Style Showdown: Plywood bedroom vs concrete bedroom
Luke Buckle
9 years ago
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bungalowmo
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Help! Happy with the extension floor plan but not sure about exterior!
Comments (32)Hello @charlie_com Wow, what a great lot of advice and help. The Houzz community always amaze me with their generosity and info in helping homeowners with their project plans. And how exciting that you're looking at renovating! Your home has a lot of potential! I have a few comments to share which may be of use to you ... 1. Getting the design right - so it suits your family now, and into the future, (as well as creating a home that will sell well and quickly when the time comes) is a great way to start any project 2. Whilst your home is lines on a page, change is cheap - so whilst you may want to hurry up and get it built, it's worth taking the time to maximise every opportunity for your design, and to save time and money during construction, in the design phase. 3. Use professionals based on their specialty skills. Choose professionals you feel a good fit with, but that also have demonstrated experience in offering what you need. So builders are great at building ... some have an interest in design, but it's not their role or specialty. I have a blog on my site about the differences I see between building designers, architects and draftspeople - you can read it here as it may help you choose who is the best fit for you and your project. http://undercoverarchitect.com/architect-vs-draftsperson-vs-building-designer-whats-the-difference/ 4. Speaking to local agents is a great start to understanding what will add value and what won't. The Gap is a little bit of a tricky area of Brisbane value-wise (I have owned and renovated two homes there!) as it can have a bit of a ceiling on value. We really noticed that with our places, and our third reno was a home in Ashgrove, which is such a different market, even though it's one suburb over. Buyers in The Gap usually come from The Gap - it seems to be one of those areas that, once people move in, they don't leave ... because they love the bush setting, the amenities, and it is a lot closer to the CBD than most people realise! However, what people pay for in homes varies - so the local Harcourts is a great agency, and Ray White Ashgrove is also good, and Ryan Smith at Remax is awesome ... but yes, getting 3 or 4 agents in to talk about improvements, and value (even if you have no immediate intention of selling) is worthwhile 5. With kids your age, creating flexible, functional spaces that offer the ability to come together (but still feel some sense of privacy from each other) as well as spaces to be apart (but not locked away) is helpful as they get further into their teenage years. I would always seek to get living areas connecting physically to outdoors - it is especially one of the things that sets homes in The Gap apart from the Queenslander homes in neighbouring suburbs. It facilitates easier living in your home, and is great for young families especially. It will always help your home to feel larger too - as you capitalise on all of the block for that feeling of space. 6. Whether you change your entry or not is one thing ... you can change your address, but I would always check if one street has more real estate value over another. Being a corner block, the challenge is ensuring you create privacy on street frontages, so you don't feel exposed (but still get the natural light you need) 7. In Qld, yes, there is lots of sunshine. However, managing the heat load is essential for homes to feel great. So orienting spaces to the north and east, and reducing the access into the home from western sun. Creating overhangs that protect and shade from high northern summer sun, and also creating shady areas outside your home that cool breezes before they enter the house. 8. Working out your budget at the get go is a great start, and factoring in all those fees as well. I recommend that you think about what will add value to your home, and make your experience easier too. As with any industry, there are great architects, and not so great architects. However, choosing the right professional with great expertise - well, the money they save, and the value they build into your design and home - should more than cover their fees. I am very clear (even as an architect) about not pushing people to use architects ... however I struggle with the advice that says "an architect will cost too much - use a good draftsperson". We spend a lot of time in our homes, and a lot of money on them (often a 30 year mortgage!). If you were about to invest $100,000 or $200,000 in the stock market, what level of expert would you speak to about that? Perhaps thinking about it that frame of mind will help. Because you could be spending this renovation money on anything - so it needs to be an investment that adds value to your home, and your lifestyle in it. I have lots of free help and advice on my website, and send out more in my free weekly UA News (which you can get by popping your email address in on my website). Best wishes as you progress with your planning for your home. Warm Regards Your Secret Ally, Amelia, UA x www.undercoverarchitect.com amelia@undercoverarchitect.com ps - here are some before and after shots of a home we renovated in The Gap. You can see more piccies here ... http://undercoverarchitect.com/portfolio/denning-st/...See MoreCalifornian Bungalow extension ideas please
Comments (29)oklouise, thank you for taking the time to pull together such a comprehensive and thoughtful design. There are lots of elements we like, and there are a few things we feel will be problematic. The reorienting of the house towards the East doesn't sit well with our vision of our living areas facing into the back yard. I love the courtyard area (screened room) you've created, but would prefer something like that at the back of the house, not the side. There is insufficient room to make the NE side of the house the 'back yard'. I like the storage you've created in the hall way but I still see the need to remove the old fireplace in the old kitchen, if it's cost effective and structurally possible. We'd like all bedrooms of a similar or standard size, so I'm not too sure about the smallish bedroom remaining the same size (the one with the toilet cut out of it). We'd like the front room to remain the main bedroom, and thus include an ensuite and WIR, rather than pushing the main bedroom to the back of the house. We don't want or need a third bathroom - just unnecessary and more room to keep clean!! Plus, there's no room for guests, LOL. We definitely want the garage to sit at the left hand side of the house, but probably a double carport moreso than a garage. We also like the idea of a built in desk/study that can be closed off - without building a whole study (room). So much to think about and your plan has provided some really different ways of thinking about the floor plan and orientation. Thank you for this. The parents outdoor retreat is divine!...See MorePlan with Internal Courtyard - Advice Please
Comments (66)siri - re boundary construction it of course depends upon the specific context - the issue in this case is the site fall and being on the high side there could be potential issues of building heights from the NGL on the neighbour's side....my comment was also in respect to considering a terrace structure above a close to boundary structure and complexity that would be thrown up with screening and structural offsets etc.....and this is sometimes worth pursuing where space is tight, however I'm anticipating here there is a fair bit of room to move and I'm guessing (an educated guess based on limited contextual information provided ) that a more cost effective/simpler option on a number of levels will be to (a) keep things off the northern boundary and (b) minimise renovation scope and consider a strategic rear extension that focuses on master bedroom zone and cleaning up the main living zone - if the majority of the existing spaces are retain structurally and limit renovation to cosmetic upgrades then the budget will stretch a lot further but net result is a more valuable property - and a more cost-effective value adding proposal that on paper is more likely to be accepted for finance.........this is always a integrated numbers game/exercise We're working on a job at the moment that we crunched numbers on various options & scope/configurations, but the two "shortlisted" of them were very similar - one slightly more expanded and pushing out to boundaries, the other more tightly disciplined, simpler and deliberately keeping building extension off boundaries. Whilst both of the shortlisted proposals essentially accommodated/covered the client's requirements outcomes, we estimated approx $100K accumulative difference one way or the other...........See MoreHelp! Flooring advice needed
Comments (11)thank you for all of your comments. The main issue is that this wall faces quite a steep hill, so if I excavate too much I run the risk of creating a 'pool' under a suspended floor, facing the hill. This would be a disaster for the old double-brick home, which already has damp problems from water from the hill. My other concern about a slab is creating a permanent damp patch next to the house, assuming the black plastic membrane under a slab would be permanently damp (no evaporation). The mortar throughout the original house is lime mortar which is highly permeable and turns to dust when permanently damp John Cameron, I appreciate you mentioning passive solar, I'm familiar with this. Would it be best in this case to put rigid foam (say 50mm) under the actual slab before casting it? There will still be a thermal bridge at the perimeters though. MB Design I like the idea of a graded slope under a suspended timber floor, so will check with a structural engineer as to 150->400 allowance, noting my comment above about not wanting to pond water Two's Company I like the idea of a cement sheet for the wet room area - I have actually done a bathroom like this before and it works with great waterproofing. TBH I'm wondering right now if I should just redesign the whole thing. I'm going to make another post to canvas opinions on the two options and costs. Thank you! Sue...See MoreMargo
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