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2.74m ceiling height and 2.34m doors

Kandi Ntawo
last year

Hi Friends

We are in the process of building our first house. The ceiling height is 2740mm and we have upgraded all internal doors to 2340mm heigh.

I like the look of having 2 courses of bricks above the windows like the attached picture. It’s a single storey of a contemporary style. I don’t want to have windows to be directly under the eaves. The windows are 1800mm heigh.

So, my question is, if the windows are pushed down 2 courses of bricks, will it be possible to still have 2340mm doors? Will all the doors and windows be aligned? Or the doors will have to be cut a bit short in order to be aligned with the windows?
The builder did not give me a clear answer maybe what I am asking is not common. They only advised to go for high doors otherwise we will regret it in the future.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Comments (14)

  • Kate
    last year

    I would mount curtains to door height or ceiling height. May also have a lower sill height and than photo skinnier so windows look taller and more in proportion to doors.

  • bigreader
    last year

    No the height of your interior doors is unlikely to be aligned (they’ll be close) But as much as lining up horizontal lines in a space is a design goal, it’s not a big deal in this case. As above your window coverings will be a major influence on how the windows look internally. PS make sue your build contract has bricks above the windows included if it matters to you, many have cladding of some sort as standard.

  • dreamer
    last year

    If the ceiling height throughout the home is 2740mm then the windows will be two courses, or more, of brick LOWER than eaves anyway!
    We have 2340 internal doors throughout and external sliding doors are also 2340mm. There is two courses of brick above the 2340mm sliding doors. So if you are having 1800mm windows then they will not be to the eaves!!.

  • dreamer
    last year
    last modified: last year

    For reference. 2743mm height is 32 courses of bricks. 2340mm is 28 courses of bricks.

  • dreamer
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Therefore if you are having the 2340mm internal doors and the windows at 4 brick courses less, then they will all be the same height.

  • Kandi Ntawo
    Original Author
    last year

    Thanks to everyone.
    I want all the windows, interior and exterior doors to be aligned horizontally. When you look at height that is above the window from inside it is different from what you can see from outside because the roof is at angle.
    I don’t know if what I want is achievable or not. Thanks

  • User
    last year

    I guess the first question is what stage is the house at -- you say 'we are building our house' -- does that mean its started ? Its quite possible that the framing is already done , the windows ordered or constructed , etc . In othber words , is it too late ? If it isn't quite too late , will it cost much more ? I know you want what you want , just checking its still possible .


    If there is still time , the next step ( rather than counting rows of bricks ) would surely be to make sure the framing is all consistent -- either by having the door tops and window tops all aligned at 2340mm , as it sound like thats the important measurement for you , or whether you will cut ( or maybe even have to raise the step or similar to 'stretch' the door ) the door and lower the top line of the windows to suit the bricks -- from there , its a matter of deciding whether to add timber or panelling or cut bricks to suit -- anything else is not going to be consistent in height , which seems to be what you are wanting ?

  • dreamer
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Have you received fully drawn elevation external drawings of your home. As said previously the windows, with that height ceiling, will not be installed directly under the eaves.... they will be at 2340mm if that is what you request. The attached photo is where the height of windows and doors will be with a 2743mm ceiling height and 2340mm windows and doors.


  • Kandi Ntawo
    Original Author
    last year

    Thanks to everyone for your help once again.
    The drafting is not completed yet. It’s a custom house. Now, the builder is doing all the architectural work and will give us 3d animation and of course all the sides elevations. The roof angle is 25 degrees with 450mm eaves.

    The builder didn’t want to spend any time on this topic until we get the full house architectural drawings.

    The reason why I was seeking public opinions was to get an informed decision so that we can let them know what we really want now. We don’t want to delay our build because of change of mind on some minor things.

    Even though it may not have a significant effect, the part of the window directly under the eaves serves no purpose because the sun can’t reach it. If you are standing inside the house, and you are looking up through the window, you will see tunderneath the eaves (not good). This part is like a heat loss blackspot. That’s why I prefer to see 2 courses of bricks from outside.

    But I don’t know how this will turn out with high doors. I really want the doors and windows to be aligned through out the house.

  • bigreader
    last year

    What window coverings are you having?

  • dreamer
    last year

    You haven’t said where you are building. Do you have hot summers? Understand you don’t want your windows covered by the eaves in winter. But what about the hot summer sun. The eaves will help shade the windows in summer.

  • dreamer
    last year

    As said previously....if you have a 2.74 ceiling height, and your windows positioned at the same height as your doors at 2340mm.....there will be no windows directly under the eaves. The windows will be positioned approximately 400mm below the eaves. You need to look at a sketch of this and understand. There is also a wonderful article, your home, shading. Which you should read. It explains the importance of eaves in good detail. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/shading. This will also depend what climate you are building in.

  • Kandi Ntawo
    Original Author
    last year

    @Dreamer thank you so much for your help. I can’t thank you enough. Your drawing helped me alot.
    I am building in South Australia in Adrews Farm specifically. I just read that article. Thanks. My block is north facing at an angle of about 18 degrees to the west. The only shading that our fascade will have is eaves. Some shadings are not practical depending on the design of the house.
    I think I just changed my mind. The Windows will slightly be higher than the doors as 400mm appears to be quite high. I just need to see 2 courses of bricks above the windows from outside.
    I am thinking to have double glazed windows for north facing windows only. My fascade has 3 windows. But I am not sure if it’s worth it. The other shading I might have is roller shutters. But these can be done afterwards. Double glazed windows must be installed during the building process. I don’t know how effective they are. I hear that condensation is the main drawback of double glazed windows.

  • LesleyH
    last year

    Great to position well below eaves for passive solar too.