Browse Forums Buying Land Re: Narrow block worthwhile? 2Nov 06, 2019 9:36 pm Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Narrow block worthwhile? 4Nov 06, 2019 11:18 pm Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Narrow block worthwhile? 6Nov 06, 2019 11:46 pm Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Narrow block worthwhile? 8Nov 07, 2019 12:13 am Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Narrow block worthwhile? 18Nov 18, 2019 11:43 am ddarroch 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. Re: Narrow block worthwhile? 20Dec 15, 2019 4:32 pm 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. dimensions on your original plan are inconsistent and with accurate dimensions (including site plan, upstairs and down) i could make a proper scale drawing with furniture… 3 7520 Thanks again for this information. If you do hear anything different, would be great to know 4 8256 So it looks like we finally have some movement on site! Definitely later than expected, but I'll take any progress at this point. I'll drop by over the weekend to get… 5 27731 |