Buyers Guide
Consider our requirements - Dream Home :
- Our family's expectation regarding dream Home
- Number of bedrooms.
- Number of bathrooms.
- Other important features.
- Our budget range.
Choosing where to live - Location
- Will we be close to everything we need - shops, schools, parks, public transport, etc?
- Will we be able to position a home on our block so it has good access to sun, ideally with the long side or back facing north (or close to north)?
- Will any neighboring buildings have an effect on our block's privacy, views or access to winter sun?
- Best block for us.
Choosing our new home - Orientation
- Is it a functional floor plan without wasted space and with plenty of storage?
- What would we change about this plan?
- Will our preferred home fit well on our block with living areas facing north (or close to north)?
Choosing our new home - Comfort
- Is there good insulation under roofs, in ceilings and in walls?
- Do we need floor insulation?
- Do our windows predominantly face north?
- Are our north-facing windows shaded by eaves or overhangs?
- Are our east and west-facing windows shaded by adjustable shutters?
- Do we need to consider double glazing? Where?
- Will we use curtains with pelmets to help keep in heat? Where?
- Comments, things we'd like to change about our home design:
Working with you builder - Our living areas and kitchens
- Can our living areas be divided up as needed, for economical heating and cooling?
- Will our living areas get plenty of sunlight in winter?
- Will our living areas be shaded in summer?
- Can windows be opened on more than one side of living areas to let cooling breezes through?
- Is our kitchen set out so there is easy reach between different activities?
- Do our kitchen cupboards use low emission particle board and finishes?
- Comments, things we'd like to change.
Working with your builder - Our bathrooms, laundry, bedrooms and home office
- Will our bathrooms and laundry have a window for natural ventilation?
- Have we chosen fixtures that will save water? For example, do our bathrooms and laundries have 3-star showerheads, 4-star toilets and 3+ star taps?
- Comments, things we'd like to change:
- Can we swap some rooms around so the bedrooms will be cooler in summer?
- Comments, things we'd like to change:
- Will we use the home office a lot?
- Will it be a sunny, pleasant place to work?
- Comments, things we'd like to change:
Our heating and cooling
- Do we have a north-facing roof for solar hot water?
- Do we have a gas connection?
- Type of hot water system we're looking for:
- Have we locked in good design features to avoid or reduce our heating and cooling needs?
- Can we use fans or evaporative coolers instead of air conditioning?
- Would a solar air heater work for us?
- Does our gas heater have a high star rating?
- How can we save further on heating and cooling?
- Will we use electricity from renewable sources?
Our fittings and appliances
- Does our home design make good use of natural light?
- Our lighting requirements:
- The costs of running our lighting per year:
- How we can save on lighting costs:
- The energy star rating of our fridge:
- The water star rating of our washing machine:
- Our other major energy-using appliances:
Our colours & finishes
- The types of flooring in our home.
- The timbers used in our home.
- The paints and varnishes used in our home.
- Examples of colour schemes that we like.
- Have we specified materials that are either low emission or natural products?
Our outdoor living
- Will our alfresco areas get sun in winter and be cool and shady in summer?
- Will we use local native plants, drought-resistant plants and mulch in our garden, to save water?
- Will we grow our own vegetables and herbs?
- Comments, things we'd like to change:
- How many liters will our rainwater tank hold?
- What will our rainwater tank be plumbed in to? :
- Will we reuse our wastewater? If so, where will we collect it from and where will we use it?
