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smeckler 05-04-2003 08:20 PM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 
I'm considering becoming a first-time buyer. I notice estate agents always
seem to consider 'South facing' to be a highly desirable feature in their
ads. Isn't East/West facing preferable, so that down the full length of
your garden you get South facing borders?

What does everyone like/dislike about the orientation of their own places?

ta,
smeckler



bnd777 05-04-2003 08:20 PM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 
Yes I think East West is the best
Currently got a South Facing Garded and a Conservatory ,,,,,,,,that was a
waste of money as too darn hot to use all summer
"smeckler" wrote in message
...
I'm considering becoming a first-time buyer. I notice estate agents

always
seem to consider 'South facing' to be a highly desirable feature in their
ads. Isn't East/West facing preferable, so that down the full length of
your garden you get South facing borders?

What does everyone like/dislike about the orientation of their own places?

ta,
smeckler





Mike 05-04-2003 08:44 PM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 
In article , smeckler without_spam_sm
writes
I'm considering becoming a first-time buyer. I notice estate agents always
seem to consider 'South facing' to be a highly desirable feature in their
ads. Isn't East/West facing preferable, so that down the full length of
your garden you get South facing borders?

What does everyone like/dislike about the orientation of their own places?

ta,
smeckler


We have a South facing garden. Therefore we get the Sun in the morning,
afternoon and evening. Cool in the morning, too darned hot at Midday on
a couple of days a year :-)) and nice in the evening.

We have just moved the kitchen, which was the only South facing room,
into the middle of the house and made it into a big 'Farmhouse' Kitchen
Dining Room with a table big enough for 6 to sit round, and the kitchen
as was, into a lovely Garden Room with Double opening doors :-))

Today has been wonderful with the sun pouring in. And when it got too
hot? went into the Lounge which is at the front of the house which was
nice and cool :-)) But nice and warm and snug in the winter :-))

No my house is not for sale :-))

2 minutes from the Post Office.

10 minutes from the beach.

Big Garage.

Big Shed (full of junk)

Greenhouse.

Extra parking for one car.

lovely neighbours.

Convenient for all the main shops and Supermarket.

2 minutes Railway Station.

Under 3 hours to London.

3 bedrooms.

2 Reception + big Kitchen Diner.

Close to all schools, or as the Estate Agents say 'Convenient for local
schools'

Other than that, what are 'you' looking for? A Garden is not everything
in a house.

Mike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forthcoming reunions. Royal Navy Social Weekend Sussex May 2nd - 5th.
H.M.S.Collingwood Association Chatham May 30th - June 2nd
British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th
Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th. Plus many more






Martin Brown 05-04-2003 09:32 PM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 


bnd777 wrote:

Yes I think East West is the best
Currently got a South Facing Garded and a Conservatory ,,,,,,,,that was a
waste of money as too darn hot to use all summer


Modify the roof reflectivity in summer and it need not be half so bad. The house
we live in at present is also too hot in summer despite its "architect" design
(a common feature in Belgium). Easily fixed with bamboo screens or less
aesthetically pleasing the whitewash gunk sunscreen intended for greenhouses. In
winter it is the perfect sun trap but they miscalculated the roof overhang by
about 1m so that in mid-summer it roasts.

"smeckler" wrote in message
...
I'm considering becoming a first-time buyer. I notice estate agents always
seem to consider 'South facing' to be a highly desirable feature in their
ads. Isn't East/West facing preferable, so that down the full length of
your garden you get South facing borders?

What does everyone like/dislike about the orientation of their own places?


"South facing" may get the estate agent a premium but do take a compass with you
!!!
E-W can be as good or better. I prefer being SW facing YMMV

Most houses come with 3 or 4 outside walls. You get a choice of micro climates.
It isn't very handy if most of your garden is shaded by the house in winter and
blasted by the north wind but apart from that combination most others are
tolerable. Beware of trusting estate agents - they speak a different language to
real people.

Deceptively spacious - no room to swing a cat. Contemporary garden - concrete
jungle.
Terminological inexactitude = economical with the truth = caveat emptor

Regards,
Martin Brown


Kay Easton 06-04-2003 12:08 AM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 
In article , smeckler without_spam_sm
writes
I'm considering becoming a first-time buyer. I notice estate agents always
seem to consider 'South facing' to be a highly desirable feature in their
ads. Isn't East/West facing preferable, so that down the full length of
your garden you get South facing borders?

No, because if your neighbour has high bushes they'll shade the whole of
your garden, whereas if the end of a long garden is south, the shadow
only comes half way up ;-)

The estate agents are probably more interested in the aspect of the
house - houses, especially older one, tend to have more window at front
and back than at sides (this tendency is particularly marked in terraces
;-) ) - south facing garden means sun in the house. North facing garden
means sun in through front windows, but they may well have net curtains,
and the family may spend more time in the rooms at the back rather than
the noisier rooms on the street side, and the kitchen is almost always
at the back, and a north facing kitchen feels particularly dismal.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Janet Baraclough 06-04-2003 12:56 AM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 
The message
from "smeckler" contains these words:

I'm considering becoming a first-time buyer. I notice estate agents always
seem to consider 'South facing' to be a highly desirable feature in their
ads. Isn't East/West facing preferable, so that down the full length of
your garden you get South facing borders?


What's more significant, is the inclination of the site and the
distance and height from other buildings, which determine how much sun
reaches your garden and at what angle. A garden could be "southfacing",
but if it faced tall trees and had high buildings either side, there
might be very little sun in it. On the other hand, a garden that faces
north but has no high obstructions to the east or west, may be sunny all
day long.

Our first house was "southfacing", but as the front door opened
straight onto the street,the garden at the back wasn't. So don't be too
influenced by estate agent descriptions. It's well worth driving to look
at the outside and surrounds of a house, **and its neighbourhood**,
before you make an appointment to view.

When you go to view, take a compass, and also note of signs of
continual shade (moss, green film on paint/fences/paving; shade loving
plants) and sun (bleached wood or blistered paint, sun-loving
plants).Ask the owner where they sit in the garden to enjoy the sun, and
where they sit for shade.

Janet.



bnd777 06-04-2003 11:45 AM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 
True had forgotten the effect of High Hedges etc on an East West Garden
,,,,,,,,should have known better given the neighbours monsters on our border


"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , smeckler without_spam_sm
writes
I'm considering becoming a first-time buyer. I notice estate agents

always
seem to consider 'South facing' to be a highly desirable feature in their
ads. Isn't East/West facing preferable, so that down the full length of
your garden you get South facing borders?

No, because if your neighbour has high bushes they'll shade the whole of
your garden, whereas if the end of a long garden is south, the shadow
only comes half way up ;-)

The estate agents are probably more interested in the aspect of the
house - houses, especially older one, tend to have more window at front
and back than at sides (this tendency is particularly marked in terraces
;-) ) - south facing garden means sun in the house. North facing garden
means sun in through front windows, but they may well have net curtains,
and the family may spend more time in the rooms at the back rather than
the noisier rooms on the street side, and the kitchen is almost always
at the back, and a north facing kitchen feels particularly dismal.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm



Angie Watts 06-04-2003 08:32 PM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 

Kay Easton
I thought at the time I was revealing my own prejudices a little too
much! ;-)

Not to mention my lack of interest in interior design.


--
Kay Easton


That's not to say I wouldn't prefer a south facing kitchen (and garden), but
it's not as bad as all that... :-)




Victoria Clare 07-04-2003 12:34 AM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 
"smeckler" wrote in
:

What does everyone like/dislike about the orientation of their own
places?


Our back garden is on the south east side of the house - but as it is also
on a steep hill, with the house at the bottom, it gets relatively little
sun for about 2 months around midwinter. Winter sun is nice to have.

Personally, I'm not too bothered about summer sun at midday (it's almost
too hot to sit in even now.)

.... but I do miss long sunny summer evenings - if I were looking again now
I think I'd put a long clear Westward view on my list! I hate looking out
over the valley and seeing all the houses that are still in full sun when
the sun has 'set' here behind our hill. Not fair!

I'm not a morning person, so I don't feel it compensates when they are all
in shadow first thing and we are in the first sparkle. It's nice, but
evening sun is nicer I think. Though if you are buying somewhere flat,
like our old garden, it makes much less difference - that garden was long
and thin with the house to the West of it, and you could always sit at the
bottom of the garden in the evenings in the sun.

Mind you, we knew all this when we bought the house - there's always
something you have to compromise on!

Victoria


David W.E. Roberts 07-04-2003 07:20 PM

What's the best facing for a garden?
 

"smeckler" wrote in message
...
I'm considering becoming a first-time buyer. I notice estate agents

always
seem to consider 'South facing' to be a highly desirable feature in their
ads. Isn't East/West facing preferable, so that down the full length of
your garden you get South facing borders?

What does everyone like/dislike about the orientation of their own places?

ta,
smeckler

Hi,

We face SSW, are on the East coast, and face the sea - most confusing.
All caused by being on the South facing arm of a wide shallow bay.

We are great fans of South facing gardens - we get the morning, noon and
evening sun on the back of the house, and in the summer we have the back of
the house open to the garden most of the time.

We have a sun room with a balcony above, which is ideal for South facing; in
the winter when the sun is low in the sky we get a sunny warm room most of
the day (80 degrees F at Christmas), and in summer the balcony shades the
room preventing it getting too hot, and we sit on the balcony.

The evening sun catches the bottom left hand side of the garden (looking out
from the back of the house) so we have a small patio area there and a pond,
and a pergola roofed over with reeds (Greek Taverna) to provide summer
shade. Great to sit out and watch the sun go down, and in really warm spells
it is nice to sit out after dark.

Because the whole width of the garden at the back of the house is patio,
leading down mainly to lawn, we have virually no South facing borders - just
a small triangular bit with lavender and stuff in. The borders are West,
North, East facing.

So a big vote for South facing - you don't have to be in the front of the
house for half the day and the back for the other half to get all day sun -
breakfast on the patio, and dinner and tea as well (or was that lunch and
dinner?).

The one down side is that the front of the house is virtually always in
shade.
However we have a front concrete instead of a front garden, and tend to live
at the back of the house away from the road so this suits us just fine, and
the car doesn't get fried in the summer.

The difference in temperature between the front and back of the house in
Autumn/Winter/Spring is amazing - coat and hat out the front and T-shirt on
the patio.

Cheers

Dave R

Oh, and South facing borders on an East/West facing house; the house loses a
lot of sun because of the other houses in the street plus you have a garden
where one long side is North facing and in almost perpetual shade, and one
side which is South facing and sunny. There are houses near us where one
half of the garden will barely grow grass and the other half is lovely. I
prefer a small shady strip at the bottom and the rest of the garden sunny.




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