I'm amazed that this discussion has carried forward for nearly two years! In that time I have moved to another coastal area (cooler climate and better proximity to children) and this time found most of the discussion still rings true. Finding another home here was an incredibly frustrating journey made all the worse by a mad investor rush in the area just when we arrived to start our home search. That search took the best part of six months and in the end there would only be three or four houses to choose from in any week. Result? A rushed purchase, a desperately inadequate building inspection and failure on my part to notice poor bathroom tiling, shortage of closet and storage pace, just how small the lounge room really was, and etc. I disappointed myself because I had let the pressures beat me and now we are trying to resolve all of these issues in a home designed and built by one of this states most respected project home builders 25 years ago. Having now studied the floor plan with more care I realise it was put together (designed) in modular fashion - most bedrooms have similar dimensions and the living areas are all approximately the same size as if the designer simply juggled three boxes of one size and four of another size and then worked out traffic flow. Then he must have thrown them all in the air to see how they would land and that was design number two! And etc and so on. This house aside, we looked at a great many during the six months because we had to broaden our search above and below budget trying to find something. There were massive termite problems, leaky roofs, asbestos galore, gazzumping at every turn, almost all but the most expensive properties suffered at least one substantial fail for the most basic of needs and to top it off the best home in our price range just happened to be built on flood prone land - approved by council who put the flood signs up less than five years earlier. We live and learn. Then there were the real estate agents, but that would take another two years and I doubt the internet has enough free page space available!!! OK, I hear you, they're not ALL bad...

You never mentioned your budget that you're willing to spend. You could add a thicker fill backed insulation blanket - 50mm, 75mm or 100mm are the common thicknesses. Steep roof pitch so would need scaffolding, harnesses, etc.. which adds up quickly. Probably still not enough insulation though but probably cheapest option. Insulation under existing timber linings then reline over the top of that as some have suggested. Working at height though so would need scaffold set up again and working overhead is not fun nor easy. You could replace the roof with a sandwich panel roof. Try Versiclad or Kingspan or comparable. They have a polystyrene type of insulation between an outer metal roof sheet and a metal inner sheet. These are heat laminated together. Again different thickness available from 50mm up to 180mm is common. The 180mm has a R rating of 4.7 which is quite good. Again steep pitch, etc., probably need new ridge capping, etc.. Probably most expensive option...... Keep us all posted on your decision though!

You are most welcome, I have always said that I haven't been put on this earth to "Hug" toilets, so I'am wondering who is going to clean all of these Bathrooms. Our two kids a boy and a girl had the upstairs "apartment" which they and all their friends loved. I have added a timber stair case for fun, there's plenty of space but you will need to decide what you want to do in the attic and place the stairs to open up into a tall space. I have also turned one of the ensuites into a powder room. Your Jacaranda's only drop once a year!, you used to be able to trim them by 25% each year, you would need to check with your council, we were on the lower North Shore, I think you should consider the patio side of the house and make better use of that, is the front deck something you plan on adding because of aspect, and plant some tall growing hedge ready for the apartments. Our kids Attic desk/study space over looked our pool in the rear garden. With respect to using the formal rooms for bedrooms, you will find that once you have your large family/alfresco and the kids have their upstairs space if you still feel you need it, it would make a great office. You spend most of the time there only using only using the front room in the evening for watching movies etc. I have had another play with my floor plan, I think if your wife sees this you may be in trouble, it's a Master Suite, the free standing bath in the window alcove with white timber shutters for sun and privacy control..... Iam' adding a couple of photos of our old Federation which wasn't protected, when we sold it the new owners removed all of the Fret work & posts replacing them with simple timber posts. The front rooms which we didn't use very much once we opened up the rear rooms into a family area. The room with the Bay window had a Baby grand sitting there, we sold the piano before we took the photo. Cheers

Hi Ben, advise you engage a Pro to assist you with the front end design process. All these design decisions need to be founded securely on construction cost knowledge, and it's invariably about balancing your requirements to budget within context. Whether it's sub floor, 2nd storey or going out or whatever there are always options on how to achieve your needs and pro/cons & costs to stack up. Working out various configurations of spaces etc is relatively easy, however designing to budget is not, which is where you get the value of utilising professional services for this. These types of projects and investments involved are with all due respect too large, complex and significant to risk DIY'ing the critical front end. You can give it a go but I'll bet you continue to go round in circles. As we explain to our clients in the preliminary conversations, it's not your job to "work it out". All you need to "work out" at this stage is clarifying your particular living requirements and nominate a budget. The "how" and balancing up/negotiation/compromising between the project priorities/requirements and the budget limit is the job of the professional, what the design process deals with, and what we (as design professionals) have the superior capacity/experience to assist you working through it all to achieve the best solution for your particular situation/scenario. That's your best bet here. Hope this helps steer you in the right direction. Cheers PD