If you do not use the carport this could be walled off on the front side, to allow for a drying court and storage area.

Hi dreamer, thanks for taking the time to look at my floor plan. We have this huge awning out the back of our house which has our pool solar on top of it so we don't want to move this to extend the house. We can only go sideways from the laundry to the car port or extend the kitchen out by 3.5 metres.

Yes that is good information to know.

What climate are you in? That huge north facing alfresco must shade much of your home in winter. Limiting your opportunities for passive solar heating, ie. free heating from the sun.

Unless you're in a climate that is particularly warm in winter is look at getting sunlight in the home at that time of year. Clear panels on part of the roof?

Hi darroch, I'm in Western Australia and extra shade is essential at all times of the year.

Is the street frontage on the south side or east side, I’m a little confused

what are the walls and roof built out of, is the house on a slab or stumps, what is the distance from the outside of the carport to the side boundary and the front fence..is the self contained accommodation being built as an extension for family use or as dual occupancy or granny flat with separate and/or connecting entry doors..have you checked with Council to identify any special conditions that need to be included in the new design eg does it need separate outdoor living, car and drying spaces and you need to avoid windows overlooking your private spaces... do the trees/shrubs shown near the carport need to be saved (if so please confirm distance from carport) and can you show any driveways (with laybacks from the street) and every external door and any steps on the plan

Hi Kate, we are on a corner block and we don't really have a street entrance as such. The driveway entrance faces West.

hi oklouise, long time since we've chatted here. How are you?
It would essentially be an extension that has a bedroom, ensuite and kitchenette/living space. Not a seperate granny flat. it would have a door from out house. The front boundary is the one facing West and the laundry is already to close to the front boundary. I've spoken to planning at local Shire and the front boundary on our R5 zoned block is 6 metres.

The walls are double brick, concrete slab and tin roof.

always ready for another challenging reno but i don't recognise "Lupton" .and, if the laundry is already too close to the front does that mean that Council will allow you to continue your extension at that same distance or does it need to be set back 6m and would they allow the carport space to be enclosed or would that space also need to be rebuilt at 6m and can you post some photos of the outside of the house and a Google Earth? and what are the restrictions for extending east or south and where is the old plumbing from the previous family room ..which room is that now?

what you need as priority is a proper entrance facing West

Your current plan lacks clarity and identity.
See attached. Moving plans around won't solve your problem because all your spinal circulation does not work.
I suggest putting new entrance as I sketched. Make a symmetrical front of Laundry and a new Ensuite, then add a wing for new Master Bedroom to take advantage of the pool and garden

Hi all, thanks for all your input and suggestions. Here's the real estate photos from when we purchased the house. The photos will show the constraints we have. https://www.realestate.com.au/property/1-craigie-pl-mundaring-wa-6073

dimensions on the original plans seem inconsistent but, subject to correct measurements, my suggestions add a new family kitchen, laundry and pantry and uses the carport space and part of the original dining room for self contained bedroom and living and the old laundry converts to kitchenette, connecting door and bathroom and, subject to available setback a bigger new (shared) laundry and pantry and optional extra space in the self contained quarters ...i've also added some suggestions for the bedrooms and a sliding glass door in the living area would make furniture arrangements more comfortable and redundant doors in old living and kitchen have be converted to windows..but the sliding glass entry door for the self contained living would need a screened porch for shelter from western sun and the kitchenette needs a ventilating skylight..i would use a simple well insulated (higher ceiling as possible) skillion roof for the extensions and widen the hip roof over the old laundry to include the new entry porch to emphasise the entry and omit any new laundry doors in favour of the new entry door for access to drying areas

As you ardd on a corner, which side does the other street run down, carport side or master bedroom side?

would you mind stating the constraints? seems like a really good site.
if you are concerned about the step down, the extension can always be split level or on suspended floor.

me me the other street runs down in front of the swimming pool.

3DA Design Drafting and 3D Visuals no, I added the address so that you could have a look in Google maps. You cant see the house its frontage is covered in Gumtrees, fruit trees and more Gumtrees...

oklouise wow I love the idea of changing the laundry into the kitchenette and bathroom and adding in the entrance door on the West side of the property. We have received a quote to add a bedroom and hallway to the carport area and it would be $89K. Our renovation will also require 2 bathroom be gutted and the kitchen totally renovated. We only want to spend a total of $80-100K on the renovations. So we will need to simplify the extension and avoid taking down walls and adding too many walls to keep the costs down.

That actually confirms it. Your main problem is that the house is a puzzle of circulations and have main identity of the address problem.
A self contained is best as OkLouise's suggestion. 3.6x6.5 is enough for self contained as per her drawing.
Go straight up to the permitted setback and maximise the carport. Add eaves over, you should be permitted to add eaves over setback line. This needs to be checked with council.
I strongly suggest building a small structure to identify the address, right below the kitchen.
Expand dining into the alfresco and build extra awning if you have the extra budget.

This is just modifying OkLouise dwg
Entrance is not prominent enough is her drawing, reposition it further down will make less zig-zag ing movement, and cleaner kitchen space.
Depending on the need of self contained living, you can have butler kitchen there as half and half with the unit.

the existing kitchen cabinets and appliances look like they might be able to be reused with new counters and the kitchenette could be made with flatpacs and a wall mounted convection microwave but hopefully when funds allow you'll consider the new doorways for the bedrooms etc but my suggested location for the new entry is to be able to have a more spacious kitchen with a view to the pool from the island and opening directly to the alfresco and uses the old dining area for cold weather and night time dining and circulation space that makes this area too dark and unsuitable for a kitchen ... the location of the entry is intended to include a new gable roof over the old laundry and new entry and skillion roof over the new kitchen and self contained bedroom/living as the most cost effective way to roof the extensions, highlight the new entry and the new gable repeats the shape of the alfresco roof ...a gable end and wrap around porch steps to the new western entry porch will help identify the front door and i've also added a narrow screened porch for the self contained entry with access from the south and skillion roof extended to the same eave depth as the old laundry and these plans show the existing and proposed roofs

I think this is a lot easier to construct.

then there are two different height hip roofs with a narrow space in between and the gabled alfresco at the east end of the extension interrupting the guttering on the extension

You're right. that alfresco gable will always pose a problem with the box gutter. I do suspect it sits lower than main roof gutter.
I think this is as much as any of us can do as its going 3 dimensional already. A local designer will be able to take this further with the play of elevation.

my vintage program is not as clear as a modern 3D program but the western entry would look something like this from ground level with the skillion roofed extensions and a hip or gable over the new entry/old laundry but you'll need to choose wall cladding for the extension while the original brick wall of the old laundry will still be seen up to ceiling height

Hi all, thank you do much for your suggestions and idea's. I have been asked for the constraints and whilst some of your idea's are great, we can't build in the area's you have suggested. Here are the constraints;

Outside laundry window is all of our water wastage pipes, main electric box and solar panel control box for house and pool. We can build there without spending $20K moving all of this.

Awning off living area and master bed is huge and we will not move this to extend out from living area. It also has all of our solar panels and pool heating on top of it. So again $50-60K to take awning away and move solar. Plus we don't want to loose our outdoor living area.

From kitchen window we could extend 4.5 metres out towards pool. No further as you would meet a 2.5 M rock retaining wall.

Can't extend out from master bedroom as this is where our septic tanks are.

Cant extend onto driveway or we wont get to the garage, so no extension facing South.

Can only extend out from kitchen as per above or where small carport is currently.

Just to re-cap. We are trying to add a small area for my Mum to live with us. This could be a 2nd living area for all of us to use. Plus maybe turn the family room ( currently a bedroom) back into a large bedroom for her, complete with small kitchenette, TV etc. Like a hotel room. We need to keep 4 bedrooms.

I need an office area as I work from home and I'm currently using a bedroom. We need 4 bed's minimum for family and keeping one spare for overseas visitors once or twice a year, so this could double up as my office the rest of the year.

We have no entrance door and have 4 doors off the living, kitchen, family room and laundry. We would like an entrance that comes in from the driveway. Maybe the carport area.

Our budget is $60-80K max.

Look forward to some ideas based on the above constraints and budget ;-) Thank you again for your time, regards Bronika

it's difficult to make realistic suggestions when the budget, dimensions and constraints keep changing and we still need answers to specific question like "which room is the old family room with hidden plumbing?" and do you mean 4 bedroom in total or 4 bedrooms plus mum's new bedroom plus an office guestroom and an entry foyer and you want to achieve all this without any extension except using a smaller area of the old carport (allowing for the proper 6m setback) and up to 4.5m north of the kitchen but how far west of the old kitchen but not impacting any of the water pipes, electric meter or solar panel box?? ... you already said you had a quote for making only a bedroom with hallway in the carport for more than the whole of a new budget that you now expect to be enough for the self contained accommodation plus three new bathrooms, two kitchens, a new entry and various other improvements ..i suggest that you need to decide what is the most important and make plans to do all the work in stages as you can afford ...in the meantime to make any more suggestions we need correct plans showing the precise location of all the potential extension areas and you must confirm with council the correct west and south setbacks taking into account the existing precedent of the laundry wall being only 5m and you're on a corner and an electrician and plumber can advise how close you can build without impacting all the pipes and wires...perhaps a small courtyard (like suggested by 3D Home architect) could be the answer

Where is the family room on your house plans?

dreamer bedroom 4 is the family room in old house plans. Sorry for the confusion. It's hard to answer everyone questions with enough detail..

oklouise Sorry for the confusion. The family room with the old plumbing for a kitchenette is bed 4. We need 4 bedrooms in total.

Set back is 6 meters from main street boundary facing West ( laundry area and car port ) as you pointed out precedent has been set with laundry. Council wont give me verbal approval or any indication if they will pass the DA - they have told me to submit DA for what I would like and they will make decision looking at all factors and view.

Dimensions are as per floor plan attached in my original email. No changes. They are no exact, but very close.

Only need two bathrooms. I was mentioning in my previous message that I do not want to spend all of our budget on adding on a hallway and possible living area that doubles as a bedroom or office. When I still have the existing 2 bathrooms to renovate and the existing kitchen.

No building anywhere area the laundry area at all. I have checked with plumber and electrician.

The only area I can extend is the car port area and in front of the kitchen.

Okay, I understand why you have been going around in circles. I feel like I am on a spinning top.
Your original post said: "we need to add on an extra bedroom,living/kitchen area and bathroom. Ideally self contained but an extension. We need to keep 4 bedrooms in the main house."
Your subsequent posts have now indicated something else.
And there was no mention that the bedroom 4 was "the family room". I still stick with my first plan. Make your entrance on the south side. Since this is the driveway. You could make your new dining room out the 3.5/4.5 metres from the kitchen wall. Your mums new home by enclosing the carport.
All the best with whatever you find works for your needs.

Sketch

Thanks for your time and ideas. I'm sorry about the confusion.

This is the old house plan with correct dimensions and I've marked where the sewer pipe and waste water pipes are. I've also marked where current retaining walls, utilities etc are. The roof line is also on this drawing.

Sorry about the photo. It's too light to scan and upload. Thanks again for all your time.

unfortunately i can't read the dimensions on this plan but what about if you convert bed 3 to an entry, office and occasional guest room and if you think bed 4 would be suitable for mum with a sink and sharing a bathroom then you need no other extensions and your budget will easily be used up by refreshing the two old bathrooms and adding a new front door although rearranging the bedroom doors as in my original suggestion would improve flow but, with more funds, building in the space of the old carport could make a bedsitting room with kitchenette for mum with shared bathroom and laundry

Can you push bed4 out?

Hi Kate, no unfortunately not as the garage is there. There is also a garage door on the side by bed 4..

B3 entry and study. Add bifold doors between kitchen and dining allowing that to be spare bedroom for occasional guests with wall bed. Granny flat Down near pool Bathroom Reno when u save some more money.

Going by the realestate photos. As per my first post, Bedroom 3 is the ideal place for your entry. Installing a portico externally, making the window the door. There appears to be enough room for a portico and driveway. Then entrance through into living room.

And since you have now advised you only require two bathrooms. Bed 4 (the family room) could easily be converted back with its kitchenette, for your Mum. Taking space from bed 3, if converting that room into the entrance.
With the outside door, you could put a small walled garden, pergola, for your mum to enjoy, if she requires her own outdoor space.

Idea sketch.

I was going to suggest changing the entry to the other street so that people can more easier find the entry.

another variation with optional extras

Thanks everyone. Some great ideas for me to have a think about. Thanks for all your time.

Unfortunately your budget doesn't allow for any major changes and suggest that you work within the current foot print and also keeping anything deemed by the council to be outside the allowed building site, meaning laundry and carport, they are no problem now but if you want to change them externally different situation.

Turn the current Master into Mothers Retreat, with the ensuite bathroom and changing WIR into a kitchenette , she will have access to a lovely outdoor view and under cover sitting

Your new bedroom can have an ensuite added or just a WIR and share the current up dated bathroom, saving money.

Adding a new entrance and kitchen space will make a big difference, while helping with keeping costs down, bathroom, kitchen reno's can be done when and if money becomes available.

You could even consider turning the laundry into your small design space and moving the laundry under the carport, Enclosed., This will give easy access to any visiting clients.

For the best energy rating make sure you can have passive heating on the north face with pergola designs that don't keep the winter sun from entering the living areas.

4 Seasons Home Insulation