Browse Forums Building A New House Page 1 of 1 12 replies Reply Like Share More 24 Dec 2019 95 QLD Loyal Member 1 Dec 24, 2019 10:23 pm Hi guys, New member here, long time reader. We have recently just signed a contract to build our very first home and are super excited. We worked with our sales consultant to come up with a design that appears to tick all our boxes, however we are open to opinions, tips, feedback, etc. as we have never built before and perhaps there will be much better advice you guys have due to experience I've added two photos, 1 of the original plan and one of the working drawings, I did this so you can easily work out the sizes without having to look throughly, the working drawings also outline everything including tiling to courtyard, etc. Some things to note: 1. We are building to boundary on the garage side. 2. Our covenant requires that there be no wall longer than 9m without an articulation on our block on the left side as we fall on a "corner" / "park facing" block, hence the notch in bedroom 3. 3. We wanted a rear facing master with the other bedrooms at the front of the house. 4. We have decided to change back to a built in cook top / oven as opposed to the free standing option, we have also decided to change back to the inbuilt sinks instead of the above mount sink. 5. We really want to change to a free standing tub but are not too sure as we won't be using the main bathroom much, it would literally just be for show so don't know if we can justify the extra expense. 6. Entire house is rendered. 7. We're building on the Gold Coast in QLD. Thank you for your help and Merry Christmas to everyone! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Share Direct link for bigger view: https://ibb.co/bRyg3Z3 Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Share Direct link for bigger view: https://ibb.co/vQynv9j Reply Reply Like Share More 14 Feb 2011 4,561 NSW Gold Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 2Dec 25, 2019 12:58 am It looks a great plan, your laundry is small, so I’d take the sliding glass door out and put a normal hinged glass door there, that way you can run your bench all the way to the end of the wall. A sliding door in a laundry causes an awkward space between sink/washing machine and door, its just a dust trap and waste of space. If you can afford it, I’d probably extend the alfresco to line up with master bedroom, it should in theory cost less to build as the roof line is simpler, but no doubt they’ll charge you for it! Reply Reply Like Share More 24 Dec 2019 95 QLD Loyal Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 3Dec 25, 2019 9:31 am Hi gogo, Thanks for your comments. Yes the laundry is on the small side but we were happy to sacrifice space here to allow other areas of the home to be bigger as we don’t really care much for the laundry. Hm that’s probably not a bad idea about the door, I didn’t even think of that, could be something to consider, thank you Unfortunately due to our covenant our alfresco is already maxed out in size (we have a 3m setback on the rear as well). Reply Reply Like Share More Reply Like Share More Reply Like Share More 24 Dec 2019 95 QLD Loyal Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 6Dec 25, 2019 10:49 pm We’re building in Gainsborough Greens at Pimpama, unfortunately we cannot flip the house as the garage is currently on the zero lot boundary and due to the block we are almost forced to have it as is we have spent countless months designing the house to both suit our needs and the block of land, if we were to flip it, we would lose 4.5m of frontage which just isn’t possible. Reply Reply Like Share More 13 Sep 2014 443 Ipswich QLD Gold Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 7Dec 26, 2019 6:20 am Building in Qld then Im afraid your orientation is kinda shot. IMO your ensuite and WIR should flip with Alfresco and living areas. While I understand you have spent time trying to make the plan work, if it makes the house 'difficult' to live in, was it all worth it? You can still make it work, just consider insulation, tinting, window sizes etc to try make it more 'liveable'. https://buildsearch.com.au/house-orient ... -efficient Re covenant - talk to the developer - they may be relaxed about some of these things you are trying to accommodate. Its not always possible to work within all guidlines for all blocks of land within the estate... Reply Reply Like Share More 31 Jul 2008 516 Gold Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 8Dec 26, 2019 11:39 am It's very awkward to have to walk through the kitchen to get to your master bedroom. I would suggest reconfiguring this access. One way to do this could be to swap the location of the kitchen and media rooms Reply Reply Like Share More 24 Dec 2019 95 QLD Loyal Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 9Dec 26, 2019 2:50 pm alymei Building in Qld then Im afraid your orientation is kinda shot. IMO your ensuite and WIR should flip with Alfresco and living areas. While I understand you have spent time trying to make the plan work, if it makes the house 'difficult' to live in, was it all worth it? You can still make it work, just consider insulation, tinting, window sizes etc to try make it more 'liveable'. https://buildsearch.com.au/house-orient ... -efficient Re covenant - talk to the developer - they may be relaxed about some of these things you are trying to accommodate. Its not always possible to work within all guidlines for all blocks of land within the estate... Unfortunately we cannot flip these areas as we would not comply with our building envelop, we spoke to our developer about relaxing some of the guidelines however as it has gone to council and is now a council approved plan we would need to go to court with council which would be costly and there would be no guarantee of it working. amilelka It's very awkward to have to walk through the kitchen to get to your master bedroom. I would suggest reconfiguring this access. One way to do this could be to swap the location of the kitchen and media rooms We actually prefer this.. we like keeping our master away from everything, we don’t generally want guests being able to see the master room Reply Reply Like Share More 05 Mar 2013 493 NSW Gold Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 10Dec 29, 2019 6:50 pm Capturing cooling breezes (by cross-ventilation) is extremely important in summer, particularly the further you get north in Australia.
On the Gold Coast these breezes come from the north east (to the south east at times). I know you have that zero lot boundary you want to take advantage of, but at the expense of capturing cooling breezes? Sounds like a bad idea! You've chosen a block that is quite difficult to work with. As people are commenting, west facing windows will be a problem in summer. Ideally the long faces of a home should have north & south (minimising the western aspect). Yours will be the opposite, facing west & east. So you've got to try to minimise the effects of that western aspect. As others have said garages (bathrooms, & laundries) are ideal here, blocking summer heat from the habitable rooms. As you've mentioned, moving the garage to the west will decrease the available frontage (by how much?). What are the block dimensions, how much land do you have to work with to the north? As it's a corner block, this western frontage is on show, you may not want it filled with garages, bathrooms, a laundry. The biggest worries on the west are bedrooms. These can get frightfully hot in summer evenings, as eaves are ineffective, when the sun is low in the sky to the west (& east). I'd advise that bedroom 3 is swapped with the bathroom, so it's window can face south. But I'm guessing the southern frontage is not wide enough for that. Looks like the garage can't be slimmed down, it already looks very narrow for a double garage! In just about all of Australia living areas should face north, where they'll gain access to northern light, & be heated by the sun in winter (the higher summer sun will be shaded by eaves). Do you really want a north facing master? You're wasting that northern aspect with the master, & your covered alfresco. You'll receive none of that northern winter sunshine into your home. It's not as critical as further south in Australia, but it's still important. Northern light is very important everywhere. Your kitchen will be very dark, requiring lights to be on at any time of the day it's being used. Next, the roof. Typical Australian roof, hip & valleys. Lots of tiny triangles! I hate them, form over function. All Australian homes should have a good sized solar PV system installed. Look at that roof, & tell me where these panels will go? It's going to be an expensive job to install panels on multiple faces, on all sorts of angles, & it's going to look crap! Builders don't think of these things. They don't think about your comfort, & the bills you'll be paying to light, cool & heat your home over it's lifetime. These will be much, much higher for a poorly designed home. It's your home, it's your responsibility. You can't rely on others who really don't care about your future comfort or costs. A home shouldn't be designed by a "sales consultant", nor by the buying public, who have very little idea about these things. So I'd recommend that you get yourself educated! Have a very good read of this brilliant government website about home design for comfort, energy efficiency & sustainability. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design Read up on passive design, orientation & design for climate (you are in climate zone 2). The orientation of your block makes things a little tough (with long W & E aspects). But the fact you are in a corner block gives you plenty of options. As does the fact that you are building a custom design. I certainly don't think you're getting your money's worth at the moment, with a design that will greatly compromise your comfort & costs. Personally, if go for a total redesign. If footprint isn't critical, I'd give up that zero lot boundary, & move the garage to the western side (to the media room/bed 3). This will allow you to have a southern bedroom wing, with windows facing the SSE frontage, moving around to the ENE side (for the master, presumably). Leaving the northern aspect for your living areas. It'll be lighter, & warmer in winter. Also have east facing windows in the living area, to aid cross ventilation. Possible with your alfresco to the east, maybe wrapping to the north a bit. If the alfresco is to the north, consider a pergola (covered in deciduous plants), or horizontal awnings. See if your custom builder can be inventive with your western windows. You going to have to have some, or the house will look like a bunker. If you have the roof, a verandah down the western frontage will help shade any windows. Choose low SHGC (low-e) glass, to minimise heat gain through these windows, & think about how you will shade them. Choose a simple roof design, which allows N or E/W solar panel placement. Make sure it's a light coloured roof. This will keep your home, & your neighbourhood cooler in summer. Dark tiles roofs should be named in most of Australia! Sorry for the harsh words, & all the best with the build. Last edited by ddarroch on Dec 31, 2019 7:31 pm.
Reply Reply Like Share More 05 Mar 2013 493 NSW Gold Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 11Dec 29, 2019 7:35 pm Just reading your OP again. You won't be using the main bathroom, or nobody will be using it? Can I ask you family make up? Do you have kids? 3 of them, or elderly parents living with you? I certainly wouldn't be building a 4 bedroom house unless you'll be envisaging using those bedrooms soon (guests don't count, unless they are very regular guests). If you're building a 4 bedroom home for "resale value", this is very rarely a good move. You'll increase your mortgage, & for what? Design a home that your require. A smaller, well designed home will be cheaper to build, cheaper to cool, heat & maintain. It will also be easier to clean! If you don't require a 4 bedroom home, build a 3 bedroom home. The smaller footprint will make it easier to get rooms orientated correctly, & give you more opportunities for private spaces on a corner block. If you don't have guests staying regularly, don't have a room just for that odd occasion. Design a multi-purpose room, that can do double duty. Such as the media room, that can be used to accommodate the odd guest. Reply Reply Like Share More 24 Dec 2019 95 QLD Loyal Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 12Jan 01, 2020 10:25 pm Hi, Thanks for your comments, I have added responses in bold in the quoted text below. ddarroch Capturing cooling breezes (by cross-ventilation) is extremely important in summer, particularly the further you get north in Australia. On the Gold Coast these breezes come from the north east (to the south east at times). I know you have that zero lot boundary you want to take advantage of, but at the expense of capturing cooling breezes? Sounds like a bad idea! You've chosen a block that is quite difficult to work with. As people are commenting, west facing windows will be a problem in summer. Ideally the long faces of a home should have north & south (minimising the western aspect). Yours will be the opposite, facing west & east. So you've got to try to minimise the effects of that western aspect. As others have said garages (bathrooms, & laundries) are ideal here, blocking summer heat from the habitable rooms. As you've mentioned, moving the garage to the west will decrease the available frontage (by how much?). What are the block dimensions, how much land do you have to work with to the north? As it's a corner block, this western frontage is on show, you may not want it filled with garages, bathrooms, a laundry. It will minimise the frontage by 1.5m, the lot frontage is currently 15.66m however we have a 3m side set back so that brings it down to 12.66m, then if we move the garage off the boundary it reduces to 11.16m, so not ideal at all and we struggled to find anything to suit. It's not a "traditional" corner block, it doesn't back onto another road but a park / pathway with limited foot traffic so we're not concerned about what is on show in this area. The biggest worries on the west are bedrooms. These can get frightfully hot in summer evenings, as eaves are ineffective, when the sun is low in the sky to the west (& east). I'd advise that bedroom 3 is swapped with the bathroom, so it's window can face south. But I'm guessing the southern frontage is not wide enough for that. Looks like the garage can't be slimmed down, it already looks very narrow for a double garage! We can't swap bedroom 3 due to the covenant requirements, this is also why bedroom 3 has a notch in it. Ideally we wanted the garage to be 6m x 6m however with what we could work with we got it as close as possible at 5.992m x 5.7m, so somewhat close. In just about all of Australia living areas should face north, where they'll gain access to northern light, & be heated by the sun in winter (the higher summer sun will be shaded by eaves). Do you really want a north facing master? You're wasting that northern aspect with the master, & your covered alfresco. You'll receive none of that northern winter sunshine into your home. It's not as critical as further south in Australia, but it's still important. Northern light is very important everywhere. Your kitchen will be very dark, requiring lights to be on at any time of the day it's being used. Noted.. however we 100% want a rear facing master, even if it's at this expense. Next, the roof. Typical Australian roof, hip & valleys. Lots of tiny triangles! I hate them, form over function. All Australian homes should have a good sized solar PV system installed. Look at that roof, & tell me where these panels will go? It's going to be an expensive job to install panels on multiple faces, on all sorts of angles, & it's going to look crap! There are two fairly flat surfaces above the master and alfresco that should allow for the solar panels without too much effort. Builders don't think of these things. They don't think about your comfort, & the bills you'll be paying to light, cool & heat your home over it's lifetime. These will be much, much higher for a poorly designed home. It's your home, it's your responsibility. You can't rely on others who really don't care about your future comfort or costs. A home shouldn't be designed by a "sales consultant", nor by the buying public, who have very little idea about these things. So I'd recommend that you get yourself educated! Have a very good read of this brilliant government website about home design for comfort, energy efficiency & sustainability. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design Read up on passive design, orientation & design for climate (you are in climate zone 2). The orientation of your block makes things a little tough (with long W & E aspects). But the fact you are in a corner block gives you plenty of options. As does the fact that you are building a custom design. I certainly don't think you're getting your money's worth at the moment, with a design that will greatly compromise your comfort & costs. Personally, if go for a total redesign. If footprint isn't critical, I'd give up that zero lot boundary, & move the garage to the western side (to the media room/bed 3). This will allow you to have a southern bedroom wing, with windows facing the SSE frontage, moving around to the ENE side (for the master, presumably). Leaving the northern aspect for your living areas. It'll be lighter, & warmer in winter. Also have east facing windows in the living area, to aid cross ventilation. Possible with your alfresco to the east, maybe wrapping to the north a bit. If the alfresco is to the north, consider a pergola (covered in deciduous plants), or horizontal awnings. See if your custom builder can be inventive with your western windows. You going to have to have some, or the house will look like a bunker. If you have the roof, a verandah down the western frontage will help shade any windows. Choose low SHGC (low-e) glass, to minimise heat gain through these windows, & think about how you will shade them. Choose a simple roof design, which allows N or E/W solar panel placement. Make sure it's a light coloured roof. This will keep your home, & your neighbourhood cooler in summer. Dark tiles roofs should be named in most of Australia! Sorry for the harsh words, & all the best with the build. Thanks for your advice and words, harsh or not is fine as you're providing some good advice, definitely will take a lot of it into consideration, thanks again! ddarroch Just reading your OP again. You won't be using the main bathroom, or nobody will be using it? We won't be using it at this time, guests will more than likely use these. Can I ask you family make up? Do you have kids? 3 of them, or elderly parents living with you? I certainly wouldn't be building a 4 bedroom house unless you'll be envisaging using those bedrooms soon (guests don't count, unless they are very regular guests). If you're building a 4 bedroom home for "resale value", this is very rarely a good move. You'll increase your mortgage, & for what? No kids - yet, however we have designed the home to be suited to our future family (sooner than later) as opposed to under sized building and then moving at a later date. We envision to be in the home for at least 8 years. Design a home that your require. A smaller, well designed home will be cheaper to build, cheaper to cool, heat & maintain. It will also be easier to clean! If you don't require a 4 bedroom home, build a 3 bedroom home. The smaller footprint will make it easier to get rooms orientated correctly, & give you more opportunities for private spaces on a corner block. If you don't have guests staying regularly, don't have a room just for that odd occasion. Design a multi-purpose room, that can do double duty. Such as the media room, that can be used to accommodate the odd guest. We have thought in the meantime until we expand our family that we can use one of the bedrooms as a study and the other rooms can also always be used for something else also. Reply Reply Like Share More 01 Jan 2020 83 VIC VIC Loyal Member Re: Plan Feedback - Custom Built Home 13Jan 17, 2020 5:30 am NathanPS Hi, Thanks for your comments, I have added responses in bold in the quoted text below. Appreciate the detailed & concise replies NathanPS Reply Sign in or Join to reply to this Topic End
Tags Queensland Page 1 of 1 ⋅ 13 posts
Related RelatedBuilding A New House New custom build - Floor plan - Need feedbackNew custom build - Floor plan - Need feedback attached first variations 6 43173 Watch Omni built homes brisbane - builders feedbackOmni built homes brisbane - builders feedback First time poster long story short we are planning knocking down rebuilding a house in Wavell Heights We are thinking to go with Omni built homes as they are but flexible… 0 1683 Watch Floor plan feedbackFloor plan feedback Hi there! Absolutely agree on the wasted space. We have no desire for the master to be that oversized, but it occurred when we increased the depth of the garage. We have… 4 9172 Watch Wide floor plan volume/semi-customWide floor plan volume/semi-custom Hi, Seeking volume or semi-custom builder in victoria(east), which have existing double story wide floor plans. Seeking 18-20m wide homes with depth of 12-15m long. Or… 0 18353 Watch Custom builder or pay for own floor plan and take to builderCustom builder or pay for own floor plan and take to builder Yep, very good point. I’ll do more research and see what figures I get. Thank you! 8 2479 Watch Tags Queensland |
Browsing this forum akay, Google Adsense [Bot] and 685 guests |
Australia's largest home building and renovation
community with over 1.8 million posts