What an interesting house. Will council allow sub division, you should check as it could bring you windfall. How many people will be living in the house and does anyone work from home and do you have a budget

Hi Siriuskey, yes it is already have a DA approval from the council since 1990 to build two houses in one land and it is valid as they have executed the building.

4-5 people, a small office will be nice only one school student. Budget around 200 to 250K, do you think it’s not worth spending this money?

The photos are very nice than reality!

If you plan to build on the back half, or sell it off for someone else to build on, then you need to know what the build ratio to open space is for your current home. This will determine whether you can build into those courtyards or not. You will also have to keep the driveway for access to rear block. The house is not small it’s just a very weird design. The main bedroom is huge, and the office is really just a hallway to access the master. It actually looks as though the master is an extension? Mmmmm...my brain is thinking.

Keeping the focus on the bedroom situation, I have taken out the spa bath, reduced the bathroom size and made that into a hallway to back of house. This now gives a dedicated bedroom where the office/hallway was. The double doors from master out to courtyard are closed up and new doors installed in the new multi purpose area. Master is reduced in size to a more workable size in keeping with proportions of the rest of the home. Real estate plans are usually not accurate, so this is purely a thought with the information given. It also keeps your wonderful large courtyards for outside relaxation.

The above is minimal changes to your double brick walls. You should only be a small, maybe quarter, of your budget for this change. But then the kitchen could do with a total makeover. There is nothing wrong with the size, it’s just very dated. Just re facing the blue boards would be an improvement. Again this is not an expensive makeover for kitchen....depends on your personal wants.

When you say too small, what are you missing that you need? Ie a second living area.

Looking at the ceiling of the living area, it would be worth consulting a builder to see if the dining space ceiling can be raised as well. And can the support posts in the kitchen be removed. Then it will visually feel bigger.

Depends how much courtyard you want to lose. The rear courtyard has less access so I would explore that but I don’t know how it sits in terms of outlook.

Or move front door and kitchen to allow a bigger living at front

You could also wxtend the living room wall out to driveway

Great ideas thank you, still not sure about kitchen and laundry we do a lot of cooking and laundry!

How much does it cost to lift the roof and add three rows of bricks? Agent said that the middle walls are non bearing only the outer frame.

I also asked if the master bedroom was added later or an extension to the original house they said no?

Can we move the living and kitchen to the back?

Where does the sub division start, ie: distance from current house, 5 people how many bedrooms are needed. Your budget isn't very big, what would the Battle axe block be worth

Can you post a Google Earth photo of the house and land.

Another option.

Why do you want to move the kitchen and living to the back? The wonderful north aspect is still on the side, and the bedrooms at the back are private.

Do you mean lift the entire roof of the home? I would look at only the kitchen dining area. And this is not making the roof higher, this is making the CEILING higher, because it appears from external photo there is room in the roof space to increase the ceiling height in those areas. If the agent said there is not load bearing walls in the kitchen and dining, then this is good news to raise the ceiling. Not the roof.

Thank you for your help, we need 4 bedrooms, bigger kitchen

Plans

This is pointing to what I mean about raising the ceiling, not the roof. Make it the same height as the living area, if possible. You could build into the courtyard next to the kitchen with a laundry and large pantry. But it comes back to the build ratio to open space, and what is allowed on this front piece of land. With other small adjustments as Kate and I have posted, you will already have your for bedrooms.

Are you able to post a closer picture of your house plan with readable dimensions, the estate agent plans are constantly wrong, thanks

By the plans posted, the entrance to the master bedroom area is different to real Estate plan. Which is correct? And even on the drawing of plans the master looks like an after thought.

Unable to enlarge measurements.

Are these the final approved plans, because obviously, unless the master entrance was changed after construction by a later renovation, then the build was not as approved. It also appears that the master may not be double brick?? Lots of queries.....

Excellent Siriusky, just proves the home is not too small, it is the existing layout that is making it confined.

The house has two wonderful North Facing Courtyards/Outdoor rooms that could be opened up to the interior which will make the house feel and be much larger.

just because there was approval for two homes since 1990 i would first check to find out what is possible now...can you build two houses on the one block or can the block be divided into two separate blocks for two separate house that can be sold separately?.. either way i doubt that the budget is enough to achieve what you need without spending most of your budget on rearranging the existing plans and still be stuck with the existing small rooms and lack of privacy created by the long driveway...if the whole block is 13.6 m wide there is more space at the rear to build a much more comfortable home without the disadvantages of a knock down rebuild and keep the existing house to sell or rent out..

Overhead photo

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Great advice, we can put more money into it, or should we build at the back and keep the front as it is.

What is the percentage of green if we need to close off one of the court yards?

your best decision will depend on if it's possible to sell the existing house separately and hopefully receive enough money from the sale to build a new house at the back and refresh the existing house for a better sale price or rental return which all depends on your finances and long term plans so i would 1. check with council to clarify if the block can be subdivided and at what cost 2. research new home building options 3. check with local real estate agents for potential sale price or rental return on existing house and ask their advice about suitable upgrades and 4. discuss with your bank and/or financial adviser....imo spending all your budget on the existing house would be a lost opportunity to develop the rear of the block for a much better home to live in and use the existing house as an investment

Build, open space ratio differs per council and depends on the zoning in your area. Consult the council on this particular parcel of land, using the exact square metres of block as if the land was officially sub divided.

It appears that there are quite a few Battle Axe blocks already approved,

I would go back to council looking to have a new Subdivision and most likely new house plan approved along with any changes to the original house

I would sell that package to finance and update the original house. Not to offend those who live on a battle Axe block, but the street frontage and having 3 neighbours instead of 4 is the better property.

If you went 2storey at back would you get glimpses of the water?

Sorry Siriuskey I didn’t get what you mean in your last message?

I don’t think we can see the water if 2story was to be built.

@ Siriusky love your new house configuration but what are the new measurements for study, bath kitchen and laundry…?

Could you please re post the the floorplan from 1990 showing Readable dimensions as the coloured Real Estate plans are not correct as is normal. I am unable to read the first Architect plan you posted, Thanks

There are some really great suggestions for incorporating a 4th bedroom. I like Kate and Siriuskey's ideas. However, Kate's new configuration would require altering the roof, which can be super costly. Are you trying to manipulate the floorplan without changing the size of the house? I guess you'll need to think of what will suit you best long-term. Sometimes this means extending your budget a bit to future-proof your plans. Good luck!

Yes having just seen how complicated the current roof structure is, expect you would need to reroof the back section if adding floor area