Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 14, 2011 5:06 am Hi We are in the process of buying some land and starting to plan a holiday house between Taree and Forster in NSW. Looking for the wisdom of the group so that we get this right first time The front of the block faces NW and has views of the sea / beach. (as you look at the front of the house the left hand side would also have views assuming no one builds too close...) Although the land around us drops away a bit, because someone may build opposite we are looking at building a double story house. The block is a corner block of about 700m2 Things that are important to us so far are: a. 3 or 4 bedroom b. Large upstairs living / balcony / entertaining area (for the views) c. Internal courtyard, or if that doesn't work then outdoor room (although not sure this works well with b. Above ??) d. Nice to haves Wooden staircase - straight Polished concrete floors Home theatre room with IT cupboard Bath Walk in wardrobes Ensuite to most bedrooms Wide front door Air con Fireplace Solar everything Underhouse water tank Glass or wire balcony rail Can't decide between getting something designed from scratch or trying to modify an existing plan. At present the closest we have come up with is the Water View from Rob Tate Homes. Appreciate any comments / suggestions....... Thanks Re: Starting to plan 2Mar 14, 2011 7:05 am Beside the views another advantage of double storey will be leaving a reasonable garden size. I think that one of the issues with standard designs is solar everything. For that you really need a large roof facing North although North west isn't to bad. Most standard houses come with a more complex facade which results in a roof that is less suitable for solar panels. Also lot of standard houses don't work very well with a passive solar approach in regards to window location. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Starting to plan 3Mar 14, 2011 7:38 am durham70 Things that are important to us so far are: a. 3 or 4 bedroom b. Large upstairs living / balcony / entertaining area (for the views) c. Internal courtyard, or if that doesn't work then outdoor room (although not sure this works well with b. Above ??) d. Nice to haves Wooden staircase - straight Polished concrete floors Home theatre room with IT cupboard Bath Walk in wardrobes Ensuite to most bedrooms Wide front door Air con Fireplace Solar everything Underhouse water tank Glass or wire balcony rail Wow.. I think you may want to look at my house plan :) A lot of similarities! Our plan is a custom design so is copyrighted by the architect but feel free to get inspiration from it! Built 3br house in Glenorchy, Tas in 2001 * * * Built 5br courtyard house in Lenah Valley, Tas in 2011 - Homeone thread / Blog i thought the flipped plan initially but bec i want narrow pathway from entry to dining (dont like bend), also cannot fit the… 7 17278 5 10476 |