I am renovating a property. Initially, I plan to convert an airwell into an indoor courtyard. with a covered terrace and next to the living room. There is no roof for this courtyard and I can plant a big tree. From the 3D modelling, it looks very nice from the living room as well as the views from the windows of the room and staircases. Since it is a split level property, the view from the dry kitchen is also great.

Due to the constraint of a fire hydrant, the width of this property is only possible to park three cars. However, after reviewing the needs to have more than 3 cars, I am exploring the option to by changing the plan i.e. building a covered car park for two smaller cars and a roof garden on top. The disadvantages for this option are:

- may not have enough natural light.
- the car exhaust emissions may go into the house.
- the view from the living room and other locations are not great.

The pros of course my kids can park her car under the covered car park and not outside the house. Also, I can maximize the use of the land.

I understand that from the architect's point of view, the spatial quality is compromised.

Actually, my plan is to keep this house for about 10 years. Would like to make a survey, would you prefer more car park? Or, you like to have a big tree inside your house?

It is not adviseable to plant trees inside the house compound. The crawling roots can destroy the flooring and piping which can also affect the neighbouring houses. It also needs to be regularly trim to prevent it from toppling during thunderstorm. When the time to chop it down, it gonna be a big task.

Depending on type of trees, some can attract termites and bees building their nest.

Fallen leaves can also clog up the gutter and not forgetting the chores of sweeping.

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/5214779

This post has been edited by mini orchard: Nov 13 2021, 07:05 AM

Actually, you are right. In front of my house, there was an old Banyan tree. This tree attracted many species of birds. I noted some people came with all sort of tactics to catch these birds. Suddenly, one day, DBKL came to chop down this tree. Initially, I blamed my neighbour and thought he did not appreciate the beauty. Later on, he explained to me that the root had destroyed the drainage. One day, when I cleared the bushes in the garden, I found a tree root. I pulled it out, it was about 30 over feet all the way to the trunk of the old tree that DBKL chopped away.

For the original plan, I was thinking of planting those tree that could grow in planter box. Now, need to find out what is people preference.

I guess it always depend how long you think your kids will stay under the same roof with you as well and after 10 years, will you continue to stay there as well or move to somewhere.

If kids not planning to live long or house condition after 10 years still will live there, then it is better to do whatever you like the most rather compromise.

For the courtyard, I guess the worry is additional cleaning come after this and whether your spouse enjoy it. And whether how confidence the contractor can rebuild it from the 3D model.

Good point, I foresee I need more car parks for next 3 years.

After 10 years or my kids move out, we plan to sell it and move back to our apartment. This property is an investment property that I made a mistake and also the current economic situation. So, plan to build it, stay for a while and then sell it.

After 10 years, you can update this thread and share whether which property is a better stay.

some idea of trees in da house

Haha, not sure what will be your final decision. But just make sure it is something you wont regret for this five years.

Thanks for sharing.

I do follow Design Seed's Youtube channel, there is another "Black on Black" that has the similar feature. I like the ideas.

Outside my property, the road is quite wide and we still can park our cars along the street without causing inconvenience to the neighbours. But, as I mentioned, this is an investment property that I will use for about 10 years. Whatever money I put in for the renovation, I hope it is value added. Hopefully, when I want to sell, the offer I received is more than the land value.

I research most of the renovation around the neighbourhood and did a survey on the asking price (for those advertised in iproperty). So far, I only noted one (out of over 30 houses) has a tree inside the house. The rest of the renovation are maximising the usage of the land plus modern looks.

So, just wonder, is car park more important than courtyard/spatial quality?