Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 23, 2013 8:45 am Hi Guys and Gals, We are debating between a couple of designs for our block the main difference being the way it sits on our block... Our block is 16x35m so a nice rectangle House #1 is 26m long so by the time you add our 6m frontage it will basically leave the garden on the side which will be about 7.5-8M x the 35m length House #2 will leave around 8m down the back and around 4m on the side Our question is does it really matter having the garden along the side in other peoples minds? (we're trying to keep resell value in our minds though we have no intention of selling after we move in!!) Dave and I have always had pretty big yards around the whole our the houses we've lived in so have no clue what it would be like Anyone that has an option or piccies would be much appreciated! E Siteworks 8/11 Slabbed 19/11 Our Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65703 Re: House Placement on your site! 2Jan 23, 2013 9:11 am It all depends on what you do with it I guess. You could turn the side bit of garden into some nice raised garden beds for herbs and flowers and leave the back area mostly lawn? Either that or have a go at designing your own layout! It's not too hard though it can take time and a lot of it spent going around your current house with a tape measure. Have you taken into consideration the houses orientation for solar passive heating and cooling? If you're interested in designing it yourself there is a pretty cool app called floorplans that I've used to help with my design. It may be the best way to get what you want on a long block like that. If you're not up for that though I would probably go with house two with a bit of garden at the back, i don't know why but it feels better to me. All just my opinions and I'm definitely no expert but I hope it helps! Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: House Placement on your site! 3Jan 23, 2013 9:16 am Hey E, my fiance (also a Dave lol) and I are building a long narrow house on our block, with the alfresco/garden area to the side instead of the back. Our block is 15 wide by 34 long, and the house is a bit of a U shape. Not exactly what you've mentioned as we don't have a large garden strip down the side of the house, but we definitely prefer it on the side rather than at the back. Main reason is the people behind us, to the left and to the right all have their alfrescos at the back of their block, so by us having ours on the side we're hopefully gaining a bit of privacy! Solar orientation would also influence you though, which way does your block face? A Re: House Placement on your site! 4Jan 23, 2013 9:28 am I currently have a long house ... so not very much space at the rear of the block, but usage space to the side of the block. This works for us because of the layout of the house. We have an alfresco area to the side of the house, about mid way down. To the left of the alfresco we have a spa, garden beds and decking which lead to the front yard gate. The the right of the alfresco (looking toward the rear of the block) we have a little decking leading to a grassed area for the kids and a small garden area. Being that our living areas look out to the alfresco and grassed areas, means we can keep an eye on the kids whilst they are outside, and means that the inside entertaining areas leads nicely to the outside entertaining area. I think resale will be more based on how the inside and outside areas interact with one another, as opposed to where they physically are (side, or rear of the house) Re: House Placement on your site! 5Jan 23, 2013 9:34 am I know this has probably already been considered ... but building rules have all been taken into account as part of this decision? I ask because our council requires 8m x 8m of "deep soil zone", and it can't be in the front yard; yet NSW CDC rules require 3m clearance from the rear fence to a single-storey part of the house & 8m clearance from the rear fence to a double-storey part of the house. Side-fenc clearance rules vary between local councils, as well as between council & NSW CDC. Just making sure that you're aware of state &/or council's rules before getting too attached to particular designs. Re: House Placement on your site! 6Jan 23, 2013 9:53 am Wow so much to reply to haha We want a large lawn area for the dog and when friends come over etc apart from that we are going to have a deck area with raised garden beds and an inbuilt bbq area (we're not all that creative!) lol I didn't even consider the neighbours etc we actually don't have ANYONE within 10m of our back fence which is awsome we back onto a little reserve and creek so hoping to put a little gate in our fence to get through (fingers crossed) It's hard though our area is brand spanking new and not settled yet so there are NO buildings to snoop on nor do we have any clue what are neighbours are building The north sun kind of comes across diagonally on our left hand rear corner fence so our family areas on both plans we like are down the left hand side and along the back so hopefully that will make the most of the light! I tend to agree it depends how it's done in regards to the resale but it's hard to know what others opinions are without asking which is why this forum is so amazing!! I'm sure it would bother some people having the yard out to the side We also have to have 2 rain water tanks to hide in the garden somewhere! eek As far as we are aware the only boundary rules we have to go by are that the side fences on our block have to be 1m off which we're well off of and you need a 6m facade I will definitely double check this though! Thanks E Siteworks 8/11 Slabbed 19/11 Our Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65703 Re: House Placement on your site! 7Jan 23, 2013 9:54 am Our block is the same size. Our house has 1.5m either side of the house, and looking at the build now that it has commenced, it is narrow. We organized a slimline water tank, an upgrade, as BASIX requires us to have one, and a normal round water tank would have taken up significant space in my backyard. This is my second house. My first has a big backyard, I have decking and a shed, swingset for my son etc. but I work full time, and the maintenance of my current house is overwhelming. When we were looking for our next home, I wanted a level yard, low maintenance size backyard. An alfresco was important as I want to entertain outside as well. The house I am building will have 6-7m backyard times the width 16m. We will extend the alfresco with concrete and I will have a bit of turf, some plants and a clothesline out the back. My son who is turning 9 this year was a bit disappointed about the backyard size, as he likes throwing a ball around. But our estate has two park in each direction not far away. Virtually just round either corner, we are on a quiet street, our current house is on a main road and he isn't allowed out the front, but in our new house I would be happy for him to play street cricket, and ride his bike and scooter around. So I think it's not just the block size and house size to consider but also what it is like in your estate. Built a Hawthorne 31 with EB nessjeffdreamhouse.blogspot.com.au Building an investment now with New Living homes... We are at nearly finished... Just landscaping and driveway to go! Re: House Placement on your site! 8May 18, 2013 12:19 pm We currently live in a place that has the right side of it on the boundary and so all the living areas are on the left with about 4m to the fenceline. But our neighbor on that side also has their garage on the boundary so we stare all day at a huge brick wall which I don't like. I'd much prefer looking out onto our own yard at the rear from the living areas but then they'd be shaded all day. It's a tough one. We are looking at moving and building our own are are looking at all the same options for the limited budget we have and I actually don't really know what to do unfortunately... So if you find any answers we'd love to hear them too! Re: House Placement on your site! 9May 18, 2013 12:42 pm We are having most of our garden on the side mainly because that is where north is. We also have a small back garden. My thought is as we have kids that the side garden will be the adult space. Whereas the back will be the kids and dog garden. They can run amok out there and have all their toys and the dog can destroy it as they do but we also have our own space. In regards to resale I think as long as you have a garden it does not matter where it is side or back. Whatever suits your block and orientation. Re: House Placement on your site! 10May 18, 2013 1:35 pm When I first thought about it, I thought it may bother me to have the main yard space at the side - but I think if you landscaped it right, it wouldn't me an issue! For resale though, people do like side-access though for boats, trailers etc (or in our case as a second driveway and carport as DH's car doesn't fit in the garage!). I really think it all comes down to how you are going to use the space, if it works, it won't be a problem in the future. 1st build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=59376 *New*-2nd build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=70324&p=1154282#p1154282 Re: House Placement on your site! 11May 18, 2013 4:24 pm Our main yard is to the right hand side of the block. We've got a couple of really weird layout issues with our house and land...it's driving me mental trying to figure out what to do with the side of the house. We have 1m to the left fence, 4m to the rear, 7.5m to the right fence (9 at the widest) 5m in front of our bedroom and 7 from side fence to kerb. It's monstrous. It feels kind of awkward BUTTTT we have two 'living' areas that open to that side of the house, so we're probably going to build it back in a bit. We also need a lot of lawn for our dogs, so that part of it works out really well. We were going to do a gate on the right hand side front fence, to let a car in, but decided it's not as practical as it sounds so ditched the idea. The main thing I've realized is that no matter how pretty it might look, you really just have to think about your lifestyle and what's going to flow and be convenient for you. Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: House Placement on your site! 12May 18, 2013 4:34 pm Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: House Placement on your site! 13May 18, 2013 4:39 pm Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ *ahem* Blue - concrete/tiled Green - grass...duh Orange with crosshatch pattern - bark/low garden with green bushes and flowers etc Green squiggles and clouds - hedge/tree Pink - letterbox and water tank White - haven't figured that out yet :s If that gives you any idea, it's probably quite similar to the size of your first house option. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Hi all, My first post, we are building a house and can’t decide the layout of the lounge room. We have a large N/W facing window and are wanting to have a wood slow… 0 13719 Move your linen into laundry and access laundry from your present linen space 1 8002 Hi All It has been a few weeks since my last update. The build has been progressing well. No major issues to report. The scaffolding was dropped today, gyprock will be… 96 356756 |