Need help designing

[katotter]

I have build a garage and renovated my current house, but never have I built from scratch.

I got hold of a 1 hectare or 2.5 acre piece of land. On this I need to build a house, granny flat and a workshop that includes a timber storage room.

My main construction will be metal frame, timber trusses, steel roof and brick walls. All three building will be built to the same spec, finish and materials. The house must have at least three bedrooms, one of which a en-suite, office and open plan living space. Workshop will be 12m x 7m (36ft x 21ft) with three phase as well as single phase 240v. The granny flat will be a two bed roomed dwelling with a small lounge, dining and kitchen open plan. All of which will have a scenic view of our lovely Mariepskop Mountains.

Can you all point me in the direction of similar builds and or styles? I have had a look at some on the interwebs, but cannot see a style I like and would like to design towards.

I will draw up a basic floor plan and upload, and then try to improve from there.

 

[MushCreek]

I can't offer much help as of yet, as there are too many variables. Climate? Zoning laws? Building codes? Budget?

I'm just finishing up building my own house in the southeast US. I spent a lot of time studying energy-efficient construction because we will be retired soon, and will have (very) limited cash flow. I spent about 5 years on various forums researching design ideas, plus the practical aspects of electric, plumbing, HVAC, and everything else. Our house is ICF, which makes a very strong, tight, well insulated house, but it's not the cheapest way to go. I did 90% of the work alone, and I'm in my 60's. The ICF is like stacking giant foam Lego blocks.

I always start with the local authorities to find out what set of rules I'm playing under, if any. No point in spending a lot of time on a design only to have some petty bureaucrat say, "you can't do that here." Perhaps you don't have to deal with that as much as we do in the States.

 

[pmiranda]

I would definitely start with the site plan. Sounds like you have a rough idea of what buildings you want and how big they need to be. I'd look at the natural features of the property and figure out how to orient the buildings for good drainage, natural shade, prevailing winds, and views. Think about how you want people to approach the buildings on foot and by car, again considering drainage, angles of approach, and (if you get winter) weather. With all that in mind, think about what views you want your living space, kitchen, and bedrooms to have... that will define a rough layout of rooms and window openings. If no one building is very large, then a simple rectangle for each is usually fine, although if you want to create more exterior-facing rooms for taking advantage of views and natural light, more complex shapes get you there without wasting alot of interior space on hallways.
Then add covered porches and (if multistory) balconies or at least overhangs to shield your windows and doors from the sun and rain. If you can make them part of the main roofline that will save some time and material, but I think they're a big part of making a comfortable, energy-efficient building and I'd do it regardless.

 

[bczygan]

You need to look out further than your own site.

See what neighbors and people in the general area are doing.

Their local materials and construction methods fit the geography and climate of the area and use readily available local materials.

You don't want to build a New England salt box in the Carolina lowlands.

Bill

 

[katotter]

Thank you all for the input, seems like I need to do a little more investigation and research for my specific site. Turns out I will only have to build one homestead and my workshop.

We have massive winds certain times of the year (currently its Spring and the wind howls daily) and this is leading me to a steel frame building, both the house and the worshop, the one thicker and stronger than the other, as I need to live in it and it needs to be as safe a possible.

I came across a house that was built in our sunny South Africa in Cape Town, even though its many miles (2100km) away from me, our wind conditions are alike, our climate is a bit more humid and temperatures higher (avg of 38 deg Celsius). So I just might base my construction on their methods. I will have brick walls, not corrugated iron, and I will have concrete instead of wooden floors, as we have horrendous amounts of termites and borers.

I will also be looking at the most cost effective way of doing this project, recycled materials, reclaimed bricks, most insulated options, rainwater use, gray water recycling etc...

Having my very own hardware shop helps a lot with costing...

 

[katotter]

Some water has run into the ocean since my last post, but I finally acquired the land and have occupancy on it. In the meantime I bought a secondhand metal store shed for next to nothing, I only need to dismantle it and erect it on my plot. 162 square meters (1750 odd sq feet) 9,0m x 18,0m. This will become my new carpentry workshop (9m x 9m), metal workshop (9m x 4,5m) and mancave (9m x 4,5m).

I still have a long ways to go with services, no water, electricity, roads etsc........

 

[katotter]

 

[katotter]

Pardon the crappy photo, seems my tapatalk app re-sized it by accident.

My double cab pickup for size comparison, compared to my current workshop, its three times the size, thus I can divide it into different sections.

The metalwork is in rather good shape, apart from some of the metal sheets that had some wind damage. The beams have little to no surface rust, nothing that a angle grinder and steel wire brush cannot eliminate.

In the meantime I am spending some of my free time bush clearing the plot and contemplating on where to erect what. There are two small building on it already, a two bedroom flatlet where my housekeeper will reside and a large-ish three room storage unit, which is currently occupied by three family members (rather ghastly conditions) and two rooms filled with the previous owners good (**** actually), which I might soon all renovate for my own occupation as I still do not have funding to build my new house.

All exciting times, nerve wrecking, but exciting non the less.

Also I get to buy some new big boy toys in the meantime, chainsaw, brush cutter etc...