The Tankulator is pretty handy, I'm just trying to figure out how I should account for fire sprinkler capacity as well. I found some sprinkler specifications online and roughly calculated that we would need 50,000L+ in the event of a fire if we use impact style sprinklers on the roof and sprays under the eves. When you ad that to normal household use it really starts getting up there. Being that the location falls under a Bushfire Management Overlay and has quite a bit of vegetation surrounding the property we wouldn't want to use poly tanks so we figure that either leaves steel or concrete, or we could potentially custom build a 1m deep tank (block & concrete) under the garage, effectively giving 36,000L of storage if it's a standard 6x6 garage. We would also supply a stand alone 10,000L steel tank at the front of the property with appropriate fitting for the CFA as is specified in the BAL standards.

Hi Kristen There are two ways to do this. One is to obtain a standard besser block and lay it on its side. The hollow centre creates a rectangular (either single or double) shape. The other is to check with the demolition contractors that do salvage as they have yards where they stash this sort of thing. I have had great success finding old matching tiles etc at Brajkovich Demolition. They are out at the back of middle swan from memory but worth a call as a starting point. Cheers

Firstly, describing a blocks orientation, just be aware that the terms "facing" & "frontage" are often confused. Usually the term "facing" is used to describe the direction from the house to the backyard (as this is often the direction the living areas will face). So a north facing block actually has a southern frontage. Before talking about the ideal block (with regards to orientation), lets talk about the ideal house. Note, these are generalizations, & will be affected by your location, & local climate. The above website tells us, that for most Australian climates, the ideal house shape is rectangular, stretched along the E-W axis. That is, the longer sides of the house will face N & S, the shorter sides will face E & W. We also learn that it's beneficial to locate living areas (& a large proportion of your glazing) to the north, where they'll be warmed by the winter sun, but shaded in summer by appropriate length eaves (when the sun is higher in the sky). As glass is a poor insulator, a lower proportion of glazing should face S. Southern windows will cool the house in winter (as they will not receive sun). When the sun is to the E & W it is lower in the sky, so eaves become less effective. So a lower proportion of glazing should face E, & W facing glazing should be minimised or eliminated (as hot afternoon summer sun can make a home unbearably hot). W facing bedrooms are particularly bad, & can become unbearably hot on summer evenings. So how do we find a block that accomodates a rectangular house, that is not overshadowed from the North? It's often possible on a large rural block, but not easy to do in an urban environment, where blocks often have narrow frontages. So compromises often have to be made. A southern frontage block, with a north facing backyard, is the most sort after block. This is because a living area facing north will also face the backyard, offering privacy (your husband will be happy). This type of block also reduces the chance of being overshadowed to the north. But as mentioned above, urban blocks are often long, with narrow frontages. This limits the length of the northern & southern sides of the house, increasing the length of the east & western sides, which is not ideal. Our rectangle doesn't face the ideal direction. So it's great to have a large frontage, building right out to the side boundaries, increasing the length of the northern & southern sides (& reducing the E & W sides). Also care must be taken, that an alfresco doesn't rob the home of northern sunlight (north is not an ideal location for the alfresco). An eastern or western frontage isn't bad, if you're happy to locate your living areas facing north, down the side of the house. But this can cause privacy issues, so is not for everyone. Also, for narrow E or W frontages, it's likely that northern living areas will be overshadowed by northern neighbours. So, again, a wide frontage is ideal, & it's a good idea to build close to the southern boundary, & have a side yard to the north. This will prevent overshadowning. One advantage with a western frontage, a large double garage will block western summer sun. An eastern frontage home can have a large W facing alfresco, which can help shade the home from western sun. For a similar reason, a northern frontage usually not a great idea. This is because a double garage will block northern sun, making the house dark, & cold in winter. For a northern frontage block, sloping down to the road, it may be possible to have the garage under the house, so that it doesn't block northern sunlight, but as you say, sloping blocks will increase the cost of the build (though it may be an interesting build). I've just described the four main compass points. Moving away from These complicates things, making it harder to shade windows. I'd certainly steer clear of NW facing living areas, as NW facing glazing is difficult to shade, & will become very hot in summer. Note also, that designing for local breezes & cross ventilation will complicate window placement a little more. The direction of summer cooling breezes in Perth is very different from breezes in Sydney. To your other question. As mentioned earlier, glass is a poor insulator. So, if you plan to use a lot of glazing to highlight views, it is best that the views (& the glazing) DO NOT face south. You'll have a cold house in winter, or very high energy bills, or will have to pay for very expensive glazing to minimise the heat loss. It's much better if the views (& the glazing) faces north, as long as the glass is shaded in summer (appropriate length eaves will do this. So for me, the ideal block (which would be very hard to come by), would be a very wide southern frontage block, with views to the north. Living areas to the north, bedrooms to the south, garage in the SW corner. So yes, if you can, I'd hold out for a block with views & the backyard facing north. Though there's compromises with every block.

The idea to extend out under the eaves was to add and use available space under the existing roof. you will see the 3 eave extensions marked with circles Both bedrooms would continue the bump out wall next to the robes for a desk space or other by using the bricks from the exterior wall and the return/Nib wall. The Nib wall between both the robe and desk would be framed out with timber and Gyprock so that all the original bricks ca be used in the new wall. A concrete base of approx 600 deep will need to be added to both new desk spaces. The third bump out wall suggested was in the laundry space which would reuse the existing sliding door and bricks and bring it inline with the kitchen wall, once again it will need a fill in concrete slab of approx 600 deep but no extra roof expense applies. The Carport I think has no walls so nothing to demolish there it would however need 3 new walls of brick or cladding as previously mentioned plus the extra narrow concrete slab on one short wall and part of the long wall. Stepping from the old now wider laundry into the new Master you would need a new small slab across the end of the old Carport. This section would need a small section of roof to either sit up to or under the corner eaves, this could be slopping glass or Metal. All renovations/ extensions will involve a need to match exterior walls which can be done by rendering or cladding, in particular the new walls ( the bedroom extension walls would include the existing robe walls) All of this only requires the addition of a small roof section in the corner of the laundry and the carport Eaves, a small sloping glass roof here would add some Wow factor plus the aspect is perfect.. A few small additions can make such a difference for a smaller outlay. A new double carport can be factored in to be done in the next stage as you have plenty of space to work with You mention the use of a Modular system, along with OKL and my suggestions you could have a livable shed costed by local Professionals. would be interested to see what the difference is