New build · Thornbury

Woolton Avenue, Thornbury

A single storey home in Thornbury clad in weatherboard under gabled roof forms, planned to sit low and wide on the block rather than build up.

Location: Thornbury, VIC
Type: New build, single dwelling
Size: 4 bed, 2 bath, double garage
Programme: 10 months, slab to handover
Delivery: Full build, fixed price contract

Overview

A house that got its space by spreading out, not by going up.

The brief

Single level, no compromises on the rooms that matter

The owners wanted everything on one level. No stairs now, and none to deal with later. On a suburban block that means every square metre has to earn its place, because you cannot borrow any back from a first floor.

The must-haves were a main bedroom that felt separate from the rest of the house, a proper bathroom rather than a token one, and a double garage under the same roofline.

The challenge

Gables look simple and are not

The elevation is driven by two gables and a low return verandah. Those forms only work if the fascia lines, the batten spacing and the weatherboard courses all line through. Get one out and the whole front reads crooked.

A single storey footprint also puts far more of the house under roof, which means more flashing, more valleys and more places for water to find.

How we built it

Roof set out first, cladding set out to match

The roof plan was set out and the gable proportions confirmed on site before the trusses were ordered, so the two pitches matched rather than being close enough.

Cladding courses were marked from the underside of the fascia down rather than up from the slab, which is the only way to get the boards to die into the gable cleanly. Flashings were detailed at every valley and change of plane before the roof went on.

The result

One level, and it does not feel like a compromise

The gables and the verandah give the front the proportion a long single storey house usually loses, and the garage sits under the same roof rather than tacked on beside it.

Inside, the main bathroom carries a freestanding bath and a full width shower, the room the owners said they were not prepared to give up.

What we delivered

Site works, slab and drainage
Frame, trusses and roof
Weatherboard cladding and gable detailing
Full internal fit-out, joinery and tiling
Bathrooms, ensuite and laundry
Driveway, landscaping and handover

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