Selecting home design for a north facing block

ddarroch · Aug 10, 2014 3:35 pm

Yeah, a custom build will cost more, & is not for everyone. But as I said above, you don't have to have a custom build to get a well designed comfortable house. Just choosing a design that makes the most of the northern winter sunshine (by admitting it into living areas), & blocking the western sun, you'll end up with a more comfortable house. The houses listed above from Ross North Homes are an improvement (particularly if you shade the central courtyard from W sun), maybe you should consider them, & find out how they compare to your current builder of choice.

I don't think you can consolidate passive solar heating wrt your current plan. Passive solar heating requires northern sunshine to be admitted into the house (particularly into living areas), where the heat is stored in high thermal mass materials (such as concrete, masonary, even water). Think of it as a heat battery, the house absorbs the heat during the day, & releases it later in the evening/night once the sun goes down. Unfortunately, with the garage & a bedroom on the northern side, I don't think there's any real way to passively heat your home.

I'm not too familiar with the different types of glazing, their costs, & their benifits. It can get quite technical. You should probably seek advice on the Windows & Doors sub-forum. Also here's a good round up,
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/glazing

I do know though, that low-e glazing can be quite expensive, films are likely to be cheaper I guess. So you'd have to consider the cost, how much light you want admitted, & whether you want to be lowering & raising awnings or shutters, before you decide what's appropriate for each window. Trees can be great for shading, particularly deciduous trees, which will shed their leaves & allow winter sun to penetrate. Unfortunately, with a narrow block you may struggle to have room for trees that will shade your house from the W.

alishine143 · Aug 11, 2014 2:40 pm

ddarroch

Yeah, a custom build will cost more, & is not for everyone. But as I said above, you don't have to have a custom build to get a well designed comfortable house. Just choosing a design that makes the most of the northern winter sunshine (by admitting it into living areas), & blocking the western sun, you'll end up with a more comfortable house. The houses listed above from Ross North Homes are an improvement (particularly if you shade the central courtyard from W sun), maybe you should consider them, & find out how they compare to your current builder of choice.

I don't think you can consolidate passive solar heating wrt your current plan. Passive solar heating requires northern sunshine to be admitted into the house (particularly into living areas), where the heat is stored in high thermal mass materials (such as concrete, masonary, even water). Think of it as a heat battery, the house absorbs the heat during the day, & releases it later in the evening/night once the sun goes down. Unfortunately, with the garage & a bedroom on the northern side, I don't think there's any real way to passively heat your home.

I'm not too familiar with the different types of glazing, their costs, & their benifits. It can get quite technical. You should probably seek advice on the Windows & Doors sub-forum. Also here's a good round up,
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/glazing

I do know though, that low-e glazing can be quite expensive, films are likely to be cheaper I guess. So you'd have to consider the cost, how much light you want admitted, & whether you want to be lowering & raising awnings or shutters, before you decide what's appropriate for each window. Trees can be great for shading, particularly deciduous trees, which will shed their leaves & allow winter sun to penetrate. Unfortunately, with a narrow block you may struggle to have room for trees that will shade your house from the W.

Thanks again. I am quite restricted with my budget and having spent a fortune on the land only, I have to compromise at this stage. Sorry but I am trying to stick with my plan and allow the insulation, glazing, windows setup to help with that. Having a narrow north facing block is going to make it hard as you know. Appreciate your kind inputs.

Thanks

ddarroch · Aug 12, 2014 11:38 am

No worries. Best of luck with the build.

alishine143 · Aug 14, 2014 11:26 am

ddarroch

No worries. Best of luck with the build.

HI,

Thanks. My final plan is this :

Would you be able to let me know what you think about my queries.
Please let me know your inputs. Here's the plan:
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a624/alishine143/Design-FIna_zpsb16f1a43.jpg

1. Sorry I cant increase the master bedroom size- i hope it wont be that bad.
2. My west side is the side of the bedrooms and laundry.
3. I want to know whether the entry to the other bedrooms/IT zone being that far near to the living area is normal or whether it looks odd. Any suggestions !
4. Please help me decide size of windows and course as well in living /master bedroom and other bedrooms. Currently they have:

Master Bedroom: 20x610 and 6X2110
Audiovisual: 10X2210A
Ensuite : 6 x 1110 A
Living Area: 18X 1810 A
Bedroom 2: 16 x 1410 A
Bedroom 3: 16 x 1410 A
Bedroom 4: 16 x 1410 A

What else can I do for passive heating so bedrooms dont heat much. let me know

5. I have asked for bulkhead in kitchen zone only. Can you recommend me where else can I use bulkhead so that it looks a bit appealing.

Looking forward to your inputsso that I can finalize and put it on final paper before I sign up.

m-sass · Aug 14, 2014 12:52 pm

Are you able to change this plan around at all any more? Are you planning on using the AV room as a theatre, of a lounge room? Ifa lounge room, have you considered having the AV room where the master is, and having a large window on the north side. I think you could swap those areas around pretty easily.

I don't understand the window sizes you have there, and it's too hard to see from the plan, but I would have a large window facing east in that living area if you can.

alishine143 · Aug 14, 2014 1:21 pm

m-sass

Are you able to change this plan around at all any more? Are you planning on using the AV room as a theatre, of a lounge room? Ifa lounge room, have you considered having the AV room where the master is, and having a large window on the north side. I think you could swap those areas around pretty easily.

I don't understand the window sizes you have there, and it's too hard to see from the plan, but I would have a large window facing east in that living area if you can.

Hi there,

I can change this plan around. I am planning to use the AV room as a theatre. I hope putting the bedrooms on that side is ok and I will try to increase the size of windows of living area facing east.

Thanks

CluelessOne · Aug 14, 2014 1:47 pm

I'm late into this thread, but we had exactly the same situation, same width block, northern facing...

We played around with the design forever! Looked at a pavilion style design, having a courtyard in the middle of the house, separating the garage from the home, having part of the roof skillion to add clerestory windows to the living area. You name it, we considered it.

Ultimately we were restricted by the size of the block, and the depth of our pockets ::sad::

. In the end we have a large southerly facing entertaining area which, although not ideal, seems to let in plenty of light. We also put as many of the other windows as we could on the eastern side, and made sure that the western windows were kept to a minimum (including putting the laundry on that side. The only large window to the west we will put reflective film on. All the windows are double glazed too, so that will help.

Feel free to check out my build thread if you like.

BlackPearl_CBR · Aug 14, 2014 2:13 pm

We are also in the same situation, however we are looking for a double storey plan, so the upper floor will need to be on the east side of the block, above the garage so that it doesn't block the sunlight to the rest of the house. We are wanting the kitchen/living/family rooms to be situated towards the back of the house. If anyone has any suitable plans, your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

nipu7 · Aug 14, 2014 3:25 pm

CluelessOne

I'm late into this thread, but we had exactly the same situation, same width block, northern facing...

We played around with the design forever! Looked at a pavilion style design, having a courtyard in the middle of the house, separating the garage from the home, having part of the roof skillion to add clerestory windows to the living area. You name it, we considered it.

Ultimately we were restricted by the size of the block, and the depth of our pockets ::sad::

. In the end we have a large southerly facing entertaining area which, although not ideal, seems to let in plenty of light. We also put as many of the other windows as we could on the eastern side, and made sure that the western windows were kept to a minimum (including putting the laundry on that side. The only large window to the west we will put reflective film on. All the windows are double glazed too, so that will help.

Feel free to check out my build thread if you like.

What is the difference between having windows in west and east? We are planning to have big windows in West, so I am curious

alishine143 · Aug 14, 2014 4:32 pm

CluelessOne

I'm late into this thread, but we had exactly the same situation, same width block, northern facing...

We played around with the design forever! Looked at a pavilion style design, having a courtyard in the middle of the house, separating the garage from the home, having part of the roof skillion to add clerestory windows to the living area. You name it, we considered it.

Ultimately we were restricted by the size of the block, and the depth of our pockets ::sad::

. In the end we have a large southerly facing entertaining area which, although not ideal, seems to let in plenty of light. We also put as many of the other windows as we could on the eastern side, and made sure that the western windows were kept to a minimum (including putting the laundry on that side. The only large window to the west we will put reflective film on. All the windows are double glazed too, so that will help.

Feel free to check out my build thread if you like.

Hi Thanks for your post. So will you be able to highlight the window facing on west. What size and all should be good ? Should I have swapped the living/kitchen to the west and bedrooms to the west side. Or stick with this. I hope putting reflective film and double glazing will help.

thanks again..will sure follow your build....

BlackPearl_CBR · Aug 14, 2014 4:36 pm

^ The sun sets in the west. You'd get the hot afternoon sun on your house from that direction. So, yes, fewer windows on that side would be better or else get double glazed windows.

alishine143 · Aug 14, 2014 5:39 pm

BlackPearl_CBR

^ The sun sets in the west. You'd get the hot afternoon sun on your house from that direction. So, yes, fewer windows on that side would be better or else get double glazed windows.

Thanks. The estate that my block is on does required 6.38mm glazing on all windows. Will that be enough ? Is it double or not ? Do you think I will have better light in the living area if I put in big size windows in that side. I just want to have a bit of balance. Hopefully the bedrooms will not be that hot.

Thanks

fmac · Aug 14, 2014 11:37 pm

It might not be what your interested in but for your kitchen I'd move the sink closer to the stove. It's a long walk from stove to sink and if you have guests and want them to sit at the 'breakfast bar' the sink may get in the way....I like where the door to the minor bedrooms is.

One thing I wish I'd done is changed he laundry door to a standard door rather then glass sliding. Use a door with windows or add a window to still get light in. Being on the west side it may also reduce heat from westerly sun.

When deciding on window positions and heights consider furniture placement.

In bedrooms have them start high enough that a bed or desk could go under the window or you limit furniture placement.

bpratt · Aug 15, 2014 10:15 am

fmac

One thing I wish I'd done is changed he laundry door to a standard door rather then glass sliding. Use a door with windows or add a window to still get light in. Being on the west side it may also reduce heat from westerly sun.

That's what I've done here, the laundry door faces south anyway, but I've seen all these modern homes with sliding doors in the laundry and I just don't like them.

You lose so much heat (or gain it on sunny days) through the glass and also the fact that after the doors age a little, they start to leak heat through the gaps all the time. In fact that's why I went with only a 2100 wide sliding door between the living room and alfresco, instead of the more expected folding doors.

I am getting the laundry door with a window in the upper half of it though, so that it allows some natural light through when desired.

Burnsfirsttime · Aug 15, 2014 10:52 am

bpratt

fmac

One thing I wish I'd done is changed he laundry door to a standard door rather then glass sliding. Use a door with windows or add a window to still get light in. Being on the west side it may also reduce heat from westerly sun.

That's what I've done here, the laundry door faces south anyway, but I've seen all these modern homes with sliding doors in the laundry and I just don't like them.

You lose so much heat (or gain it on sunny days) through the glass and also the fact that after the doors age a little, they start to leak heat through the gaps all the time. In fact that's why I went with only a 2100 wide sliding door between the living room and alfresco, instead of the more expected folding doors.

I am getting the laundry door with a window in the upper half of it though, so that it allows some natural light through when desired.

I also really wish I had changed my sliding door to a standard door on the laundry... oh well, live and learn!

alishine143 · Aug 15, 2014 4:14 pm

bpratt

fmac

One thing I wish I'd done is changed he laundry door to a standard door rather then glass sliding. Use a door with windows or add a window to still get light in. Being on the west side it may also reduce heat from westerly sun.

That's what I've done here, the laundry door faces south anyway, but I've seen all these modern homes with sliding doors in the laundry and I just don't like them.

You lose so much heat (or gain it on sunny days) through the glass and also the fact that after the doors age a little, they start to leak heat through the gaps all the time. In fact that's why I went with only a 2100 wide sliding door between the living room and alfresco, instead of the more expected folding doors.

I am getting the laundry door with a window in the upper half of it though, so that it allows some natural light through when desired.

Thanks for the input. May be I will put in the laundry door with window. And another question, do you think my laundry is bit big. I can do with smaller laundry if that means I can put in space in some other area of my plan. I am really having confusion as to if the entry to the minor bedrooms being right at the end is not a good idea. What do you think ?

Thanks

bpratt · Aug 16, 2014 9:41 pm

Laundry sizes are dependant on what you want to do with them.

For us, it's a place to wash and dry the clothes, as well as including a linen cupboard and broom cupboard in there. A little bit of bench space if want to sneak a bit of ironing if ever needed.

Others with families might need something a lot larger to do all the extra washing and ironing.

Only you can decide if you want a larger or smaller laundry.

alishine143 · Aug 19, 2014 12:48 pm

Hi guys,

We went back to the drawing board and came up with this plan. This puts the living areas facing west and bedrooms facing east. Let me know if it makes sense to flip this. And kindly provide me your comment on the design as well.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/a624/alishine143/newupdateddesign_zps1fc6c297.jpg
Thanks

asha · Aug 19, 2014 2:37 pm

Alishine I would definitely flip it so living areas are east facing so they get morning sun rather than arvo sun.

I would also make bed 2 window smaller and perhaps eliminate the wc window altogether to help reduce afternoon heat build up.

good luck

Ozlizz · Aug 19, 2014 4:37 pm

asha

Alishine I would definitely flip it so living areas are east facing so they get morning sun rather than arvo sun.

I would also make bed 2 window smaller and perhaps eliminate the wc window altogether to help reduce afternoon heat build up.

good luck

+1