Heeelp!! Design advice for extension, it's blowing out
Souzette Lovell
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Hello Houzzers. If ever I need help from the creative Brains Trust, it's now!!
My small box extension needs urgent design help - particularly the performance under very hot summers. I need a simple way to have the original house and extension meet, so as to enable the extension to have a higher roof, without endangering the original house.
I've already demolished the derelict laundry at the back. The location faces west, on a hill with 1:7 slope. It also faces a potentially lovely garden on a deep site. I've already obtained second-hand bifold windows to take up the whole western elevation, so as to open up to the garden.
The simplest construction will be a 9m x 4.75m box with a portal frame structure. It needs to be self-supporting and not tied to the existing old 1927 house due to structural issues with the existing.
These are some issues and options:
- due to the need to 'tuck' the new extension under the old roof, there's a big danger right now of creating an unpleasant heat-trap in summer if we follow the existing pitch (image option 1). This is the direction the Structural Engineer and architect are currently going......
- Is there a relatively safe way to do an oversized box gutter between the two? (image option 2)
- is there a more elegant simple way to divert any risk of water damage from the old house to the new extension (eg image option 3)
- what do people think of - say - a 650mm wide reveal around the junctions between the old house and new extension (ie window and kitchen door) - would this put people off if I wanted to sell it, would it look 'weird' ??
My budget for all this to lockup stage is $20K only. Am I dreaming, should I just refurbish the existing remaining shell, and put a pergola up and forget about the third bedroom and living areas?
Thank you for any advice and opinions!!
ROOF JUNCTION
OPTION 1
DETAIL OF CONNECTION
ROOF JUNCTION
OPTION 2
ROOF JUNCTION
OPTION 3
here's the floorplan of the extension only just in case...
orientation West is facing bifolds
Thank You!!
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Comments (10)
bigreader
4 years agoSouzette Lovell
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Weatherboard extension advice
Comments (15)I think it looks good. I would probably just echo a lot of the other comments. If you want a bigger ensuite, I think you can sacrifice some of the space from the main bedroom to make the ensuite bigger. Bedrooms 2 and 3 will probably require more storage, especially with three children. The cupboard in the entry looks a little odd. I would probably just extend it so that it was the same length as the wall. Otherwise, it appears to be pretty narrow, so I would think about how it is intended to function and whether a bench seat with some baskets below the bench and some hooks above the bench on that part of the wall would meet your requirements. I do think the main bathroom needs some work. I don't think three toilets are necessary, but you definitely need to separate the toilet for the main bathroom. I would also consider trying to turn it into a three-way bathroom, perhaps by keeping the powder room toilet in the current position, but flipping it so that you enter from the opposite side (which also means that you won't see a toilet as you're walking from the entry to the living areas). I would have an open double vanity where the shower and single vanity currently is and I would enclose either a combination bath/shower or a "wet room" (perhaps with a frosted glass door to still allow light from the window or include a sky light above the double vanity). I would consider whether the study requires built in storage, whether open shelves or hidden storage. I'm also not sure what the "d" in the laundry is, but I wonder whether a larger walk in pantry wouldn't be more useful. I personally would not like the living room to be completely sectioned off from the kitchen and dining areas by full-height walls and doors. There also appears to be a bit of dead space between the kitchen bench and the dining area. This will facilitate ease of movement, but I wonder whether you could widen the "galley" part of the kitchen by moving the bench towards the dining area. I'd also have a think about how you would furnish and use the living/sitting room. It looks like a large room and it also appears that you're losing a dedicated "play room" (although the study may serve that purpose until the children are all older). Good luck!...See Moredesign app for extension
Comments (18)There is something to be said for actually having to "make yourself" to work through/resolving the building slowly and manually "old school", without 3D "tools" as it forces you to really understand how it works simultaneously spatially and structurally. Visualising in 3D from 2D is a skill and if people don't have it naturally it can be developed, but if it doesn't exist you can't just expect a computer program to "sort that bit out" for you and continue on your merry way no dramas. Nope. The problem with the 3D thing is that sometimes it does "auto" stuff, & works it all out so quickly that it "conditions" the operator away from really having to slow down and think properly/deeply about what's happening. Again, this comes back to the (design) process being misunderstood and all messed up. 3D is a fantastic tool, great/wonderful for visualisation DOWN THE TRACK, however when it comes to the fundamentals of architecture & plan resolution and particularly residential/small scale, all you need is a measuring tape, pencil, scale ruler and some paper. Sure CAD makes it quicker and more accurate in this day & age and I admit I now design directly from/in CAD. But I use it like a pencil and it's essentially a more accurate "sketch" process translated into digital but still deeply deals with the fundamental function/zoning/scale/cost/context balance that allows the formal resolution to occur/progress at and in appoprriate time. There is WAY too much focus nowadays on "what it looks like" BEFORE the most critical stuff is understood, established and sorted. What is being lost and standardised/categorised with this era of visual focus is EXPERIENCE of space, which ultimately is what architecture is all about. It's a welding of science and art that is an art form within itself. When design is approached with a basic typological or cut&paste/elemental manner, that is only reinforced with computer programs, particularly in inexperienced hands, critical elements of space are not as effectively addressed and opportunities are missed or misunderstood. Not a good thing. "Form follows function" (thanks Frankie) and arguably the great examples of the craft of residential space were created without computers and have proven to stand the test of time. We may be able to do things quicker these days, but it doesn't necessarily equate to better nor enduring results. Not surprising really. End of rant ;) BTW The helicopter idea's not bad Retro ;)...See MoreHome Extension Design - Help please :-)
Comments (19)Thanks for all your responses. The garage as marked on the plan is incorrect - this is actually a carport and is allowable under Council setbacks. Standard side boundary setbacks requirement is 1.5m, but a relaxation can be sought on this. Thanks for your comments re going up Siriuskey - whether or not to go up is something we have grappled with. I agree that this would probably take best advantage of the block, but it is not how we want to live in this home. Thanks for your thoughts oklouise - there are several elements of your plan that are very appealing - the laundry and powder work really well and the adjustment to the kitchen to have a servery to the kitchen is great. Paul's thoughts about moving the entry to the side of the house with more direct access to the open plan living is are a bit of an eye opener. One of the advantages of this and more of a pavilion style extensions is that an external window could be retained to the proposed music room, allowing it to stay as a bedroom. If it was possible to keep 4 bedrooms in the existing house, the size of the extension could be reduced....See MoreExtension Advice
Comments (8)Unfortunately townhouses like yours are very limited in scope for extending or reconfiguring, especially if you are on a tight budget. When the developer built your townhouse he wanted to squeeze in as many as he could under the planning regulations of the time to make as much profit as possible, which leaves little opportunity to extend. In addition to navigating the council's planning regulations you will probably also have a body corporate to deal with? I would suggest taking your plan to the local council and having a chat with one of the planners who is likely to confirm that you have hardly any options to extend due to the council's requirement that you need a certain amount of parking and private open space (it can vary from council to council). So while there may be some options that could be suggested on this forum it is unlikely that they will get the approval of council and the body corporate. If you are really stuck with no other option then consider getting a tennant in, and renting a larger home, until the market picks up and you can sell. Best of luck with your research Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls...See Moreoklouise
4 years ago
Sophie C.
4 years ago
PRO3DA Design Drafting and 3D Visuals
4 years agoI did my extension with oversized box gutter like in your option 2. No problem at all.
The problem is the construction comes to well over 200k.I recommend getting some finance sorted first.
My solution for box gutter is to make sure its a single sheet folded. I added 2 normal gutters just in case, and use an oversized rainwater head.
see attached
Sophie C.
4 years agoJE C
4 years agoSouzette Lovell
4 years ago
Kate
4 years ago
MB Design & Drafting