Hi julia_hill89 - It is difficult to make comments on a plan if the indication of north is not shown, please place the north point on the plan. Also if you show a plan only it would come up a little bigger when you zoom in, at the moment it is a bit difficult to see the smaller areas. There are a few things that you might like to consider in terms of circulation: 1. Bedroom 2 is located a relative long way away from the bathroom and toilet, and close to entertainment areas. Not very good sleeping conditions if you are old or young and not very private if you have to use the toilet while the lounge is being used. 2. The lounge room does not appear to have a good area to locate a TV, these items have now become very large and most likely will increase in size and really need to be considered at the design level. Also I would place in all the furniture in the lounge area to determine circulation. 3. The study Nook is not functional, it might be more advantageous to locate what is a possible quiet area closer to a service or bedroom area. 4. Because of the sloping block, an its possible location you might have to consider bush fire precautions under the house. (no idea where the house is located) 5. The toilet in the main bathroom has an internal opening door- this is illegal in Victoria (unless you have panic hinges) an out swinging door is safer to get people out of the toilet in an emergency. Generally people fall forward in a toilet and block accessibility which might be crucial for support. 6. The front elevation lacks definition, it is difficult , filling in part of the under story might help - but it really lacks proportions definition, especially with the height of the roof. Its always a bit difficult at the beginning but getting good advice always is a help, better to change drawings then the building or worst still having to live with something that you don't like. I hope this is of some help - I would be happy to consult further on this design. Michael Manias Manias Assoicates Building Designers - mm407p@gmail.com

What is behind the brick wall? Hopefully not a secret chamber with a hidden body?

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 :)

That looks fantastic. Thank you. Thank you. I had considered the access via the garage to the house via the laundry or through the workshop/bedroom. It came up as an idea from a prospective buyer when I had the house on the market a couple of years ago as he had 4 children. I changed my mind about selling in the end and figured while I was doing the kitchen I would have a chippie put up the wall and door at the same time. Don't need another bedroom myself but it could be a "man-cave" or study instead of the current use as storage area for "stuff" and maybe an advantage later for any new buyer. The pantry on the other side looks interesting but would mean losing the larger island wouldn't it? Food for thought. I am glad you think the existing cabinetry could be re-used as that was my plan. How much should I allocate for a reno as a general rule? A