unable to clearly read the measurements my suggestions are based on guestimates and include rearranging the bathrooms and laundry and a minor extension to create a more generous dining area open to a bigger new deck...it looks like the block may be quite steep so i'm wondering if an elevated pool off the deck would be more comfortable to use regularly with the pool and deck fencing combined...?

please overwrite the measurements more clearly in BIG numbers and add the distance from the house to the fences to invite more suggestions and for ideas for the garage and front entry

Hi

Thanks for the feedback oklouise. I have uploaded the plans with clearer dimensions. Hopefully its helps.

In regards to the plan I like the extension gaining extra space where the laundry was and the new bathroom position.

We will need to keep 4 bedrooms) 3 children), the laundry will need to move as it is in prime view position. The current wet areas are all old and need replacing so happy for them to move.

Can the 3 bedrooms and bathroom/laundry move to end of the house where your new bathroom is located. This would mean moving the main bedroom to the living room (this has nice views back to the mountain). Bed 2 becomes an entrance. Garage in front of the new family bathroom? The rest would be seperate TV area in dining, the rest being kitchen, dining, family in open plan living

Also with the pool and decking the quotes for having a pool 2m off the ground height were too expensive. One idea was to have the 2m deck split in two linking the pool at ground level and house together - pool, 1m deck, 1m step, deck off the house.

Thanks for the plans Oklouise. There is currently only one step up from the carport to ground level and then another 2 steps up to the entry area.

With the plan can the ensuite be incorporated into the master bed area and have the family area larger as I think the section onto the deck in particular is small.

With the laundry, the clothesline will located on the northern wall of the house so it won't need to be located on the deck. If the garage is placed in front of bed 2 there is already a window on the southern wall. Could a combined bathroom laundry work in this space? We would need a seperate bath,shower toilet and basin

this is definitely the best floorplan so far although there's no access from the deck to the bathroom through the laundry unless you had an external laundry door and walk around the side and there's very little left of the original internal walls and plumbing so this renovation will be more expensive...there's an optional hallway for the master bedroom (outside of the original front door) and extra windows for the new kitchen, bathroom, wc and ensuite would allow for better light and ventilation and the laundry would need to be wider to allow for the optional external door with about 20 cm stolen off the new bathroom

btw please explain the narrow gap between old bed 2 and bed 3

Thanks for the plans i do agree that these are the best so far. In terms of the plumbing moving around that doesn't concern me that much as the wet areas need to be replaced anyway and there is easy underfloor access. Hopefully it doesn't cost too much more than just replacement. I think the hallway into the master will be a good idea.

What do you think about a small extension on the deck to square of the sitting area and stop before bed 3 (it is concrete base so only need to extend roof line and the wall will be majority windows/doors anyway which would be new with the current plan.

The narrow gap between bed 2/3 is an existing cupboard in the old bed 4. It would be removed.

1. the hallway for the master bedroom is subject adding some extra roof and ceiling and removing the old front door wall cladding (brick? but could be incorporated into a flat roofed covered entry porch (please advise the dimensions of the entry including the old living room door, the front door and any side windows) 2. the narrow gap between the bedrooms doesn't seem to be deep enough but could be replaced with a wardrobe and then use the original old bed 3 wardrobe space as a linen cupboard from the hallway 3. the small extension is subject to the shape of the existing roofs and how it all fits together...please post a plan showing the shape of the whole roof and/or photos showing as much of the whole roof as possible from every side ...do you want external access for the laundry? do you plan to build a whole new deck? what do you want to put on the deck? do you need the deck to have roof or walls?

Thanks for your assistance with the plans. I think they are progressing nicely. I really like the new entrance area and the kitchen location. The sitting area is a small problem as it's in prime location but would be under utilised.


1 The new hallway would be under the existing roof line. It would simply need a new wall/window moved out
2 I think leaving the existing bed 3 wardrobe and having cupboards on the other side of entry would work well( help to fill that void)
3 I have posted a picture of the roof line. Hopefully it helps to determine if roof can easily be extended
4 if the roof does go out could the kitchen could move slightly forward to allow for a thin butlers pantry/laundry with direct access to northern boundary clothesline. Would this work? We could the make bed 4 and the bathroom area larger.
5 in the master area can the ensuite run along the entire back wall and the Tv room door blocked off. Cupboards could then be built along Tv wall and ensuite wall. This would mean not moving the large window and probably having more cupboard area
6 the current verandah is concrete. I was planning on squaring the angles off and covering with timber with stairs down 1m to pool landing area on the northern boundary. There is already a pergola covering this area that can be utilised.

more challenges!!! the first plan has red lines showing where walls would need to be removed and the second plan shows the predicted new roof widened and raised to allow for the enlarged family room: major structural changes, not cheap but worth obtaining a quote to make an informed decision.. consider a gable roof for the extension instead of a hip roof and ask the builder if there's any chance of raking the ceiling in the new family room with scissor trusses??

i've included most of the latest ideas except the new kitchen, laundry and pantry because i need more information: looking towards the side fence from the old kitchen ..what can you see towards your back fence and the neighbour? What's the measurement from inside floor height to ground level where you want the new laundry and can you show where you think the best window and/or laundry door positions might be?...i'm trying to work out best options for the laundry exit door and steps??

Thanks for the detailed plans they look great. I think the addition makes the space fantastic, bathroom looks much better and the ensuite seems to work. I will need to investigate cost vs affect.
If this is cost effective I'm just wondering if there is enough room for my idea in the attached crude image for the laundry/pantry. There is already a window (1200x900) in the current kitchen area that could be converted to a sliding door or plain external. It's about 800 down to ground level. The outside area is 3m to fence and there is just fence line and some new shrubs.

If the extension proves to costly do you think a rework of your old design could work?
Again I have provided a rough drawing of the idea

this variation has the new laundry and pantry with a sliding glass door at the end of the kitchen (the old kitchen window seems to be just at the junction of the walls? so it seems to make sense to have a sliding door from the kitchen out to a small deck (room for a breakfast table and screened from neighbours and west sun?) instead of wasting the door and nice outlook? on the laundry...i've also rearranged the master suite and suggest that the new garage and entry porch have a continuous flat roof with maybe entry gates and a pergola for the entry courtyard?? Why not cost the best version and you could rework a more modest version, if necessary and/or divide the work into stages eg new kitchen and family area followed by new minor bedrooms and family bathroom, then new deck and pool, then new garage and entry porch, then master suite..then long holiday!!

In all honesty, you are looking at a pretty expensive renovation so it is probably worthwhile getting some plans professionally done. The best alterations will be site specific, so will take into consideration the local climate, the path of the sun, where the best views are, anything blocking the sun anywhere, passive solar design, privacy from neighbours etc. It's just not possible to make a great design without all that information and it would be a real shame to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and not get the best result possible. Given that you haven't stated where you live, we don't even know whether North or South is the sunny side of the house, so it's impossible to suggest improvements!

I'd strongly suggest taking your time figuring out exactly what you want to achieve and how much you are willing to spend to do so. Even with easy access under the house, shifting plumbing will not be cheap (from memory our plumber had the highest hourly rate of all our tradespeople when we renovated), so you want to be very certain that you're doing the right thing and will love the results. If you can possibly keep the same roofline, that will help reduce costs significantly.

I'd also suggest using this as an opportunity to improve your house's performance, by insulating, improving the passive solar design, installing a heat recovery ventilation system, buying energy star appliances and LED lights etc. It's all the things that you won't see in the finished house that can have a major impact on how pleasant the house is to live in and how expensive it is to run, and they're easier to do when you're doing a major renovation anyway.

Good luck!

House plan help

I would like some points of view on the attached plans I have had drawn up so that I can have some other ideas to take back.

The middle plan is the original. On the first plan I would like to move the main bathroom and have the 3 bedrooms and bathroom up that end of house. There is no need for the study

The third plan needs a second living area and to move the laundry (similar to first plan). Bed 2 and the main bathroom need to switch sides.

One option I am thinking about is a triple garage across the front instead of double.
Any thoughts would be appreciated

Where do you live, Big D? It's impossible to comment on your plans until we know whether you're in the northern or southern hemisphere, and what your climate is (eg temperate, sub-tropical, tropical). Are you trying to bring in as much sun as possible, or keep it out as much as possible, or keep it out in summer but let it in in winter? Where do the prevailing winds come from at different times of the year, and are they hot/cold/wet/dry winds? We also need a plan of your roofline and window dimensions, as getting the dimensions of eaves correct for your climate is critical to the comfort and long-term running costs of your home. For example, if you're trying to keep the sun out in summer, but let it in in winter, your eaves will need to be much deeper if you have floor to ceiling windows than if your windows are only half height.

Thanks for your comment. The house is in Australia ( south eastern - inland). The climate is hot and dry in summer and cold (-2-14) in winter. No snow
The plan is to open the view to back of the house. From one of the plans you can see the direction of Nth which is the preferred aspect for winter sun.
The windows are currently floor to ceiling but will be replaced as they are old and in poor condition. We are looking at double glazing.
I don't have a roof line plan.
At this stage I want to see if the floor plan will work