Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 27, 2008 9:38 am Hi All,
Might be a silly question, but i've always wondered what the benefits are of having a north facing backyard?? I've always heard it great to have one and there was an article in the paper on the weekend of the 10 great tips on purchasing property and this was one of them... Can anyone shed any light? Thanks. Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 2Oct 27, 2008 9:52 am It's good in winter.... especially if you have living/family rooms at the back.
my place runs west to east. so I get morning sun in the back, and in summer the back is shaded in the afternoon. Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 3Oct 27, 2008 9:53 am Basically the Sun passes through the sky from East to West on an angle from the North, so the North of a house will have sun the whole day. It has positive implications on Heating and lighting, as any rooms on that side of the house will have sunlight all day. The south side of a house will be in shade the whole day.
As most houses have the living areas at the back of the house, North facing backyards are good. But if you have the side of the house facing North this is also good, as long as the design of the house has the living areas along this side Built with Bentley homes in Doreen All moved in Dec 2009 Now for the garden! Our stuff so far viewtopic.php?f=31&t=16532 Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 5Oct 27, 2008 10:20 am Yeah but you wouldn't get sun into the house in the back.
Everyone is going to yell at me..... but I think north facing living areas are overrated. Lots of sun coming into a room.... uncomfortable to watch telly... and you end up going into another room to escape the glare. I know the thermal bennefits, etc, etc, etc... but if it's not livable... and for me it isn't.... I don't like glare when I'm relaxing. But that's just me. I don't want sun beating in on me when I'm chilling out. My block is the same. North to the front..... living at the rear to the south. It'll suit me. I'm sitting in a room with an east facing window at the moment.... just the right amount of light. Jo I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 6Oct 27, 2008 10:25 am thanks joles...
that is right, i only get very little sun thru the back windows to our living area.... i'm with you on that, too much sun makes it uncomfortable to relax and it would warm up your house quicker in summer also... I love the fact that our backyard gets sun all day long and not much sun coming thru windows in the living areas... if i want sun, i just walk our to the backyard and sun bake hehehe.. thanks for all the replies, i'm clear on this now! Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 7Oct 27, 2008 1:04 pm joles Yeah but you wouldn't get sun into the house in the back. Everyone is going to yell at me..... but I think north facing living areas are overrated. Lots of sun coming into a room.... uncomfortable to watch telly... and you end up going into another room to escape the glare. I know the thermal bennefits, etc, etc, etc... but if it's not livable... and for me it isn't.... I don't like glare when I'm relaxing. But that's just me. I don't want sun beating in on me when I'm chilling out. My block is the same. North to the front..... living at the rear to the south. It'll suit me. I'm sitting in a room with an east facing window at the moment.... just the right amount of light. Jo This is where eaves are needed, but unfortunately these are not standard anymore with project builders. They stop the direct sun in Summer, but let it in in Winter. Built with Bentley homes in Doreen All moved in Dec 2009 Now for the garden! Our stuff so far viewtopic.php?f=31&t=16532 Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 8Oct 27, 2008 3:16 pm Lostris joles Yeah but you wouldn't get sun into the house in the back. Everyone is going to yell at me..... but I think north facing living areas are overrated. Lots of sun coming into a room.... uncomfortable to watch telly... and you end up going into another room to escape the glare. I know the thermal bennefits, etc, etc, etc... but if it's not livable... and for me it isn't.... I don't like glare when I'm relaxing. But that's just me. I don't want sun beating in on me when I'm chilling out. My block is the same. North to the front..... living at the rear to the south. It'll suit me. I'm sitting in a room with an east facing window at the moment.... just the right amount of light. Jo This is where eaves are needed, but unfortunately these are not standard anymore with project builders. They stop the direct sun in Summer, but let it in in Winter. Yep... but as you said still lets the direct winter sun in.... I just don't like direct sun into a room even in winter..... well the main living area anyway. I might be strange.... but this is how I'm comfortable. And everyone I know that has a north facing living area uses some type of shading to reduce the glare into the room because it's not pleasant for watching TV.... so it defeats the purpose. If it was a reading room/library it would be fine. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 9Oct 27, 2008 4:20 pm We don't watch any daytime TV, so a north-facing living area is perfect. In winter I sit in our solar-heated family room and read a book with the sun on my back. Bliss. Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 10Oct 27, 2008 4:26 pm north facing = good for passive heating in winter; especially good if you have a cement or tiled living area to trap the heat during the day.
In summer the sun moves overhead and isn't as low in the sky as winter time; thereby reducing sun into the room (particularly if you have eaves).. We have a north facing living area and 1200 eaves. Still need curtains in winter as yes there is a lot of sun in the room up until about 10:00 am. But its nice and toasty warm. Horses for courses!! Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 12Oct 27, 2008 4:38 pm joles I'm well aware I'm in the wrong.... I really am but I just don't like it. yes well I hope the 'experts' are right otherwise we will bake in summer . Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 13Oct 27, 2008 8:34 pm I think that north facing yards are portrayed as being advantagous if you have a small block, but if you have plenty of space you're always going to get sun in your back yard. Geoff - Decophile. Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 14Oct 27, 2008 8:36 pm Yes that's true what Eager said.
Our last rental was a very wide block, north facing back yard, and all the living areas and kitchen also facing north - was wonderful. I hardly ever had to turn the kitchen light on. Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 15Oct 27, 2008 9:26 pm joles Everyone is going to yell at me..... but I think north facing living areas are overrated. Lots of sun coming into a room.... uncomfortable to watch telly... and you end up going into another room to escape the glare. I know the thermal bennefits, etc, etc, etc... but if it's not livable... and for me it isn't.... I don't like glare when I'm relaxing. But that's just me. I don't want sun beating in on me when I'm chilling out. For someone that watches alot of Telly I 100% agree with you regarding the sun glare.. However I will have our meals, alfresco and lounge north facing... but I will have my theatre room on the south side of the house with one small window facing east that will have 100% block out blinds on it... so I can then get out of that sun glare into my pitch black room and watch my telly on my big screen!!!! best of both worlds!!! Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 16Oct 27, 2008 11:16 pm I think the benifits or otherwise also depend on where you live . ie is the climate cool so you want to make the most of the sun or hot so you want to keep house shaded and cool? Also how built up or compact the area. And the floor plan of the house.
I dislike dark rooms, I have street frontage facing North, which is lounge and main bedroom, and side area mainly facing East. The sliding doors open to an alfresco area at the side of the house. Including the garage, the house is L shaped. There are no back windows facing the South. The TV is in the North facing lounge but there is a bullnose verandah so glare is reduced, anyway I find glare is more a problem from afternnoon sun in windows facing West. Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 17Oct 28, 2008 8:00 am Clothes dry quicker on the washing line if they are in direct sun light, especially in NW direction. In the place I'm renting at the moment the washing line is facing east, making it difficult to dry clothes.
Also most people have the bulk of their plants in the back yard. Many plants like direct sun light (especially natives), so a north facing back yard is a plus. If you do happen to grow trees in a north facing back yard, then the shadow they cast falls mostly over your property rather than your neighbors. I don't know if that is a positive or not, but it is something to keep in mind. Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 18Oct 28, 2008 9:46 am l hope this isnt a stupid question, but how do you know which way your house is facing, l have no idea if its east, west, south or north, lve read it a few times on this forum talking about what is best!
So just wondering how can l tell?? Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 19Oct 28, 2008 10:06 am look at where the sun rises.. that is east.. then turn to your left and that is North Re: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A NORTH FACING BACKYARD? 20Oct 28, 2008 10:38 am Your lawn in your backyard will grow better with a North facing backyard too, it needs winter sun to grow well.
We have a North facing backyard and living areas - I love it. The bedrooms are on the south side ( darker in the mornings, yay ) No West facing windows ( stops the summer heat) We hardly turn the lights on during the day in the living areas, We don't have any curtains whatsoever on the North windows but we have a big pergola that blocks some of the sun. It doesn't make the house hotter in Summer as the sun is higher in the sky then. I would never by a block that didn't have a good North facing aspect, for resale it's alot better too. Not many people like a dark house. The warning is on the sticker on the door too. Second the aluminium powdercoat 6 18177 It might be a bit darker in the mornings but the light is still light, so you should be getting it. Similar to what you see from your western windows 3 19971 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair That laser level looks lovely! We bought one for less than a quarter of that price off eBay. It worked really well for us and it's still going now, five years later. After… 1 16704 |