Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 21, 2010 9:20 pm Hi I am new to this site and have so far found it very informative. My DH and i are about to embark on building our second house as we have just secured a nice block of 1300m2. We are in Tassie so looking to do Double Glazing and extra insulation to try to make winter more comfortable. Can you please have a look over the plan i have drawn up as we would like any and all feedback you have to offer. Thankyou http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/6011/pe1204.jpg McQueen Mansion in Progress Proud owner of dirt Plans Completed Currently trying to sell our current house Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 2Apr 21, 2010 9:29 pm Looks good Vonwoman-the first thing that springs to mind is making the Main bedroom window a sliding door-which allows for a lovely courtyard or alfresco straight of the main bedroom. This can be a wonderful spot to have quality time away from kids...(or allows access for one's pampered pooches in our case...) Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 3Apr 21, 2010 9:31 pm On second look-does it already have one? Bit hard to tell from the plan..... Also the ensuite could be tweaked-by using a high set window more wall space would be freed up allowing for a double vanity. Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 4Apr 21, 2010 9:32 pm Which way is north? I'd guess you'd want to get as much winter sun into the house as possible if you're worried about the cold Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 5Apr 21, 2010 10:45 pm Looks pretty nice. I think my main concern would be with having enough space to get around in your bathrooms. The main bathroom is an easy fix - you could simply move the vanity to the opposite wall, it would sit nicely between the bath and shower. Where it is now would be very squishy getting in the door and between the small gap between the vanity and shower. You have a similar problem in the ensuite - very little space between the toilet and shower to be able to access the vanity. This could be fixed by having the shower and toilet along the left wall when you enter the ensuite, then have the vanity run along the right wall opposite the toilet. Another alternative would be to have a really large shower running the entire length of the left hand wall, have the vanity cabinet run the entire length of the right hand wall and a hidden cistern toilet coming directly from the cabinetry (near the wall at the top of the diagram) with the vanity basin closer to the bottom of the ensuite near the doorway to the bedroom. Loos like that look very swanky and modern. Agree with Pipe - would be interested to know where north is. I see that you have included a heat pump (which is very nice), but good solar orientation can do a LOT for reducing energy usage. Deemaree - it is a sliding door in the master bedroom. =) Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 6Apr 21, 2010 10:58 pm here's what I'm thinking of (using the toilet on vanity cabinet option). Makes for a much more luxurious space. Very modern resort feel. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ have also swapped the vanity in the main bathroom to the opposite wall, and increased the size of the bath hob. More room for candles, champagne flutes and books is ALWAYS a good thing! another thing I *just* noticed - if you change the door on your walk-in linen to a single you will have space for shelves on both sides of the door. If you want more storage room, that is. Having two doors open completely like that really only allows the one shelf along the back, although you have room to make that shelf VERY deep if you want to. Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 7Apr 21, 2010 11:34 pm A couple of things. Do you intend to use bedroom 4 as a bedroom? It isn't really great to have to walk through the living areas to get to the bathroom. Of course you may not be going to use it as a bedroom but for re-sale it may limit you a bit. The other thing is getting sunlight in. The alfresco position is going to prevent getting sunlight into your living areas even if you have a north facing aspect. If you are concerned about keeping your house warm one of the keys is solar orientation. Living areas should face north with large windows to catch the winter warmth. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 8Apr 22, 2010 8:18 am Thankyou so much for the ideas definately taken them onboard. chippy A couple of things. Do you intend to use bedroom 4 as a bedroom? It isn't really great to have to walk through the living areas to get to the bathroom. Of course you may not be going to use it as a bedroom but for re-sale it may limit you a bit. The other thing is getting sunlight in. The alfresco position is going to prevent getting sunlight into your living areas even if you have a north facing aspect. If you are concerned about keeping your house warm one of the keys is solar orientation. Living areas should face north with large windows to catch the winter warmth. the 4th bedroom will mostly be used for the Guest factor, don't have them often but when we do want them out of our hair. LOL. The alfresco worried me a bit too with the light but it is facing west so won't make much difference. The orientation of the house is front faces roughly North East, so most of the light should be on front right hand corner of house. hopefully will get enough light through the meals area to heat up the room a bit I should have large windows on the front but have opted for the smaller for the privacy and trend factors somewoman Looks pretty nice. I think my main concern would be with having enough space to get around in your bathrooms. The main bathroom is an easy fix - you could simply move the vanity to the opposite wall, it would sit nicely between the bath and shower. Where it is now would be very squishy getting in the door and between the small gap between the vanity and shower. You have a similar problem in the ensuite - very little space between the toilet and shower to be able to access the vanity. This could be fixed by having the shower and toilet along the left wall when you enter the ensuite, then have the vanity run along the right wall opposite the toilet. Another alternative would be to have a really large shower running the entire length of the left hand wall, have the vanity cabinet run the entire length of the right hand wall and a hidden cistern toilet coming directly from the cabinetry (near the wall at the top of the diagram) with the vanity basin closer to the bottom of the ensuite near the doorway to the bedroom. Loos like that look very swanky and modern. Agree with Pipe - would be interested to know where north is. I see that you have included a heat pump (which is very nice), but good solar orientation can do a LOT for reducing energy usage. Deemaree - it is a sliding door in the master bedroom. =) Thankyou for the bathroom advice will definately change where the vanity's are i see how it makes the room, was a bit worried that it wouldn't fit between shower and bath. Thanks everyone keep the ideas coming, hopefully going to draughtsman at end of May, so will keep you posted. Thankyou Alicia McQueen Mansion in Progress Proud owner of dirt Plans Completed Currently trying to sell our current house Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 9Apr 22, 2010 8:49 am This is a really smart design, and I really like it. The only feedback I can give is perhaps increase the size of your dining room, maybe eat into your alfresco a little, I think it's a tight fight for a large family (with guests??) good luck! A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 10Apr 22, 2010 9:15 am Annietom This is a really smart design, and I really like it. The only feedback I can give is perhaps increase the size of your dining room, maybe eat into your alfresco a little, I think it's a tight fight for a large family (with guests??) good luck! Thankyou Annietom, I will definately look at making an increase, trouble is we are limited to the size for our budget and we are borderline now we wanted the larger bedrooms for the kids and to have a study as well, we are a bit gready and we had to fit it into 22sq of living area. The good thing is I have the alfresco for the summer dining, I am looking at putting Bi Fold doors into the meals area to incorporate the alfresco and meals as one room But thankyou have a great day McQueen Mansion in Progress Proud owner of dirt Plans Completed Currently trying to sell our current house Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 11Apr 22, 2010 9:55 am hi, the others here have given good tips. my only concern would be the size of the formal living, study and laundry, but if you are pressed for space and know you can live with these sizes, then that's fine. i would probably try to go into an actual study/laundry of this size just to make sure its ok for you... my laundry is only 1.75m wide so not much wider than yours and i definitely wouldn't like it any narrower. But like you we were pressed for space. Our formal living is the same as yours and i wish we had opened it up to the study next door and made it one big room.. maybe this is an option for you? or a dwarf wall, or plantation shutters in between the rooms, just to open it up a bit? just ideas that came to my head, thoughts... otherwise it looks like a great plan and good luck with the build! "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: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 12Apr 22, 2010 10:11 am Thanks for the ideas donuts, was trying to find a way to utilise study and formal as one room but still being able to close the study off if required, so I might look into some bifold doors or something. Hubby is needs a private study as he is WFH, and can't have the kids annoying him, hence the room on it's own. The Laundry yes my demon, I am putting in benchs and overhead for the storage space so it would leave approx 950 clearance for walkway, which I'm hoping should be enough, my current laundry is 1800 wide with a big cupboard housing the HW so I think that eliminating that in mine now would make it more spacious, I only need to washclothing in it is my theory, so shouldn't need to much room LOL. Keep it coming people, loving these ideas McQueen Mansion in Progress Proud owner of dirt Plans Completed Currently trying to sell our current house Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 13Apr 22, 2010 10:14 am I was thinking the same as donuts on the study - an open archway into there with a half height wall to the lounge so that it doesn't feel so squishy. Then I looked around at my own office and all the paperwork that I have everywhere. As it stands, I'd be mortified for guests to see this mess!!! Perhaps an open study would be better for me as it would encourage me to clean up more often But realistically, not I wouldn't want my private office space visible to one and all. I also don't think that there is a problem with the laundry size. The hallway going through is quite roomy and reasonable. The only reason that I could see for needing to widen it is if more storage was required on the other side of the walkway going through. Ours is 1.8m wide and has 600mm wide cabinets along one wall and 400mm linen and broom cupboards lining the other side, it feels really spacious. Overall, it's a really intelligent design. It isn't ideal from a solar orientation point of view, but the heat pump will add to the green cred Considering the western sun going in the living areas the alfresco is probably perfect. You could easily add a drop down shade (or chunk of shade cloth if you need to save $$$) to block out a lot of the heat in summer. Add a few window shades for exposed areas and you're laughing. Beautiful. Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 14Apr 22, 2010 10:22 am vonwoman Thankyou so much for the ideas definately taken them onboard. chippy A couple of things. The other thing is getting sunlight in. The alfresco position is going to prevent getting sunlight into your living areas even if you have a north facing aspect. If you are concerned about keeping your house warm one of the keys is solar orientation. Living areas should face north with large windows to catch the winter warmth. The alfresco worried me a bit too with the light but it is facing west so won't make much difference. The orientation of the house is front faces roughly North East, so most of the light should be on front right hand corner of house. hopefully will get enough light through the meals area to heat up the room a bit I should have large windows on the front but have opted for the smaller for the privacy and trend factors One thing which might work is to have north facing celestory windows in the living area, your living areas would need an extra high ceiling so the windows can sit above the roof area of the rooms at the front. This would allow quite a bit of natural light and warmth in during the winter and I think it would really good - don't know about cost though Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 15Apr 22, 2010 10:33 am Pipe One thing which might work is to have north facing celestory windows in the living area, your living areas would need an extra high ceiling so the windows can sit above the roof area of the rooms at the front. This would allow quite a bit of natural light and warmth in during the winter and I think it would really good - don't know about cost though make it openable and it would also work as a heat chimney to vent hot air out of your house =) Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 16Apr 22, 2010 10:41 am i think the celestory windows sound like a great idea! or you could have a raked or skillion roof whatever they call it with the windows in thegap between where the rooflines don't meet. unless that is the same thing! "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: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 17Apr 22, 2010 3:21 pm If the budget was tight it is now in the red As soon as you deviate from standard you can expect to pay big dollars (even if in reality it doesn't cost that much more) Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 18Apr 22, 2010 4:30 pm I don't think it hurts to ask the builders. When we were getting quotes to build our home some builders were talking about 10-20k to add raked ceilings, and some said that it makes very little difference to them so added something nominal like 1-2k. I think there's no point in the naysaying until some quotes have been obtained - not everybody is the same. We ended up changing our plans altogether from our original design to something from a volume builder, then we modified the heck out of it. The only thing standard about our home is the location of beds 2, 3 and 4. Fine, we're paying close to double the original price, but we've almost doubled the size of the house AND upgraded everything on the way (including insane amounts of home automation, etc). I'd say deviating from standard really hasn't hurt us as much as it may have. Owners need to be *aware* that changes could cost them, but you just don't know until you ask. As this appears to be the OPs own design, there really aren't any deviations from standard. This house IS the standard. It is a matter for the OP to fit in what they want within the budget, and there will almost always be some tweaking here and there to ensure that it works. Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 19Apr 22, 2010 4:43 pm chippy If the budget was tight it is now in the red As soon as you deviate from standard you can expect to pay big dollars (even if in reality it doesn't cost that much more) Its also worth considering long term costs too though. There may be a higher upfront cost, but if it saves on heating and cooling costs then in the long term you can still be ahead, especially with energy prices rising quite quickly. Re: New to site and would like advice on floor plan 20Apr 22, 2010 4:48 pm I'll just add that if you do end going the celestory window route then its worth looking at the amount of thermal mass you have in that room. For example if the internal wall on the south side of the living room was brick (can still be rendered/plastered) then it could do a good job of absorbing the heat from the direct sunlight during the day and releasing it again at night when you need it most. Alternatively I think you can get special plasterboard these days which is pretty good at storing heat (has bubbles of phase change material in it which stores the heat). The extra thermal mass will help even out the temperature a bit during summer as well. 6 55346 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20413 No the fireplace doesn’t work. It’s been enclosed. I’m not sure what was removed, as it was done quite some time ago - well before what I can see with photos online… 2 11584 |