Narrow block worthwhile?

Hi all,

I am considering a narrow block which is pretty long but quite skinny. About 8.5 metes by 42 metres.

The size is perfect for my needs, great location and the price is good but obviously its challenging building on a narrow low. I am assuming I need to leave some space on each side but I am not sure where to go to find information.

There also seems to be some rule about the garage only being allowed to occupy 50 - 60% of the frontage but is this only selectively enforced? I have seen plenty of houses around the same area where the carport is significantly wider than 60%. A single car garage would probably do for me but I am thinking of resale value too.

Has anyone built on a block this narrow before?

What state are you in.

Perth, City of Stirling

We are in COS.
Just finished our OB on a 10x43 block.
COS are big on the RCodes that state garage door can only be 50% of block width.
So your door can only be 4.25m wide. The garage itself can be wider. Carports are a different matter.
Are you planning on single storey?

This is what I am confused about as that is what the R-codes seem to state but obviously plenty of people find ways around it, such as in these places in Scarbrough:

https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-scarborough-131882086
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-scarborough-131551086

Are you saying that your garage is only a single one since half the width of your block is not big enough for a double?


I'd be building double story.

Thanks for your replies

Our block is 10m so our garage door is 5 and garage is 6m wide.
We initially tried for a slightly wider door but they absolutely wouldn't budge.
5m is plenty wide enough for a double garage door but not 4.25.
We tried hard to push on a number of things and the lady handling our DA just wouldn't move even though I could provide pictures of examples in COS where exactly what we wanted had been allowed.
You may find that as long as you comply in every other way they may be prepared to allow a slight variation.

No worries. Apparently it can be 60% if there is a second story above so maybe I can get away with it.

Yeah, ours is single storey and it seems much harder to get a narrow lot single storey to comply whereas a double storey gets a few opportunities to push things a bit.

I'm also in COS and building a single storey on a narrow block. Our block is 9.39m wide and our garage door is 5m wide with internal space being 5.6 x 5.7.

Thanks for your reply.

It seems it just depends who assesses your plan and a bit of luck?

Were you allowed to build up to the boundary?

Yes. I have my home plan on my thread if you wanted to have a look.

Awesome. I had a quick look. It certainly makes like easier if you're allowed to build parts of your house and garage up to the boundary. Looks like your house makes good use of the space you have. Must be exiting given it's looking close to being finished.

I am meeting a builder on the weekend to look at my options. Thanks for your comments.

What is the block's orientation Philsta?

For me, a home's orientation is EXTREMELY important. Getting northern sunlight into your living areas in winter, keeping the sun out in summer. Get this right & your home will be more comfortable year round, living areas will be brighter, & your bills for heating & cooling will be far lower.

Building this way is called "passive solar design". This brilliant government website explains it all,

http://yourhome.gov.au/passive-design

Getting access to winter sunshine in your living areas in can be very difficult for narrow blocks, due to overshadowing of neighbours. So I usually wouldn't recommend a narrow block on many occasions.

This is especially true for narrow blocks with a northern frontage. The garage (usually a double) blocks northern light from entering the home. Making the home dark, cold & uninviting. Resulting in higher bills to light the home, & heat it in winter.

A narrow northern frontage (or southern frontage) results in a long home with many eastern & western windows. These are very difficult to shade (as the sun is lower in the sky in this direction). Western windows create a LOT of problems with heat on summer afternoons/evenings.

A narrow eastern/western frontage can result in a home with a lot of northern windows, which is good. But these can be overshadowed in winter (when you want direct sunshine). Also as living areas should face north, this can create privacy issues. In rare cases this could be a great orientation. If there is no northern neighbour (parkland). Or if the land is steeply sloping down to the north, so you look over the top of your northern neighbour. For two storeys this is particularly true for "upside down" houses, with living areas upstairs.

So some narrow blocks can be ok, but many are not. So I'd be very careful when buying one.

It's west/easy oriented.

It's west/east facing.

It was a block which has been split down the middle and the one immediately to the north sold first sadly. I can see overshadowing could be an issue.

I can accept that it's never going to be ideal, but this sort of block is the only way I can afford to live in this area. The larger blocks are unaffordable, and I really don't want an infill battleaxe block and these are usually tiny anyway (and still crazy expensive).

The 50% /60% garage width rule only applies if your garage sits level or forward of your building line. If the garage is set 1m or more behind the building line then it can be wider. Thats probably how the single storey home in the link you sent was approved.

Also your neighbour will be limited in what they can build because they will overshadow your house. The r codes take overshadowing into account.

They do say the 3 most important things to consider are location, location, location. But for me, that doesn't just mean the suburb, & the street, it actually means the actual block. Which way it faces, where the neighbours are, & which way they face.

As you say, the block's not ideal, but the budget is limited. Unfortunately, some of the design features to minimise overshadowing (such as skillion roofs, & cathedral ceilings with north facing clerestory windows) are expensive. One option is an "upside down house", with living areas upstairs. But you won't usually find this stuff on your average project builder's website.

Thanks so much for your comments.

I have found some designs which I think would work well on the block and are around the $350k mark which is within budget for me. One or two in particular have a courtyard on the right-hand side (which would be the north side) which would be great for extra light etc. I'd consider putting a pool or spa in the courtyard which would be visible from inside the house through windows on three sides.

Would probably make it a bit more difficult if the neighbour on the right builds a two story house which I don't (and won't) know and have no control over obviously.

I am still umming and arring over it and the block could sell at any moment so it might be a moot point anyway but blocks in the area are rare and hard to come by. They keep knocking down and subdividing the blocks in the area but unfortunately they tend to subdivide into three which makes the blocks tiny and worthless in my opinion. The ones where they split it down the middle and have two narrow, though decent sized blocks is pretty rare.

Saw your post, just make sure your sunlight is not blocked out by neighbouring or potential neighbouring structures

As tourier says, it's important to make sure that you won't be overshadowed from the north.

You should be able to find out your council's rules on this quite easily, & determine the setbacks for the ground floor, & second floor (these setbacks may be larger than the ground floor).

Gah, haven't dealt with this for quite some time. One of the popular floorplan softwares, can't remember it's name, will allow you to easily draw shadow diagrams. So you could see how a neighbour, built to the maximum allowable dimensions, would effect your block, & your home.

A courtyard is a good option, which I left out. It will however increase costs a bit, as it increases the external surface area of the build (an expensive bit). Though it shouldn't be as expensive as other things like clerestory windows & cathedral ceilings I would think.

Edit: the floorplan software was Google SketchUp. Haven't used it in a long time. May not even be free anymore.