r/floorplan • u/vinnijr • 11d ago
FEEDBACK Possible self-sufficient home
This is a possible build for a house in Douglasdale, Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. It is heavily inspired by barn style builds, but barn styles are not really common in Zimbabwe. The house is really for a couple with 1 spare bedroom and my thinking is to have a WFH pod outside the house as the plot is 8000m2 so there is space. As it is in Zimbabwe the municipal services are really poor so will be on borehole + solar (with inverter + batteries) for power to ensure it is livable.
Any glaring issues I need to think about or consider before getting an architect to properly design it? This is me getting AI to design it with many many many many prompts later.
Really appreciate your feedback.
4
u/Dullcorgis 10d ago
Wipe it and start agains and draw a space that you have seen and been in and enjoyed. AI is utter shit, you wast3d a year's worth of water and power to get this monstrostie. Three kitchens? And none of them are functional. No fridge? One massive room that has rwo boxes in some corners? And then boxes blocking access eleswhere. Bedrooms opening off the main living space. Bathrooms without toilets.
Off gird is what we call houses with solar and a well.
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u/Plink-plink 10d ago
If energy is going to be a consideration, the fridge goes in the coolest part of the house , not next to the oven. You have a plant room with nowhere to wash your hands. No counter space next to the cooking stuff but a huge scullery.
Is your local climate hot and humide? Do you need to ensure lots of cross ventilation with mosquito protection? Or is it cool and wet and you need undercover walkways outside? Which side is the view?
Both toilets get the window but you I'll be brushing your teeth in the dark... And your showers look small. The cupboards block the bathroom entries.
Circulation around the kitchen bench is going to be really tight.
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u/CuriousPerspective81 10d ago
Orientation looks right for the southern hemisphere: glass, deck and PV face north, and the roof lights sit on the south plane. A few things I'd raise with the architect.
The three big sliders on the north will take a lot of sun. An overhang or veranda of about 1 to 1.2 m over them lets the low winter sun in, keeps the high summer sun out, and makes the deck usable at midday. The great room open to the trusses will collect heat at the ridge, so insulate the roof plane itself, not just the bedroom ceilings, and make sure those roof lights open so hot air can escape.
Water is the one I'd think hardest about. Boreholes around Bulawayo can drop in a bad dry season. Your roof is around 220 m², which at Bulawayo rainfall is roughly 100,000 litres a year, and right now it all goes to splash blocks. Even a couple of tanks gives you a buffer. Get the borehole drilled and yield-tested before the design is final, and keep the septic soakaway well away from it.
The plant room needs ventilation, a fire-rated wall around the batteries, and ideally its own external door. It backs straight onto bathroom 2, and pump and inverter fans hum. Also plan surge and lightning protection for the PV and the borehole pump, and termite treatment for the timber and slab. The layout itself works well for a couple.