Thank you for your input I really haven't thought about how a under roof Alfresco could block the sun into the house...really like the ideas on the pics, will definitely be discussing this with our builder, I want as much natural light into the house as possible. Sun will hit hard during summer so we're thinking about putting some good insulation (batts and plasterboard). haven't heard good reviews about skylight in bathrooms so not sure, ideally would prefer for it to have windows. We're yet to discuss these changes to builder so hopefully they will come up with solutions for hallway and bathroom thankss

can you add measurements of the rooms and the width and length of the block ... it's difficult to make any suggestion without understanding the spaces better...and there does seem to be too much hallway and with a corner block there could be an opportunity to have a side entry.

Hi Juliana, It appears that you are trying to fit too much into a small footprint, as oklousie suggested the size of your block along with current room sizes and budget will help others to give input, at the moment too many passageways and bathrooms etc need to be moved to exterior walls cheers

WOW, thank you guys very much. I'll probably sit down with the builder this week and will definitely bring some of your advices with me especially in regards to sun light, we've just moved to Toowoomba, QLD so not sure how hot can it get but I'm guessing a lot as winter is not that cold.

Because we played with the Builder's floor plan don't think I have exactly dims, I know we made every room bigger, I'll ask my hubby he has for sure and will share.

It's a quite big corner block 1491 m2, 6m setback where faces the road and 2.50m from other blocks, I have a picture. in yellow is the build area already considering setbacks. I guess we have room to play with it.

Not too keen of having a bathroom without a window so hopefully the draftsman can work on that.

Thank you!!!

based on estimated sizes of the rooms and the available space on your block i suggest that altering this plan will be far more costly than identifying a more suitable design...by the time you rearrange the plan you would achieve a much better result by choosing a more suitable base design...as an owner of property in Queensland i know that a pavilion design (more spread out with courtyards and covered walkways between zones) and built out of very light weight building materials (not brick veneer) would be far more comfortable to live in than this floorplan which feels better suited to a narrow block, squeezed between other narrow block somewhere in Melbourne or similar...check out yourhome.gov for specific advice about building in the tropics and you will find that insulation is used very differently and shading and ventilation is much more important....my attachment shows a rough estimate of your plan on your block and you'll see that the house could be spread out twice as wide and much longer to provide gorgeous shady gardens and outdoors courtyards, space for a pool and gazebo, extra sheds or garages and/or a separate studio (granny flat style) for working from home and you would have a much better home to better suit the block and the climate

btw when a builder is talking about changing the plan "a little" this refers to swopping a window for a sliding door or adding extra wardrobes not major changes like relocating bathrooms, removing central hallways and enlarging all the rooms

Unexpectedly to me, due to it's location on the crest of the Great Dividing Range at an elevation of around 700m above sea level, Toowoomba has a climate more similar to Sydney than Brisbane. With average summer highs of only 28°C, & average winter highs of 17°C (lows of 7°C & cold wind, as has been mentioned).

It's located in Climate Zone 2: Warm Temperature, the same climate zone as Sydney, not Brisbane. Though this climate zone is very varied, so care must be taken to cater for local conditions.

As has been advised a few times, have a good read of the Your Home site. Read this section, Designing for Climate, for zone 5: warm temperate.

http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/design-climate

Along with having cooler temperatures than Brisbane, the fact that Toowoomba is inland means it has greater variation between daytime highs & nighttime lows (diurnal temperature range).

This means that unlike Queensland coastal climates, some thermal mass in the home will be appropriate, so a lightweight structure isn't needed. Although a lightweight structure, on a ground-coupled slab (with polished concrete or tiles in North facing living areas) would be a good idea.

As the temperature is so much cooler than tropical Queensland climates I'd advise against going too overboard with a pavilion style house. As I think it would be too cold in winter. Maybe something like two off-set rectangles, joined in the centre. Kinda like dreamer's inspirational picture, without the middle section, the two rectangular sections joined. Or just go for a more traditional rectangular house.

In any case, like just about all Australian climates, you should try to build a house that is generally rectangular, the long sides facing north & south. This will give an opportunity for northern sunshine to enter home in winter, while the shorter eastern & western sides will limit the effect of hot summer western afternoon sunshine.

Though I guess this house shape won't look great from the western road, as it will look very narrow from here. You could fatten it's street frontage a little bit, by having the garage to the south of the rectangular house.

With such a large block you'll be able to build something that works for you. But as OKLouise said, don't just pick a plan for an average narrow block. The plan you picked is not really suitable for your block.

I'd also recommend you do a lot of research yourself. As has been shown with the plan you've received, you can't rely on the builder to design a plan that will work best for you, that is appropriate for your location.

So read up on the Your Home website. It's an invaluable resource when it comes to building a comfortable, energy efficient home.

Thank you, ddarroch . I've being reading YourHome website and it's amazing how much information I could find, this is really gold!! Thanks.

That's funny because we were so certain about this floorplan but now reading all comments not so sure anymore! I really love the kitchen we've put on our plan and would want to have a similar one but I'm totaly open to change everything else. With the setbacks we have 20m width to work with, the reason why we had that plan (which already has 15 width) is because we would add an extra garage instead of a shed, I'm afraid that having a shed on the backyard would block my view but I guess you can't have it all.

Hi Tina Steer, this might seems like a stupid question but where do you have your fireplace, lounge or media? We're thinking about putting one but we wouldn't spend much time in the lounge room as we would in the media and because it's an open plan not sure how would that work. Never had/needed a fireplace before :)

Hi Tina, yes and no :) I read about it but haven't done a thorough research, because it will be
a concrete slab I thought I didn't have to worry that much to be honest. I did thought and very keen to upgrade insulation on batts and plasterboards, double glazed windows as well but haven't given much attention to the floor to be honest. One thing I know for sure, won't be putting tiles, too cold !

Hi Juliana interested to hear if you ended up going with the bathroom without a window. Our house plans are the same designed to have a skylight only but I was also worried about steam and ventilation. Thanks Belinda