Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 5Apr 24, 2018 10:51 pm I think that it's a nice plan, with good orientation and layout. Two concerns I might have are the westerly window in bed 4 (can cause overheating in summer), and the bathroom being immediately adjacent to bed 3 (with the shared wall being a wet wall, which means noise); I personally would be tempted to swap the locations of the bath/WC/laundry and bed 4 (noting that doing so will mean a slightly longer walk to the toilet from the living areas - this could be negative, positive or neutral depending on your views). Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 6Apr 24, 2018 11:22 pm I think it’s pretty good too. As algernon mentioned the BR4 facing west might be an issue but I see there is an existing tree that may provide some shade? Similarly the west opening of the alfresco may need shading, but that can be done with planting or screens too. How about making the ensuite window bigger for better ventilation or adding a second one on the same wall? Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 7Apr 25, 2018 10:07 am algernon I think that it's a nice plan, with good orientation and layout. Two concerns I might have are the westerly window in bed 4 (can cause overheating in summer), and the bathroom being immediately adjacent to bed 3 (with the shared wall being a wet wall, which means noise); I personally would be tempted to swap the locations of the bath/WC/laundry and bed 4 (noting that doing so will mean a slightly longer walk to the toilet from the living areas - this could be negative, positive or neutral depending on your views). Thank you algernon. Completely agree with westerly windows problem. We are thinking of tinted double glazed windows and installing roller shutters to mitigate. Also the site cut will make about 800mm fall from the west neighbor's ground level which then combined with their 2m hedges may provide shade from acute angle late afternoon sunlight, so we are hoping not to use the blackout shutters all the afternoon (perhaps only between 2-5 in the afternoon) . Exchanging the bath/WC/laundry with bed 4 is a smart idea, however, as you flagged, the longer walk is a concern, esp when there are guests around. Perhaps the WIR for bed 3 can be converted into a mini powder area - which can then be used by guests - and leave a normal robe for bed 3 ?? Also swapping the bed 4, will take care of the "near the wet wall" issue making your idea even smarter (the noise issue otherwise needs to be mitigated using sound proof drywall + in wall insulation batts we guess). Cheers TL Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 8Apr 25, 2018 11:16 am Hillsbuilds I think it’s pretty good too. As algernon mentioned the BR4 facing west might be an issue but I see there is an existing tree that may provide some shade? Similarly the west opening of the alfresco may need shading, but that can be done with planting or screens too. How about making the ensuite window bigger for better ventilation or adding a second one on the same wall? Thank you Hillsbuilds. We completely agree with you and algernon that BR4 will need mitigation or re-arrangement to address the westerly sun . In regards to the alfresco shading, we are planning to install retractable blinds (something like https://www.stratco.com.au/products/hom ... or-blinds/) in the west end; hoping it would do the trick. Excellent remark on ensuite window, perhaps we shall add a second narrow-width but tall window to capture the precious northerly lights which could naturally illuminate the area when we are in front of the ensuite mirror/vanity. Also install plantation shutters in it to have privacy. Really like it! Cheers, TL Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 9Apr 25, 2018 2:23 pm Hi All, This is sandpit floor-plan we are maintaining to visualize concepts and modifications to base plan before passing it to our architect to materialise the changes. Hope this shared link would work for every one (needs Google Chrome). https://homestyler.com/floorplan/?lang= ... 01b3938e0d Thank you, TL. Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 10Apr 25, 2018 10:28 pm tajil Exchanging the bath/WC/laundry with bed 4 is a smart idea, however, as you flagged, the longer walk is a concern, esp when there are guests around. Perhaps the WIR for bed 3 can be converted into a mini powder area - which can then be used by guests - and leave a normal robe for bed 3 ?? WIRs are actually not very space-efficient compared to normal robes that open directly into the bedrooms: a WIR requires dedicated additional floor space for access, where a standard robe just uses the existing bedroom floor space (with the added bonus of no awkward shelf corners), so IF - and it does depend on how it fits into the plan as a whole - you could remove the WIRs from the secondary bedrooms, you'll certainly free up a bit of extra floor space. However, some of us would argue that having the toilet well removed from the living area is a good thing, for reasons of privacy and discretion! At the very least it's generally accepted that there shouldn't be any line-of-sight from anywhere in the main living areas directly to a toilet or bathroom door, which I suspect would make placing a small powder room in that exact spot problematic. Moving the toilet from its existing location to the western wall would mean an extra five or six steps - I personally wouldn't see it as being a big issue in the scheme of things. Also, it's worth weighing up the 'frequency of benefits' - for example, if arranging things in a way that results in a small disadvantage once a week, but which makes the house a little better to live in for the rest of the time, then it's probably better to take the occasional small disadvantage. That's something you'll need to consider based on your personal circumstances and lifestyle, and what the tradeoffs are to you. Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 11Apr 27, 2018 6:11 pm Thank you algernon. Your argument on WIR and toilets away from living areas are sound and make sense. The challenge is to get the plan realigned and still keep the layout efficiency. We shall give it a go; having a split level floor plan also makes it difficult as it greatly constrains the layout flexibility. Cheers, TL Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 13Jul 08, 2018 10:18 pm I think the new rumpus/bed 4 layout is better than the original - but on this plan I'd argue for swapping bed 4 and the wet areas, for noise and privacy reasons (especially with an internal powder room - that's going to be potentially embarrassing for both the user of the powder room and the resident of bed 4). Is that really a plumbed vanity outside bed 3, or is that just a placeholder for something else? You've noted a CSD between laundry and pantry - but given the dimensions you have there it's going to have to be quite narrow to fit the available cavity space (think about the length of wall that's available to fit the actual cavity), and you don't really want a narrow entry to a laundry (think about carrying washing baskets). If the layout can't be changed then I'd suggest a swing door opening into the pantry might be a better option. You've added a bathtub to the ensuite - are you sure that you can fit this while still having enough space for your WIR? The clearance will need to be a lot greater than on your sketch - the ensuite will need to grow (at the expense) of the WIR at least the size of the bathtub PLUS the clearance required from the wall behind. That's only going to leave about 1.5m of width for the WIR - that's getting a bit tight even for a single-sided WIR. Also, are you sure you want TWO bathtubs in the house? Most households these days barely use one. If you two will genuinely be useful for you, go for it, but otherwise you might want to consider the floorspace tradeoff. Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 14Jul 11, 2018 11:21 am Thank you for the comments algernon. Swapping the Bed 4, which of the sequence you mean ? : Rumpus > Bath > (PWC+Mini-WIR) > Bed 4 > Bed 3 (will have the same problem) Or Rumpus > PWC > Bath > Bed 4 > Bed 3 (will loose option for the Mini-WIR - means room space to be compromised for BIR) -- Outside bed 3 – currently we are thinking of plumped vanity as a quick access hand wash area – we couldn’t think of any other use for that area! -- CSD between laundry and pantry – we were thinking of bi-parting cavity sliders, the swing doors, we thought could be a hinder! - That said, fully agree with you, the opening width (1000mm) cannot be compromised as it will seriously affect the function. -- Bathtub to the ensuite – we are thinking of taking it off and resorting to the original plans for ensuite. We saw the Mac.Johns display home at Googong which gave us the idea, but your prompt made us critically think on the usability of the tub (apart from the wow factor); and now we are thinking it would be a real waste of money and space. Thanks again, cheers, ligongl Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 15Jul 11, 2018 10:40 pm I was thinking Rumpus > PWC > Bath > Bed 4 > Bed 3, losing the mini-WIR in bed 4 in exchange for a built-in robe along the wall adjoining the bathroom (more space-efficient for the same amount of wardrobe space, and adds extra acoustic separation from the bathroom). Personally, I'd take a little bit of space from the rumpus to compensate if required. I'd also move the toilet so it's against the outside wall with a window; this means that it doesn't have to have a ventilation fan on all the time (which also cuts down on the noise). If you really want to keep the PWC against the bedroom wall, consider sacrificing a little bit of room space to add a double-studded wall between them (combined with acoustic batts and plasterboard). Also consider mirroring the bathroom layout, so the wet wall (with the shower, bath and vanity) is against the PWC wall, not the other bedroom. Apart from noise issues, it'll make your plumbing easier and with shorter runs. For the 'extra' space outside bed 3 - if you can't think of a specific use, then keep your options open by making it fairly generic and easy to be re-purposed later on. I'd suggest not putting a vanity in there - there's really no use case for a vanity in that space, especially with the lack of privacy and the bathroom being only thee metres away. Having a plumbed vanity will be significantly more expensive than almost any other use, and will make it more difficult to re-purpose the space later. As other options that'll give you more flexibility at minimal cost, you could consider moving the study nook there instead (freeing up space in the main area), or adding a broom cupboard/linen closet. You could also move the steps to the east and open up that space to the main area as well - it wouldn't add too much practical space but would give a more spacious feel to that end of the house, and you'd still have enough space in there for the study nook and a linen cupboard, and possibly enough space for a sideboard or other item of 'decorative' furniture. Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 16Jul 12, 2018 8:51 pm Thanks algernon for the valuable suggestions. We will soon do a redraw of our concept and will update once done. In regards to moving the steps towards the east, we are worried if we can still accommodate the coat hanger robe. cheers Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 18Jul 14, 2018 4:44 pm Hi Ligongl, I personally don’t like walking through a WIR to get to the ensuite, especially if you don’t have a door. Could you rotate the ensuite 90 degrees and have the toilet and shower on the side wall, both with a window, and then enter the ensuite directly off your bedroom, that would give you more wardrobe space by losing the additional opening as well.. Re: Our KDR Project - Canberra 20Jul 15, 2018 10:37 pm Looking a lot better, I think (although I do agree with gogo65's suggestion about the ensuite. Using the BIR in bed 4 as a noise shield to the PWC is a good idea, and a good use of space. But you've still got three vanities in a very small space. I suggest the extra vanity outside the PWC be removed (you could either replace it with a linen cupboard, or leave it open for furniture like a small sideboard). As an option, you could try to turn the whole setup into a three-way bathroom: a vestibule with the vanity, the PWC (toilet only), and the bathroom (bath and shower only), which would reduce the number of vanities to just one. It might be a matter of personal taste, though: some people love three-way bathrooms, others prefer a fully separate WC. Wow I hadn't realised things had gotten that pricey in just a couple of years since I built, that is crazy with how much land is now costing if you aren't lucky enough to… 3 7513 Hi Im having trouble getting anyone to provide useful advice on going for an insulated slab North facing extension. 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