Rate My Floorplan - Parkwood Development 3x2

Hi guys! So I’m getting close to finalising the design of my new build 3x2 in Parkwood WA (the ‘build’ part of my current corner lot retain-and-build development project). I thought I’d put the draft plans out there for some constructive feedback.


A bit of context:

• Site area: 247m2; R-Code: R30
• Dwelling is to be held as a rental property (however final resale is still a consideration).
• Target market is likely primarily a small family (either as tenants or purchasers) and secondarily to young professionals (as share house tenants.)
• Construction budget is $175,000 - $185,000 full turnkey.
• We will be aiming to achieve a highly sustainable dwelling within the budget (7 or 8 Star NatHERS).
• Floor area is limited to ~135m2 site coverage, due to lot size and R-Code open space requirements. Thats pretty tight for a 3x2. As such we’ve tried to keep everything pretty tight (minimal hallways etc, hence the front door location).
• Boundary wall along south eastern boundary serves to provide a firewall/avoid need for fire insulation to eaves of retained dwelling.
• The site is located 6mins/3.5km to major shopping centre (Riverton Shopping Centre); 10mins/5.5km to Westfield Carousel; 5min/3km to Canning Vale light industrial employment (and hopefully the new Nicholson Rd METRONET train station/hub)

Big shout out to @Angad Singh and the team at Sadhana Construction for the solid work on this so far.

Let me know any thoughts/ideas/improvements. Paging @Westminster ; @Aaron Sice ; @sanj and others!

We are just doing a final review of the plans now and are hoping to have everything locked down by the end of next week.

Parkwood_Floorplan_SK3 Redacted by theperthurbanist posted 30th Jan, 2020 at 9:00 AM

Parkwood Subdivision-V3.0 Redacted by theperthurbanist posted 30th Jan, 2020 at 9:02 AM

 

FYI the main two things I am tossing up at the moment are:

• the entrance with linen cupboard to the left: This previously had no linen cupboard there which allowed for a wider door (920) and window beside it, creating a nicer entry; more of an 'entry landing space' when you enter, rather than opening right into the kitchen/living; plus meant the door could be closer to the west and therefore more visible from the street (refer below screenshot). I felt there was a need for more storage which resulted in the linen cupboard being added - but now I’m undecided between the added storage vs the (IMO) better design;
• Whether the master bedroom would appeal more if the current WIR with doors, which is hardly very 'walk-in', would look better as a standard built in robe with full-height sliding mirror doors (which would also add a bit more room to the bedroom or living area).

 

I would make the wardrobe in the main bedroom a standard wardrobe, it looks useless as a walk-in and just wastes space. Floor to ceiling mirror doors best, in all bedrooms.

That pantry looks useless too, far too narrow for its depth. Can you make it more practical, even if you have to put in a narrower window beside it?

Swing the front door the other way? Then when you open it, the view is restricted rather than straight into the whole room. But definitely keep the extra storage, you can never have too much (maybe sliding mirror doors, reflection adds depth?).

Maybe add a little length to the powder room? Looks a bit squeezy wriggling around the little basin to open the door. Even an extra 30cm from the storage area would help.

I do like the plan, good use of space.

 

Damn lost my reply

Anyway
1. yes go inline robe not WIR as it has the same amunt of hanging compared to a WIR like that. I'd probably give the extra to the living area
2. I'd get rid of the store in the garage and move the WC all the way down so that you have more room and you might be able to have a 720 door then
3. I'd consider putting an enclosure/cupboard/doors on the garage laundry
4. I think the pantry needs to be wider. If it's narrow because you're using a pull out system I have taken these all out of my IPs as they don't last and tenants are not as gentle and only deserve shelves
5. Is that a barn door to the ensuite?

 

If it were me, I'd ditch the double garage and replace it with a single, freeing up room for more space in Bed 1 and Bed 2. Then the Master bedroom could have a proper WIR (which I think is nice to have) and Bed 2 is usable as a bedroom rather than really being a study space. Is street parking available if the occupants have a second car?

 

Unfortunately this is Perth and every bogan and his staffy expects a double garage. The staffy is happy to sleep in a smaller bedroom if his commodore is safe in the garage.

 

Everyone except single person households expects parking for two cars and some will comprise with a single garage and carport or just a parking spot.

Is this what everyone else is seeing?

 

With a lot of DINKs and/or "we need a family SUV + ute/sedan" mentality, a 2 car garage has become a minimum expectation along with double-brick construction (don't get me started on that)

To be fair, public transport is pretty bad unless both the start and destinations are along the train line

 

Looks good. I wouldn’t do WIR in main. The front entrance Opening into the kitchen would give me anxiety but I love as much storage space as possible so I like all the storage. I would either add a $20 Kmart shelf or IKEA, whatever suits the space. I’ve rented out a couple of my properties with kitchen trolleys and chrome storage racks with only one bad incident in 15 years where a tenant took the kitchen trolley. Or build in some display shelves if it doesn’t affect tightness of moving furniture in.

 

I love the unusual shape. SO sick of plain squares

 

Yes the pantry is a 'pull-out' one; which I know isn't ideal (having lived with one myself); not sure where I would get the extra width from though without compromising bench space - I guess if consensus is what it is more important than bench space we could just widen it to the north.

 

Agreed! Great.

 

Oh boy would I love to go single garage (or even a tandem), especially as I am aiming to go hard on the sustainability credentials with this one. However as @Big Daddy @Westminster and @JohnPropChat have said in Perth -let along Parkwood- this would rule out a large portion of the rental and purchaser market at present. One day though...

 

Hmm. Originally the powder room occupied the whole store area but I thought this was a waste of space in wanted to maximise storage space so had it revised to the current arrangement. I agree the powder is tight though, and that is a painfully small basin. A reasonable compromise could be to make the 'store' just a cupboard depth like the below, however I am conscious there isn't really any full height storage space for brooms, vacuums cleaners etc.

 

But if you have the entrance way with the cupboard in it then you do have storage for linen/broom inside the house

Unfortunately it will always be a series of compromises and you need to be ok with that and work out which ones can be fixed and which ones you can't.

A cupboard depth area in the garage is great for storing the 2-3 council bins or having a work bench in.

 

Another thing for consideration:
The intention is to have the alfresco covered with a shade sail that can be installed in summer and removed in winter (rather than a full permanent alfresco roof). This has huge passive-solar advantages by allowing maximum winter light into the living room and kitchen during winter, whilst providing maximum solar protection during summer. This is as opposed to an eave which is a compromise all year round or a large permanently covered alfresco which provides way too much shading to the living room during winter - completely defeating the point of having large north facing windows. The shade sail would be professionally installed and removed twice a year at no cost to the tenants. I know a solid permanent alfresco ceiling probably has more rental appeal, but I am really keen to push the energy efficiency on this place and I think it will produce a more comfortable environment for the tenants living there. Thoughts?

 

I don't like this ."The shade sail would be professionally installed and removed twice a year at no cost to the tenants"

As an owner i wouldn't want to bear the costs to do this and as a tenant I wouldn't welcome the intrusion.

Could you do a patio with a vine or a retractable shade?

 

I am trying to do something similar. A 3x2 with 90sqm living or 130sqm total.

When it's that small you need every square meter. For me, I am ditching the store (bins can be put outside bed 2) , I would move the toilet into the bathroom,. remove the bathtub and give all the space to the living and create a small nook. People will need the extra zone.

I am going for a euro laundry inside the house. The garage is also fine.

If I was selling it I was drop the garage to 5.4x 5.4m.

The demographics of a house this small is downsizers and single parents. If you really want a bath then add a shower over it.

 

Firstly, very nice design. Excellent working with the site constraints.

I would get rid of the linen cupboards at the entrance and re-jig the door location as you've mentioned, and perhaps even shift that kitchen wall toward the door ever so slightly to get an extra 20 cm width for the pantry. Find linen space elsewhere e.g. the back of the powder. Passive solar for the alfresco is difficult - could you use some sort of angled louvre pergola that will let direct sunlight through in winter but block most of it in summer? For example:


Now I don't know the R-Codes inside out, but it could be nice to extend or create a second parapet along the eastern boundary if possible. To use up this wasted boundary space on the east and enable reconfiguring of minor bedrooms to both have a northern aspect and also pull back this part of the house to make more usable yard space. Something along the lines of below maybe (obviously not to scale).

 

I have Wisteria and grape vines. I find they can grow a bit crazy and need pruning. Grape prone to fungus. I wouldn’t put one in a rental. I like the plain Pergola above though. You could plant a couple of dwarf variety frangipani In the planter boxes. Cherry Clusters (Dwarf Watermelon) or George Brown. Crepe Myrtle. Ornamental Plum. All deciduous .