North/South or East/West Garden

[Deleted User]

Hello!! I know this isn’t a money related question but… When buying a house with a front and back garden, would it not be better to have an east/west facing house rather than north/south?

But then I wonder would the south side of both gardens get less sun because of the shade from the fence?

lookstraightahead

The thing I hate the most is a hot house, so a cool garden in the day is better for me.

ka7e

I have had a W-facing back garden and now have a S-facing one. I would never buy a house with a N-facing garden, unless it was long enough to get a substantial amount of light/sun beyond the shadow of the house. With both S and W there is a risk of very high temperatures in the house on sunny Summer days (I use thermal blinds), but that is offset by the thermal gain Autumn to Spring.

I'm lucky enough to have a couple of mature trees in my garden that create pockets if shade on really hot days.

housebuyer143

DELETED USER said:

Hello!! I know this isn’t a money related question but… When buying a house with a front and back garden, would it not be better to have an east/west facing house rather than north/south?

But then I wonder would the south side of both gardens get less sun because of the shade from the fence?

South West rear garden here and I love it. Had South facing garden before in my old place and there was never any shade in the garden all summer long. 🌞🌞 I would never buy North facing.

UnderOffer

We’ve had a South facing garden, East facing and West facing garden. Out of all these my current and favourite is West. 

South - lovely but the intensity of hours of sun and having to provide so much shade to use garden was a struggle, didn’t help that the kitchen faced South and was almost unbearable to cook in on very hot days. The only people who loved it was insects and visitors who only spent a few hours at a time in garden compared to us who used it daily. 

East - wasn’t sure what to expect but surprisingly had several hours of sunshine throughout the daytime, however by 4pm we were in shade which meant when kids were young, by the time they came home from school only had 30 mins of splashing about in garden inflatable pool before they were cold. 

West - seems perfect for us, plenty of sunshine from 12-1pm right through to evening, plants grow lovely without being scorched and only a fraction of the garden requires a shady spot if you need to get out of sun. 

Ibizafan

West for us. Lovely in the summer to get the last rays. We actually have sun in the back garden nearly all day long as we get it from the south as well. Nice to have morning sun on the front as well. Better than North/south in my opinion.

[Deleted User]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I didn’t think about the difference in the heat of the house.

I was more wondering what to do when you have both a front and back garden. If I have a south facing rear then I’ll have a north facing front. Would it be better to have an east facing front or rear so both gardens get sunlight? Or sacrifice the front north facing garden to get a better south facing one? What would you all do?

housebuyer143

DELETED USER said:

Thanks everyone for the replies. I didn’t think about the difference in the heat of the house.

I was more wondering what to do when you have both a front and back garden. If I have a south facing rear then I’ll have a north facing front. Would it be better to have an east facing front or rear so both gardens get sunlight? Or sacrifice the front north facing garden to get a better south facing one? What would you all do?

Sacrifice the front. Your don't normally spend your time out the front, so 100% have a shaded front garden and sunny back. 
If a house I liked came on the market with a West facing garden I wouldn't turn it down but a lot of people are put off my North facing gardens I believe. 
Yes South facing is hot when the sun shines in but just get some good blinds for the really hot days.

Silvertabby

Ours is East (back) and West (front).  Our glass roofed conservatory is in use all year round, the back garden plants aren't being constantly baked, which gives us more choices in what to plant.  We have 2 patios - the one at the back of the house gets the morning sun, while the one at the bottom of the garden gets the afternoon rays.  Win-win. 

Spendless

I have an East facing back garden and West facing front. The back of the house lovely the sun rises there so you have warmth from the beginning. However in summer I can tell the time by the shadows in the grass, in part shade by 4pm, complete shade by 6pm. It doesn't lend itself that well to evenings outside unless you also consider things like patio heaters. The kitchen though is cool to cook in. We also have a conservatory on the back of the house and that's a really pleasant room to be in during the summer evenings.

 The sun setting on the front, no real benefit as we don't use the front garden to relax or do anything in, it's purely used to park a car. It is annoying having the glare of the sun through the front window though as you watch TV. You either need to close curtains, get blinds or also have a TV at the back of the house. 

FreeBear

My back garden faces due north. During the summer months, only 4-5m is in the shade during the daytime. Late evening, the patio gets a fair bit of light from the setting sun.

In the winter months, benefit from a noticeable amount of solar gain through the south facing window - Worth a couple of degrees by mid morning.