Hi AndrewJason, I love cavity sliders. they are there when you want them but not visible when you need the space open. Having said that they cost more, take a bit of wreckage to set up and in you WA case you will be wrecking brick walls to put them in which might be a stretch of mess too far. BUT you will need to weigh up if they are worth it in the end. I do not think the build will be too bulky in the kitchen/dining because it will be superbly practical on both sides and it maybe just a matter of what you are used to. Not sure about "Average Joe...…" we are all good at somethings, mine is plans, function, practicality, solar. Yours might be brain surgery, empathy for unwell folks, kinda or you make the best seafood lasagne in the world... we are all needed to make for a great world: and it really is that!!! Good luck with your splendid home: I think it is beautiful. And PS if you do make the best seafood anything I better have your address....!!!!!!! MK

the narrowest walking space would be about 60cms (and there won't be a lot of traffic in the space and with 3800 (not 3400) the ens doorway can be pushed towards the front of the house, not centred and makes more standing room in front of the shower and easier access from the bedroom to the ens but also depends on the distance from the new wall to the side of the bay opening and that was probably centred when the house was built and before the wardrobe was installed so you need to carefully measure the room again... we now have three different widths for the room and the hall is shown as metres wide!!...is the master bedroom 3400 or 3800 or 4460 wide (ignoring the bay window) and what is the length of the whole room (ignoring the wardrobe) and what is the depth of the wardrobe from the outside and also measure from the outside of the architrave around the bedroom door to the front of the wardrobe ..could you gain some space by moving the bedroom door closer to the wardrobe and/or hinging the door to open towards the wardrobe to feel less cramped? ...we can make lots of suggestions but need to start with precise information about what you already have and based on new information and the size of an average king sized bed and the wider room my suggestion would be to place the bed in the centre of the room, lined up with the centre of the bay window and then measure how much space is available on either side for the ens and for wardrobe and bedroom door and you'll probably find that even if the bedroom door is moved there would probably be about 60-70cms between the bed and the new wall and minimal space between the bed and the door on the other side so try losing big bedside tables and use hanging lamps and mismatched side table or shelves ( a cut down stool makes a tiny side table) and keep in mind that, unless you remove the whole chimney (big job but will supply a huge number of bricks if you need some paving) the thickness of the brick walls will decide how much space is available in the chimney alcove for the vanity so measure inside the chimney not outside wall spaces but, despite limitations imo the ens is well worth the effort, cost for the improved resale value and quality of family life.. but, why not move the bed and add something to create a barrier to represent the proposed ens wall and see how it feels as something like this could work but depends on accurate measurements

Hey Larkspur, thanks for the great response! Actually, you are correct, according to the building inspection: "The original section of the dwelling is constructed upon a strip "edge beam" concrete footing system incorporating a suspended timber frame (bearer and joist flooring system) with the newer addition/s constructed upon a concrete slab footing system." That original edge beam has had a damp course put in along one side of the building, just FYI. I actually have trouble telling where the original section ends. The floorboards extend into the 'dining' area (hardly a dining area - you might fit a small table with 4 chairs in there). However, the rear of the bath area towards the courtyard is sided with that same weatherboard type material that's on the extension. I suspect they may have rebuilt the exterior of the bath and laundry area but that it was the original profile of the house. Regarding the fibre cement. My inspector noted there was a chance such material contained asbestos. But the building approvals attached to the Form 1 were given in the very late 80s / early 90s. As far as I am aware, they stopped making that material in the early 80s so I am hopeful we missed that. There is, however, a small amount of confirmed asbestos backing in the power meter box for example. As you saw. I am a huge bath fan and would definitely put one in. I have a soft spot for the cedar wood japanese baths but I suspect that's a pretty niche taste and wouldn't add as much value for future owners as much as me haha. The bathroom, even in it's current envelope, has heaps of spare room. The northern light actually enters the 'bottom' of the layout - e.g. the verandah / lounge / spare bed side. However, we get a fair bit of light in from all those windows in the breezeway. There is a very odd step down between the dining room and the are marked as living. As in, you jump off the floorboards onto tiling in the living area. As you get to the rear of the extenion, you actually step back up again. Not sure why they did that. The courtyard is level with the lower dining area. If I had a vision of a great kitchen, it'd be one with a bar running along that wall where the laundry meets the dining area. Maybe that bar would run along the windows to the courtyard too, forming an L shape. And a very functional, big cooking and prep area with a window to the courtyard. So, someone cooking could chat to their buddies and hand them a plate over the kitchen counter, or through a window potentially. The first house we really loved had a huge walk in pantry, triple insulated. That'd be awesome too but not sure if we would have room for it! Style is up in the air. We need to live in a bit longer to figure that one out. It already has a nice warm feel and I think we would try and keep that.

Lorraine C the more toilets the more cleaning ( or so my wife tells me ). Unless a large laundry I’d remove toilet & replace with 2nd shower. Comes in handy after gardening or if you have a dog. We also live in the mountains & our laundry has a toilet & shower attached. I,m trying to make our new home’s laundry double as a mudroom