Loving all your photos!

Dear all, I am seeking input on what to do about the roof line of our planned extension, which I have posted about before. We are replacing an old 80s extension on our Federation villa, the house is in a historic part of our suburb and we are on a corner block so we need it to look good from the side street (the South). The local council likes to see a clear differentiation between the “old” and the “new” , but have advised that the use of different exterior materials and window styles for example would likely suffice, for example if the roof style is similar. Our building designer ‘s initial drawings connect the two sections of the building per the diagrams using a wide and deep 40 cm boxed gutter only 2m long each side of the joining roof - the joining roof is there to show the building as a long single structure, however it's not required for any structural purpose. We are not sure if we are happy with this look. ( I find rooflines etc hard to picture). An alternative might be having a flattish roofed section of say 1-2 m width connecting the two pitched sections , with parapet walls at either end, giving a clearer distinction between old and new. The areas under the flattish section in the room layout lend themselves to this approach perhaps. A simple extension of the front section roof backwards was rejected because the old villa roof is of the old style “box gutter in a large depression” type and we wouldn’t want to exacerbate that problem. Any thoughts appreciated, thankyou

answering your questions: change the sliding door to a bench height sliding window and use the salvaged sliding door in the western end of the dining room where the best entry position is for the deck, you MUST have a proper legal drains do not consider anything else...the drain pipe for the garage laundry can be on top of the concrete floor, behind the washing machine and through the sink cabinet and/or under built in storage and only needs a few cms not a whole floor and no stepped up area that you would see or trip over.. the laundry can't be in a separate room as there's not enough space for a separate laundry without compromising the size of the garage...a laundry cupboard 80 cm deep is enough for the washing machine (allowing for the drainage pipe) you could use the old line cupboard to store anything you want but it's not cost effective to change, the entry foyer is already as big as in many modern homes and there's generous flatpac biw space in the small study.... the family bathroom is 2380 x 2370 (ie the old study minus 1m for hall way and wall thickness and, arranged exactly as shown to allow for the wide window there should be space for a bath up to 1800 x 750, vanity about 1200 x 500 and shower space 1200 x 800 and leftover space makes the small linen cupboard with the door deliberately opening towards the shower to use the back of the door for hanging racks for towels and clothes....btw i understood your priority was maximizing separate sleeping rooms and minimising costs...my last plan has five separate sleeping rooms plus the lounge with sofa bed totalling sleeping places for at least 10 people plus the potential for bunks in the garage so you need to decide what is most important and where you're prepared to compromise

I would be looking carefully at your bathroom and powder room arrangements, especially with the shower and water splash distances. I can't see any shower screens to either shower? As it is drawn I hope you like mopping floors after every shower. For a family home there will be privacy issues when someone needs to access the laundry, while another family member is having a shower. I would separate the laundry and family bathroom into two distinct rooms as the current design is a compromise. With space so tight the second shower in the powder room seems excessive, and it is so small it is not very functional. You need to think carefully about the freestanding bath, the space it takes up, and the cleaning around it. A more traditional bath hob will give you fewer compromises in other areas as it will take up less space. Have you considered flyscreening with your bi-fold doors to the rear? Have you considered how you are going to furnish the living room? There is lots more, no doubt other Houzzers will pick up on. If you want a proper, detailed design/review or chat feel free to contact me. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls