Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 16, 2021 12:16 am Hi guys, I need some help here. my builder is asking for around $13k extra for piers to raise our house by 20cm if i want my house to be at the footpath level. My Block has around 50cm fall across. Below are the measurements. We are against the house sitting below the footpath. Garage going to be 20cm below and FFL is line with footpath. Does this mean my entrance to house would be straight walk in from footpath without any single step? Is there way around to make it look better by gardening and concreting. Is it worth spending that money or should i just go ahead without raising. Does it have any impact on the value of the house. Its our first home and we are bit worried. Any help is much appreciated Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: House Sitting lower than footpath level 2Jun 16, 2021 4:30 am Hi hardyboyz90 I assume when you are talking about footpath level you are referring to the street footpath which looks like it is at RL 100? If I have understood that correctly, you are hardly going to notice the small fall to your house, so here is my advice: 1. Go ahead as the plan is currently designed and spend the $13k on some nice landscaping or a holiday or something useful. Raising the FFL is a complete waste of money 2. Once landscaped and your driveway in, it will have no impact in your property value, in fact without seeing the side elevations I would imagine that raising your house at the front is going to affect the transition to your rear yard and the usability of that space so that could hurt your future value more than what happens at the front. 3. Just make sure your driveway concretor puts a decent grate drain in front of your garage door and you should put some drainage in front of your house on the RHS as well just to direct any water away from your home to avoid slab heave etc. I hope this helps a bit. Good luck with the build regards Simeon Architectural Homes & Duplexes - specialising in custom designing homes to your budget Get a Free Onsite Consultation Today or send a PM for information, questions or advice. Re: House Sitting lower than footpath level 3Jun 17, 2021 4:58 pm Thanks Simeon for your response. Its highly appreciated. These are the side elevations. Also i have managed to get my neighbours plan. I have attached it too. Your suggestions are appreciated Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: House Sitting lower than footpath level 4Jun 18, 2021 6:12 am hardyboyz90 Thanks Simeon for your response. Its highly appreciated. These are the side elevations. Also i have managed to get my neighbours plan. I have attached it too. Your suggestions are appreciated Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ hardyboyz90 Thanks for posting those elevations. I still stand by my original advice, however, it might be worth asking the question about the need for the cut and not sticking closer to the natural ground level. I might be missing something obvious but it looks like they are cutting at the front and rear or is that the neighbours house I am looking at? Normally a site is benched ( cut and fill) for 2 reasons: 1. To get a uniform building platform 2. To minimise any spoil that needs to be removed from site as that is expensive. ie if you are cutting to make the site flat, you try and fill to an equal amount. It rarely works out perfectly though. There may be a very obvious design explanation, but I think you should ask why there is cut and the front and back, ie where is the fill?. I would also like to know where the $13k figure comes from. is it from exporting soil or additional concrete etc. You are essentially the project manager, so you should get answers even if it turns out that what the designer and builder are proposing is perfectly the best solution. Don't be afraid to ask, as maybe its not the best solution and as the project manager you might be able to project manage a better outcome, let us know how you go Simeon Architectural Homes & Duplexes - specialising in custom designing homes to your budget Get a Free Onsite Consultation Today or send a PM for information, questions or advice. Re: House Sitting lower than footpath level 5Jun 18, 2021 12:45 pm Thanks simeon, that pic with the facade is the neighours plan and the rest is mine Re: House Sitting lower than footpath level 6Jun 18, 2021 8:01 pm The below link shows one of the problems of being below the footpath level. https://anewhouse.com.au/2021/03/beware ... -the-road/ The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: House Sitting lower than footpath level 7Jun 20, 2021 11:04 am bashworth The below link shows one of the problems of being below the footpath level. https://anewhouse.com.au/2021/03/beware ... -the-road/ Bashworth interesting post. Is it saying that the street drainage is unable to cope in heavy downpours? cheers Simeon Architectural Homes & Duplexes - specialising in custom designing homes to your budget Get a Free Onsite Consultation Today or send a PM for information, questions or advice. Re: House Sitting lower than footpath level 8Jun 20, 2021 12:28 pm Ashington Homes bashworth The below link shows one of the problems of being below the footpath level. https://anewhouse.com.au/2021/03/beware ... -the-road/ Bashworth interesting post. Is it saying that the street drainage is unable to cope in heavy downpours? cheers Simeon Yes together with the fact that people drive through standing water in the road. I took this photo a couple of months back but I went past it yesterday and the sand bags are still there. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Hi there, We’ve recently had plans approved to add a 1st storey addition to our existing house for a growing family in Sydney. With the current cost of building… 0 4306 The unit normally clips into a metal plate screwed to the wall, either plate is not flush, or unit not hooked in and could be hanging from the pipes partly, either might… 2 15800 Hi all I am looking to run a water line under my concrete footpath which is directly next to my home, was seeing if this is possible without cutting the entire section… 0 20193 |