Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 29, 2015 5:55 pm So our custom plans are currently out to a few builders getting quotes for our KDR at Lake Macquarie, NSW.
We will have a chance to make any changes before we send them to council. We are happy with the size but interested if you see any problems with the internal layout or have any suggestions. AND yes I know, the garage is MASSIVE.. my hubby is car mad and always has lots of 'projects' lol It's finally getting more real, having been thinking about building for the past 5 years! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Any final suggestions on our plans? 3May 29, 2015 6:02 pm I'm always wary when there are 4 or more bedrooms and only one living space. I actually wouldn't put an entry point into the bathroom from the kids retreat. Think that would limit the versatility of the space, Ithink it'll become more of an adults retreat, media room if my kids and our lifestyle was anything to go by! Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 4May 29, 2015 6:10 pm I'm wary of bedrooms upstairs - they can be very hot. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 5May 29, 2015 6:10 pm Yes I understand what you mean. The reason behind making an extra entry point to the bathroom was that for later on, the room could be used as another bedroom or guest room when the kids finally move out. For the time being though, I wanted to put the kids tv and toys etc in a room that I could shut the doors (and hide the mess!) when friends come over. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 6May 29, 2015 7:16 pm I like the plan. The only thing that sprung to mind was putting a door between the garage and the house so you have internal entry to the garage. Custom downslope build Build thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61873 Blog http://www.buildingroyalmanor.blogspot.com.au Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 7May 29, 2015 7:35 pm Hi lozza81, the change I would make is to the upstairs front windows, the 3 windows to the kids retreat are the same but the 3 windows upstairs are all different, I would make the upstairs windows match the downstairs windows. We have a study nook next to the fridge space in our kitchen too. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 8May 29, 2015 7:39 pm HomeAngels I like the plan. The only thing that sprung to mind was putting a door between the garage and the house so you have internal entry to the garage. There is a door, its hard to see though , its a slider next to the linen. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 9May 29, 2015 7:43 pm Tribe7 Hi lozza81, the change I would make is to the upstairs front windows, the 3 windows to the kids retreat are the same but the 3 windows upstairs are all different, I would make the upstairs windows match the downstairs windows. We have a study nook next to the fridge space in our kitchen too. Yes I see what you mean with the windows. I should get our designer to draw it up. The only thing is that he mentioned those windows in the retreat can be a bit of a pain and often can malfunction when used alot? Not sure if this is correct though.. So do you find your study nook works well in the kitchen? Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 10May 29, 2015 7:45 pm lozza81 HomeAngels I like the plan. The only thing that sprung to mind was putting a door between the garage and the house so you have internal entry to the garage. There is a door, its hard to see though , its a slider next to the linen. Ahh yes, I see it now Custom downslope build Build thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61873 Blog http://www.buildingroyalmanor.blogspot.com.au Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 11May 29, 2015 8:36 pm I'd be careful of a cavity slider into the garage. They don't generally seal as well as a swinging door, and you might get more fumes into the house. It looks like on Bed 3 you've put a western window rather than a northern one. There may be other issues involved, but from a sun entry I'd rather the North if given a choice. The bathroom entry from kids retreat makes sense, as then you can use it as a master suite for the downsizing stair-challenged. I'd consider making the dining window wider, but not going right to the floor. The rationale is to get more winter sun in if the alfresco roof is shading the sliding door too much. You don't present a lot of window area to the prevailing east-north-east sea breeze. This could be hard to achieve though. There appears to be an unnecessary box gutter on the roof above dining. That roof section could just be a simple skillion. Make sure you're clear on how the skillion roof will be detailed. The overhangs can vary in how thick they will be depending on how they construct the roof. For example, the end overhangs can be quite thin if they cantelever the battens, but thick if they run a joist out at the end. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 12May 29, 2015 9:23 pm oneJohn I'd be careful of a cavity slider into the garage. They don't generally seal as well as a swinging door, and you might get more fumes into the house. It looks like on Bed 3 you've put a western window rather than a northern one. There may be other issues involved, but from a sun entry I'd rather the North if given a choice. The bathroom entry from kids retreat makes sense, as then you can use it as a master suite for the downsizing stair-challenged. I'd consider making the dining window wider, but not going right to the floor. The rationale is to get more winter sun in if the alfresco roof is shading the sliding door too much. You don't present a lot of window area to the prevailing east-north-east sea breeze. This could be hard to achieve though. There appears to be an unnecessary box gutter on the roof above dining. That roof section could just be a simple skillion. Make sure you're clear on how the skillion roof will be detailed. The overhangs can vary in how thick they will be depending on how they construct the roof. For example, the end overhangs can be quite thin if they cantelever the battens, but thick if they run a joist out at the end. Thanks oneJohn for all those suggestions. The window for bed 3 can be moved for sure. In fact I think the west facade looks better with it moved anyway. Ditto the dining window. Will discuss roof above the dining with designer. Not sure why he has done it the way he has? What you suggest makes more sense. Thanks for the tip about how they could detail the roof. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 13May 30, 2015 8:32 am lozza81 Tribe7 Hi lozza81, the change I would make is to the upstairs front windows, the 3 windows to the kids retreat are the same but the 3 windows upstairs are all different, I would make the upstairs windows match the downstairs windows. We have a study nook next to the fridge space in our kitchen too. Yes I see what you mean with the windows. I should get our designer to draw it up. The only thing is that he mentioned those windows in the retreat can be a bit of a pain and often can malfunction when used alot? Not sure if this is correct though.. So do you find your study nook works well in the kitchen? Awning windows I think they are called, surely they would have to work as well as any others? We have awnings for our front facade too, hehehe I have no idea if the windows work well or if the study nook is practical as we have just finished framing stage good floor plan, nice and functional for a family. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 14May 30, 2015 9:37 am They look like double-hung windows in the plan. Double hung are not too bad if you get good quality ones, but they are more fiddly than regular sliding windows. Awning windows would be an alternative. You get breeze through double hung better than with awning windows, but the awning will seal up better, both in terms of thermals and noise. With Bed 3 window, it looks like the back is a bit west of north, so may not be an ideal direction either - so the best choice would come down to a balance of the thermal effects, room layout, window outlook, and the external appearance. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 15May 30, 2015 2:03 pm It's unusual to not have a living area upstairs, even if it's just a little TV/study nook. But I also don't see how you can squeeze it in without also building over the dining room, which you may be not doing to keep the cost down, so I understand. Bed 2 and 3 are a tiny bit small too, the usual guideline for a minimum size for a queen bed is 3x3m excluding robes (and even that is squeezy: see a guide here: http://www.fortywinks.com.au/bed-size.html ). Otherwise, looking good! Jen (& Dave) Plantation Bronte, Ormeau Ridge, Gold Coast QLD 12/03/2015 - Commencement... 26/08/2015 - Handover! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76446 Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 16May 30, 2015 5:16 pm Depending on how many kids you have I would look at making bed4 the kids retreat and the kids retreat down stairs into bed 4. Dont have to worry about the mess with visitors as much and also kids area is near their rooms. I would also consider swapping the bed 4 (new kids retreat) with the bathroom areas so that activity room is centered and opposite kids rooms. Depending on age of kids i would then leave it open to the stair void, with a balustrade, creating a larger sense of space. Hope that make Sense? BTW big fan of all the different angles in roof structure. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 17Jun 01, 2015 2:15 pm Ilaeria It's unusual to not have a living area upstairs, even if it's just a little TV/study nook. But I also don't see how you can squeeze it in without also building over the dining room, which you may be not doing to keep the cost down, so I understand. Bed 2 and 3 are a tiny bit small too, the usual guideline for a minimum size for a queen bed is 3x3m excluding robes (and even that is squeezy: see a guide here: http://www.fortywinks.com.au/bed-size.html ). Otherwise, looking good! Yes I know its unusual not to have any living area upstairs but yes, primarily it was to keep the squares down on the size of the house. Our aim was to build a smallish house but to a high level of finish. I also don't like to clean lol. Agree bed 2/3 are small, we have 3 kids. The twins are going to share bed 4, the other in bed 2 and bed 3 can be used for the occasional visitor. We would like to put a queen in bed 2 so I'd better look at making that a bit bigger. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 18Jun 01, 2015 2:22 pm Perth_Euro Depending on how many kids you have I would look at making bed4 the kids retreat and the kids retreat down stairs into bed 4. Dont have to worry about the mess with visitors as much and also kids area is near their rooms. I would also consider swapping the bed 4 (new kids retreat) with the bathroom areas so that activity room is centered and opposite kids rooms. Depending on age of kids i would then leave it open to the stair void, with a balustrade, creating a larger sense of space. Hope that make Sense? BTW big fan of all the different angles in roof structure. We did look at that, but the only thing that deterred me is my 3 kids are 8 and 3 and I want to be able to keep an eye on them during the day without having to walk up the stairs all the time. I could always swap the purpose of the rooms around later on though, but bed 4 might be a little small maybe to do that? Thanks for the idea though Thanks, I like the roof too Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 19Jun 01, 2015 9:04 pm [quote="oneJohn"]They look like double-hung windows in the plan. Double hung are not too bad if you get good quality ones, but they are more fiddly than regular sliding windows. Awning windows would be an alternative. You get breeze through double hung better than with awning windows, but the awning will seal up better, both in terms of thermals and noise. Good information regarding the awning windows oneJohn, we currently have double hung in our queenslander and they are useless, the air comes through the middle gap and they are constantly covered in finger prints from the kids trying to push them up and down. Re: Any final suggestions on our plans? 20Jun 02, 2015 6:35 am lozza81 Perth_Euro Depending on how many kids you have I would look at making bed4 the kids retreat and the kids retreat down stairs into bed 4. Dont have to worry about the mess with visitors as much and also kids area is near their rooms. I would also consider swapping the bed 4 (new kids retreat) with the bathroom areas so that activity room is centered and opposite kids rooms. Depending on age of kids i would then leave it open to the stair void, with a balustrade, creating a larger sense of space. Hope that make Sense? BTW big fan of all the different angles in roof structure. We did look at that, but the only thing that deterred me is my 3 kids are 8 and 3 and I want to be able to keep an eye on them during the day without having to walk up the stairs all the time. I could always swap the purpose of the rooms around later on though, but bed 4 might be a little small maybe to do that? Thanks for the idea though Thanks, I like the roof too Good call, with 3 kids as well, it wouldn't be right having one bedroom downstairs. i would suggest nothing is unreasonable for PCI. we did all sorts, including checking the hot water, checking all the GPO's had power, testing that the showers were… 9 98693 Hi, I am approaching end of the build. My final invoice will be given to me soon to pay. Some context before I ask my question. 1. My builder wont do the landscaping or… 0 3869 regardless, your contract stipulates a payments schedule and SOPA doesn't give provision to that scenario. Your contractual terms appear to stand. Hence get a lawyer, it… 4 11871 |