roo, I'm so happy for Miss 6! That's the thing about kids, we worry like mad and they heal so quickly. She'll be the best in her gymnastics class, you'll see. I will have to pass on that walking bridge, or you go first, ok? judy! A mosquito! Too funny. How did you presentation go? Did they LOVE the wallpaper? MP, great job on the midget's walls! Who cut all the wood? It does look really good, has boo mappin seen it yet? I'll bet she loves it. Olldtrazz, sorry, I know nothing about sisal rugs. But I know about flokati rugs and I want one! I can't imagine how one would vacuum a flokati and I do know the dog would eat it so I don't think they're practical.

When I first wrote in August 2017 we got a lot of great suggestions and comments. At the time we had accepted the limitations of the block (easements, tree, solar access etc). It is now one year later and I can tell you we found a way to move the garage to the south-west corner. This allowed us to move Beds 2 and 3 and the bathroom to the northern side. Pantry and laundry between garage and kitchen/living/dining. I think it was all of the comments and suggestions that encouraged us to look at it again from different angles, rather than just accepting the limitations. Thanks to everyone for their generosity! The solution involved working around a lovely tree (it is nice, just in the wrong spot). It is still in the way (council said we couldn't remove it) but we've opted for a long, curving driveway that starts on the other side of the block and weaves its way around the treeline to the garage entry. Not ideal, because a large portion of the front setback will now be a hard surface, instead of a garden. But if there is one thing that designing teaches you - its all about compromises. Thanks everyone. MB Design & Drafting Shara C Nik Star girlguides oklouise siriuskey genkii saragraham76 Andy Pat brizcs Mel N 3D Home Concepts suancol Caro

If you "change" anything that involves a building approval then the floor area on the plans relevant will count towards the overall amount. If it amounts to beyond 50% of the existing conditions then the whole building becomes applicable to energy calculations and so you enter into up spec'ing existing areas. And yes it can often be a good thing to be doing anyway, but of course it costs money. If the total area being changes is below 50% then only the areas of new work are applicable. I'm honestly not a specialist in this area, but I have to deal with the issues naturally in the course of the design and resolution of project solutions I provide, and hence I use an energy consultant regularly and we have a way/system of working through together how best to achieve the requirements for permit. As far as I understand it's a case by case/project specific exercise and also there's various ways of negotiating/achieving the necessary performance requirements - e.g. you can play around with different levels of insulation together with a particular glazing/window spec, and depending upon circumstances you can save money one way or another. Sometimes I'll squeeze windows overall down to get it under a certain amount to not trigger requirement for expensive glass...also timber windows rate better, but if you are in a bushfire area you'll be caught out or require very expensive timber windows...it's a real juggling act in particular contexts...which is why you really need to be working collaboratively with an energy consultant/specialist to work out the best solution in this regard, as well as the other aspects of design, structure and bushfire etc. It's a true team effort ;) If you're really up for some technical reading you there is some further energy info here NCC Volume One Energy Efficiency Provisions 2016 - Australian ... but it may get confusing........Coming back to the core of it, my advice: 1. define your budget 2. list and prioritise your requirements 3. seek some preliminary advice/assistance from a seasoned designer doing this type of work to test whether or not the general concept of what your endeavouring to achieve is viable, and this depends upon the relevant context/existing conditions etc (and bushfire rating is yet another layer on top of all this), and then refine the concept from there. If you are just doing a bathroom or kitchen isolated then you can arguably do it yourself, but if you're re-jigging the whole house like it appears you are heading towards, and on a very tight budget then I'd highly recommend (to save yourself headaches and frustration going around in never-ending circles) to invest some of your available budget into front-end design, to get to a solution that works to your nominated priorities so you achieve a viable and professionally advised outcome. Trust me it will be money well spent. Have a great Christmas, and best of luck with continuing to work through it all :)

My thoughts. Firstly, as has been said, you'll get better results seeking professional help, especially for such an unusual design. The external surfaces are an expensive part of a build. The larger the external surface area per sqm of footprint, the larger the cost per sqm. Seperate wings & courtyards increase the external surface area greatly. This plan has a very large external surface area, so will be costly per sqm, for what is already a very large dwelling. Separate wings also increases hallways & circulation space, which some people find wasteful, & increase the time to move from one part of the house to another. Instead of a U-shaped house, how about an L-shaped house? This would reduce the external surface area of the build & the amount of hallway space, reducing the cost per sqm & the size of the dwelling. With an L-shaped home most rooms could face the outdoor space in the NE side of the block, but some (possibly the minor bedrooms) would likely face the southern street. So, a couple of questions; Is this a newly developed or established area of Sydney? If it's an establish area with neighbours close by, could you post a screenshot of a Google Maps satellite image, to get an idea of outlooks & whether there will be privacy issues with neighbours? How quiet is the southern street? Are you happy to have rooms facing this street? How much busier is the western street? Is it possible to locate the garage facing the western street, or is it too busy for access? I'd much rather have the garage face a noisy street than the master bedroom (although the ensuite will help a bit). Also the western side of a dwelling is a great place to locate a garage, as it shields the house from the hot afternoon sun. The west is not a good place for bedrooms (although again, the ensuite will help). On that note, have a read of this, paying attention to the section on passive design & orientation. http://yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation As for your current design, your bedroom wings are likely to shade your living areas for much of the day in winter. A skillion roof with north facing clerestory windows, as shown in a few of the pictures in this thread, would help get winter sunshine to your living areas. Although an L-shaped build would allow more northern light to the living areas than the current U-shaped plan. Best of luck with the build.