House Facing - Texas (Dallas, Denton: new home, purchase, construction)

[TheOverdog]

Of course most windows would have Southern exposure with thermal mass for storage.

Why on earth would you recommend that in Texas? Most of the south doesn't benefit from southern exposure or thermal mass. Why do you need thermal mass when the summer lows are above 70F most of the summer and the winter is like 2 months long?

[rjm1cc]

East and West are the directions to be concerned with. I think more of light coming into the house than heat. For outside, a patio or a glass walled room, are probably the key to the decision. I prefer sun on the patio in the morning so I am not staring at a sunset or in the heat in the evening. West facing (patio area) can be a big problem depending on how you use the area.

I think I need to clarify that my patio is on the east side of my home. If it was in the back of my home it would be getting both the East and the West sun. I think that means you want to place the part of your home that you would be using in the evening where the West sun will not shine on it.

Another consideration for the inside of the home is how close are your neighbors. If only a few feet away their home will block the sun in the early or late hours of the day and this could be helpful.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by nissan

Same here, the back of the house faces directly east and it's ideal to enjoy the backyard in the summer. The front of the home is difficult in terms of planting the right things that can survive the brutal sun all afternoon. Our wood front door is actually starting to develop cracks after only 2 yrs, so there's definitely pros/cons.

If you're concerned about resale, North facing will be best to appeal to most S. Asians.

I think that's only an issue if you live in certain suburbs. In our 50s Richardson neighborhood, we don't worry about it.

[panacea1982]

Our house is facing west which is what we want so we can enjoy the patio and backyard which are facing east in the afternoon. the area is shaded from the house itself. With breeze, it feels really good.

Also we are usually in "bad" mood in the morning. With morning sun coming into the living room and kitchen (all east facing), it brightens the place.

But east facing house is selling as good as west facing house in my subdivision. So I think it is just a personal preference.

[stephwin]

Originally Posted by nissan

Same here, the back of the house faces directly east and it's ideal to enjoy the backyard in the summer. The front of the home is difficult in terms of planting the right things that can survive the brutal sun all afternoon. Our wood front door is actually starting to develop cracks after only 2 yrs, so there's definitely pros/cons.

Our house faces mostly south (and a bit SW) and yes to this. During the summer our front door handle is nearly untouchable because it is so hot. When we have people over I always open the door first and tell them not to touch the handle because it will burn them. There are also plenty of "full sun" plants that I've planted that have quickly shriveled up and died. I don't want to hand water my landscaping daily, so it has taken some time to find plants that will survive full sun in Texas (vincas and lantana do really well).

One thing to keep in mind is that you will probably need some heavy drapes/curtains on the windows that face north. We do get a strong north wind here during the winter. My master and living room face north and it's sort of depressing to keep the curtains closed in the living room during the winter (even the daytime) because it keeps the rooms warmer.

[calgirlinnc]

Just my .02---you have to look at the individual lot.

Our backyard faces west but our pool is shaded all afternoon (2:00 onward) due to large trees. We have a really deep porch and pergolas and they get a lot of shade too. Meanwhile our neighbor directly behind us, whose pool face east, gets sun all afternoon.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by WorldKlas

Worst is when back faces west. Meaning worst is when front faces east. Blaring sun in the backyard during afternoons and evenings and rear facing windows....which usually mean kitchen and family rooms.

Yes as far as usable backyard the East facing houses kill the backyard in the Summer. Nothing like the hot afternoon sun beating down on the back yard and house., My house faces West which makes my backyard usable in the evening. A South facing would do the same usually.

[turf3]

You know, if your house faces east and your back yard doesn't have any shade, you can plant these things called "trees" which will help matters after a few years.

For that matter, if your house faces west, unless it's a giant two story on a tiny lot you aren't really going to have much of your back yard shaded by the house anyway, so you still need to plant trees if you want to use it comfortably.

[Capitalprophets]

Thanks all. I was looking into the west facing lot as some of you suggested same reason as this way I can get the sunlight throughout the house till noon in the backyard. Let the front of the house handle most of the heat which may crack wood overtime but every direction has its good or bad, i guess its a preference thing at this point.

[hbdwihdh378y9]

Originally Posted by nissan

Same here, the back of the house faces directly east and it's ideal to enjoy the backyard in the summer.

Mine is close to that, but the front faces about 15 degrees north of due west, and the question is: what can I plant in the front that likes morning shade and afternoon sun? I have two big red oaks, but I've had the worst time with the planting beds near the house.