Flat roof with a box gutter down the middle is what we have on the house we have bought to move into after renovating - starting from the top down. i.e. A new roof. Present one a nightmare. Leaves from leafy garden - a major reason why we bought the place - pile up in box gutter, which overflows if not constantly cleaned out and anywhere the roof has been breached - e.g. Cable tv antennae and roof mounted airconditioner - somehow water trickles thro - no matter how much silicone gets poured into the crevices - or yet more flashing is replaced. We thought the place was tech-smart with everything controlled by remotes, but soon discovered the reason the 1980s house, built b4 internet, wifi, roller shutters, etc, is that it is impossible to hard wire thro the non-existant roof cavity ! Flat roofs tend to sit just cms above the ceiling. But none of that has permanently put us off the gorgeous minimalistic feel to the place - particularly as we have bought it, knowing it needed to be upgraded. . Aha, we thought. A nice big flat terraced roof with a fabulous view out over the treetops that we can use for a roof garden, entertainment area, etc - with easy access to the necessary box gutter to keep it free of debris, will be just the way to go ! Until our plans got to council - oh no, they said, roof terraces cause overlooking issues into neighbours' private spaces, and also they fear we might have a tribe of teenagers up there making a noise, or kicking a ball, disturbing the local amenity ! We were not that easily deterred. But it is not so easy, i have to warn those who have waxed lyrical about swimming pools and outdoor living with a view, etc, etc up on their roof ... we have had to compromise with 1800 high screening along one side, which fortunately we can camouflage amidst high overhanging trees, and pulling in terraced areas about a metre from the edge of the building - lessening the expanse of useable area considerably ... but we can still make it work, including solar panels on another part of the roof not in our terrace plans - they can easily be installed with angled brackets ( ie a flat or pitched roof is not really an issue when it comes to solar panels) - but turning a flat roof into a wonderful addition to the garden is turning out to be not quite what we originally envisaged And adding any extra weight on the roof, especially if it is going to be used as a living area, also invokes extra building regulations - like the earthquake code i.e think expensive engineers and extra strengthening of whatever is holding the roof up !

So to update @MB Design & Drafting, I’ve now discovered that the sheets are dodgy cheap Chinese? Products NOT from bluescope HENCE scratching when just looking at them! Does anyone know the legalities of challenging cheap imitation installs? I asked for colorbond colour/sheets. So I have a leg to stand on? Clearly colorbond warranty doesn’t now apply... there is vapour barrier paper/sarking also missing where they didn’t overlap rolls along the dorma window ridge line. I’m also guessing this doesn’t pass compliance since there is no moisture barrier from sheets to ceiling below?

following up on my comment above, a rough diagram of what I was trying to explain and probably still need to. The house I mentioned is a long gable ended rectangle with verandahs running along both long sides. They wanted to double the depth of the Front veranda without changing the whole roof structure but were replacing all the metal roofing. The builder cut off the roof of the front Verandah and then stepped the new roof framing back to acommodate the new width., A new carport was added to the side of the house and was incorporated under this new roof which was extended to the side , which ended up as a skillion . The end of the gables and the new carport had vertical batons attached, a bit post WW2 style. I hope my diagram helps explain

Just thinking about this more....because it is better than doing my overdue tax or taking palm trunks to the dump... :o) ......All of the designs have such great features to them and in some respects I need to just get a builder to look over them to let me know which would be cheapest for what I need and would like. Once the technical things are sorted (cladding, electrical, plumbing, insulation), the things that I like in a home mostly are inside/outside living (seeing views) and a bright, light filled space (natural light). I find it depressing ...literally.....to be in a living space that is dark. I wanted the living area to be maximised in this space due to the work that I want to do in future with girls with autism; a small open plan kitchen with this and this area that we use have the higher ceiling to make it feel bigger.... then I need an office space, which could even be largely shut away within a cupboard if necessary. I will lose the view and a bit of light from the back sliding door because of me putting a privacy screen with gate between this building and the pool area. I have a slight view and good light from the big sliding window at the back (I would have to close blinds though, if people were using the pool area). I definitely need more light coming in from the East where the leaking colour glass window is, but I would like for them to be high so that I cannot see the neighbour's house. I think the windows on the western side are sufficient because it gets very hot on that side of this building from about 4pm (earlier in summer). Then the sliding doors at the front bring in light, but at the moment it is not totally private becasue it looks onto the road from a long driveaway. My main bedroom can be small as long as it has room for queen bed, good storage, and room for a dog bed for a golden retriever sized dog. I like the idea of having the dogs going on the deck...however, they do bark at possums at night.(They have a lot of yard to use too during the day). I do need a room where a mother and new born pups can be isolated from the other dogs). I like the idea of having a toilet and basin of some sort, separate to the main bedroom, if there is only one toilet, because it provides separation from my personal things to the main living area. I guess the second space for the dog and pups could be a laundry or a "bedroom" or "office" or "storeroom". The area for the dogs has to be on ground level and I think I would prefer my bedroom to be on ground level too as I am not getting any younger (and want to think about future needs) and ideally I would to be here til my early 70's if all works out well. It doesn't worry me whether the main bedroom ceiling is high or not, because I spend so little time in there. However, it would be good if the other spaces (except bathroom/laundry) had the higher sections of ceiling to make them feel bigger. I am only saying all this, because when I look at all the plans, I think the best one may end up being mainly from one, with elements taken from another. Thanks so much for your help. I still have the option (one day) to maximise the use of the big attic space in the main house as with the non-compliant stairs to it and only two tiny windows in it, and it being so hot up there, it is not really useable at the moment, but the pool house is highest priority because until it is liveable, then I can't recoup any expenses by renting out the bigger space (the main house). (It does look like a demo site though in many rooms,)