Colorbond probably isn't any cheaper than anything else. Downlights can be installed though. What about Moisture Resistant Plasterboard, its similar to the plasterboard on walls but can handle your situation. Costs again are really any cheaper. Another option is Ecoply. The grooved pattern which looks like t&g boards is already milled into it, Which would only need painting once installed. Most of the cheaper products are fairly close in costs so the savings are marginal.

the shape of the extended roof depends on the available height as which roofing material is used...i notice that the existing verandah has two sets of posts as though it has already been extended and appears to have corrugated iron on the verandah roof which really needs a higher slope to function effectively over greater distances...although it will be so much more work and cost i suggest that the very best result would be achieved if you first decided what size undercover spaces you need and then redesign the whole space rather than adding on an extension ..my suggested small gable is only on top of the existing verandah roof to add some interest instead of having a deeper verandah across the whole front of the house you could add a new area at right angles to the existing house that could is much more generous and avoid changing too much of the original...post a rough floor plan of the house showing inside rooms, verandah (showing all the posts) SIZES, direction of north, and any views, describe your climate and show the distance from the front of the house to any front and side fences how do you plan to use the new space??

" It is sooo tricky to get the balance right between modern and sympathetic to 70's." 100%, and if this stuff was easy, us Pro's wouldn't have a job ;) It's always ALL about balance, and when it comes to questions of what to do to existing dwellings it's probably just as much about what you don't do. You need to get the scaling , articulation and detail right. You don't want to do something that looks tacked on and incongruent with the existing. If you are extending a deck to the side on an upper level you'll need to take into consideration potential overlooking to neighbouring private space. We're currently working on a similar upper level deck extension to an existing 70's dwelling, and what we've done is use a combination of different balustrade materials (charcoal random depth timber battening & frameless glass) to simultaneously control the overlooking, focus the outlook, and achieve a balanced complimentary design. It depends on what the deck is for, is it for private use or are you trying to gain access to a view? These things will all influence the design. Budget of course will also influence what you do. The design solution ultimately should begin with responding to the function first and foremost, and then what it actually looks like will (should) naturally spring from this in conjunction with a sensitive response in balance with the existing & with consideration of your budget constraint Good luck! PD www.pauldistefanodesign.com

With a North facing house the sun makes the front of house quite hot but only on those few days a year when it is over 40 with no sea breeze and I love the heat so ceiling fans work for me. The back of the house is much cooler and the winds generally come from the ocean side but can be from all directions at times as we know. On the west side of the house it is only app 1m to the fence line and so the option of having the garage on that side isn't viable. Sorry I am not up on terminology so when I said the set back was 7 odd metres that is the current set back from the front of my house to the road. The council requires 3m for house and 4.5 for garages. I have been looking more at mid century modern design and I don't really like it so I am looking at ways of changing up the bland facade to disguise the fairly flat roof line. With those in the know could I add a front porch and somehow blend the roof line into my current one to look more like this style? I realise it means saving more to afford it so on top of my current budget. I am just not sure how the roof line of the porch would look at the back end (how it would attach to my roof and look from the side and back) I wouldn't want it to look like it was just stuck on at the front. Would I carry that through to back of house so end up with a witches hat roof or is there a better way you can see this working. Once again thank you for all of your input I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to help me :)