We are in a warmer area however put in undertile (inscreed) heating in the bathrooms. It is great. As it is not in the slab it does not take long to heat up and we have it on a thermostat which works well. It cost about $1000 for two bathrooms. A larger area would be cheaper as much of the cost was in the timer, thermostat and controls. We then did not bother with a tastic thing on the ceiling which is inefficient and just have a nice light fitting and a plain exhaust fan. I would see it as a must have. You might only have options for underfloor heating under a tiled floor with an existing slab. Have a think about slow combustion. They are dirty and dusty. The wood is a lot of work and can be expensive depending on your area. They may also take up a lot of space in your house and you need to have them close to a door to bring the wood in. They work for us at the moment as I am at home with young children. When I was at work it was an insufferable chore to get the fire going of an evening when I got home from work and there was washing to be brought in. I would see it as a "nice to have if you have the space, time and wood" Think about your lifestyle are you at home a lot or just after work? This will impact on what you need. I would go gas if I had access to it. Just make sure whatever system you have has zones and a programmable timer to reduce cost. Reinsulating your roof goes without saying and will make a big difference.

The go-to professional for advice on whether you can sub-divide, is a Land surveyor who specialises in title solutions. However, in order to establish what is the possible and most worthwhile for you, you will need to have some start-up development funds. You will need a recent survey of the land so that you know just how many square meters you have. You will need to establish what are Council rules applying to your block of land. Are there mandated set backs from boundaries? are their minimum lot sizes for houses/units? What is the allowable height? Where is the height measured from? You need to read, very carefully, all of the planning documents relating to your property e.g. the Local Environment Plan, Councils policies for your area, the rules pertaining to materials preferred by Council's policies and many, many other matters. Best to spend some money on a Town Planner to give you a report on the constraints on your site and what could be possible. Once you have ascertained what may be possible if you comply with all of the rules, an Architect should be consulted and commissioned to prepare just sketch plans for several options for development. An architect can give you an idea of building costs per sq. m. This usually ranges from $ 1,700 to 3 to 4 and even $5,000 per sq. m. Add to this a contingency of at least 20% plus , amounts for Council D/A fees, professional fees e.g. architect (who can often save money for you ) quantity surveyor, engineer, land surveyor, and maybe for a traffic engineer. You can see why you need a start-up kitty. Once you have a ballpark figure of what the optimum development may cost (do not forget to include the interest payments for borrowed funds ), it is time to seek advice from several local agents as to the likely sale prices. Then, and only then, are you able to judge whether any development will give a return. Residential development is a complicate matter requiring skill and judgement. My advice is carefully investigate all of the above before making up your mind. I suggest that you look at lots of episodes of "Grand Designs" and count up the people who have overreached and overspent, many to their detriment.

A beautiful and sympathetic facade transformation and update to accomodate a needs of the family.

Can you please stop posting unless you are responding to someones design dilemma. If everyone used this as an advertising site it would loose its purpose. It is really turning me off your company.