Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Advice on layout 4Sep 16, 2012 5:02 pm Im in Sydney so tend to need to heat in winter but not much need for cooling in summer - may be the opposite where you are in WA, but it's a big state. For Sydney, I would swap dining and kitchen to get winter sun from windows to the dining room and also move the garage to the other side. I would think about having the master off the Alfresco to get the northern sun. You could also get the side entrance to go to laundry then bathroom for when you want to go straight to the shower. Just my thoughts Re: Advice on layout 5Sep 16, 2012 9:20 pm Agree with what free will said but I'd add and access door to garage from outside and also a wash basin in the toilet (hard for someone to wash hands if the bath room is being used). Re: Advice on layout 6Sep 17, 2012 8:40 am free will - you are right we need more protection from the sun in summer here in WA (particularly the north western and western sun as that is the worst) but we do still need to be able to harness whatever warmth there may be in Winter. I don't know a great deal about the 6 star energy rating thing here but I know lots of windows or big ones on the North side are not regarded well. That's one of the reasons why we went for a design with the alfresco to that side but then the master suite is not really in the best spot as that will get the NW & W sun in the arvo. I have thought about swapping the kitchen and the meals but three things I like are the shopper's entrance, the servery out to the alfresco (with that part being a bar as well) and the connection to the laundry. I perhaps need to hear from people who have a kitchen layout like this or a servery as to what the pros and cons are of that. I can see a way where I can still keep the larder and have the laundry connection to the kitchen in my head but not sure it will work out on paper. As mentioned, I have thought about moving the master to the back of the house (perhaps where the office, bed 3 and the family bathroom currently is on that design) but I just can't see a way that it would work, particularly with moving the other stuff towards the front of the house. Where would the living room then go as the Master would not be very wide? If we moved the garage to the other side what would go in it's place at the front of the house? Is that where the bedrooms would go or should we shift the living and office to the front and perhaps move the alfresco as well? It means that we can't build the garage on the boundary if we swap sides as there is a retaining wall - actually can you build one wall of the garage on a small retaining wall? Like max of 500mm high? I think someone mentioned that when we were putting the offer on the block. Do you mean move the laundry to somewhere near the family bathroom and have an access to it from the laundry? I can see this working. I just for some reason love the idea of an access to the ensuite from outside. See, this is why I need advice! I want our house to be oriented well so we save energy and the house doesn't have the extremes of temperature that we have in our current place. I also want it to be practical. But I am not sure if perhaps I am letting my "nice to haves" rule over what is essential. Perhaps I need to start again.... Lourance - Definitely! There is a sink just outside the toilet (next to bed 4 robe) so we have catered for that. It is an awful copy of my drawing so probably hard to make out. Re: Advice on layout 7Sep 17, 2012 4:40 pm SmithiesWife you are right we need more protection from the sun in summer here in WA (particularly the north western and western sun as that is the worst) but we do still need to be able to harness whatever warmth there may be in Winter. I don't know a great deal about the 6 star energy rating thing here but I know lots of windows or big ones on the North side are not regarded well. That's one of the reasons why we went for a design with the alfresco to that side but then the master suite is not really in the best spot as that will get the NW & W sun in the arvo. I don't know regarding your climate cos if you're in a warm/tropical enough climate then some of the advice is different. But if you live in a place with four seasons and you need some heating in winter then big windows on the north are exactly what you use to "harness the warmth". The sun is closer to the equator, ie further north, in winter, so it shines in the north facing windows. The sun is higher overhead in summer so it doesn't shine in the windows. And you can improve how it works with the right sized eaves, pergolas, awnings, deciduous trees, that type of thing. This is a good discussion about it all. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55057 Re: Advice on layout 8Sep 17, 2012 6:14 pm JazzyJess - We are not tropical but it is hot in Summer. Thanks for the thread link I will have a read later tonight. Ugh! I wish builders were more helpful on this stuff but volume builders don't really seem to care too much about anything as long as it meets the 6 star rating. All well and fine but who's to say it is the best layout for the block and use of space, particularly with our needs/wants in mind? I think I need to read up more on the 6 star rating and on orientation for energy efficiency. Re: Advice on layout 9Sep 18, 2012 11:03 pm OK, so after a little research and some hard decisions I think I have found a design that is better suited to our block and takes full advantage of the orientation. http://i1055.photobucket.com/albums/s505/SmithiesWife/Ourlayout2_zps1feed306.jpg I have added a bit of extra floor area (dressing room, retreat, alfresco) to get in some extra wants. I think that is fair given I don't get everything I would like to have in the design in other areas mentioned earlier in the thread. I rejigged the bathroom a bit to put a f/s bath in place of the old WIR and swap the shower and toilet so the shower could be bigger. I also extended the alfresco so the master still gets some protection from the Northern sun in Summer. Are there any suggestions for any other improvements I may not have considered? TIA Re: Advice on layout 10Sep 18, 2012 11:30 pm I hate to say it but I think your living room, especially with all the glass facing north/west will be quite uncomfortable during summer and as this is your only TV/recreational area. I'd be re-thinking this. Are you in an area that gets the afternoon sea breezes (SW – Freo Doctor)? as raising the roof line above the main body of the house and having a high south facing wall (extending up above the roof line over the bedrooms) with opening windows to catch the wind and cool the entire living area may be another thing to look at. Designing your roof/ceiling profiles needs to be done. It may be worth thinking about moving the entire living/kitchen zone down the east end of the house with the outdoor area off the eastern end. Protected from western sun during summer but will still get the sun projecting in under roof during winter, and try and pick up any breeze from the S-SW at its peak during summer. Good luck! ----------------------------------------------- http://pab34newdigs.blogspot.com.au/ ----------------------------------------------- Re: Advice on layout 11Sep 19, 2012 12:12 am PAB_34 - It does but it is protected by the verandah and portico in Summer (?). It was either that or the garage was copping it (retaining heat for hours) and then preventing living areas from getting the sun in Winter as well. We are close-ish to the beach so should get a good breeze but we will also have a 500mm retaining wall and fence on the south side where the neighbours are so not sure how that will affect us catching it. I don't know, can't seem to win. ETA: We also may not have that much glass. It is just a prelim design choice so we can get something to the builder to start working on while we try and suss out what the heck we do about energy efficiency and solar passive design given they seem to not really have any idea. Re: Advice on layout 12Sep 19, 2012 7:21 am You’ve definitely got some challenges.... I think that architects are over-rated and a waste of time and money 99% of the time but by the sound of it, your case is the 1% that they could really help you out. I'd give a couple local firms (that know and design for your area) a call, supply them brief outline of what you block outlook is and its drawbacks and ask for a quote to spend a couple of hours with them to discuss your plans and have them provide some design input that is relevant to your site/location. ----------------------------------------------- http://pab34newdigs.blogspot.com.au/ ----------------------------------------------- Hi, We're building a double-storey in Perth and I'm undecided with the kitchen sink situation. I'm set on having the main sink with dishwasher in the scullery - and… 0 20955 Thanks for the suggestion. The space between shower and sinks was too tight. I agree about the toilet location. So I have tried two other options: The lower one is… 3 6168 Possibly both depending on the sizing. Idea of working from the centre is that you dont have a 20mm thin tile at one end and a 400mm at the other end. A quick search on… 3 8444 |