 20Feb 23, 2010 8:13 pm Fernyhouse Excellent point. If I could see water from double storey that I couldn't see form single storey then I'd be doing that for sure and then the second storey configuration would be important for me too. I'd want the view off an upstairs large balcony adjoining an upstairs living space. I know others who want that view from their bedroom though This is us and the only reason we're building a 2 story house, though we will be having both of those options deck off living & master bedroom upstairs too. Fernyhouse I've also heard in the rumour mill that adults with double storey houses weigh on average about 2kg less than those living in single storey houses. (oh that makes me giggle really) Oh now this is an added bonus lol ____________________________ Bec ____________________________ Building our Balinese Resort Inspired Dream Home Blog ~ http://hagarshouse.blogspot.com/ Hello All 🙂 We are planning to start our journey of construction our first home. We zeroed down on Metricon and henley homes based on design suitable for our lot and… 0 8183 1 4581 Hi Kristy Around $1.7-1.8m or around $4,600/sqm. if you PM me your email I will send you a break up in a spreadsheet so you can get an understanding of the costs for… 1 9952 |