What paint colour will it be? If it's white then you wont notice it, and may look like it is part of the design. For me the only way it will look like a feature if it looks like a beam.

The paint will be white and floor will be floor boards. i just feel the ceiling space looks uneven and it doesnt look right, because its directly actoss the room that sticks out and then opens up again after the room. just takes alot of ceiling space when we didnt have much room to start with. but its not complete yet. super confused.

I'm with you Nadia -- there's no way you would call it a 'feature' . When you look back by that doorway , it is really cramped and crowded . If the ceiling was 30cm higher , you might get away with it , or maybe have done a 'fake ceiling' so it was flat across , but its already quite low and quite narrow , so not good .

Who did the plans -- an architect , a draughtsperson , someone contracted to the builder , or someone you chose ? This is the kind of stuff you pay for -- they should plan the whole build , not just where a wall or door , or even a bath , goes , and should consider the plumbing and the wiring .

I picked the builders plans thats what makes it even more frustrating! i even paid additional money to have ceilings at 2750mm and the bulkhead had taken that away.

i sent an email last night to builder saying something has to be done as we are not accepting this. as its the weekend i wont hear anything until tomorrow

i actually dont know what else to do

My first thought was why put a storage cupboard in your hallway.....it took me a while to actually find the bulkhead in your photo, because I was distracted by how narrow the storage cupboard makes the hallway. I have now realised that it is a room sticking out and making the hallway very narrow.

Your builder may be able to reduce the size of the bulkhead, but all the plumbing would be inside it and it would be a huge job to relocate the plumbing, which may not even be possible.

At least you have installed 2430mm high doors, if they were normal height, then the hallway would appear even narrower.

Thankyou i wad thinking could they potentially relocate thd plumbing jnto the gargage, through the laundry and then into the broom cupboard where the stacking point is?

what annoys me is this issue was identified during the build and was poor planning on the builders behalf.

or maybe reduce the size of the theatre room by 30-40cm?

i actually have no idea what to even suggest. i was told it would like a feature instead it looks horrible.

Sorry, should of included. The metal strip on the bulkhead is emphasising the bulkhead more. In the photo, that is what stands out. The grey of the gyprock blends together. Once the ceiling is painted white, it will probably disappear...almost. And people will be focused on getting to the end of your long hallway...not the bulkhead. Unless you point it out to your visitors.

I agree with dreamer. The hallway is far too narrow. Even with the heightened ceiling, the bulkhead crowds this long narrow space. Forgive my ignorance, but why can't the plumbing be put in the cavity between the floors or run along the outside of the building? It sounds like there has been a big stuff up on someone's part.... and not yours, Nadia!

Is it at all possible to move the walls on the left back so they are level with the doorway frame? At least then the hallway would be wider and the bulkhead not so obtrusive. Good luck, Nadia. This is a tough call and any changes you end up making will totally depend on your budget.

The builder and its architect made a big mistake.

i have made some suggestions via email to my builder as its the weekend, im starting to think if they cant move the plumbing i will need to bring the theatre room in by 40cm.

this is their mistake so it will cost them and not us. it seems they have suggested the bulk head because it was the cheapest option.

let me see what they fome back with. i have told them its current state wont he accepted considering they have sold me their floorplan and this issue was identifed mid build.

Thanks dreamer i am going to go take some more photos shortly as the plasterers have done more work just waiting for them to leave

All the best for a fair result .

One suggestion if it really comes down to it , would be another bulkhead just along the left above the first door -- as Dreamer said , the rest of that left side could almost pass as a cupboard , so it would then look more 'balanced' having matching bulkheads either side , and the left side one would look like it just transitions into the 'cupboard' ?

Definitely not ideal , but I think I'd prefer that as opposed to losing 40cm from another larger room -- I know its still losing space , but to me a hallway and entrance are just 'conveyances' , if that makes sense .

Thanks dreamer and potsy for the suggestion of the bulk head on the left hand side i didnt think lf that. its not a cupboard its a room on the left hand side. is that what you are referring too?

Yes , I clicked it is a room , but as it jutts in , visually you could use it and the additional bulkhead to 'balance' the look -- right now you just have the bulkhead on the right , and nothing to counteract it . Not ideal , but a possible solution .

Yes thats idea i will take a walk up soon as i am not far and see if i can visualise it. didnt think of that so thankyou

If the bulkhead is running along the right hand side of hallway I'm not really sure what you're worried about. It's barely noticeable especially when compared with the jutting out room.

Thanks CP. the room sticking out actually didnt look so bad. the addition of the bulk head has made it look out of whack.

Agree with CP... the jutting out room is what stands out to me, not the bulkhead. Normally a bulkhead or dropped ceiling would be shown on the plan (dotted lines, text) - I'm guessing it wasn't shown?
What is your hall width from the theatre room to the right handside wall? Looks fairly narrow but could just be angle of photo.
And why did the theatre room need to jut out into the hall anyway? On original plan or something you requested?

Hi Liz,

The bulkhead was never supposed to be part of the plan. Once the frame and plumbing was complete the builder called me and advised that if I wanted to use my toilet and shower in my ensuite upstairs they had to install a waste pipe downstairs to connect into stack point located in ground floor broom cupboard. I was advised the only way this could be done was install the wastepipe and cover it with a bulk head which they said they would make it "look like a feature". I was promised by the builder they would make it look good.

I always had 1 metre between the theatre room and entry wall and it looked fine before they installed the bulkhead. What you see sticking out is the theatre room. But now that bulkhead is installed it has completely made the entry look smaller and it "doesnt flow".

Considering I picked the builders plans and not my own I would have thought this would have been identified and not when they started building the home. not to mention I paid additional $$ to get ceilings 2750mm. Obviously the person responsible for drawing up the plans did not factor this and has really made a big mistake.

The theatre room came like that on the plans, but as I said I did not see this as a problem as I still had 1 metre which I was fine with. When you get the house before the theatre room is 1750mm.

The left hand side of the house does not have the bulkhead which I feel makes it look out of whack. The photo I have taken is not the best (and photography is not my finest).

I just am trying to find a solution to this as I am purely not happy with what has bene presented and my site supervisor promised he would make it look good. Looks far from good at this stage.

If it wasn't on the plan, and as you really aren't happy with it, then agree the builder needs to find a solution for you, Nadia. Makes me wonder if they have ever built a house from the same plan before or a 2 story house with upstairs bathroom - if they have, it should have been known from other builds.

I don't really have a solution and if they put a bulk head on left handside for balance, I'm not sure that will be any better. Hard to visualise. I'd be tempted to move theatre wall so that hallway is same width the whole way along and looks more balanced. Then you might not notice the bulkhead once painted.

We have bulkheads in kitchen, laundry and bathroom - due to building out to eaves - and they look perfectly fine and blend into rooms, but they were all marked on plans (house was built mid 1980s and has 2.4m ceilings).

I hope you can sort it out. Good luck!

Yes i know i signed a variation but the way it was explained has not happened. I have sent an email and will follow up tomorrow.

ultimatley we will need to reach a resolution because it cant stay the way it is.

they obviously have not built this house before have to ageww with you there. i dont mind having a bulkhead but I want it to blend in at the present it doesnt. and if promised to be a ”feature” i want it to look like a feature.

i will speak to them tomorrow and discuss the option of theatre room i already have suggested that in my email. thanks for the tips.

You have said that the hallway is 1750 at the door then closes to 1000 at theatre room and the rest of hallway.
Maybe you should of given us those measurements first. Because the photo is looking at though the hall is only 850, I’m working on the front door being 1200mm.

Just shows how photos never give the true picture, perspective is not accurate. Maybe you should of posted a plan of space with measurements and the photo. Then this may avoided a whole lot of comments that really haven’t been helpful. As I commented on how narrow the hallway is, but you are saying it is 1000mm. Surprise!!

What does the hallway look like now? After painting?

If the hallway is as wide as you say, could you put a bookshelf underneath so that the bulkhead adjoins it at the top?

I agree it doesn't look good, what a shame the blulk head wasn't above the Media room it would have helped to cover it. Pottseys idea to do the same down the left hand side but I would include above the entrance and the end of the passage to form a box , Coffered ceiling

This is an example, you can just keep it simple without the cross sections depends on what style your are aiming for and you can also add Cornice, hanging lights or just simple downlights

They try to do a short cut, and end up costing them money. I hope they dont pass it on to you in another way.

Well done for your work in questioning the builder. You knew it was not correct and stuck to resolving the issue. Well done.

Great result, pleasing to see that you and the builder came to an agreement to fix the problem