When I saw this Billboard the other day I had turn round to drive past it again, as I didn’t believe it the first time!
They are making it appear that it’s a big deal that they are selling what are the worst blocks on the estate!
A North Facing Block mean that the house gets very little warming sun during winter, as half the front of the house will probably be garage door.
A typical house will also have lots of East and West facing windows which will really soak up summer sun making the house a real sweatbox. With winter there will be no sun coming in but lots of heat going out through those windows.
It just goes to show that if you want honest advice don’t rely on Real Estate Agents or Land Developers.
To find out which way to face is best see Orientation
Don’t forget to have a look at the Footpath and Nature Strip!
Often forgotten but what’s there can affect what you can do with the block, and general livability.
Some of the things that can affect you are:
Place of the Crossover If the driveway crossover isn’t where you want it it can cost you several thousand to have the existing one removed and a new one built. In some cases you may not get permission to move it particularly if it is close to a junction.
Street Light Pole Some people hate having a light pole outside their house. As for me, I love it, as I think it provides extra security.
Street Trees Street trees can be an advantage or a disadvantage. The advantage is they can be an excellent source of shade particularly if your house faces West. The major disadvantage are mature trees can affect the the location of your driveway and thus the house layout. On a new estate it can be much easier to have trees relocated.
Fire Hydrant As well as being an obstacle to any future driveway the fire hydrant will restrict parking outside your house.
Utility Inspection Covers If you have to incorporate a utility cover into a driveway it may increase the cost of construction.
Utility Poles Generally fairly rare on new subdivisions with services typically being underground. For an established block as well as potentially being in the way it may detract from the view.
Parking Restriction Not good if you expect lots of visitors who will need street parking.
Bus Stops Something I would really suggest you avoid with problems of privacy, litter and noise.
People are astonished at how the builders costs soar when building on a restricted site!
A restricted site is generally when a the building takes up most of the block. Generally this means that there is little room to store materials and special techniques may be needed to construct the house.
Generally if you are on a new subdivision you should be able to avoid restricted site costs but if you are looking to build in an existing suburb, particularly something like a Battle Axe block, then there is a good chance that you will be hit with the extra charge.
Here are some of the reasons why it can costs extra:
Double Handling, If all there is limited space for storage on site the builder may have to store some of the materials at his own yard. He then has the additional cost of reloading the material onto his truck and delivering to site.
Smaller Deliveries. When you buy building materials the charge is normally based on the cost of the materials and the cost of delivery. If you need 2 or more smaller deliveries rather than 1 the cost is going to go up.
Different Construction Machinery. In some cases the contractor may have to use smaller, less efficient, excavators. For really restricted sites it may need a much larger crane, parked in the road (which can mean traffic management costs) to position heavy items, like roof trusses.
Difficult Construction This can mean more hand work or dealing with building a wall on a boundary with limited access, and having to support foundations of neighbouring buildings.
Parking Fees Sound insignificant, but if its going to cost the tradies $5/day each when they normally park for free so they are going to want be charging that to your job.
Noise pollution should be an issue to check when choosing a block.
Relatively low noise levels can affect how you enjoy your garden and allfresco areas. Bad noise can spoil your enjoyment inside as well. (We rented for a few months near a railway and would miss 3-4 lines of TV dialogue every time a train went past)
Here are a few potential noise issues to be aware of:
Construction
Buy on a new subdivision and you are going to be woken up a few times at 6.30am as the tradies start until all the neighbouring properties are finished.
Construction noise can be aggravating but at least it does come to an end
Roads
It really depends on the sort of road.
Major Highways are built with noise walls which control the amount of noise in the house. You will still get a dull roar in the garden.
With major roads it really depends on the sort of traffic. The more trucks the more of a problem its going to be. Also look out for things like Fire Stations and Ambulance Stations. sirens every night can be a bit much.
If you live in Melbourne trams can be an issue especially on tight corners where the wheels can squeal.
For minor roads avoid living on a long straight road….much loved by hoons drag racing. Also check if the street is likely to be a ‘rat run’ used by rush hour traffic avoiding a busy junction.
Railways
Most people quickly become aware of local commuter railway lines. They don’t realise when the local trains stop some lines are used overnight by freight trains that seem like they are over a km in length, with three or four noisy diesel engines.
Aircraft noise
Just because no aircraft fly over the day you inspect the site doesn’t mean that with a change in wind direction you won’t have planes over every 2-3 minutes.
Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in July 2004
A useful link for checking airport approach patterns is Air Services Australia, go to ; http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information for noise specific information
When looking at block orientation a key issue is using the sun to warm the house in winter and keeping the sun out of the rooms in the summer.
Typical blocks in Australia are rectangular. About twice as long as the block width, as are most home designs. This limits the way you can place the house. In my experience the order of preference of blocks is.
1. Facing East
2. Facing West
3. Facing South
4. Facing North
If you have got a block at an angle it will require a bit more thought unless you can orientate the house in one of the above preferred directions. Larger blocks and square blocks make adjustments to the house orientation easier.
My reasons for the preferences are as follows:
Facing East
This orientation allows one of the long sides to face north making the best use of the sun in a passive solar house. Usually the master bedroom is at the front so even in the summer the low sun morning sun only warms the bedroom from the chill of the night. Windows can be minimised on the west side to stop the house overheating in the afternoon and evening. This orientation also gives you plenty of roof area for the most effective location of solar hot water and solar electricity panels.
Facing West
Again like the east facing block you can have one of the long sides to face north making the best use of the sun in a passive solar house. With a master bedroom at the front you will need to take steps to keep the afternoon sun out of the room to stop overheating. Like the East facing orientation this is useful for solar panels on the roof.
Facing South
With a house facing south the best layout is to have as many rooms as possible having large windows facing north which can be difficult on a narrow block. To make the best of this orientation you may need to have plans drawn up as most standard plans don’t suit this orientation. It’s also best to minimise west facing windows.
Facing North
A north facing house is probably the least desirable on a suburban block as it makes it hard to get the sun into the house. I certainly wouldn’t want big north facing windows allowing passers by to look in.
