Layout feedback please

wildrain · Aug 03, 2020 3:10 pm

Hi all,

We are in the process of shopping around for a build contract and one of the high level layouts that was provided to us looks something like the one below. What we would like to understand is what would be the ideal location of the rooms to maximise sunlight and possibly space. The lot measures 30 m by 10.5 m and is west facing i.e. entrance will be facing west. Sorry it does not have all the doors and windows in it yet - we are still working out that part. What we are hoping is to work out if the positions of the rooms are ideal. Happy to provide more information if required. In terms of setback, it would be 1m from each side and 4.5m and 5m from front and rear respectively. One option that was considered was to extend the house to 21m and reduce the backyard to 4.5m if required. Btw, for the bathrooms, we intend to have shower, basin and toilet in a line against the wall hence we indicated it that way in the picture.

Thanks in advance.

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KameGame · Aug 03, 2020 4:26 pm

Ideally you would want your living areas to be on the north, check if you can swap Kitchen+Alfresco with Living+Dining. Also, get good sized windows for the Northern side. If you do move your kitchen, explore the idea of integrating laundry via the kitchen, thus giving you a WIP.
I am not sure how much of the early morning sun into the kitchen will be blocked by the alfresco, use the link below to calculate the shadow lengths for your lot. Is there any other house on your North side ? It would be worth checking how much overshadowing will it cause, specially if it's a Double storey.
https://www.suncalc.org/#/-37.8948,144.7116,18/2020.05.31/15:53/10/2

wildrain · Aug 03, 2020 4:52 pm

KameGame

Ideally you would want your living areas to be on the north, check if you can swap Kitchen+Alfresco with Living+Dining. Also, get good sized windows for the Northern side. If you do move your kitchen, explore the idea of integrating laundry via the kitchen, thus giving you a WIP.

Hi,
Thanks a lot for the feedback. I did think about moving the Living/Dining north but had read somewhere that Alfresco is best on NE corner hence I had to re-consider. I do like your idea of having the link to the pantry/laundry. Let me ask on that. Hopefully they say yes.

Are all the other room locations ok? Do I need to change anything else? Is it worth extending the house by 0.5m if everything does not fit after the Kitchen/Alfresco swap with Living/Dining?

KameGame

I am not sure how much of the early morning sun into the kitchen will be blocked by the alfresco, use the link below to calculate the shadow lengths for your lot. Is there any other house on your North side ? It would be worth checking how much overshadowing will it cause, specially if it's a Double storey.

Thanks a lot for the link. I do admit that we are planning everything with the assumption that there would be double storeys on both sides of us. So hopefully we won't get blocked out.

bestspecials · Aug 04, 2020 1:20 pm

Are you able to build to the boundary on the garage side?

wildrain · Aug 04, 2020 3:16 pm

bestspecials

Thanks for the feedback. I guess that should be fine as one of the designs they initially showed us had the zero lot option - we wanted a rectangular design as we did not see any particular advantage of it. What could be done if the garage is on the boundary?

bestspecials · Aug 04, 2020 3:36 pm

The advantage of building to the boundary is that you get an additional 80 - 100cm within the house.
I have changed your plan a bit. You definitely want to keep the outdoor area to the NE as this is the best sun in winter.
I have only made minor adjustments but I think it is better use of space.
Look at all the big builders as there are a lot of plans for narrow blocks.

I gave you an island in the kitchen, which you could do cupboards on the front side as well for extra storage. You can add extra overhead cupboards in the kitchen above the stove and I added a bench in the laundry with cupboards underneath and you could add overhead cupboards for extra storage. The linen in the laundry and Walk in pantry in the kitchen.

You end up with a bigger living, separate dining and bigger ensuite.
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wildrain · Aug 04, 2020 9:23 pm

bestspecials

I gave you an island in the kitchen, which you could do cupboards on the front side as well for extra storage. You can add extra overhead cupboards in the kitchen above the stove and I added a bench in the laundry with cupboards underneath and you could add overhead cupboards for extra storage. The linen in the laundry and Walk in pantry in the kitchen.

You end up with a bigger living, separate dining and bigger ensuite.

I love the changes

I will check with the designer and see if they can accommodates all these changes and have the space we required.

bestspecials · Aug 04, 2020 10:24 pm

Keep playing with your plans until you are completely happy. It's your house.

oklouise · Aug 05, 2020 7:15 pm

given the choice i would lose the alfresco in favour of more generous inside rooms and a simple paved area in the backyard with a big umbrella and reverse the living and kitchen but your plan has so much space used for extra wide hallways? ...check the excellent Govt website at YourHome.gov,au and you'll find this plan with the ideal arrangement of rooms for your block and the site also gives detailed advice about building materials, insulation etc etc for any area in Australia.. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

wildrain · Aug 07, 2020 7:56 pm

oklouise

given the choice i would lose the alfresco in favour of more generous inside rooms and a simple paved area in the backyard with a big umbrella and reverse the living and kitchen but your plan has so much space used for extra wide hallways? ...check the excellent Govt website at YourHome.gov,au and you'll find this plan with the ideal arrangement of rooms for your block and the site also gives detailed advice about building materials, insulation etc etc for any area in Australia.

Hi,
Thanks for your feedback. I will have a look at the site for ideas.

Cheers.