HEL

Hi all,

In the process of building a house at the moment and would value your comments on the following:

Rumpus Room - Would it be important for you to have this? House has open plan lounge /dining and small living area to front (rumpus room is optional extra)

Ducted Air Con - We havent found the heat too bad this year but others may see it as a necessity.

Basically, are either of the above a necessity for you if you are buying a house, would it determine whether you would buy it? Any comments welcomed as we are unsure what to go for, particularly re: resale (ages away i know but worth considering)

Cheers

spalen

Hey Hel,

Just be aware you're asking like 1% of the buying population - british expats...

Ducted Aircon is boudn to come out high - but look at the other houses in the area on realestate and see wether they have it. Aussies have different views so unless you're building for pommies then be a bit wary of what peeps on here say.

;-)

worzel

At about $3K per house air con is a must I reckon. A rumpus room depends on what other rooms / needs you have.

mand8002

Our first rental had ducted aircon and this one has 2 reverse cycle units (one in the living room and one in main bedroom). I would say the ducted is far superior and we found it cost efficient to run too.

coolie

I can't give any input on the rumpus room as I have no idea what this is, but as far as the ducted air-con goes, I can.

I think one of the main advantages of ducted air con is that it's unobtrusive. A grille on the wall or ceiling looks a lot better than a unit sitting on a wall or ceiling. Noise wise, they are better to, as you can install sound attenuators to absorb the noise of the fan. Just make sure that there is enough access to the units for servicing/repairs. As an engineer in this field I can't stress this enough. The last thing you want to do is cut a hole in the ceiling if the need arrises to do major repairs.
Reverse cycle systems are good, especially if it gets cold in winter where you live. They are very energy efficient, and you could even go as far as to use the heat removed from your house to preheat your hot water. Therefore using less energy.

Definitely install the ducted aircon. I would.

eintracht

We have just finished designing our own house and we've included a "rumpus" room but turned it into a home theatre. As we have no children we also converted the formal lounge/diner which all Aussie houses seem to have but no one uses, into a games room. That way we get the best use out of it and its got the rooms if we ever decide to sell it. We've also gone for ducted air-con which all the advice given to us was will work fine unless the temperature gets above 36 I think. By the way we are building in Melbourne area.

Teliko21

We have been looking at all the options for air con for the house we are building and were quoted $14000 to install a ducted air con/heating system! We have decided to just install reverse cycle for now and upgrade later. With the extra insulation etc we are installing it seems like alot of money to spend on something when we can make do with cheaper for now. It is our first house and we are only just starting to realise all the extra things we are going to have to get :scared:

Scossie

Me neither?
What the hell is a rumpus room???

Vash the Stampede

"No" to rumpus room; "Yes" to ducted aircon - but make sure it is reverse cycle aircon, not evaporative.

Reverse cycle aircon can be used to keep the house cool in summer, and warm in winter.

Teliko21

It is like a kiddie's playroom

Vash the Stampede

Rumpus room = games room.

MrsDagboy

As an aussie & considering resale value, you will get more $ back from a rumpus room than air/con.

Like most aussies, I would choose a house with a rumpus over a/c anyday - consider this when you sell the house on to the next person. A/c would be fairly easy to add, adding a rumpus is alot harder!

If it's either/or, go the rumpus .

ljj

Need both.

Rumpus rooms are so versatile especially when selling, if there are 2 houses on the same block and one was slightly more expensive with a rumpus I'd go for it. Our Rumpus is great for when we have parties as us adults can talk in peace without the kids butting in. It's a make do bedroom if we have lots of people over from the UK. It's a seperate study when hubby hogging the net in the real study, it's a music room, a games room... the list goes on

louise

Bix da Boss

Hi
From our own experience so far - have been in three types of accommodation, two with 'open plan living' but now our 3rd property has TWO extra entertainment rooms with DOORS - YIPPEE!!! We can now all have our own space!! I can watch a movie, use the PC, play music without annoying everyone else Yes, I would say a RUMPUS room is a real bonus for anybody with a family.

Ducted aircon is fantastic - but, a bit of a 'luxury' in my opinion especially considering were you are building. We live in Cairns, the Tropics so this kind of aircon would be brill - but we have ordinarly split systems and they are fine.

When recently looking at houses, for rent and sale, a lot of the 'new ones' do appear to be adding an extra entertainment or rumpus room so the demand must be there. Obviously cant comment on where you live.

Of course, if you can afford both - go for it - will bring in more $'s in the future!

ABCDiamond

If it is a two storey house, get Ducted Air Con whilst building it. Having ducted after the build can be impossible/very expensive.

Without that consideration, a rumpus room is very nice to have.

Air Con requirements vary depending on exact location. In the Brisbane Bayside (for example), the buyers may not find it is as vital as say, in the Western Suburbs of Brisbane.