I am considering buying a house in a new development off plans. There are show houses of the house type I am interested in, but they are in a different part of the estate, so it it is hard to know about lighting issues with the new builds, as they are only at the foundation stage. Basically, all the houses I can afford have either east facing back gardens, or north facing back gardens. The main living room is at the front, and the open plan kitchen / dining area is at the back. In terms of being overlooked, the two house types are equivalent. The gardens are about 30ft plus long and about 20 ft wide. Question, which is better - east facing garden/ kitchen + dining room, or north facing? I would have thought east facing rear was better, but my concern is that you have no light at all after say after 2-3 pm with east facing rear, as opposed to morning and evening side light with a north facing rear? Any thoughts?
East Facing Garden Versus North Facing Garden
- Thread starter taytoman
- Start date
Personally I would avoid north facing like the plague. My previous house had a north facing back garden and thanks to that and trees growing along the boundary we never got a pick of sunlight into the kitchen / dining room.
My present house is north facing to the front and those rooms are always cooler than any others in the house; which is great in very hot weather it must be said!
My present house is north facing to the front and those rooms are always cooler than any others in the house; which is great in very hot weather it must be said!
Gerry Canning
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taytoman.
With a North facing garden you get no light atall! Think about it, sun rises in East and settles in West , means North is dark and dim.
With an east facing one , you get a bit in morning so maybe kitchen will get morning light.
If you will use the living room then it is well placed for good light.
Could you get glass doors twix living and kitchen ie get light ?
With a North facing garden you get no light atall! Think about it, sun rises in East and settles in West , means North is dark and dim.
With an east facing one , you get a bit in morning so maybe kitchen will get morning light.
If you will use the living room then it is well placed for good light.
Could you get glass doors twix living and kitchen ie get light ?
grenzgebiet
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I know finances will dictate but is it really worth buying a home where you won't ever be able to sit outside ?
With an east facing garden there might not even be sun on a summer afternoon, - with a short 10m garden the shade of a two storey house - yours or next door - or the fence/hedge between gardens, will probably cover most of your garden. No barbeques, kitchen will be dark when you come in from work, evening meals in the dining room will always be cold.
A north facing garden is even worse.
Might be OK if you were just renting for a year or so but buying into this for maybe the next twenty years would be bleak.
Plus: with no south-facing façade your heating bills will be higher.
With an east facing garden there might not even be sun on a summer afternoon, - with a short 10m garden the shade of a two storey house - yours or next door - or the fence/hedge between gardens, will probably cover most of your garden. No barbeques, kitchen will be dark when you come in from work, evening meals in the dining room will always be cold.
A north facing garden is even worse.
Might be OK if you were just renting for a year or so but buying into this for maybe the next twenty years would be bleak.
Plus: with no south-facing façade your heating bills will be higher.
thedaddyman
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Currently have a north facing garden. a lot depends on the shade from your house. In my case, it really only becomes an issue in the late evening, for the rest of the day the garden is big enough not to be in shade.
Bear in mind as well that a north facing back garden means a south facing front garden, front of the house is lovely and it actually helps in the winter in terms of frost on car windows
Bear in mind as well that a north facing back garden means a south facing front garden, front of the house is lovely and it actually helps in the winter in terms of frost on car windows
I have a North facing garden too. Luckily it's still about 15m long so we have no issues with shade from the house.
Our original kitchen was always dark but we built on and installed 2 x Velux windows (west-facing), which completely transformed the lighting to the rear of the house. We actually spend most of our time there now..
Our original kitchen was always dark but we built on and installed 2 x Velux windows (west-facing), which completely transformed the lighting to the rear of the house. We actually spend most of our time there now..
You can use on online tool such as this one to calculate the length of the shadow cast on various days of the year based on your location. If you're looking at a 2 storey house, then today in Dublin you're looking at 12-15m shadow during the middle of the day.
You can use the bespoke option on the above site to plot both buildings and view the shadow patters.
You can use the bespoke option on the above site to plot both buildings and view the shadow patters.
Hi all,
Is there anything similar whereby you can design your house orientation, with room openings to gauge the light levels internally in a room. Basically looking to see if we create an opening in an existing wall of a darkish room what sort of benefit can be achieved/realised
Thanks
S.
Is there anything similar whereby you can design your house orientation, with room openings to gauge the light levels internally in a room. Basically looking to see if we create an opening in an existing wall of a darkish room what sort of benefit can be achieved/realised
Thanks
S.
FYI: I came across http://viz.velux.com/
Kind of does what I expected, but not sure if it or any software can truly show changes in light levels..
Kind of does what I expected, but not sure if it or any software can truly show changes in light levels..
My kitchen faces east (back garden) and my sitting room faces west (front garden). We have lovely sun in the kitchen in the mornings and can often sit out and have a breakfast in the back garden.
My back garden is 60' long. In the evenings we get the sun down to the end of the back garden until about 7 p.m. before going in to shade during the height of the summer.
I like this configuration because on a sunny day I can wash windows or paint or work in the front garden while it is in shade in the mornings. I do it in reverse in the afternoon.
I would however love a house with the back garden facing south west so I could enjoy the long summer evenings as the sun sets.
My back garden is 60' long. In the evenings we get the sun down to the end of the back garden until about 7 p.m. before going in to shade during the height of the summer.
I like this configuration because on a sunny day I can wash windows or paint or work in the front garden while it is in shade in the mornings. I do it in reverse in the afternoon.
I would however love a house with the back garden facing south west so I could enjoy the long summer evenings as the sun sets.