Plans

The Block!

Here is our block. Long and skinny. Rear is north facing (off by only 10 degrees- should be good for solar!). Its pretty flat too, not perfect but pretty close. While its a cut and fill, they will only be cutting ~10cm and filling ~10cm, which is small enough not to really be of concern, no real fill to remove either. Site is pretty sandy, no one has found rock in any of the development around here and the site is very close to its origional height (the developer didn't have to do a lot for this part, it was an orange orchard and before that an airfield or something).

 Anyway you cut it 800m2 is big, but being narrow has limited some of our choices. The area also requires 1.2+ m each side, but that means a regular Milano 16 doesn't fit (just by like 30cm!).  I would have also preferred to have access to the back with 2m or 2.4m side access. This would make digging, landscaping, storing a boat/jetski/ etc easy. Many houses in the Pitt town area have drive through garages for boats (we do have a boat ramp on the estate) or big side access.

 However 1.3m is still big enough that you can get a Dingo down the side, or a small jetski, and if your boat is a tinny, its easy to carry it around the back. So it doesn't really exclude those options, and you get a bigger house instead. I'm not planning anything bigger than a Jetski or tinny (at least for storing it at home).

 Plenty of room for a pool, maybe a rear poolhouse/study, a small shed for storage etc. Still leaving room to kick/throw a ball in the back yard.

On the Street.

Here it is from the street. We are told that ours might be the only MacDonald Jones house that has 3m ceilings throughout (inc at the front) the house. I don't believe that, but very few houses at 3m all the way through, most of the display homes are 2.7 or split with a 3.0 out the back. Combined with the Vermont development required angles it makes for a very tall imposing single story house from the front. We weren't going for that look, we really just wanted high ceilings inside as I am 2m tall and our kids will most likely also be quite tall. Plus the house isn't huge, so higher ceilings will help make it feel a bit more airy (I hope).

The roof actually makes the house look quite narrow, its not. This is a wide house with two front bedrooms a hall way and a double garage. Many single story homes only have one front bedroom. Its just the roof is so bloody big. In the roof, the apex to the interior roof height is like 3.3m!.

This picture is wrong, we are getting timber windows with a corner window near the entry. It was specified in our original contract, but they can't seem to put it on the plan or drawings.

 The front will be rendered (at added cost), but I think will go nice with the Balinese resort façade. We want to clad the bottom of the two pillars with sandstone, I want nice sharp cut, wife wants rough more organic.

 There is no house on the otherside of the street, we actually overlook a nice little pond with reeds and ducks and the like. So we envisage using the front deck time to time to look out at the kids playing on the grass near the pond. This will be south facing so possibly very pleasant in summer

 Sides will be bagged (cheaper!) and the rear will be wonderful Bowral Blue brick. This stuff is expensive, its costing nearly $5k just to get the rear done, a whole house is ~$20k+. However the blues are a f

The Plan

Ok we have our floor plans - This one is a draft, we have moved some of the water points, gas points etc. I have cut and pasted the bed 4 robe to where it will be too (making bed 4 a bit bigger). Bed 4 will nearly be a cube. ~2.8x3.6x3 - We think this will be a study as its the smallest room. Eventually when we build the study out the back this could be another bedroom (for guests or gasp more kids?) or a play room.

 We have also put in a sink in the toilet up the front of the house so you don't have to go to the bath room to wash your hands. I think this should be standard in the 16. Theres room for it, every toilet should have a sink, its basic hygiene. If someone is in the bathroom then the only other options are kitchen (No!), Master (No No!) or laundry - none of which are nearby.

 Children activity isnt' as huge, but its large enough, as a play area while they are little, as a study/work area when they are older.

 The outback.

Out the back we have two sets of bi-fold doors with a small wall between them, an alfresco covered dining area, rear window from the master bed room. Rear should feel very spacious with two sets of bi-folds and a 3 m height, combined with the skinner central pillar. Our sales contact tried to talk us out of bi-folds at the rear. The insects! The maintenance! However, being able to basically delete the entire rear wall of the house during pleasant times of the year to look over a significant backyard is just too tempting.

 This is one of the main reasons we chose a Milano, the rear completely opens up and there's no master bedroom in the way. Just family living blending to undercover and outdoor areas.

 The roof will have solar panels on it, nicely north facing on a nice angle. I want a 6 Kw+ system, this may mean I will have some on the West side as well. Not a bad thing either as West facing will mean we will still be making significant power well into the afternoon.