Browse Forums Building A New House reply 21Dec 27, 2008 7:33 pm You may remember me as "pringles", on such websites as Homeone. Building Atlantique Mk2 with Carlisle. At completion stage. Regards Re: What are people looking for in size for outdoor space now? 24Dec 27, 2008 9:31 pm I personally think front and rear yards have become much too small. The small front yard also means the average driveway is only about 4.5 x 5.5m. Add to that a small garage and you have almost no storage or parking space.
My estate is a typical example: Most blocks are about 620sq and the houses range from 29-49 sq. Even though everyone has a double garage almost no one uses it because their garages are full of all their junk like lawn-mowers, kids bikes, tools etc. So everyone parks one car in the driveway and the other has to go in the street because the driveway isn't big enough. The result is a congested street and alot of street noise due to kids and families spending more time out in the street instead of their backyards. I really think councils should make all blocks a minimum of 800 squares - of course they won't because they wouldn't makes as much on rates. Just think what these areas will become like when the kids grow up and get their own cars and want to work on them etc. Also there is no room for those do it yourself projects or caravans or trailers etc etc. These small low maintenance blocks will be a life long curse. Another thing to make note of is these estates have virtually no large trees or vegetation other than the usual lame from garden. That said I don't think it makes much difference to resale value as usually the only real improvement land size makes to property value is if it can be subdivided which kind of goes against the whole point of having more room. Eventually I'll probably sell up and aim for something closer to 1/2 acre to allow for a big garage and some room to be anti-social. For the record my front yard is 15.5x5m and the backyard is 15.5x12.5m. If I had a choice I'd have it about 2 metres wider to increase the garage size and have the front yard about 3 metres deeper for a longer driveway. Re: What are people looking for in size for outdoor space now? 25Dec 27, 2008 9:56 pm Mozzie So everyone parks one car in the driveway and the other has to go in the street because the driveway isn't big enough. The result is a congested street and alot of street noise due to kids and families spending more time out in the street instead of their backyards. I really think councils should make all blocks a minimum of 800 squares - of course they won't because they wouldn't makes as much on rates. Another thing to make note of is these estates have virtually no large trees or vegetation other than the usual lame from garden. I don't think making blocks a minimum of 800m2 would solve the driveway problem. The driveway issue is the fault of the council. In the council I will be moving to (city of whittlesea) you have to have the garage setback a minimum 5.5m from the footpath and therefore you can fit two cars in front of the garage as the driveway is the same length as the garage. Also the tree issue can be avoided by council or convenant enforcement. ie. in my estate the developer has planted a tree that will grow to the height of the house on each blocks nature strip. Also we have a requirement to have at least one tree in our front yard that grows to at least the height of our house. So in summary the main issues you raised can be avoided by planning ahead by both the council and developers and yourselves!!. I have a 405m2 block and will easily be able to fit 4 large cars on my property. Re: What are people looking for in size for outdoor space now? 26Dec 27, 2008 10:08 pm exactly WBA ... a bit of planning goes a long way!
I have a 2 car garage with room in the driveway for a further 2 cars and parking out the back for 2 more. Total 6 cars. I also have 2 x 6 metres on the side of my garage for a workshop and a further 1.5 x 4 metres at the back of the garage for storage. Effective use is what we were looking for and we have maximised our usage in each area of the land and house. 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 10684 Cupcake.girl This really depends on your local council. Each one has different definitions and ways to calculate contributions. This is called a contribution… 1 3884 |