Guides
Concept design checklist.
The questions we work through from day one. Use it as a brief, or as a check on a design you already have.
A concept that ignores slope, overlays or the cost of steel looks finished on paper and unravels at council or at tender. This is the list we run against every new home, extension and renovation before the design goes any further.
Project strategy
The decisions that decide whether the design is worth drawing.
Budget alignment
Cost awareness from the first sketch, so the design doesn't run ahead of what you can build.
Staging options
Room for a future extension or granny flat, if that's on the cards.
How you live
Pets, hobbies, work-from-home, and the other things a template plan ignores.
Construction method
What the slope, access and soil will actually allow.
Risk items
Trees, easements, bushfire attack level, flood, sewer depth.
Documentation and compliance
The rules that apply to this block, found before they force a redesign.
Overlays
Heritage, character, flood, bushfire, stormwater.
Council design guidelines
Façade, setbacks, materials.
NCC Volume 2
Energy, ventilation, fire separation.
Livable Housing Standards
Whether they apply, then door and hall widths, WC dimensions, ramps, garage access, carpark dimensions, one step-free shower.
Driveway crossover
Width, location, street trees.
Site coverage
Building footprint against the allowable percentage.
Private open space
Area, dimensions, solar access.
Neighbour impacts
Fences, retaining, windows, overshadowing.
Site and context
What the block is doing, and what it will cost to work with it.
Levels and contours
Fall across the site, and the cut and fill that follow.
Retaining walls
Location, height triggers, neighbour impact, cost.
Driveway slopes
Maximum gradients, transitions, council and NCC limits.
Turning circles
Cars, fire appliances if required, garage access.
Overshadowing
Impact on neighbours, including winter solstice checks.
Overlooking
Privacy, screening, window placement.
Views
Capture the ones that matter. Avoid blocking a neighbour's where we can.
Solar orientation
Living areas, shading, glazing ratios.
Prevailing winds
Cross-ventilation and whether the outdoor space will actually get used.
Noise
Roads, neighbours, air-conditioning, nearby commercial uses.
Bushfire
BAL rating, defendable space, access, vegetation.
Flooding and overland flow
Council flood maps and anything noted on the survey.
Street character
Roof forms, setbacks, materials, height.
Easements
Building exclusion zones and service access.
Trees
Regulated or significant trees, root zones, whether they can stay.
Construction access
Cranes, deliveries, tight sites.
Planning and layout
How the house sits on the land, and how it works day to day.
Setbacks
Council rules and any neighbourhood plan overlays.
Building envelope
Height limits and wall-on-boundary allowances.
Private open space
Minimum areas and solar access.
Car parking
Number of spaces, turning, garage width.
Room adjacencies
What needs to sit next to what, and what needs to be quiet.
Circulation
As little wasted corridor as the plan will allow.
Future flexibility
Ageing in place, later extensions.
Outdoor living
Shade, wind, privacy.
Storage
Robes, linen, pantry, something outside.
Acoustic separation
Bedrooms away from living, garage away from the house.
Light and ventilation
Window placement, highlight windows, breezeways.
Stairs
Rise and run, head height, location.
Ceiling heights
Bulkheads, services, any feature ceilings.
Structure and buildability
Whether it can be built cleanly, without paying for complexity you don't need.
Cost-effective construction
The simple structure that still does the job.
Roof forms
Drainage, overshadowing, street character.
Fire separation
Walls, roofs and openings near boundaries.
Span limits
Avoid steel you don't need.
Wet area stacking
Plumbing that doesn't wander across the plan.
Service cavities
Room for ducts, pipes and electrical.
Retaining integration
How walls meet slabs, fences and the garden.
Construction access
Crane lifts, scaffolding, tight boundaries.
Services and infrastructure
The connections the house depends on, located before they fight the plan.
Existing services
Confirm locations on the survey.
SA Water
Meter location and whether an upgrade is needed.
Sewer or septic
Connection point, depth, whether a pump is required.
Power
Overhead or underground, pillar location, upgrade.
NBN
Pit location and conduit paths.
Stormwater
Legal point of discharge, overland flow, detention.
Gas
If you want it: availability and meter location.
Rainwater tanks
Capacity, pump, how they plumb into the house.
Firefighting access
In a bushfire area: turning radius and tank requirements.
Aesthetic and materials
What it looks like, and what that costs to keep looking that way.
Material palette
Durability, maintenance, cost.
Roof colour and reflectivity
Thermal performance and any council restriction.
Façade articulation
Depth, shadow lines, design guidelines.
Window proportions
Consistency, performance, privacy.
Landscape integration
Retaining, levels, usable outdoor space, screening.
Sustainability and performance
The cheap decisions, made early, that the house will keep paying back.
Passive solar
Glazing, shading, thermal mass.
Insulation
Walls, roof, slab edge.
Solar and battery
Roof space, inverter location, room to add more later.
Rainwater reuse
Toilets, laundry, irrigation.
The little things that matter
The items that get forgotten on the drawing and regretted on site.
Air-conditioning condensers
Noise, visual impact, airflow clearance.
Pool equipment
Noise, access, somewhere to put it.
Hot water unit
Noise, access, solar exposure.
Solar and battery
Orientation, shading, future expansion.
Clothesline
Sun and privacy.
Bin storage
A path to the street, and something to hide them behind.
Read next
More guides.
Building Designers Adelaide
What a building designer does, what we design, and how a project runs from first sketch to council approval.
Drafting Adelaide
What a full documentation set includes, and how we draft drawings your builder can price accurately.
New Home Designs Adelaide
How a custom home comes together, from consultation and concept design through to documentation and lodgement.
Sustainable House Designs Adelaide
Orientation, passive design and energy efficiency — planned early, where they cost least and do the most good.
Drafting Linden Park
Drafting and design services for homes and renovations in Linden Park and the eastern suburbs.
Drafting Strathalbyn
Drafting and building design for Strathalbyn, Mount Barker and the Adelaide Hills — sloping blocks, reactive clay and two councils.
Have a site and an idea?
Bring this list to a consultation, or we'll work through it with you.