Granny Flat with Privacy and Decks

The bathroom is designed to be as accessible as space allowed, with an all-in-one-room shower, toilet and basin. The kitchen and lounge both open onto patios which are covered by new waterproof decks above. There is a bus stop outside, so the sliding door to the patio is double glazed for insulation, which also increases the mass and noise resistance of the glass. Colin loves these mid to late century houses for their plain solid exteriors and the way they answer the question; how much is enough? The aging owners lived in this house near the bay with their daughter. The parents felt a need to scale down and give their daughter more privacy. So they resolved to create a granny flat for themselves on the lower level, adding decks and a new entry and stairwell to the front. While Colin wanted more privacy for the parents, an early layout had a passageway next to the garage. The passage would have changed the granny flat into a “dual occupancy” dwelling. The town plan either does not allow or imposes costly changes or barriers to approval for such a dwelling. This made a more private granny flat untenable. Note: A granny flat is described in the MBRC town plan as a “secondary dwelling”. This term comes with a specific definition. The definition refers to it being part of a “household”. The granny flat could not be part of the household if there was a wall separating the flat from the rest of the house.