Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 17, 2014 3:46 am Hi all, We are also embarking on this exciting process of building our new home. Below is a plan that we have had done for our block and would appreciate on some feedback. On of our biggest concerns at the minute is how the house will fare in Winter and Summer. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 2May 17, 2014 7:28 am Those northerly windows can keep the sun out in summer without being obscured as long as they are properly shaded (see http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2012/01/sha ... n-windows/) I would tend to avoid the west and east facing windows in the dining and rumpus rooms as they can be a big overheating issue in the summer. One issue about keeping the house warm in winter is the amount of outside wall with the various courtyards. (This link provides some thoughts on how house shape can increase initial and ongoing costs http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2014/04/bui ... ave-money/) A couple of things that I would find disappointing with this layout are: 1. No direct access to the house from the garage. 2. With the wet areas well separated unless you have several hot water services you are going to spend time and waste water waiting for the water to start running hot. 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: Opinions on house plan and positioning 5May 17, 2014 8:50 am Hi thanks for the replies. North is towards the Top left of the plan so the living areas is facing more south. I am having similar concerns with heating during winter but confused as a professional has made the plan knowing very well the orientation of the block. We have a similar concern about the internal access, have suggested that the pantry be pushed into the garage by 900mm to open a door way into the house from the garage between the fridge and stove bench top. Looking forward to more feedback Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 6May 17, 2014 8:59 am There is a lot of difference between a professional designer, and a professional designer that understands good orientation. You would think they should go together but unfortunately, from what I see as I travel around, all too often they don't. 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: Opinions on house plan and positioning 7May 17, 2014 9:06 am I really think the others are right about this. If anything I would flip your plan completely or redesign. You want all your living areas on the north, shaded by proper eaves (600mm). The sun will be low in the winter and angle into the house and in the summer the sun will be high and be blocked by the eaves. You want good cross ventilation with your windows for summer and for winter you want good insulation and double glazed windows (they're really not much more expensive then regular windows and it's worth putting your money there). I also agree with bashworth in that all your plumbing is spread very far apart and I would be concerned about that. A good plan has all the plumbing as close together as possible to save water and money. Can I ask who the professional was who did your plans? Draftsman, architect? Have you considered designing your own plan for your block and then presenting that to a draftsman to make a properly measured and put together version, which is what I did. It means you can really think about your needs and position them exactly where you want them. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 8May 17, 2014 9:17 am +1 to what Bashworth has said. No direct access in to the house from the garage in to a house being built these days is just crazy. When times comes to sell the house, be that 7 years or 20 years away, people will compare similar age houses with yours, and quite possibly walk away from it with the lack of direct garage access. The home theatre room is less that and more a media room with its square shape. It needs to be more rectangular in shape than it is drawn. Not knowing its actual size, narrowing it down might be one option, but why oh why does it have two doors to enter it, with one being what I guess is supposed to be a sliding door ? As has been mentioned already, why put the larger rooms facing what appears to be south ? If the house was in the northern hemisphere, it'd be okay, but in the southern hemisphere it just isn't right. You also haven't shown us how it is positioned on your block. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 9May 17, 2014 11:24 am I see your issue with north facing verses views. I'd try to put kitchen /dining/living from the nth east thru to the sthwest to try and make use of northern window for solar passive and swap theatre & study for main suite with door/access to deck to enjoy the view & watch those western rooms for afternoon sun er don't mean to be mean but maybe try another designer and see what they come up with??. But look how much you've learned from all the helpers just my 2 cents worth. Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 10May 17, 2014 12:08 pm bpratt You also haven't shown us how it is positioned on your block. Thats what I was thinking too. bashworth There is a lot of difference between a professional designer, and a professional designer that understands good orientation. +1 bashworth With the wet areas well separated unless you have several hot water services you are going to spend time and waste water waiting for the water to start running hot. There's another valid observation. gipps We have a similar concern about the internal access, have suggested that the pantry be pushed into the garage by 900mm to open a door way into the house from the garage between the fridge and stove bench top. Direct entry into the kitchen puts me off a house completely. I understand how some people like it for bringing groceries in but I hate it for bringing everything else in. Seeing that grand entry (why is it 2 way btw?) I was thinking if that was between the house and garage it would make an awesome mudroom and energy efficient airlock entry. It looks wasted where it is. It doesn't even look like its segregating the noisy rooms from the quiet ones or anything like that? Factors like views in a different direction to north and segregating certain areas which means segregating their associated wet areas, those are going to lead to some compromises in efficiency, but I reckon there's a lot of compromise in that plan. Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 11May 17, 2014 7:37 pm bpratt You also haven't shown us how it is positioned on your block. I don't have the house plan positioned on the full block but this is the site plan they provided with the house plan, being an acre lot there will be abit of land remaining at the back. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The house is 37 m across and the block is 44m across and 89m deep. Currently the plan is positioning the house based on the setback from the two neighbours. Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 12May 17, 2014 7:46 pm lmille32 Can I ask who the professional was who did your plans? Draftsman, architect? . The local builder suggested we use an external architect associated with the builder to come up with the concept. In fairness to the architect as part of our brief to him we did mention that we liked a similar design with the centre court yard that he had already done for the builder. As it would turn out this design is about 2/3 if not more the same as the design we had mentioned. We had also mentioned it would be nice to make the most of the views at the back. Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 13May 18, 2014 8:06 pm Since you have mentioned that you want the views, this plan looks good for that. Since your view is on the south, and you want most of it. It seems that you have to trade efficiency off for it. If what you aim for is efficiency, the current plan is totally opposite. From the look of your plan, is your block sloping down from street level?? Also, you have your north elevation available? Your architect might have done something to the roof design to gather sunlight from north.. Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 14May 19, 2014 2:09 pm snowing Since you have mentioned that you want the views, this plan looks good for that. Since your view is on the south, and you want most of it. I# Yes I agree, might not have been the best idea mentioning that. The land is flat, don't have front elevations at the minute. Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 15May 19, 2014 2:20 pm Anyone know the rough cost of getting a concept design done? Any recommendations who can do a reasonable job? I presume with advent of google maps etc. The job could be done remotely? Just thinking if it indeed might be worthwhile to get a second opinion but can't afford to spend too much more as have already paid one architect. Whats the usual cost for a draughts person? Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 16May 19, 2014 2:32 pm Generally... * Living north * Bedrooms south / east * Garage west * Alfresco East 5% windows west 10% windows south 15% windows east 70% windows north Basically the opposite to your design. Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 18May 19, 2014 6:21 pm Like snowing mentioned, there are other ways that the northern sun could be harvested. You could have clerestory windows and make your southern wall something of good thermal mass such as concrete or rammed earth. These are also good for stack ventilation. Southern facing windows could be double glazed to minimise the heat loss while keeping the views. If you want more solar passive principles in your home then it's probably best you do a bit of research to see what options are out there, then you won't have to rely so much on "professionals" who may not live up to your expectations. Re: Opinions on house plan and positioning 19May 20, 2014 2:39 am Exactly as Dukecaddy said.. The reason why I ask if north elevation is available is because there are other ways to harvest the northerly sunlight. Clerestory roof design is definitely one of those as I have seen center court house design with clerestory roof which looks great. You should try to research more on different ideas on solar designs. As others already mentioned, you won't expect professionals to know everything. Another suggestion for you is to prioritize things you want in your house BEFORE working on concept plan. This is something I learn from my builder. They tell me not to think about how your house will look etc.. they told me to think about what is important to my future house first and list them out in order. They will take care of the design part. It turns out the concept plan was mush better than we thought and things never thought of or expected (good things) pop up here and there. Good Luck! 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 20190 i thought the flipped plan initially but bec i want narrow pathway from entry to dining (dont like bend), also cannot fit the… 7 17167 5 10417 |