Orientation of a possible site

deno120

Hi all,

Myself and hubby are in the process of trying to find a site to build on. We had previously drawn up our wish list of what we wanted. The following was included:
*House to be built north or north east facing so back garden couth or southwest
*Not too close to a main road
*close to school
* big site with plenty of room for a nice back garden

Mainly my idea was to have a lovely sunny back garden with floor to celing sliding doors from the kitchen/living area opening out to the garden. I believe the best orientation for this would be to have the garden south west facing. So the sun would rise at the front of your house and move around to the back by midday and stay there till sunset. Is this correct?

Ok so the problem is we have found a lovely site that we both love esp as we can walk to the local school and playground. It is more than adequate in size and we can afford it. The only problem is that it is the wrong orienation. The front of the site is facing south. There previously was outline planning permission on the site but this expired last year. The plans had the house facing the main road which would leave you with a north facing back garden.


My question is what in you opinion is the best orientation for a back garden?

Also as the planning has expired we would be applying for new permission, could we rotate to house so therefore change the orientation? So instead of our house facing out to the road could the front door be at the east side of house?

My main want is to have a large open plan kitchen/dining/living area flooded with natural light and floor to celing windows. Does this always have to be at the back of a house of could it be at the side, which with the original plans would mean our kitchen would be south-west orientation.

Would this have huge implications on planning as windows will be visable as not at the back of the house.

We have tried contacting planning several times but we havent managed to speak with the right person so I am really just looking to gsther as much information and opinions on this please.

BryanF

deno120 wrote: »

I believe the best orientation for this would be to have the garden south west facing. So the sun would rise at the front of your house and move around to the back by midday and stay there till sunset. Is this correct?

the passivhaus would suggest due south is best from a solar gain point of view. imho considering the evening sun etc its probably ok upto 15degs or so south west. (but don't forget to orientate the kitchen for the morning light in your design).

Ok so the problem is we have found a lovely site that we both love esp as we can walk to the local school and playground. It is more than adequate in size and we can afford it. The only problem is that it is the wrong orienation. The front of the site is facing south. There previously was outline planning permission on the site but this expired last year. The plans had the house facing the main road which would leave you with a north facing back garden.My question is what in you opinion is the best orientation for a back garden?

in an ideal world yes south facing rear garden for privacy would be perfect. but many good design solutions and home get built with the south facing the front - for instance what if your views were out the front? the things that you need to consider from a planning perspective is how you maximise the glazing on the 'front' of the building and how you screen the site for privacy (and to hide some of this glazing)

Also as the planning has expired we would be applying for new permission, could we rotate to house so therefore change the orientation?

short answer its very possible but you'd need to consider your site, its context,and whether its necessary. - do you actaully need to rotate the house or just layout the spaces and garden to suit? you see there's plenty of options...

So instead of our house facing out to the road could the front door be at the east side of house?

sure

My main want is to have a large open plan kitchen/dining/living area flooded with natural light and floor to celing windows.Does this always have to be at the back of a house of could it be at the side,

your kitchen & internal laytou can be whatever way you want

which with the original plans would mean our kitchen would be south-west orientation.

if the ex plans don't suit, why not consider ignoring the plans and going for a fresh scheme design?

Would this have huge implications on planning as windows will be visable as not at the back of the house.

perhaps, there may be overlooking issues, its hard to say without seeing the adjoining sites.

We have tried contacting planning several times but we havent managed to speak with the right person so I am really just looking to gsther as much information and opinions on this please.

In my humble biased opinion, go and speak to a local architect or arch technician, get a design that works for you and then approach the planners. the existing application has expired so you will need to submit a new application anyway. why start the process with a compromised design. why not start a fresh?

and the best of luck with it

Diggin it

Hi
Think you shod check out, cork co. co. rural housing guidelines they give lots of helpful advice and easily readable diagrams on all orientation and site layout problems.
I am a garden designer/carpenter and 3rd yr landscape arch. Student( mature student) if you have any other queries don't hesitate to ask.

Gallant_JJ

OP, you need to talk to an architect. A good archi will help you achieve the qualities that you have listed. Worth talking to one even before you settle on a site, they can help outline the qualities and potential of the site. I feel from your post that you have an image in your head of what a house should look like, something typical that's scattered across the country. By no means do you have to limit yourself to this.

deno120

Hi All,

Thanks for taking the time to reply, you have been very helpful.

We will look at speaking to architect as soon as possible. We have looked at various plans of houses online and it has given us a good idea of different styles that will suit our site. We would also be staring the planning and design from scratch so it will allow us to match the internal design with the site should we choose to purchase it.

Glazing is the main concern for me as I would really want to know before going ahead with any site purchase if planners will limit the type of glazing we are allowed at the side of our house, as the side is where we will get most sun. We dont want a sunroom but floor large bifold doors to open out to a deck area.

Our proposed site is based in louth, just on the Monaghan border. I know from speaking with friends who have gone the self build route in Monaghan that they were very strict on windows/glazing size, quantity and type. However we will be dealing with the Louth planning office. Has anyone any experiences in delaing with this office?

Gallant_JJ

PM Sent

BryanF

deno120 wrote: »

We have looked at various plans of houses online and it has given us a good idea of different styles that will suit our site.

hi, may i suggest that many of the on-line plans are not worth looking at, especially considering they rarely even indicate orientation

Glazing is the main concern for me as I would really want to know before going ahead with any site purchase if planners will limit the type of glazing we are allowed at the side of our house, as the side is where we will get most sun. We dont want a sunroom but floor large bifold doors to open out to a deck area.

write a list of requirements for your potential arch and let them solve this for you

Our proposed site is based in louth, just on the Monaghan border. I know from speaking with friends who have gone the self build route in Monaghan that they were very strict on windows/glazing size, quantity and type.

my advice would be trust your architect, then attend a pre-planning meeting with the planner to get their opinion on glazing first hand, prior to you formally submitting any application.

also you wish to research the passive house standard as a means to reduce your on-going heating/ energy costs