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Better to be south-facing at front or back of house?

KierKenn

Would appreciate expert advice on the following.

We have seen two houses that are for sale. They are almost identical - being in the same estate. However, one is directly southfacing at the back and the other is directly southfacing at the front. Which option is more desirable for a family home?

Appreciate advice from those with knowledge/expertise in this area.

thank you

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alias no.9

KierKenn wrote: »

Would appreciate expert advice on the following.

We have seen two houses that are for sale. They are almost identical - being in the same estate. However, one is directly southfacing at the back and the other is directly southfacing at the front. Which option is more desirable for a family home?

Appreciate advice from those with knowledge/expertise in this area.

thank you

I like west facing, nice sun in the back in the morning (usually kitchen in the morning), plenty of sun in front and back gardens most of the day and nice sun in the front in the evening (usually sitting room). Once the back garden is moderately long, you'll have a nice spot at the back that gets all day sunshine in summer.

refusetolose

alias no.9 wrote: »

I like west facing, nice sun in the back in the morning (usually kitchen in the morning), plenty of sun in front and back gardens most of the day and nice sun in the front in the evening (usually sitting room). Once the back garden is moderately long, you'll have a nice spot at the back that gets all day sunshine in summer.

i believe he hasn't got that choice though

Calahonda52

KierKenn wrote: »

Would appreciate expert advice on the following.

We have seen two houses that are for sale. They are almost identical - being in the same estate. However, one is directly southfacing at the back and the other is directly southfacing at the front. Which option is more desirable for a family home?

Appreciate advice from those with knowledge/expertise in this area.

thank you

IMO having lived in both

alias no.9

refusetolose wrote: »

i believe he hasn't got that choice though

Nobody can answer the question for the OP. My opinion won't be the same as the OP but the logic used to explain it may help the OP form their own opinion.

I don't know the room layout of the prospective houses but hopefully I've given enough food for thought for the OP to think about rooms, garden, etc... and sunlight at different times of day. Have you got anything constructive to add?

KierKenn

Choice is between a house that is south facing at the front and another, almost identical one, that is south facting at the back.
The room layout is identical in both, with kitchen at rear and living room at front. However, houses are old and need full refurb, thus we may have the option of moving the kitchen to the front or back.

I am interested in expert opinion on:

is it more desirable for a family to live in a house with a southfacing rear aspect or southfacing front aspect?

thank you

alias no.9

KierKenn wrote: »

Choice is between a house that is south facing at the front and another, almost identical one, that is south facting at the back.
The room layout is identical in both, with kitchen at rear and living room at front. However, houses are old and need full refurb, thus we may have the option of moving the kitchen to the front or back.

I am interested in expert opinion on:

is it more desirable for a family to live in a house with a southfacing rear aspect or southfacing front aspect?

thank you

Will someone be at home all day, every day or will the house be empty for large chunks? A southerly aspec is great at midday but pointless when nobody is home whereas a northwesterly aspect is great after getting home from a 9 to 5.

Where do you expect to spend most of your time in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening? How does this correspond to windows letting in direct sunlight at those times? How long is the back garden? How overlooked is the front garden?

KierKenn

alias no.9 wrote: »

Will someone be at home all day, every day or will the house be empty for large chunks? A southerly aspec is great at midday but pointless when nobody is home whereas a northwesterly aspect is great after getting home from a 9 to 5.

Where do you expect to spend most of your time in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening? How does this correspond to windows letting in direct sunlight at those times? How long is the back garden? How overlooked is the front garden?

Plan is that this will be our "house for life". Thus, planning it as though someone will be home most of the time.
Other part of the plan is to have an open plan living/kitchen space where we will spend most of our time.
Back garden is wide (considerably wider than the house), but not long.
Front garden is overlooked considerably - i presume this would be a negative against the house that is south facing at the front.

thank you

refusetolose

alias no.9 wrote: »

Nobody can answer the question for the OP. My opinion won't be the same as the OP but the logic used to explain it may help the OP form their own opinion.

I don't know the room layout of the prospective houses but hopefully I've given enough food for thought for the OP to think about rooms, garden, etc... and sunlight at different times of day. Have you got anything constructive to add?

he asked would it be best to have a house facing south or north (his options) and you say west?

BryanF

KierKenn wrote: »

Plan is that this will be our "house for life". Thus, planning it as though someone will be home most of the time.
Other part of the plan is to have an open plan living/kitchen space where we will spend most of our time.
Back garden is wide (considerably wider than the house), but not long.
Front garden is overlooked considerably - i presume this would be a negative against the house that is south facing at the front.

thank you

Rear of the house south facing IMO

HeidiHeidi

BryanF wrote: »

Rear of the house south facing IMO

+1.

I live in a house facing due south at the back, and while it's not ideal (it's small and very sheltered - gets too hot in the early afternoon, and chilly in the evening as sun disappears behind neighbours extension about 4pm) the north-facing front is always cold.

Unless you've an enormous and secluded front garden I would always go for the south -facing back.

Fiskar

For heat and relaxing evenings in the rear garden it has to be the south facing rear garden.

alias no.9

refusetolose wrote: »

he asked would it be best to have a house facing south or north (his options) and you say west?

I explained my preference and the logic which I expect the OP can use to help to understand their problem. I see you've still nothing constructive to add?

BryanF

refusetolose wrote: »

he asked would it be best to have a house facing south or north (his options) and you say west?

alias no.9 wrote: »

I explained my preference and the logic which I expect the OP can use to help to understand their problem. I see you've still nothing constructive to add?

Let's all be constructive! thanks

KierKenn

See the argument in favour of the south facing at the back.

Any furhter opinion welcome.

thank you all

MisseyB

I live in a house with a North facing back garden and a south facing front garden and we love it.

The back garden is quite big so the last 2/3 of it are in full sunshine all day, except for winter when only 1/2 of it is in sunshine. I'm an avid garden so i can vouch for the fact that this doesn't pose any added problems from a gardening point of view. In fact it's great to have some shaded areas in the garden.

When we bought the house i was slightly concerned about having a n-orth facing back garden but it's really suited us. We had decided that should we extend in the future it would be into the shadow cast by the house, which would effectively give us a garden that gets as much sun as a south facing garden.

But now that we've lived with it for a few years I like have the back of the house shaded because it means there is always somewhere cool to go in the summer. Granted that means it's colder in the winter but with good insulation and double glazing (which we have) it's not a problem.

Hope that helps.

E

gofasterdad

I would have a strong preference for South Facing at the rear. The rear of the house is usually more private and that's where I would choose to locate the living / dining / kitchen area. Having these rooms at the rear would also allow the OP to install larger windows / doors in future years to maximise the free heat / light from the south facing aspect. The OP would not have the same freedom at the front of the house.

KierKenn

very much appreciate everyone's comments

thank you gofasterdad for interesting food for thought - and I think your reasoning is winning me over - if you have any other thoughts please do share them.

Thank you all. Further comments always welcome and valued.
thank you

daheff

my house has a front facing southwards and a back facing northwards (NNNW)

our kitchen is to the front and sitting room to the back. What we find is that in the mornings the kitchen gets the sunshine and is warm, whereas the sitting room is cooler.

We would spend more time anyways in the kitchen in the morning and more in the sitting room/garden in the evenings (when back from school/work etc) so this aspect suits us.

But -1 point to seriously consider is that buying a property with a south facing garden is more expensive as its considered 'better' by estate agent schpiel. If you were planning on selling up again in a number of years, you would probably sell easier with a southfacing garden.

No6

Look at where you or your family are likely to spend most of their time, if during the day thats in the kitchen /dining at the rear of the house then south facing to the rear would be best, if you intend to spen most time in the living room to the front of the house then consider the rear north facing home. it all depends on how you intend to live your life in your home, if you are all at work all day every day pick the rear south facing so at least you will have sun in the garden (if there is any!!)

mel o

South facing back garden without a shadow of a doubt. If I could pick up my house and turn it 45 degrees to point south, I would.

BarneyMc

South facing at the rear without any doubt.