Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 May 26, 2012 11:11 pm Hi everyone =) I've been in a small emotional dilemma for the past week, having been working on our extension plans for awhile, I suddenly had a change of heart and wanted to sell up, move to a rural block just outside of the city and build a whole house. Well. That's not going to happen So, impulse dream squashed, I've come back to my reno plans... Basically our house is technically 3bd 1bath, but one of those bedrooms is a study/office (that we need to keep as I work from home part time and husband is a gamer ). So we've got a 2 bedroom house. And we plan on having, um, a few more children (have 1 at the moment). I do like the house a lot and want to stay here for the foreseeable future (right on the primary school's oval, close to the reserve, same suburb as SIL with bubba same age as ours and also same suburb as best friend, good area besides the hoon drivers using our street and a thoroughfare etc etc). My main concern is over-investing in the house, realising in 10 years we still don't have enough room, and having to move anyway, losing a lot of money in the process. This is our current floor plan: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ (for scale, Master is 4x4.5ish) The extension I had in mind, was going to cost around 100k all up (probably more). This would include new master with ensuite and WIR, new garage, new colourbond roof, water tank, new floorboards, kitchen facelift, new entry, new driveway, and some basic landscaping. We bought for 375k, house is valued around 430-450k now. Most of the improvements I don't think would add a lot of value (even though they need doing!), and adding one room would not add 100k to the value, hence my trepidation. What we NEED to add: - One extra room (4 kids can fit in 2 bedrooms, right?! ) - Extra bathroom/ensuite What I really want if I'm living here for the next 20 years: - WIR - Outdoor entertaining - Ideally another room, somehow... We kinda need to keep it one storey to keep the costs down. So... here is the current iteration of the plans: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ (we are on a corner block, streets are bottom and right of image) There is room on the block to build out towards the street, but I think we are near or on the boundary setback, so I don't think that's an option. I also want to keep as much of the backyard area as possible... Where I've situated the new master is really the only ideal place to extend the house (but if anyone has any other ideas I'd love to hear them). There is a reason for all the changes and nooks and things, but the things I am worried about include the door to the new master being really close to the kitchen (is that weird?), and I also want to make some solar improvements (North is up, and the south wall has massive 6m2 windows in the living room, and almost as big in both bedrooms. And I know I kinda want the world on a grain of sand here... So.... What would you do?? Trying to keep costs down, how would you configure the interior?? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!! Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 2May 27, 2012 5:47 am So your study and bathroom and kitchen/ laundry get the best sun....at the moment, ( no window on north dining room wall?) and you want that to stay the same but the master will also get it! How about making the lounge ( I know...south facing) into a master suite and knocking out the back to have kitchen / dining/ living facing the north sun and north back yard. You will have a sunnier home...a warmer home and use the backyard as extra living rather than putting a master there which gets used from 11 pm? If you are high up...you could add a deck, to use straight from the living rooms, if you are not directly on the ground. Someone will be able to draw what I mean...cos I don't know how it will work!! Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 3May 27, 2012 9:44 am Thanks Kiwi that is a good idea! I hate having our current living area on the south wall, such a waste. I might have a play around in sketchup and see what happens =) Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 4May 27, 2012 9:50 am oh this is getting me excited again XD Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 5May 27, 2012 10:47 am Mikaela_D - One extra room (4 kids can fit in 2 bedrooms, right?! ) Until they grow into teenages and want their own room. Seems to me you really need to add 2-3 rooms, so either spend more or move. Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 6May 27, 2012 11:03 am Hi Mikaela, Have you checked out bigger houses in the surrounding area? Maybe you find a bigger renovator where you could, over time, make cosmetic changes to the interior without having to change the footprint too much? I've heard that extensions cost an awful lot, and if you're planning on staying there for 20 years with 4 kids in 2 bedrooms, you might go crazy. Edit: I just had a look at you blog, you've done an excellent job of renovating your house, it's very well presented, ripe for a sale! Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 7May 27, 2012 11:54 am Thanks guys. D@n, I know, right? The current master could fit 2 littlies easily (even 3), but I know as soon as they hit their teens they will want/need their own space. But in saying that, the baby is not yet 1, we are waiting til he's 3 to have the next, so by the time the littlest are 12, he might be ready to move out? (haha wishful thinking??). I think we could definitely manage in a 4 beddy. You never know anyway, might not end up with 4! jodge, I have, the problem is we got into the market at the perfect time, right before house prices went up by a LOT, so we can't afford to relocate really. In the same area, bigger houses (4bd +ens) are now going for around 550k, but they have yuck interiors, so I'd still have to spend maybe 20-40k doing them up to my liking anyway. And I guess I am rather attached to my little house, since I've put a lot of effort into it already (thanks for the compliment!). I guess I just proved myself wrong though, maybe doing a 100k extension will add the value and still be within the suburbs range. Of course it's just hard to be certain you're doing the right thing, no matter what you do! Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 8May 27, 2012 12:26 pm Compromise really sucks, doesn't it. Back to the plan, I suppose the first step would be to find out exactly what the council regs are regarding setbacks etc. Looks like you have a mighty big block there. Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 9May 27, 2012 12:43 pm Oow, don't crush the girls excitement. I think it is great you want to stay where you are, with one littlely in a 3 bed and study home (eventually) I had a 4 bed home with 5 kids...so it is all good and they survived. We thought we would be there forever ......but 5 yrs after doing the extension we moved with work, so do it now..what you can afford, what you can build that will make the best use of space, don't over capitilse so that if in 5 yrs with 2 kids you do have to move you will get a good price. Go on, do a plan with living to the north, just to humour me....go on...you know you want too. Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 10May 27, 2012 12:54 pm Oh Im loving Kiwi's idea of having lounge as bedroom, maybe dining as ensuite and then living out the back. If you would like to have four kids it would be fantastic to have the living open to the backyard!!! Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 12May 27, 2012 1:47 pm kiwi Oow, don't crush the girls excitement. I think it is great you want to stay where you are, with one littlely in a 3 bed and study home (eventually) I had a 4 bed home with 5 kids...so it is all good and they survived. We thought we would be there forever ......but 5 yrs after doing the extension we moved with work, so do it now..what you can afford, what you can build that will make the best use of space, don't over capitilse so that if in 5 yrs with 2 kids you do have to move you will get a good price. Go on, do a plan with living to the north, just to humour me....go on...you know you want too. S'alright. . . Excitement is back on the cards! Moving would also cost $30k plus in fees, and as you have a big block, let's g Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 15May 27, 2012 2:11 pm Nobody else knows what you're talking about kiwi Edit: just for a laugh, I'm going to try and act like an adult on this thread. . . Try not to scare poor Michaela off, and all that. Michaela. Do you have any photos of your block, a site plan or a survey? Slope of the land and existing trees etc. may be a factor. Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 16May 27, 2012 8:03 pm haha don't worry, you couldn't scare me off if you tried
Regarding setbacks, on my block it's 6m from the boundary. Who knows where the boundary is though... =\ Will have to get a surveyor type person in I think to be certain. Or something. Our block is 797m2 "or there abouts" according to the building report. So we have a lot of space, but like I said, I really want to keep as much of the backyard as possible. We are backyard type people The land where we want to extend is pretty much the concrete carport, so fairly flat (I assume that will need to be dug up though). No trees in the way (the tree that you see poking out the edges of the plan is actually in the front yard. big m-f tree.). Here's a google map view with the block outline in red (not the boundary) and the current plan over-laid (it's a bit wonky!): Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Here's the new plan after having a play: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ 1. There's now no hallway, the kitchen would be the thoroughfare to the bedrooms (not sure how to get around that) 2. We could have a cheeky (I had to edit out a word here that rhymes?? weird) door at the end of the WIR to get to the other rooms easily instead of going all the way around 3. I realise moving the south wall out to match the footprint of bed 4 would solve this, but I reckon knocking down a wall to move it 1m might be expensive, especially as it would mess with the roof Thanks for your input everyone! It's really helping =) Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 18May 27, 2012 8:09 pm no no no...no kitchen halls. no it will drive you INSANE dont worry...will think of something. but incase you didnt hear...NOOOOOOOOOOOO thru room Re: Advice on extension plans needed please 19May 27, 2012 8:11 pm hehe ok I hear ya! Working on a new idea right now, will update soon Hi, We have a single story MacDonald Jones house, on a waffle pod slab with steel frame. Are we able to build a second story extension? Other info is we are 900mm from… 0 8984 Hello Josh, This is Irving from PRIMA, we are a manufacturer of the staircase, railings, kitchen cabinets, windows, doors from China. If you have requirement to purchase… 0 5885 I would say both styles you have pictured are steel. The lower chord of the first pic would be a massive lump if made using timber considering the size of the rafters. If… 1 6487 |