Hi Rob , You are entering an exciting time with a new home, good luck with it all . Just a couple of suggestions : (1) Any reason you are note considering an architect to be involved ? When chosen carefully they can be very cost effective , plus they will create the unique custom one off that you are after. Their design concepts will go far beyond just what the exterior looks like Rob, they will also consider ( for example) how a skillion roofline has other functional benefits like incorporating high line ( clerestory) windows that will bring fabulous light into the centre of your new home etc. They will also advise on orientation and wind etc etc and lots more . (2) Regardless of whether an architect is involved, I would suggest that you seriously consider getting someone to create a 3D walkthrough of your new home so that you can walk through and around it before you spend your money on construction. It really does let you see the visual effects, plus because the 3D is to scale , it will help you sort out any potential issues with design and /or construction in advance( i.e. saves you time and money during construction ) . The 3D's can be created once you have your plans and elevations completed. You can get the 3D's created fairly cheaply ( a few hundred $'s ) on www.freelancer.com where professionals from around the globe compete for your project . It is money well spent , and you can see the colours and textures in lifelike scenarios , so it takes away the mystery and what if's . Good luck with your project , and sorry, I don't like the dark blue at all :-) . Cheers Glenn

There's been discussion from the NSW State government claiming the proceeds of sale will build 300 social housing units (replacing the 79 that already exist within the Sirius building). However, I've not seen any evidence where these new units will be, nor a business case to show that the sale of land will actually generate enough money to build so many new apartments. The logic of it suggests that the new units will have to be located where land is super cheap i.e. the outskirts of Sydney, and that they'll be very small. These are not what I'd call good social housing outcomes. Heaps of evidence for instance that social housing (all housing really) needs to be located close to public amenities like public transport, schools, job opportunities etc. I think the government is confusing two issues here: the need protect our built heritage, and the need to provide social housing. Since there's been an enormous decline in government-funded social housing over recent decades, it's an amazing coincidence that they've suddenly decided to get back on the wagon just when an opportunity to demolish a Brutalist building comes up. The style is not universally loved, but that doesn't make it any less important. I wonder whether this would even be an issue if the Sirius building were in the much more widely loved Victorian style?

- Any wood fired heating we have would be purely run with wood from our farm, as opposed to buying anthracite. We would really like to have woodfire doing at least two jobs, i.e. cooking and heating/heating and hot water/cooking and hot water (as we are under the impression that solar hot water would not be enough in winter??). There's nothing like lighting a woodfire to keep your house warm, except for the great big hole in the insulation that it causes. As beautiful as they are (and I'm a massive fan of open/wood fires), they are pretty bad when it comes to ceiling penetrations. A lot of insulation is lost by having an open fire, a wood heater not so much, but still bad enough. For heating, the best advice I can give is this. You need a battery storage system! Then whatever type of heating you go for, you won't run out of energy for your cooking, cooling or anything else you won't to run at the same time. I believe this is a necessity, not to mention a very smart investment. If you want to be off grid, then be completely off grid. I personally don't believe in still being connected to the grid and having the energy your home creates, sold back to you for an absolute pittance. If you invest in a good battery set up, it'll last you up to 15 years and you'll have never have to worry about heating or cooling. I visited a house about 12 months ago that was off grid for power. They purchased an induction cooktop and electric oven, that way the idn't have to worry about refilling gas bottles or having a gas bill come in either. They didn't have the smartest idea when it came to lights as they were still using halogen's, but even still, their battery system never went under 80%. Even during winter, with two teenagers, and a couple of plasma tv's, playstations and all other sorts of electrical goods that they used. They were never too careful so as to make sure they had power in reserve. They just lived life and if they needed to make adjustments, then they could've done. But they didn't need to. That was all done with a 5.5Kw/H system. You'd be surprised how well solar hot water works. It just depends on the type of system you get. Again with battery backup, you won't need to worry. - We are planning to insulate the slab, but have not gotten as far as deciding what product we would use, are there several different products like the one you described? We do plan to have polished concrete flooring throughout the entire house – with the possible exception of bedrooms on the south, if absolutely necessary they will have carpet. I know it's probably more expensive, but I would recommend the Kingspan K3 Floorboards. It is a brilliant product and I recommend it to be used in all my jobs. The effect it has on an energy rating is massive. Depending on the layout and orientation of the house, just by adding slab insulation, I have noticed an increase of almost a full star difference in the rating. So that's from 6 star compliance, to 7 star above average. Here is the product site: https://www.kingspan.com/au/en-au/products-brands/insulation/insulation-boards/kooltherm-k3-floorboard - We will also be aiming to have the optimal amount of glazing for solar gain (and prevention of heat loss). I still haven’t worked out why I can’t upload a picture of our plans, but will do ASAP as we would love to hear feedback on our plan. As for the layout, you just need be mindful of window sizes and orientation. If you have the time before you build to play around with a few different variations of your plans, it might be a good idea, as just by changing a couple of small things, it can give you large benefits. One of the main focuses I have with my business is to help people such as yourself utilise the energy rating software to make small changes at the design stage, instead of just using such a powerful tool at the building permit stage. By then it's too late to make any significant changes. Just keep that in mind. It's a small price to pay to know that your house is going to be as energy efficient as it can be. If you want to, feel free to email me the plans and I can give them a quick look for you. Just to give you some quick advice on them. Giuliano green design & consulting

Hello houzz helpers! We have a rough new plan! The kitchen, living, dining are on the north and bedrooms are on the south. We are planning to push the house to the rear (south) of our 1 acre block and have a long driveway. We can look out onto our beautiful (in time) front yard and watch the kids run wild! We plan on using landscaping along a front fence for privacy. I am concerned with the size, in regards to being way over budget, but I am hoping the simple shape of the roof will help to offset some of that. I was thinking I would get the plan as close to what we want/need then get quotes and scale back if we need to, which will involve another post on houzz ofcourse! We would love your honest feedback and I am happy to answer any questions...