Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Need suggestions and advice on an odd shaped north facin 11Nov 12, 2017 6:06 pm I'd advised a U-shaped house for block 10, as it has a narrow frontage & a very narrow rear. Plus I hadn't thought of other solutions to get sunlight all the way back to the living areas.
But be aware, that there are downsides to this approach. The northern & southern wings must be quite far apart too prevent the northern wing overshadowing the southern (living room) wing in winter. So you'll need quite a few rooms to face east or west, not great for summer. The living room wing still won't receive northern sun all day, unless it also incorporates clerestory windows. But the main problem with this house shape is cost. The higher the external surface area of the build, the higher the cost. As more materials are required, more waterproofing, more insulation, more windows, & I'd expect it may also make it tougher to achieve your BAL rating (though I'm no expert). The build with the lowest external surface area, so lowest cost, would be a perfect square. But this is not good in our climate from a passive design point of view. As it's hard to get winter sunlight to much of the house, or cooling summer breezes. A good comprise is a rectangular house. It's quite cheap to build, & if orientated correctly, all receive abundant winter sunlight & summer breezes. Block 17 has a very large northern frontage, making it the perfect candidate for a rectangular build. I think this is a far better solution for this block. But if you want rear living areas to enjoy the view, how do you get winter sunshine to your living areas? The answer, again, is northern clerestory windows! This is the perfect shaped house for northern clerestory windows! A rectangular house, with longer sides facing north & south, can have a split skillion roof design, & north facing clerestory windows running its full length. This will offer all southern rooms access to northern sunlight. Whether they be living areas, hallways, internal bathrooms etc. I'll have a quick look on Google & post a couple of examples below. This rectangular design will also offer a good opportunity to incorporate north facing solar PV, which I think is important. Though the roof pitch will likely be less than ideal. Re: Need suggestions and advice on an odd shaped north facin 12Nov 12, 2017 6:17 pm Here are a couple of examples, just to give you an idea of the split skillion roof design, & how the clerestory windows would look. I particularly like the look of this first example. This would be the view from the front of the house. Obviously there would be less glazing from the front of the house, particularly as these rooms would be bedrooms facing the street. You can see how the clerestory windows would light the rear rooms. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Again, northern sunlight entering rear rooms of the house through clerestory windows. In this case it appears to be a double storey, but could work for a split level home. Like all northern windows eave length is important for clerestory windows, so winter sunlight will be admitted, while summer sun is shaded. Re: Need suggestions and advice on an odd shaped north facin 13Nov 12, 2017 6:44 pm A couple of issues with the split skillion - clerestory approach.
Firstly, all rooms with clerestory windows will need cathedral ceilings. Cathedral ceilings can look & feel great, particularly in living areas. But be aware that they can increase winter heating requirements, as a larger volume of air needs to be heated. If you do opt for this approach I'd recommended increasing the ceiling insulation levels well above the minimum code, as it's nearly impossible to increase insulation levels at a later date. Secondly, cost. A split skillion with clerestory windows & cathedral ceilings will cost more than a normal roof design. Though it's unlikely to cost more than a U-shaped house, & is a far, far better solution in my opinion. Re: Need suggestions and advice on an odd shaped north facin 14Nov 12, 2017 7:08 pm One other option, as block 17 is so wide, would be to really stretch out the rectangular building envelope to the east & west. This may result in parts of the house being only one room deep. For example, a central section incorporating the living area may be only one room deep, having both northern & southern windows. In this case the skillion roof & clerestory windows wouldn't be required. You'd also get great cross-ventilation, with breezes flowing through the living area, keeping it cool in summer. The kids bedrooms could be behind the garage, facing south. Bedrooms can be darker & cooler, so don't require northern light, but if you wanted it you could add clerestories here, or to hallways. The master could be at the opposite end of the house, & depending on room, may also be one room deep, with north & south windows. Or if other rooms are required here, like a second living area, & a section is two rooms deep, clerestory windows could be incorporated into this section.
Stretching out the building envelope to this level will increase the external surface area, increasing cost, but if no/fewer skillion roof/clerestory windows are required, then cost will come down. Thus design will also give expanses of northern roof, with ideal pitch for solar PV. EDIT: What's the dashed line on block 17? If it's an easement it may limit your building envelope options, as may your BAL requirements. Which may make it impossible to stretch out your build to these levels. Re: Need suggestions and advice on an odd shaped north facin 15Nov 12, 2017 7:40 pm Whoops, I thought the block sloped down to the street, not from the street. Ignore any suggestions I had about split levels. This was to minimize cathedral ceiling roof pitch / increase height of clerestories. But, as the slope is the opposite of what I though, any split will have the opposite effect to that desired. Re: Need suggestions and advice on an odd shaped north facin 16Nov 13, 2017 8:12 am Just been reading this blog, which I think is very applicable to these blocks, particularly block 17. https://undercoverarchitect.com/how-do- ... -new-home/ The warning is on the sticker on the door too. Second the aluminium powdercoat 6 18176 Hi, Looking to add an ensuite to one of the bedrooms and make it a Master BR. Please see the attached current floorplan. Need suggestions on what's the best way to do… 0 7326 It might be a bit darker in the mornings but the light is still light, so you should be getting it. Similar to what you see from your western windows 3 19969 |