Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 03, 2013 9:22 pm Hi all, we've had the first draft for our dream home floor plan but need some feedback. Apparently, we have north facing our backyard which is the best for our daily living areas. http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/7889/j0my.jpg Given that our home is almost 60% of the land area which means we can't have the eaves extended. So there is no shading for the living area. However, we're not sure if the alfresco is at its right place? 1. Should we swap the alfresco with the dining area so that we have dining and living all facing north? 2. Should we have the alfresco running across the house which means we have to reduce the living area so that there is enough room to accommodate for the alfresco. That means we have the house in rectangular shape with alfresco at the back facing north. I personally think this is a good idea since we're going to have the alfresco as shading area for the north facing living area. 3. Or should we leave the alfresco as it is. Your comments/feedback is really appreciated. Re: Please help with our floor plan 2Jul 03, 2013 9:33 pm Hi there I think if you run the alfresco along the back of the house then you won't get any northern sun into the house at all. I would want the north face open so you have a warm house in winter!! I'd leave it as is but good luck with your decision, it's so hard deciding! Re: Please help with our floor plan 3Jul 03, 2013 10:06 pm Really the more important area for sun protection in summer is going to be the west windows. A fairly small pergola on the north together with the alfresco will give good summer protection from the heat. The Al fresco at its present location will also give good protection to the living room from afternoon summer sun. I would tend to make the west facing window in the dining room as small as possible and have the main view from that room facing North. 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: Please help with our floor plan 4Jul 03, 2013 10:13 pm My floorplan has a similar arrangement of alfresco and living rooms. Have you considered a second window in the back wall on the other side of the TV. Makes that wall more symmetrical and increases light / warmth (particularly in winter). Build thread: here Land Nov 12, Contract 6/07/13, Consent 15/08/13, Start 20/09/13, Slab 25/09/13, Frame 4/10/13, Brick 21/10/13, Roof 2/11/13, Lock-up 17/12/13, Handover 3/3/14 Re: Please help with our floor plan 5Jul 03, 2013 10:23 pm Consider flipping your master so that the plumbing is all on the same wall, your ensuite shares a wall with your bathroom. Cheaper plumbing. I also agree it's not worth moving your dining. You'll mostly only use the dining room at night anyway and if you're not actually harnessing the heat created from northern sun with lots of thermal mass and double glazing etc, it won't make much difference. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Please help with our floor plan 6Jul 04, 2013 11:11 am Thanks for all your comments. Looks like everyone seems happy with the plan. Of course, we'll have 2 small windows on the west side of the dining and a big window on the north side of the living. We'd also like to have a big wall on the west side of the alfresco with the intention of blocking out of the harsh afternoon sun. lmille32, not sure if flipping the master to have the ensuite shares a wall with main bathroom will save money but we'll talk to the draftman and builder about this. Any other feedback please. Re: Please help with our floor plan 7Jul 04, 2013 1:58 pm Yeah it might not save you thousands but it will save you something. For my build we're counting pennies so every little bit counts Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar This is a very tight fit, I'm not sure if you'll be able to achieve what you've described. Would you consider accessing the separate toilet from the laundry? If so maybe… 1 11258 we need accurate dimensions as well as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms needed etc to make specific suggestions but, based on estimated rooms sizes, it could be… 1 576 i thought the flipped plan initially but bec i want narrow pathway from entry to dining (dont like bend), also cannot fit the… 7 17285 |