House plan advice and suggestions

2 years ago

Hello,

First home builder here and would love to get some suggestions and advice on the floor plan below.

I have read the tips on yourhome.gov.au and want to incorporate these in to the plan, in particular passive heating and cooling. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation

This is based off of the Metricon Hampshire 45.

The lot location is in Box Hill (north west of Sydney) so I'm taking in to account the warmer summers being further inland. The surrounding land is also quite flat so I am assuming that there will be little wind.

There is a 1.5m drainage easement on the south side so we decided to put the garage on that side. This leaves the rest of that side further away from the fence which is great for light but since its on the south side there will be zero sun going in to the house. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can that space be on the northerly side instead? Would this space on the south side help with cooling southerly winds entering the home?

There is also a retainer wall on the back (west) and South side of the lot, which means that the back and south neighbours will probably be higher than us.

The questions are mainly layout and its relationship to the house flow and also aspect.

With the ground floor, we are highlighting these areas:

The Dining room and alfresco was shortened to fit on the block (30m long).

- Therefore looking at the Kitchen to Dining room zone - would it be better if the island was rotated so the space for the dining room?

- Sink/stove/fridge triangle - can this triangle be improved?

- 2nd sink will be added to the pantry area

- Because of the sitting room turning in to a movie room, the WIL will be removed and the pantry will be extended. Therefore in order to have a bigger laundry with cabinets, it gets swapped with the ensuite/powder room (ensuite turns in to a powder room)

- The Outdoor room to include vergola roofing to be able to control light and increase light coming in to the house in winter

- Will the number of northerly windows make a difference to winter light if the distance to the fence is 0.9m, and most likely that the neighbours will also build a 2 storey house? If not, are there any things we can do to increase more winter light? For me, natural sunlight is important and I tend to gravitate to the brightest areas of the home.

Second Floor:

- Is the W/C in an ideal position at the end of the hallway, or would it be better to keep it clear there and put a window instead to let light and wind in?

- Swap bathroom and Bed 4? This would be for the bedroom to have a better view than the neighbours house. I am aware that bed3 and bed4 will be west facing but with the retainer wall Im guessing that the house behind will be taller and shade the sun.

- decreasing the length of the ensuite to 4m: would the corner of the WIR and door to the master bedroom look weird if it was out of alignment?

- that extra metre could go towards making the main bathroom and bedroom 4 a bit bigger, but that would make the walls and doors out of alignment to the right side. Would that be odd from an architecture point of view?

- Bedroom 3: move built in robe to east wall and add window to west wall. Also Bed3 has 2 windows (currently the floor plan has 2 wide windows - would that be odd?

- Master bedroom WIR replaced the original ensuite so it takes up a bit more room. Therefore the wall length for the bed is 3.25m. Will this look tight when putting the Queen size bed and side tables on that wall (I measured our current ones and the total width leaves 30cm on each side)?

- would it also benefit cross ventilation if the master bedroom had a 60x120cm louvre window on the north wall?

I currently live in a house that has a zero lot on the south side and zero windows, as the wall makes up the fence for the neighbour. So I have no idea if the winds are cool coming from there.

I would love to have a passive house and hope that one day these will be more common (and affordable)! Air conditioning and heating bills are getting more expensive and to reduce these would be a dream (we will definitely be getting solar power). Any other tips for better insulation would be great.

Featured Answer

macyjean

2 years ago

You can't typically build over an easement, and the plan appears to show the garage beside the easement not on it, so what's the thinking with putting the garage on the easement side? Then again you don't want to waste space on the northern side for the garage. I mean you want the garage on the south but you also want the rest of the house on the south and it looks like that plan puts the rooms as close to the northern boundary as they can be, which is exactly what you don't want.

You can do a lot to improve energy efficiency without going to the expense of a passive house if by that you mean a sealed house with a ventilation system that exchanges the heat as it ventilates. I'm not knocking the idea, I think they are great, but if people think the choice is between a 'standard' house or a very expensive passive house / passivhaus they're missing the opportunity to build an affordable better than standard house.

You've got a northern aspect along the longest length which is great, but to utilise that you need the house as far to the southern side as possible to make the most of the northern sun and avoid overshadowing by the neighbours.

For cooling you want protection from direct sun. The northern side with correct eaves does that, that's the benefit of the northern orientation, it works with the movement of the sun in different seasons. The eastern side gets morning sun so needs some thought. The western side gets the hot afternoon sun so really needs careful planning. Leave the wc where it is, you don't want a room with a larger window facing west. Don't move the bedroom window to the west either, or if the view is worth it keep the window fairly small and plan to put an external shutter on it. On the ground floor the alfresco will provide afternoon shade and you can add shade screens to the outer side of it to help further. You need to think about the dining area windows too, of course you want light and to have a nice view, so landscaping might help there, such as deciduous trees.

Comments (15)

dreamer
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Your house design has minimal back yard, and it is on the west side. (hot)

Why not build a home to maximise the northern length.

I suggest you build a "C" shape house that has the backyard in the middle on the north side.

By this I mean build has far to the east and west boundary as possible.

You could have the kitchen with wonderful light coming in all the day, on the skinny left side of home. Lots of options instead of building your standard rectangle.

The master suite seems way too big.

The main bathroom to be shared by potentially 6 people is way too small.

The separate toilet needs a basin.

Below is an example of a "C" shape home, do give you a visual of what I mean.
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D'Cruz Design Group Sydney Interior Designers Thanks for your suggestions - much appreciated! 1- We decided against an open staircase, which I agree would be beautiful! But we are still a young family still to have more children and we're trying to minimise any opportunities for children to drop things from upstairs/staircase. 2- I chose a smaller vanity as I wanted somewhere to put in an indoor pot plant, so that space you can see between the door and vanity is where I'm thinking of putting it - that way when you walk in you get a bit of pretty greenery. But I will definitely rethink, perhaps I can go with a longer one and just sit a plant on top of the vanity. Hubby also thinks we won't need 2 basins in there, the kids can share he said :D 3 - Hubby is also against a laundry chute as it only eats into our WIR or ENS. Our Void is our laundry chute haha oklouise: Sorry I couldn't get the numbers showing clearly. We have 2.7m high ceilings hence the steps. Sides of the house is 2m away from the boundaries and we have about 7.5m from rear boundary for the backyard. Yes Study is for working from home yet still have visibility and connection to living space and beyond (the pool). I will have a think about weather we do need an external laundry door or not, given we have 2 doors there. And good idea about swapping the study and laundry, however we do very much want the study to be in amongst the living spaces, and laundry does indeed look very big but it will be our pets quarters, plus mud room & shoe storage etc.
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dreamer
2 years ago
In your ground level design. Put the powder room and the laundry on the south side. You have a 1500mm easement, to utilise as the walk out, which is where your washing line could go. And the sitting room on the north side.
Kate
2 years ago
First think is to work out your min offsets on all 4 sides at ground level and at 1 st floor, noting setback requirements, How close can you build to edge of easement? This will be your max building envelope. You need to also consider the envelopes of adjacent properties so you can maximise your sunlight and protect from its loss as adjacent houses are built. You know you need to maximise northern offset and minimise to the south
dreamer
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Your query about is 3.25m enough room for a queen bed.

A queen bed is usually around 153-160cm with bed frame. Plus 60cm side tables = 2.80m

Beds are a standard size, and its up to you how big the side tables/drawers are.

So that does make it very tight, even though you have a step out on the street side.

To me the whole master suite is out of proportion.

You have shown on your plan that you are reducing the ensuite to 4000mm long. But your plan still looks as though it will be just short of 6000mm long. This seems to me, incorrect proportions, if you can not walk around your bed comfortably.
oklouise
2 years ago
based on the original floor plan my variations include less wasted space, better solar access, a much simpler roof shape, saves more of the block and the house is further away from the boundaries to reduce excavation and shading from neighbours' homes
kiwimills
2 years ago
Oklouise, fabulous.

The original upstairs...no north windows in master bed?
Or can I not see them...
oklouise
2 years ago
master bedroom windows are on either side of the bed although i would always prefer windows to suit local views in and out and anywhere that has no attractive views or lacks privacy could also use highlight windows
dreamer
2 years ago
This is another example of a home that is built to utilise the northern side being the length of the block. Home is built by Oswald homes. and is under copyright laws.

Please also notice that the front door is at the side. This maybe something to think about, since you have a 1500mm easement on the side of your home, and at the moment is not being utilised.

https://www.oswaldhomes.com.au/sites/www.oswaldhomes.com.au/files/field/floorplan/the_warehaus_brochure.pdf
kiwimills
2 years ago
Thanks OKLouise, but her original upstairs, looks like a solid wall. Yours is much better
kiwimills
2 years ago
Dreamer, great link.

:)
JT Lav
Original Author
2 years ago
Hi guys, thank for the suggestions. Here is a bit more info.

The design requirement for the estate is min 450mm of eaves on all sides, except for the garage if it is on the south side.

The movie (sitting) room needs to be min 4x4m.

This area is all new so at the moment it is just land and a street that leads up to the corner. Most people in the area are building two storeys though, and the lot is next to a corner lot on the south side. The corner house could be like this, which means it may also be 90mm to their fence too:

It is medium density housing area so most likely people will build right up to 90mm of the fence, which would be dark in the downstairs middle part of the house.

Macyjean: You can't typically build over an easement, and the plan appears to show the garage beside the easement not on it, so what's the thinking with putting the garage on the easement side?

Reply: According to the area design guidelines, if the garage is on the south side then it can be zero lot (no eaves) on the 1.5m boundary which will mean that there will be more space saved. 1.5m needs to be clear from the easement, including eaves. In the first diagram, there is 1993mm space (development team did it, they said it’s give or take space as it has yet to be built).

Yes I am wanting to make amendments to the house (the ones that I can make) which will passively cool and heat, without going to the expense of a passive house.

Macyjean: You've got a northern aspect along the longest length which is great, but to utilise that you need the house as far to the southern side as possible to make the most of the northern sun and avoid overshadowing by the neighbours.

Reply: Does that mean there are no other ways to utilise the space other than to have the northern walls away from the fence as possible? I am wanting to research if there are any.

If I look into westerly windows in the bedrooms, what would be the difference between double glazing and an external shutter?

Macyjean: You need to think about the dining area windows too, of course you want light and to have a nice view, so landscaping might help there, such as deciduous trees.

Reply: Yes I want to bring the outside in and frame the garden with the windows.

Dreamer: I suggest you build a "C" shape house that has the backyard in the middle on the north side.

Reply: That is a great idea to have a C or an L shape floor plan. The design guidelines require a 4m setback at the back so there will still be a ‘back’ yard and a courtyard. My husband is partial to narrow homes so I will need to discuss the positives. I have yet to find a C shape floor plan in the mainstream project builders so it might need to be created.

The Master Suite will be redrawn so its 3x4m, if there is extra space I will try to convince that it is needed in the main bathroom (yes I agree it could do with another metre). I know a 3x4m bathroom can be seen as overkill for some but we saw a bathroom that we both loved and at the moment we will see if its ok to have in the house. Our current ensuite is 3x2m with toilet, sink and shower and it’s too small and dark for our liking so I use the main bathroom and the husband uses the ensuite.

Dreamer: In your ground level design. Put the powder room and the laundry on the south side. You have a 1500mm easement, to utilise as the walk out, which is where your washing line could go. And the sitting room on the north side.

Reply: The sitting room will be a theatre room so we thought that it makes sense to put it on the south side as it will be cool and dark in there. That’s why it’s a bit weird where the laundry is because in the original Hampshire 45, we reversed the back so that the stairs and outdoor room is on the north side ( so the stair window can be north facing, and outdoor room to get more sun).

The outdoor room will be a vergola so the roof can be controlled and opened up in the winter (saw these Vergolas at the home expo and was super excited that it can bring in light to the dining area).

Kate: First think is to work out your min offsets on all 4 sides at ground level and at 1st floor, noting setback requirements, How close can you build to edge of easement? This will be your max building envelope. You need to also consider the envelopes of adjacent properties so you can maximise your sunlight and protect from its loss as adjacent houses are built. You know you need to maximise northern offset and minimise to the south.

Reply: The setback is 4m to the back and 4.4m to the front building line. We can build to 1.5m of the drainage easement, and 90cm to the fence on the north side.

It would have been much easier if the drainage was on the north side, which is why I am looking around for some suggestions.

Dreamer: So that does make it very tight, even though you have a step out on the street side.

Reply: Yes I agree. Maybe an option could be to swap the layout of the ensuite to the main bathroom. In the original floor plan, the WIR is where the ensuite is and where the ensuite currently is, is a bedroom.

Dreamer: This is another example of a home that is built to utilise the northern side being the length of the block. Home is built by Oswald homes. and is under copyright laws.

Reply: Thanks for the floor plan from Oswald Homes. The guidelines say that the front door needs to face the street. It would be great option though.

Oklouise:

Reply: Thanks for sharing the floor plan. Is there a way to have the sitting/movie room min of 4x4m? Measurements are hard to see with low res image.

With project homes there are some limitations with moving elements around (the stairs need to stay in position or reversed), so it would mean finding a floorplan with the stairs in that position and then moving other rooms around.

KiwiMills: Thanks OKLouise, but her original upstairs, looks like a solid wall. Yours is much better.

Reply:

Yes I would look at adding some cross ventilation windows (1 or 2) to the north master bedroom wall. It will most probably face a wall which is why I would choose cross ventilation walls and have the main view to the front of the house.
JT Lav
Original Author
2 years ago

Here is an updated first floor showing the ensuite at 4x3m
macyjean
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
You've looked at the yourhome website so you will have seen the diagram that shows how northern windows with appropriate eaves work. Those are the most valuable windows for passive heating and cooling. As far away from the northern fence as possible maximises your solar access, but if you can find out what is being built next door and get an elevation drawn which shows the midwinter overshadowing that would provide a more exact answer to how far away from the fence works.

As I understand it, western windows benefit from being both double glazed and low-e glass.

I remember visiting a display home and paying attention to the glazing, I suppose it was around the time when double glazing was becoming common in display homes and that home had large western windows for the views, so we were interested to find out how effective the double glazing was. We visited one summer afternoon and were quite disappointed. What I don't know however is whether those windows utilised low-e glass and how much more difference that would make.

I appreciate our western external shade, but it is something you can add leter if you find you need it.
dreamer
2 years ago
@JT Lav I have just read through the guidelines. I know the estate would like all homes to be presentable. But the guidelines read that every home will be the same. Oh...you can paint your front door a Australian flora colour!!. But natural timber front doors are preferable.

With guidelines like that it seems a bit of a dictatorship, not a democracy.

You have drawn a WIR at the front of the home in the master suite...in the guidelines it says "non-habitable rooms are not permissible facing street front", so this may not pass the guidelines.