Astraea, when I emptied mum's unit, I just absolutely turned everything upside down and inside out. Luckily I found money in the first drawer I opened that put me on my guard. Talking about going out in the car reminded me - mum had a disabled parking sticker that had to be attached to the windscreen if the car she was in was parked in a disabled parking area. When she came to live with me I kept it in the glovebox of my car at the ready, but somewhere along the line when mum had first got the sticker someone must have given her very clear instructions to ensure she kept the sticker with her at all times as they were readily stolen. Obviously whoever had explained said that it had to be displayed on the windscreen when the car was parked, but mum, in the fog she was in by this time, didn't get that bit. One time I had to go to the RTA to have mum's address changed to mine so of course I had to take her with me for her to verify things. I parked in a disabled spot as they are wider for wheelchair access, put the sticker on the windscreen, got the wheelchair out of the boot and got mum into it, not taking any notice of anything she was doing. We got into the RTA, took a number and waited a while before we were served, then I took mum over to the counter and explained the situation, whereupon mum pulls the sticker out of her handbag to show the clerk. Of course I freaked as they are very quick to book you if you are illegally parked in these spaces and told mum she wasn't to take it off the windscreen again. Mum felt she was really going to get one up on me as she was always going crook at me putting it on the windscreen for people to see it and break into the car to steal it, and told the clerk to tell me the rules how I wasn't to leave it in the car. I think the poor woman wet herself seeing the comedy side of it, but trying to keep a straight face while she tried to get through to mum that it had to be on the windscreen. Of course mum just kept arguing with her then that she knew better because of what she had been told. In the end the clerk told me to get back to the car before I got booked but said to let her know if I was and she would try to clear things for me. Fortunately I wasn't but after that I had to be so careful to ensure I put the sticker on my side of the car (which it wasn't supposed to be) but it was the only way I could stop mum getting to it.

This is beauty of good design. Dramatic changes can make an incredible impact. As I originally mentioned an extension was added to the back of the original kitchen and extended out past the original envelope of the building. The kitchen then was moved 180 degrees to opposite wall. There also are no bells and whistles in this kitchen and no soft close drawers, just the basics.

Haha fiona-b, (not) actually that is the correct method for disposing of carp, they are to be left well up the bank otherwise they have been known to be abe to flip themselves back into the water from quite some distance, as they stay alive for what seems like a really long time. It's actually illegal to put the fish back into the water if you catch it and I guess there isn't a "bin it" spot for carp!! When other fish are caught and cleaned, the remains I think are thrown back in for the birds etc... but not so with the carp. Howevr, I would hate to be smelling the dogs too haha My dog once rolled in something dead when I had her away from home in a paddock and I couldn't do a thing about it and she was with me in the tractor (close quarters) it was horendous!!

Hi guys, thank for the suggestions. Here is a bit more info. The design requirement for the estate is min 450mm of eaves on all sides, except for the garage if it is on the south side. The movie (sitting) room needs to be min 4x4m. This area is all new so at the moment it is just land and a street that leads up to the corner. Most people in the area are building two storeys though, and the lot is next to a corner lot on the south side. The corner house could be like this, which means it may also be 90mm to their fence too: It is medium density housing area so most likely people will build right up to 90mm of the fence, which would be dark in the downstairs middle part of the house. Macyjean: You can't typically build over an easement, and the plan appears to show the garage beside the easement not on it, so what's the thinking with putting the garage on the easement side? Reply: According to the area design guidelines, if the garage is on the south side then it can be zero lot (no eaves) on the 1.5m boundary which will mean that there will be more space saved. 1.5m needs to be clear from the easement, including eaves. In the first diagram, there is 1993mm space (development team did it, they said it’s give or take space as it has yet to be built). Yes I am wanting to make amendments to the house (the ones that I can make) which will passively cool and heat, without going to the expense of a passive house. Macyjean: You've got a northern aspect along the longest length which is great, but to utilise that you need the house as far to the southern side as possible to make the most of the northern sun and avoid overshadowing by the neighbours. Reply: Does that mean there are no other ways to utilise the space other than to have the northern walls away from the fence as possible? I am wanting to research if there are any. If I look into westerly windows in the bedrooms, what would be the difference between double glazing and an external shutter? Macyjean: You need to think about the dining area windows too, of course you want light and to have a nice view, so landscaping might help there, such as deciduous trees. Reply: Yes I want to bring the outside in and frame the garden with the windows. Dreamer: I suggest you build a "C" shape house that has the backyard in the middle on the north side. Reply: That is a great idea to have a C or an L shape floor plan. The design guidelines require a 4m setback at the back so there will still be a ‘back’ yard and a courtyard. My husband is partial to narrow homes so I will need to discuss the positives. I have yet to find a C shape floor plan in the mainstream project builders so it might need to be created. The Master Suite will be redrawn so its 3x4m, if there is extra space I will try to convince that it is needed in the main bathroom (yes I agree it could do with another metre). I know a 3x4m bathroom can be seen as overkill for some but we saw a bathroom that we both loved and at the moment we will see if its ok to have in the house. Our current ensuite is 3x2m with toilet, sink and shower and it’s too small and dark for our liking so I use the main bathroom and the husband uses the ensuite. Dreamer: In your ground level design. Put the powder room and the laundry on the south side. You have a 1500mm easement, to utilise as the walk out, which is where your washing line could go. And the sitting room on the north side. Reply: The sitting room will be a theatre room so we thought that it makes sense to put it on the south side as it will be cool and dark in there. That’s why it’s a bit weird where the laundry is because in the original Hampshire 45, we reversed the back so that the stairs and outdoor room is on the north side ( so the stair window can be north facing, and outdoor room to get more sun). The outdoor room will be a vergola so the roof can be controlled and opened up in the winter (saw these Vergolas at the home expo and was super excited that it can bring in light to the dining area). Kate: First think is to work out your min offsets on all 4 sides at ground level and at 1st floor, noting setback requirements, How close can you build to edge of easement? This will be your max building envelope. You need to also consider the envelopes of adjacent properties so you can maximise your sunlight and protect from its loss as adjacent houses are built. You know you need to maximise northern offset and minimise to the south. Reply: The setback is 4m to the back and 4.4m to the front building line. We can build to 1.5m of the drainage easement, and 90cm to the fence on the north side. It would have been much easier if the drainage was on the north side, which is why I am looking around for some suggestions. Dreamer: So that does make it very tight, even though you have a step out on the street side. Reply: Yes I agree. Maybe an option could be to swap the layout of the ensuite to the main bathroom. In the original floor plan, the WIR is where the ensuite is and where the ensuite currently is, is a bedroom. Dreamer: This is another example of a home that is built to utilise the northern side being the length of the block. Home is built by Oswald homes. and is under copyright laws. Reply: Thanks for the floor plan from Oswald Homes. The guidelines say that the front door needs to face the street. It would be great option though. Oklouise: Reply: Thanks for sharing the floor plan. Is there a way to have the sitting/movie room min of 4x4m? Measurements are hard to see with low res image. With project homes there are some limitations with moving elements around (the stairs need to stay in position or reversed), so it would mean finding a floorplan with the stairs in that position and then moving other rooms around. KiwiMills: Thanks OKLouise, but her original upstairs, looks like a solid wall. Yours is much better. Reply: Yes I would look at adding some cross ventilation windows (1 or 2) to the north master bedroom wall. It will most probably face a wall which is why I would choose cross ventilation walls and have the main view to the front of the house.