House orientation optimal positioning
beaumitchell
3 years ago
We are renovating so we are restricted to current orientation without spending a fortune repositioning rooms and plumbing etc...We will go double glazing but is there anything I could do to improve the design in terms of energy efficiency.From what I've heard North to North East is ideal but our front entrance is more pointing south....Is the kitchen and scullery in the right spot? They can be moved so they run parallel to the theatre if better for natural light etc? We are thinking of adding a velux skylight in entrance hall. Thoughts?
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siriuskey
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
macyjean
3 years agoRelated Discussions
House plans and orientation of house
Comments (30)My parents have a covered south facing alfresco in Perth. It's great in summer. In winter, they use a paved and pergolaed (with deciduous vines) area further from the house that gets full sun. Consider losing the bay windows. They will be unbearable in summer. Or push the eaves out, or plant some deciduous trees in the front. I would shift the rumpus room to where the laundry is. Give it a view. Also, it's probably where you'll end up sitting on hot summer days, as your formal lounge will still get a lot of heat. Consider shifting the master to the righthand side of the plan. You could get a lovely triple aspect (north, east and south) bedroom. You could have double doors that open onto a private seating area too. Put the laundry where the master is....See MoreNeed help with position of doors
Comments (9)Hi Deanne, I can see one solution for the study - do a sliding door. The only way I can see for the bedroom is to rework the ensuite, walk-in robe and laundry which mightn't be what you want...but it's a thought. Laundries hidden away in cupboards take up so much less space so if you swing the laundry fixtures to face the other way than on your plans, you could move it up to be accessed from the dining area (remembering that you'd rarely be doing laundry during a dinner party anyway and it'd look like built in floor to ceiling cabinetry). This means you could "pinch" about 1m from there, move the WIR and ensuite up to give you a doorway - you'd miss about 10-20cm of robe space. If you swing the orientation of the shower 90 degrees you'll be able to make up for the loss. We have a laundry cupboard in our kitchen - its 150cm x 75cm has a front loader washer on the floor, a dryer hung above (which gives additional storage for laundry detergent, stain remover and the iron) and a sink beside it with more storage underneath and a clothes rail that sits over the sink for drip dry items). The ironing board neatly sits in front of the sink (the sink I hardly ever use - except when we have parties and then it's filled with ice and the ironing board then tucks behind a bedroom door). Looking at the existing length of the laundry (about 3.8m) you'd have heaps of room for under bench hampers, storage and a broom cupboard if that's how you go. Good luck....See MoreFloor Plan + Orientation Advice
Comments (7)Thank you everyone for your replies. @dreamer – I agree with what you’ve said. I planned on extending the Alfresco to go down the side of the house along the Living/Kitchen down the track which would add the required shading. Now that I’ve read a few more replies maybe flipping the whole house orientation will work better, and I wear the costs of getting the crossover changed to make the most of the N/E orientation? @HU-319610855 – I will be living in the house for the next 5+ years so I guess it’s long term. It’s the first house I will own/build so there is a million things running through my head. I was told to build with the future in mind, whether it be my own family or if I sell/rent, someone else’s, but I can see how that really complicates things as I need to think in the present! I have gone with a custom builder more so for the fact that I know they are reputable and the workmanship will be top quality compared to some of the volume builders in my area, it wasn’t so much for a custom plan. As I said above, would flipping the whole house orientation work better and optimise the light coming into the Alfresco/Family/Kitchen areas? Or would it be better to rework the plans as you said and have the majority of living towards the back of the house? One of my original designs did have the Alfresco running across the whole back of the house, but it was a 3 Bedroom design which I changed to 4 to suit the estate I'm building in. @User - I thought the entry and hallways were standard sizing, 1.5m entrance and 1m for hallways? The house will have 2.7m ceilings throughout so that adds a bit more space. The reason for the divide between the family and bedrooms as I like to have the spaces separate to create more privacy for the bedrooms/bathroom/toilet. I wouldn’t want them visible from the living area....See MoreIs it ok to have north western orientation for your living areas?
Comments (3)It's not just about orientation but also size and type of opening and it's positioning in the room. I have 2 west facing bedrooms that never heat up at all because of the size of the windows and the fact they have window hoods on them. Sunlight hits those rooms only around 6pm for about 1hr. What you need is for someone to draw up a sun map for your house so you can see the path of the sun during the hottest months of the year. Even if the sun comes directly into that sliding door during the heat of the day there are still things you can do about it. Given that it adjoin an alfresco area with I presume a solid roof the orientation of your prevailing winds is going to be a bigger factor on the comfort of the room....See More
Kate
3 years ago
dreamer
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agobeaumitchell
3 years agooh no, what am i to do in place of an alfresco? this is the compass reading as I face towards what will be indoor/outdoor glass sliding door. The winter sun won't reach at all?
dreamer
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoyou can install a "vergola" or similar. Read up the products available. This one from Stratco may work for you.
dreamer
3 years ago
MB Design & Drafting