Flashback Friday- Plans

Friday 28 June 2013

As I've mentioned earlier, it was a long process to decide upon our plan and proceed with the renovation.  Upon purchase we completed a mini renovation inside the house so that it was comfortable for us to live in with our newborn Master H.  But that is a story for another time!  We were keen to experience life in the house to decide if we would stay long term and have a feel for how the house 'worked' before completing any major works.  Of course we wanted to make the best financial decision too. 

Existing Floor Plan
Before long it was very obvious what didn't work in the house!  It was difficult for visitors to locate the entry to the house with two doors on the lower level beside the garage door and two bedrooms with french doors opening on to the front verandah.  The 'front' door was the last place you would think!  All the doors plus the wardrobe made it difficult to fit a queen-size bed in the main bedroom.  The living room and kitchen were too hot with the afternoon sun and too dark and stuffy with the blinds drawn.  Clearly, the layout needed to change.

But the big question was whether to raise the house and build under or extend to the rear of the property.  We took full advantage of Hubby M's skills as a Mechnical Services Draftsman and would spend any spare time drawing up possible floor plans.  30 at last count! 

Originally we thought it would be most economical to leave the ground floor for parking and storage and add a master bedroom, ensuite and deck to the first floor.   We were keen to maintain high ceilings and a nice roofline so the existing roof needed to be removed right back to the top of the hip.  However when we received quotes for this plan we decided the big cost of re-roofing wasn't worth the small gain of floor space.  One of the builders who quoted suggested it would be more value for money to raise the house and build under.
 

So after a few more months and many more plans we came up with a good design for two levels that worked with the existing structure as much as possible.  Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a study/playroom on the upper level and kitchen, dining, living, forth bedroom, laundry and bathroom on the lower level.  A separate garage would need to be built in the front yard.  We thought we were on to a real winner with a structural engineer reporting that we could keep the existing slab and block walls...  
...until the quotes came in.  This time the hidden cost was in all of the earthworks and retaining walls required and the overall price was not viable. 

Megan Matsuoka Print - Etsy
Back to the drawing board!  By this stage I was pregnant with our second child and well and truly over house plans.  But I was even more fed up with living in a half-renovated, old house!  So we persisted with more late evenings on AutoCAD and committed ourselves to finding the best layout even if it meant undoing/redoing our existing work on the house.  And finally we settled on this plan. I had to laugh when I noticed Hubby M had named the AutoCAD file 'Final really this time.dwg'!

Level 1 Floor Plan

Ground Floor Plan

Front Elevation

Back Elevation
So what do you think?

11 comments:

  1. I love it! So pleased that you put back the central hallway, will make the house much more balanced and functional. And the kitchen/dining/lounge/deck addition is almost identical to what we did in our last house and works really well. And keeping the bathroom plumbing in the same spot is clever and your master bed looks a great size. Where is your laundry? Could not see it on the plan.

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    1. I appreciate your feedback! We won't know ourselves with all the living space. The laundry has been an issue. Our current laundry is in the back right corner under the house but will not be easily accessible. So we have put the washing machine and dryer in a cupboard under the outdoor kitchen bench with a sink on the deck. If this doesn't work the laundry will go back under the house. I'm keen for feedback on the laundry. :)

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  2. The benefit you have is that you have actually lived in the house before renovating to figure out what works and what you'd like to change. I don't think our brief was fully met, but when there are so many constraints to deal with (e.g. town planning, site-specific constraints and budget) you soon work out a solution that is the most suitable. As for the laundry - if you were to put it downstairs, is there any opportunity for a laundry shute? xx

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    1. I agree, renovations definitely = compromise! The laundry has been a major compromise. Hubby M has suggested a laundry shute in the main bathroom which is directly above the current laundry. So that would be a good solution.

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  3. I think living in a house for a while, you really get a good feel for what works and what doesn't and what you need to change. I can't wait to see more of your place take shape and to follow along with your renovations x

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    1. That is true Amanda. But the reality of living in a half-finished house for three years was not fun! At least now we are finally reaping the rewards with a house design that we feel confident about.

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  4. I think your laundry option is a good compromise but I for one am a sook and would not want to be outside in winter dealing with it all. Especially with little kids as they generate so much of it.(My laundry situation is currently completely out of control made worse by it being all under the house and dealing with our first batch of headlice) My only other suggestions (which you may have already ruled out) would be, could you steal some space from your master and put a small laundry accessible via your bathroom, or could you add on behind your bathroom as part of your new addition and again access via the bathroom but in the opposite direction to your bedroom. I have had a laundry in cupboard for the last 13 years and coped pretty well but am super excited to actually have a proper space. mel x

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    1. All good suggestions Mel. Thank you. Extending the main bathroom at the rear or into the little alcove space in the master bedroom would be perfect for the laundry however we have already renovated our bathroom and are reluctant to change it. Maybe we'll resort to this in the future if we are really troubled by the laundry in a cupboard situation. I would really like the convenience of the laundry on the main level.

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  5. I do like how you've put back the central hallway. Are the gables on the front original? as it looks a bit like a workers cottage. I too have a downstairs laundry, but ours is built in. It's taken us almost 15 years worth of improvements (ha) and our house has grown around our changing needs. I don't think there is a room in this house that hasn't had a dual purpose. Maybe you could pull your bathroom back into your bedroom a bit and build a "cupboard bathroom" in part of the exsiting bathroom. Does Hubby use REVIT?

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    1. Hi Simmone. Our house certainly has a few uncommon features! I think the gables on the front are original features because we can see them in the aerial 1946 images of our house. I'd love to find out some more about the history of our property. Do you have internal stairs to access your downstairs laundry? We did a built-in laundry under our last house which was lovely but accessing it wasn't easy. Maybe our house will evolve with us too! Hubby said he has used REVIT but doesn't at the moment. Do you use REVIT software?

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  6. We did the same with our current fibro beach shack and just couldn't make it work. My brother in-law is an architect and has been given many bottles of wine for his fine work haha!

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Thanks for reading!