Which floor plan show I go with?

Hello everyone, I am a complete newbie to building.

We have been seeing two different sale reps and both have been great just that one is 30k over the other sale rep

And the other sale rep is within our budget but his total area is smaller.

Also floor plan 2 island bench is smaller and no windows in the living and dinning area.


I must also add that floor plan 2 is only 30 recessed course ceiling.


As I am new to all this I don’t understand fully which one is better.



The total plus land with floor plan 1 is 530k


And floor plan 2 is 500k

where is north? you should be making your choice based on the actual orientation

Like I said I am totally new to building I had like opinions on the best and why.


What do you mean where is North?

How are you planning to orient the building on the block? Where will be the Northern direction?

Regardless of orientation plan 2 won't get any natural daylight. Plan 1 is much better.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation

Yes I agree that’s is what I thought.

I prefer Plan 1.
It has a lovely flow through the house.
Which direction does your house face?

I think pretty much everyone has asked you which way north is. This is because orientation is so key.

Nobody can tell you which is the best plan for your block, unless we know which way your block faces.

Get it right & the living rooms will be light, warm in winter, cool in summer, bedrooms will be cooler in summer.

Get it wrong, & the living areas could be dark, & cold in winter. Or blazing hot in summer. Even worse, unbearably hot bedrooms on summer evenings.

Aim for living areas to face north. Bedrooms to face south or east. Limit or eliminate west facing glazing, it's best to locate the garage, the laundry & bathrooms on this side.

Orientating your home this way is called "passive solar design", & is critical when designing a comfortable, energy efficient home,

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design

Plan 1 could work well for an eastern frontage, as living areas would face north. However the rear bedrooms would both have west facing windows, a very bad idea. These could be changed to a south window, & a north window.

But this only works if the frontage is east facing.

As mentioned, no matter which way Plan 2 faces, living areas will never have access to winter sunshine, or light. It's a terrible plan from a passive solar design point of view.

Also make sure the roof is designed well for a solar PV system. This will pay for itself in only 2-4 years in most cases, & will greatly reduce (or even eliminate) your electricity bill.

The roof must be designed to have a large area facing north, west or east. Multiple faces & lots of little triangles (common with Australian roofs), complicates a solar install (increasing costs), limiting the number of panels.

eg. Looking at Plan 1, if it's an eastern frontage, there would be a nice north facing roof, over the living areas. But this is complicated, & minimised by the "valley" where the also starts. It would be better if this was all one northern face.

Thanks this is so helpful.

I asked the sale rep from plan one and he said it is northern face.

According to both of them they said North.

North facing is the worst orientation you can possibly get if you are talking about patio facing north.

I am going to meet with him today I will asked for better clarification. I am probably getting it wrong because I am new to all this.

[quote="Morris45":1h64f3kc]I asked the sale rep from plan one and he said it is northern face.[/quote:1h64f3kc]

I'm a bit confused. So you don't know which direction the block faces? Is this a house & land package?

[quote="Morris45":mot5ht5y]I am going to meet with him today I will asked for better clarification. I am probably getting it wrong because I am new to all this.[/quote:mot5ht5y]

No worries. It's all new to lots of people That's why many get it wrong.

A home is such a large purchase, which will effect your life for years to come. You want to get it right, as you're home will be more comfortable & more energy efficient. So it's great that you are coming here for advice

Just be careful with the sales rep. As "north facing" has always meant the home's living areas "faced" a northern backyard. That is, it has a southern "frontage". This is the most desirable block orientation. As living areas which face the backyard will face north, so will be light & warm in winter.

But often a sales rep will use the words "facing" & "frontage" interchangeably, when they are actually opposite.

They will say a home is "north facing" (as they know this is desirable), when the home is actually south facing, with a northern frontage. This is the least desirable block orientation! As the garage will limit northern sunshine into the home, & south facing living areas will be dark, & cold in winter.

Hope I'm making sense, but if you're struggling with my explanation, check the government's Your Home website's section on orientation.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation

Thanks this helps a lot.

I think plan 1 edges it, you'll hate having an open laundry like in plan 2! Both very nice though 🤩

Yes me and my partner decided to go with the first floor plan.


We just would love the en-suite more open and the bath tub in view.


Do you know how I can change the layout of the en-suite or should I just leave it as it is?

You could swap the bath and toilet around, then put a half height nib wall up infront of the bath so it sections off the bathroom from the bedroom, but would still feel alot more open.

What do you think? I hope it makes sense! 😊

Yes I love this idea.

What about the shower?