Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Sep 12, 2011 8:37 pm Our house is weird. If you look at it from the street all you see is the lattice and a random brick wall that partially enclose an area at the front of the house, under the same roof (which is a simple gable roof with the gable facing the street). The area is concreted and about 4.5m by 7m, and is at ground level which is about 3 steps below the floor of the house. It gets a lovely breeze through it and it's east facing so gets the morning sun and shaded in the afternoon. I had a couple of builders quote me on building in the area (see below), but I was wondering whether it might be significantly less expensive to get it enclosed like a sunroom with glass, louvres or queensland room panels, ideally preserving the wonderful airflow and giving a view to the garden but also acting as a front entrance/play room. Also, I'm sure anything would improve the street presence of the place, but is having what would basically be an enclosed patio at the front of the house too strange? Would it make the house more of a target for thieves? TO turn the area into a bedroom, ensuite and a front entrance, all very basic but including plumbing and electrical one builder quoted $58k. Another builder told me he'd only give a proper quote if I got plans drawn up, but estimated $25-30k for the same area. Anyone have a feel for whether the second builder was way out, and if I paid a couple of thousand dollars to have plans drawn up would I be looking at the $58k estimate? If anyone can give me some feedback, it'd be much appreciated. Re: Enclosing an outdoor area at the front of the house 2Sep 13, 2011 2:55 pm Maybe post a photo, might help get a clearer picture of what you currently have. Sorry, I'm no help with cost estimates. You can really use anything you want the main consideration would be how it looks once painted/finished - or the look you want. Cabinetmakers use MDF because its cheap… 2 9959 CDC Housing Code 3 When to apply Floor Area external face of wall vs Gross Floor Area internal face of wall. Reading thru CDC Housing Code 3, lets take a lot 915sqm.… 0 16553 Thanks for letting us know. The programmer will have a look at this later today. 2 6679 |