Does building orientation matter?

14 years ago

Hello, everyone. I'm considering buying a townhouse in south Stuart, and there are several for sale in the complex I'm considering. My main reason for wanting a townhouse rather than an apartment is to have the courtyard for growing. But most of the ones on the market now just happen to face NW or NE, and I'm wondering how well that's going to work, especially for winter vegetables.

Since I'll be doing containers I'd have some leeway in dragging them around, but I can't help wondering if being on that side is going to be a problem. Currently I face SW, which works fine most of the year, although of course it gets pretty brutal in the summer. My neighbor on the NE side has pretty good luck, but she can plant outside her fence, not in the courtyard itself. (Where I'm looking, that wouldn't be an option.)

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Comments (5)

imagardener2
14 years ago
One of the top things we required for buying our current (and last 3 homes) was that the backyard face south, mainly because we like a bright indoor space but it is also perfect for gardening.

You are right that summers are brutal in heat and sunshine, but that is not the best gardening season in Florida anyway. What I have discovered however is that the north-facing front yard gets almost as much sun in the yard away from the building shadow and that the shade is "open shade'. Useful for growing things that would get fried in the sun (lettuce, roses).

I think where trees are located and the shadow of the building could be more important, as well as whether your condo association allows pots (if that's what it is) and where the water supply is because you will get tired of hauling water very quickly.

Good luck.

Denise
hilnaric
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, Denise. Luckily they don't seem to care what people do inside their fences, so that part's okay, and there's a spigot on the patio. But I've noticed that one or two of the north-facing units that have been unoccupied for a long time have a patch or two of mildew on the building walls in the courtyard, and I can't help thinking that's a bad sign, since the sprinklers can't possibly be hitting those spots.
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saldut
14 years ago
That mildew doesn't sound good... especially if the bldg. is frame..I would sure have a good Inspector look at what you are considering buying, so many things to think abt. especially with condo's or townhouses with this current market.... sally
hilnaric
Original Author
14 years ago
Yeah, sally, I'd rather not see that, but at least the buildings are poured concrete.

so many things to think abt. especially with condo's or townhouses with this current market

Isn't that the truth!
saldut
14 years ago
Well, driving thru' some of the developments, they build such shoddy structures... they set the OSB ( oriented strand board ) right down touching the ground, on the framing... a recipe for disaster, an invitation to termites, should not be allowed, or maybe it is not and the Inspector turned his head.... my hubby and I built our house, in Canada, so are very familiar w/bldg. I would not want a frame-house here that has been built since the War...before the War they still had quality lumber also craftsmen that knew how to build... oh my, there I go again, spouting off...sally