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Design Dilemma
dom_menica

House plans and orientation of house

Dom Menica
7 years ago
Hi, I'm planning to build a house. I have posted a copy of the plans attached. I would love someone to look at it and let me know what/if anything needs changing and why. The second question, is how should I orientate the house? I'm aware you should face north and north for me is the road side and south is my view where I have placed the alfresco but south is soo cold in winter and maybe too harsh in summer which mean I probably will never entertain. I can orientate the house in which ever direction as I'm building on 100acres.
Featured Answer
  • jmm1837
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I think that how you orient your house depends a lot on the topography of your property. And I think the design of the house should flow from the topography and orientation, and not the other way around.

    To give you a concrete example, our last house sat on a ridge, with front of the house facing the road (east), living and dining areas on the north side with views to west and east, and deck on the west. Now usually, you avoid putting an entertaining area on the west, but in our case it worked perfectly because the spotted gum forest on that side sheltered the deck from the worst of the afternoon sun, while the design of the living areas allowed the afternoon east-west sea breeze to cool the house without a/c. Our designer planned the house to take advantage of those natural features - forest, sea breezes, etc as well as views. The house took its shape from the land and the position.

    What I'm saying is, maybe you need an expert opinion - surely, with 100 acres at your disposal, it should be possible to come up with a plan that gives you a usable al fresco.

    Comments (30)

    • hayley
      7 years ago

      HI,

      Cool looking house. And 100acres? Woweee.

      I think you should orientate the house so that the north is on the Alfresco side at the bottom of the page. If not, the deck wont get much use and your bedroom will be coldest part of the house in winter.

    • Sharon Bouchard
      7 years ago

      Looks like you have sliding doors between the dining room and rumpus room. Will that be enough to stop the noise of the TV disrupting your meals / I know that if that were my kids in there, i'd always be yelling at then to TURN THAT TV DOWN!

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    • macyjean
      7 years ago

      If you are on 100 acres why is north the road side?

      My first thought was also as suggested, alfresco on the north side. But if it is a covered alfresco then it will block the valuable sun in winter.

      As it is you are wasting northern orientation on the garage.

      I don't think choosing a plan and then considering orientation as an afterthought is the best way to go. Without the boundary restrictions of a small suburban block you could do something really good.

      Why do you think a south-facing al fresco might be too harsh in summer? Is that where the prevailing winds are?

    • John Henson
      7 years ago
      Alfresco to the north, swap the laundry with bed 4 so you then have 3 bedrooms with northern sun also no one wants to be in the toilet next to someone having their bbq sausage. For the view I would just make sure that those bay windows are substantial enough not to block vision.
    • Dom Menica
      Original Author
      7 years ago
      Thanks guys. We designed the house thinking of views, northern sun and functionality. Then we had a draftsman draw it up. Besides an architect who should I talk to about sun orientation?
    • macyjean
      7 years ago

      There's a great website that explains the whole solar orientation thing very well, I'll look for the link, but I am still wondering why you said "south is my view where I have placed the alfresco but south is soo cold in winter and maybe too harsh in summer", how is it harsh in summer?

    • girlguides
      7 years ago
      North is best for outdoors south worst as get the cold winds Could you have a room with large window views of the south instead of alfresco ???
    • macyjean
      7 years ago

      In a cold region I can't imagine using the al fresco in winter, and if it is to the north and has a roof then it blocks solar access for the house. I have seen that dilemma discussed here before, whether to have a roof and miss out on winter benefit of solar orientation for the house or not have a roof and miss out on summer shade for the al fresco or have some kind of adjustable or seasonally convertible structure or have a pergola with deciduous climbers over it.

      I think there's a lot more to be understood about the site and the owners' requirements. jmm1837 posted a great example of what can happen when all factors are taken into account and how what is 'usually' done isn't always the answer.


    • PRO
      Infinity Building Design
      7 years ago

      Nice floor plan. The draftsperson who drew the plans should be able to explain the optimal orientation for your home. I am not sure where you are in Australia but it is rare that north is not the best place for the alfresco and it looks like you have large windows to the south to frame the view. Remember that the sun is low in winter and comes in under eaves/alfresco to heat the home and high is summer so shaded by eaves. This is a good website to read;

      http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/orientation

      Insulation is also very important for providing thermal comfort. All new homes require an energy efficiency rating. A good designer will maximise this rating through passive-solar design principles described in the above website. A higher rating means improved thermal comfort and lower energy bills. Feel free to get in touch if you require further information.


    • macyjean
      7 years ago

      That's the one I was going to post but I don't know if the person seeking help is reading any more, there haven't been any replies?

    • PRO
      Burleigh Beach Designs
      7 years ago

      Talk to an architect! Part of good, sustainable design is based on orientation as it can have a huge bearing on the heating and cooling costs for your home, as well as simple functionality and comfort. Investment in your home is huge so why not invest in getting the design right. Do yourself a favour and seek out some more one on one, professional advice. The last thing you want to do is move into a brand new home and find out afterwards that there are so many things you should have done differently. Best of luck with it all :)

    • kjs
      7 years ago

      My untrained opinion - put the alfresco to the north, but with a retractable or opening roof. Or a pergola with grape vines. But there's so many more tweaks to consider, (moving the entry to where the study is, moving the laundry from the north wall, and putting the rumpus there, getting some eastern sun into the master bedroom), that I would go to an architect to talk it through properly.

    • Francis Robinson
      7 years ago
      Hello
      Build a country style house if u have 100 acres to use, need to re-work the plan design around north orientation, view of significants , outlook into your land and local weather conditions and a better layout design
      Why build a house from the suburbs that has so many design / layout problems that need fixing
      fgr
      NCD
    • sujo20
      7 years ago

      Hi, love the floor plan. Nice big place. Three suggestions: I would close off the outside door to the loo & access it through the laundry (no one wants to see a loo or hear the flush from the deck) The rumpus looks a bit small so maybe lose the storage.& have a slightly smaller laundry facing outside. That would give you a much bigger rumpus - less of a corridor to the other rooms & more room for when they have friends over. Also, the shelving area backing onto the entry, I would make that a kids computer area so you can keep an eye on what they are doing from the kitchen. Good luck!

    • PRO
      Anna Cottee Designs
      7 years ago

      We are building a new home on just under 6 acres in Sydney. Street access is on the west side of the property, south and east are bordered by neighbouring properties and the North side of the property is bordered by a road. We have decided to build on the far south west corner approx 30 metres from the street and 20 metres from our nearest neighbour. It also happens to be the highest point of the property. We have designed an L shaped house so that the back of the house ( the traditional back yard) is actually facing North. This will be where the pool and outdoor entertaining areas will be and is the perfect orientation for year round entertaining. It is also the orientation for the kitchen and casual living areas. The front of the house faces West ( street front) and holds the formal living areas which will really only be used in Winter so the impact from the sun will be avoided in Summer but helpful in Winter. The east side of the house holds all the bedrooms so they will benefit from the morning sun. The south side houses the garages, media room and laundry, all rooms which do not need the benefit of natural light. Because we are on a large block, our architect was able to design the house so that we could take advantage of the views, natural light and topography of the property. Wish that this were possible for every new home build!

    • Gallifrey
      7 years ago

      Hi

      the plans look great. Just a few suggestions:

      1. get advice from an architect re the sun orientation. we did and it was the best money we spent on our new house.

      2. the alfresco area will be a real feature of the house, however i think that the connection to the house needs a much bigger door. perhaps not if you do not want the whole indoor/outdoor feel.

      3. butlers pantry. i really wonder how much you will use a sink etc in there, wasting valuable storage space and construction costs.

      4. the ensuite and WIR look great, however their size results in a smaller bedroom area. i would consider scaling down the WIR or ensuite, or finding some more main bedroom floor area.

    • PRO
      Anna Cottee Designs
      7 years ago

      agree with darylwright , definitely get an architect to advise re orientation etc. our architect was a huge help in this area. Re the WIR, never tell a woman to scale down her wardrobe!! I have sacrificed having a 5th bedroom in our new place for a huge WIR! Scaling down the ensuite might be OK but really, I often wonder why we need to have large bedrooms when all we do is sleep in them! I think the master bedroom size you have is fine.

    • Chimichanga Sauce
      7 years ago
      last modified: 7 years ago

      Do you have a front elevation to show us? There appears to be plenty going on there with bay windows, fireplace, cathedral ceiling and skylight. I see a window in the WIR; however there is also a shelf and rail built across it, so that will need to be addressed, and even if the window is not full height it is likely you will have items stored on the shelf which limit the effectiveness of the window. Are the fireplaces wood or gas? If you are not intending for the gas/wood burner to be installed during build, then just have the house built with room for a fireplace and have the specialists build it later (I do appreciate that the front fireplace appears to be a feature built into the wall). I also concur with a previous comment in that there is a bottleneck between alfresco and house and that transition would benefit from a wider opening with 28c stackers so you can have flydoors. I would remove the WC external access door and leave entry via laundry; however, I would recommend a small basin installed into the WC as hand washing via the laundry trough can feel a bit industrial. There is space to do more with the main bathroom, e.g. bigger bath on 600mm hob with step with extra height window meeting the hob. Lastly, contrary to popular opinion, I actually had my house orientated to avoid the harsh summer sun penetrating into the alfresco, and preferred to have the morning sun breaking into the alfresco and kitchen instead.

    • Successor One
      7 years ago
      don't forget about strong winds, especially in the country or any other relatively open area. The wind direction changes with seasons, depends on the wind strength it can blow away light furniture, cushions, plant pots etc, so such places like alfresco better be sheltered from harsh weather. In the summer western sun may add some extra heat to any bbq station located on that side of a house, sometimes temperatures are so high it becomes dangerous to do any open fire/ gas cooking there (from experience). So yes, house orientation is very important. Hope you don't have many council regulations in terms of where you can or cannot have windows.
    • judy69a
      7 years ago
      We have lived at our site for over 30 years , so when we went to rebuild ( road side is east and back of house is west ) we planed most of the windows and that the kitchen and living and entertaining is on the north side of house , works very well because in winter the sun is low rooms are warm . In summer sun is higher and the our outside area being west can get a bit hot near the end of the day but with the plants and some out door blinds very lovely place to sit and eat all year round.
      Love the look of your house .
    • deewb
      7 years ago
      last modified: 7 years ago

      You have come up with some great practical ideas for your home.

      I love the walk through pantry so near the garage for unloading. The open space in the living area will be beautiful to use and entertain in. I understand your reasoning for having an outside access to the toilet so maybe swapping the laundry and toilet over so the toilet doesn't open directly onto the alfresco. Bedroom backing onto the tv needs looking at, put the bathroom there? The kids rumpus area looks more like a very large walk through zone not well suited for gaming etc

      As suggested, seek professional advise regarding layout and orientation.

    • kooky_karen
      7 years ago

      Okay - I am going to suggest something that goes against the dictates for the southern hemisphere. Place you home with the Alfresco facing west. It looks as though it is deep enough to keep the heat from the dining area. And you could add screens/blinds if needed. I would move the French doors in master bedroom and window in bedroom 2 to the south facing walls. Flip the laundry and external toilet (putting it around the corner from entertaining area).

    • Campdog Retreat
      7 years ago
      I took my design to an energy design consultant who rates new homes for NatHERs. through legislation these days you need to get at least six stars in efficient homes to get council approval. A lot of this is based on orientation and glass/wall to floor ratio. Orientation is really important otherwise you use a lot of money heating and cooling it.
    • Catherine Metcalfe
      7 years ago
      The large roof over the alfresco area will mean that the northern light will not reach the living space inside at any time of the year. That would be a shame and for that reason I would face this to the south.
      I think the plan needs a fair bit of reworking. The laundry running off the rumpus is a little odd.
      Also you have a substantial home but no formal entry/vestibule. I think a home this size commands a spectacular entry!
    • Catherine Metcalfe
      7 years ago
      Sorry should have finished last post. The entry hall is tucked away. Could this not be located closer to the middle of the house? Swap say the entry to laundry Bedroom to laundry etc etc
    • Dom Menica
      Original Author
      7 years ago
      Thanks everyone. So much great advice! I don't think I was clear enough in my description though. North is to the top of this plan. (ie: entry is on the north side)
      The road is to the north.
      The site slopes to the south.
      The views are to the south.
      A relatively cold breeze comes from the SE during winter.
    • tickjohnston
      7 years ago
      You are better off building a u shaped house so the sun comes into every room. Look at 50's design. I just pulled a random one off the net. Both my cousins have houses like this and they are fabulous. You can see children through the house without being able to hear them. Also every room recieves light.
      Your design will miss out on a lot of light if you orientate it the wrong way. We faced the same dilemma when we had to orientate our house to the view. Although We went for long and only 1 room wide and angled it so sun came in every room in winter.
    • kjs
      7 years ago

      My parents have a covered south facing alfresco in Perth. It's great in summer. In winter, they use a paved and pergolaed (with deciduous vines) area further from the house that gets full sun.

      Consider losing the bay windows. They will be unbearable in summer. Or push the eaves out, or plant some deciduous trees in the front.

      I would shift the rumpus room to where the laundry is. Give it a view. Also, it's probably where you'll end up sitting on hot summer days, as your formal lounge will still get a lot of heat.

      Consider shifting the master to the righthand side of the plan. You could get a lovely triple aspect (north, east and south) bedroom. You could have double doors that open onto a private seating area too. Put the laundry where the master is.

    • kjs
      7 years ago

      Also, whilst I like the idea of a loo off the alfresco, the current door placement isn't great, as you can see the loo from the table.

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