Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Advice / Opinions regarding house plan 21Oct 15, 2014 5:33 pm Those 2 builders don't know anything about passive solar design then. If you want light & bright living areas with improved energy efficiency then you should look into solar passive principles, if you're not then so be it. Your current design is going to be cold in winter and dark all year. I think your current plan will feel small without any open plan areas, to be honest I'd probably re-think the entire layout. But its your house and you will have your own valid reasons for why you like it, so no offence intended. Re: Advice / Opinions regarding house plan 22Oct 15, 2014 5:50 pm MMad Hi Ddarroch, the things is, we went to 2 separate builders and they both have advised us against having living areas facing north. Coincidentally, both builders drew plans with the bedrooms as shown on the plan. The first builder even had the Alfreso where the Dining is to be ie between the Garage and Master Suite. Where are you located? For far northern Australia things may be different, but for most of Australia northern living rooms are recommended. I'd be mostly worried about that W facing master window, as it will be harder to shade this. I'd definitely have a good read of the government's Your Home website, that I linked to earlier. I'm no expert, but neither are some builders. So I'd recommend you do the research, just to check you get this right. It will have a big effect on the comfort of your home, & on your heating & cooling costs. Best of luck. Re: Advice / Opinions regarding house plan 23Oct 15, 2014 6:03 pm I have taken on board Dannisdale's opinion and done some amendments to the layout - please see attached and advise if I should stick to the original layout or with the amended layout.
l am leaning towards the amended layout only because the Kitchen will be not near the entrance of the Master Suite. If it helps, we will be building in south-east of Perth (and not NOR, apologies for the mix up earlier). Re: Advice / Opinions regarding house plan 25Oct 15, 2014 6:12 pm Dukecaddy Those 2 builders don't know anything about passive solar design then. If you want light & bright living areas with improved energy efficiency then you should look into solar passive principles, if you're not then so be it. Your current design is going to be cold in winter and dark all year. I think your current plan will feel small without any open plan areas, to be honest I'd probably re-think the entire layout. But its your house and you will have your own valid reasons for why you like it, so no offence intended. Hi Dukecaddy, I am not offended at all and I value your opinions. Truth be told, we basically took on board what the builders told us because we assume they know what they are doing and that I don't want to risk looking like an idiot questioning them if I know nothing about what you have just stated above ie passive solar design. Re: Advice / Opinions regarding house plan 26Oct 15, 2014 6:13 pm with the sun and all, the only side I put thought into was the west side. the west has the hot afternoon sun and last for a long time. the only windows on my home that is expose to the western sun the theatre window which is small. we are having patio that covers the living room windows to keep the sun out. when building you don't always get to have a passive solar design. that's why we have aircons!!! an solar panels to run it!! gotta love the aircons!! Re: Advice / Opinions regarding house plan 27Oct 15, 2014 6:40 pm MMad Truth be told, we basically took on board what the builders told us because we assume they know what they are doing and that I don't want to risk looking like an idiot questioning them if I know nothing about what you have just stated above ie passive solar design. Read up on that site & you'll be better educated than most builders, then they'll be the ones looking like an idiot Tonnes & tonnes of info there, maybe too much for some people. But very useful stuff. Get the design right & you won't be sorry, with increased comfort & lower bills In Perth you can definitely take advantage of passive design. You've also got an interesting block, which will lend itself to passive design. Passive solar design is really just about the sun's path throughout the year, to the north (in the southern hemisphere), higher in the sky in summer, & lower in the sky in winter. Designing a home that will block out the summer sun (& allow cooling breezes), while admitting the winter sun, to help heat the house. This diagram describes it pretty well. In summer, the majority of heat comes from the E & W (& should be excluded). In winter the majority of heat comes from the N & should be admitted (for Perth), particularly to living areas, which need to be warmer than bedrooms. Re: Advice / Opinions regarding house plan 28Oct 15, 2014 6:45 pm 2-cupcakes-pls when building you don't always get to have a passive solar design. that's why we have aircons!!! an solar panels to run it!! gotta love the aircons!! Yeah, but MMad has a very good block for passive design. A lot of scope for northern living areas, unshaded in winter. Wouldn't it be nice not to have to use that air conditioner, or pay for it, & no heating in winter! i would not be signing anything on the day read your contract about when builder submits final invoice generally, have to meet builder within 7 days of receiving final… 1 4716 Hi All, Recently we have signed a contract with Burbank and we are not aware that they have just DORSET, SURREY, HAMPSHIRE, KENT, PILBARA and REDGUM bricks from PGH are… 0 3127 Thank you @. Tried to play with the facade models but the exact colour is not matching up. 2 3230 |