Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 31, 2015 3:28 pm My partner and I are planning to build the Montague 19 with extended kitchen and grand alfresco. We love the floorplan but have a big concern with the size of the toilet. We wonder if anyone has any experience dealing with Porter Davis - do they allow for structural changes, such as moving walls to accommodate the toilet into the main bathroom? Holding deposit has been paid, we have our WOS appointment in 3 weeks. Below are some ideas we came up with, we want to know 1) if PD would even consider this, 2) how much are these changes likely to cost, 3) is moving the toilet into the bathroom a good idea? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ 1. Original floorplan 2. Move toilet into cupboard space Shift bathroom door to increase size of the room Increase size of Bedroom 3, shifting the toilet wall to match standard cupboard/return air size 3. Move toilet, shower and return air into bathroom Increase size of Bedroom 3, shifting the toilet wall to create double-size cupboard 4. Move toilet into cupboard space Shift bathroom door to increase size of the room Flip the way the cupboard door opens to allow walk-in cupboard and maximise storage space. My personal preference is #4 - I think this extra-large cupboard space will provide somewhere to hide the vacuum and ironing board. Less structural changes required too, we'd simply fitout the toilet with shelving. All feedback and suggestions welcome. Re: Structural changes w/ Porter Davis (advice please) 2May 31, 2015 4:07 pm You'll be better off talking to Porter Davis to get costs, etc, but I personally wouldn't be putting the toilet into the bathroom unless it were an ensuite. If it's your forever home and you dont mind having the two together, then go for it. But for resale value I dont think many would like not separating the toilet from main bathroom. If you have guests staying with you and one is having a shower whilst the other has the urge to go to to the toilet, they will be kind of stuck unless they know each other very well. You dont really want guests trampling through your bedroom to use your ensuite toilet. From personal experience at uni, having someone doing a number 2 while you are having a shower isnt very enjoyable! Haha Dale - Building Newbie Proserpine, QLD Re: Structural changes w/ Porter Davis (advice please) 3May 31, 2015 4:31 pm That should be fine if you want it. I can't imagine any extra cost - or much. Re: Structural changes w/ Porter Davis (advice please) 4May 31, 2015 5:46 pm There are many structural reasons why this may not work. The entire process is not as simple as moving things on a page. I am a big promoter of making changes but they always need to be structurally possible. Only PD will know the answer. Re: Structural changes w/ Porter Davis (advice please) 5May 31, 2015 6:54 pm tlblhayward There are many structural reasons why this may not work. The entire process is not as simple as moving things on a page. I am a big promoter of making changes but they always need to be structurally possible. Only PD will know the answer. You're right, which is why I am leaning towards option 4. Are you saying PD would consider the change (if it were structurally possible?) Re: Structural changes w/ Porter Davis (advice please) 6Jun 01, 2015 11:10 am If this is a single storey home , those changes shouldn't affect the rest of the house at all after all the trusses ( from what I can see of your home ) should go from left to right and only rest on the outside walls. The internal walls basically account for bracing only and are attached to the bottom chord of the trusses by sliding brackets. Just bear this in mind when PD try to jack up the price of the changes and try to BS you. Stewie Re: Structural changes w/ Porter Davis (advice please) 7Jun 01, 2015 12:49 pm As Stewie says, for single storey, the internal walls are not generally structural, beyond providing bracing. So it shouldn't make much difference construction-wise. How much the company want to charge for the inconvenience of doing something different is up to the company though. You may save in only needing one extraction fan rather than two. As far as I can see, option 2 and option 4 have a similar amount of shelf space. You have to watch the efficiency of walk-in storage unless you can get a fair bit of storage around the walk-in space. If you rotate the duct, you could have wider shelving in option 2. I don't know that option 2 and 4 really give much of a bigger toilet space than the original plan though, as the space you would see from the toilet is much the same. I think people do tend to expect a separate toilet and basin from the shower room these days, but it may not be so much an issue in a 3 bedroom house as it is in the larger houses. Re: Structural changes w/ Porter Davis (advice please) 8Jun 01, 2015 10:15 pm Thank you all for your advice. Yes, this is a single storey home. Checking the measurements we are only looking at gaining 5-10cm space to the toilet, plus additional storage. Waiting for confirmation from our BC whether this is possible and obtain an indication of cost. Three options 1 Ask the liquidator 2 Find another PD customer and ask the source of their report 3 Pay for new report 3 12338 I’m not a structural engineer but I’m free. you still need an engineer for the plans. I only have part of your plans, but you seem to have a 850mm drop from the side… 3 9956 I engaged my builder in December last year and we’ve been working on preliminary drawings for last couple of months. I got a call from the salesperson this morning… 0 558 |