i especially like the extra width to the garage that creates the offsett look of the garage door and extending the house forward in separate areas that helps make the roof so much more interesting without changing the basic shape...very well done, congratulations to the design and construction team and lucky homeowner

Yes this is common practice in Perth. Most of the 1970's duplexes are on big parcels of land. Your chosen builder can help with the council requirements, and a reputable demolition company. And, YES, you definitely need the permission of the owner of the 'currently' attached building. This would be signed off when getting building/council approval. The walls between each half are usually two double brick walls. So you would be removing your double brick walls, and either incorporating a new double brick wall into your design, or leaving the neighbours wall as a parapet wall on the boundary. I would encourage you to contact a reputable, well known building company who has experience in the correct procedure. I have attached a photo of a home near us. They left the neighbours wall as a parapet on boundary, and built a new detached home.

Thanks for these wonderful comments everyone! These are really good and provide me with some great starting points. A few of you mentioned budget. We are thinking 300k to 400k would be good, but I'm not sure if this is too much or too little. We are based in Melbourne if that helps. We will definitely engage a building designer rather than architect mainly due to costs. The suggestion of a brief is good so that we have a clear idea of what our goals mad requirements are. Neighbour wise we should be fine :) I hadn't considered asking them if they were interested in renovations as well. Wow, that plan looks amazing! Can't believe that you create that so quickly. I'm sorry I couldn't get to answer your questions in time. The easement is for drainage. I believe there is a large drain likely sewer line running down the side form memory. The walls are all brick. Double brick. Roof is tiled and floors are hardwood timber except in existing kitchen and toilet areas. I should have added we plan to knock down the existing garage and use the space for backyard. Can't build on it because of easement. The land slopes very gently from the front to the back. The height of the floor at the dining room I would guess is 50 cm higher than the ground outside. I can try and take a photo today. We were thinking we would try to keep as much as possible of the existing walls, like you have suggested except the bathroom laundry kitchen and possibly dining. although it would be nice to have the main hallway width wider. but I can see then that you would lose quite a bit of space.

APPROVED! Another lightning-fast approval for alterations & additions for ISC Design! Alterations & additions CDC to existing house in Chester Hill. We promptly advised client to retain existing house, extend & renovate to save money, in lieu of knock-down & rebuild. The resultant design will be nice with an added jerkin-head gable (hipped-gables) to side front roofs. Talk to Ibrahim & ISC Design for fast, professional CDC advice. We have the full team (survey, certifier, Architect, engineer) to promptly & professionally design, document & approve your next project. Granny flat. Extension. New home. Duplex. Units. Apartment. Kind regards ----------------------------------------------------- Architect Ibrahim Conlon M.Arch (UTS) B.A Arch (UTS) ADAD (CIT) AICOMOS RAIA Registered Architect ARB NSW 10042 Associate Member ICOMOS 1512 ISC DESIGN; Australian Contemporary & Heritage Architecture Documentation, Representation, Administration and Development Planning Office Address; Suite 1, Level 1 115 Auburn Road Auburn NSW 2144 Mobile; 0404459916 Email; ibrahim@iscdesign.com.au Website; www.iscdesign.com.au