Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 15, 2010 7:01 pm Hi This is my first post and I'm looking for any guidance you may have to offer on our situation. We own a post war home in Brisbane, dug down, possibly raised and then built in underneath by previous owners. OUr lounge room, dining, kitchen and study are in this downstairs build in. There are some issues identified with the build in through a subsequent structural engineering inspection: - the slab it is built on is a "non-structural slab" and its height from the ground is inadequate for a habitable space. There is some moisture and instability in the slab, and a few of the ceramic floor tiles have cracked. - the study ceiling is not legal height (is around 2300mm). The rest of the downstairs area is 2400mm excluding bollards which are 300mm. - there is a retaining wall adjoining the structural wall. - we're not sure if had council approval (I am kicking myself for not getting better conveyancing when we bought!!). We are wanting to sell our house and suspect there will be issues. I have ordered a list of building inspections from council to see if it has been approved. I suspect we will have great difficulty getting it approved retrospectively. If it's not... what are my options? I DID have a building inspection when we bought in 2002 - the fact that the ceiling height was not legal in study, and slab issues were not picked up! Do I have any right to claim for damages here? Option of raising house (again), demolishing underneath and rebuilding - any idea of costs for this? It may be cheaper just to knock the whole house down and start again. We are on an 809m block so could there be subdivision potential (in Brisbane city council area). What are the implications if we stay in the house as it is or rent it out? Who would I be able to get advice regarding feasibility of rebuild vs knocking house down and start again? Many thanks for any advice you can give PrincessKylie Re: Legal height for building, council approval 2Jun 17, 2010 12:04 am Hi, You won't be able to get downstairs council approved as habitable areas without major work. You'll need to get an engineered concrete slab put in, which means demolishing everything downstairs first, and probably lots of excavation to get the appropriate slab thickness. This also assumes you don't have any issues with minimum flood levels etc, which can be searched for free here: http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:BASE::pc=PC_5004 I have just finished raising a house, and the minimum cost is about $50-60k all inclusive for bare raise with a slab. It can easily blow out to more. Then there is the cost of actually doing the build! You can find a more detailed thread (its about 10 pages now) on this forum (maybe on pg 2). If you're not in a demolition control area, and the house is not a character house, in my opinion its never worth raising and its always cheaper and better to build a new one. Re building inspection: you may be able to sue them re the slab, however, its so many years ago its hard to prove what condition it was in back then. Also, they will have usual exclusions in their report regarding approvals, as they don't do searches for you when they do inspections. I have a fair bit of experience with this as I have personally sued a building inspector before (successfully). Implications: if you're living in the house, well, its your house so you can do what you like. If you rent, you can't count the downstairs areas as 'living areas', so when you advertise these will be 'utility rooms' and this affects the rent you can get. Unless your 809sq block has already been subdivided into 2 lots, its too small to subdivide under the new rules. BCC require min 450sq blocks now so only 900+sq blocks can be subdivided. Cost is also quite rediculous, about $80k to do the subdivision. Your options are: 1) Leave everything as is, do what you can to patch up the slab, and be happy. 2) Put yourself through 6 months of stress and try to demolish, excavate, raise, build etc, and come out $100k plus poorer. 3) Demolish the house and build a new and better one. Your problem is not uncommon, there are heaps of houses with ******* downstairs 'build ins'. Hope this helps. Re: Legal height for building, council approval 3Jun 17, 2010 4:27 pm Joe, thanks for your helpful reply, much appreciated. I'm thinking along the same lines as you in terms of options to rebuild. With regard to building inspection, there is not much on the scope of the inspection (what's not included etc) and i know that reports have become a lot more specific in spelling out their scope in recent years. Is it reasonable too expect a building inspector to pick up on non-legal height ceilings and/or a slab which is non structural and not high enough? I'm hesitant to invest $$$$ for legal advice if I'm barking up the wrong tree. any thoughts appreciated Re: Legal height for building, council approval 4Jun 17, 2010 11:24 pm You are right, I would think it would be reasonable for a competent inspector to pick up these things. Before spending $$$, perhaps track down this building inspector, write them a nasty letter, inviting them to check out what they missed, and see what their response is. They do get claims lodged against them from time to time, so they will be used to it. Re: Legal height for building, council approval 5Sep 09, 2022 12:37 pm Good morning, I have a post war home that was 2400mm from slab to underfloor 2nd storey joists when we purchased in 2004. We have now installed flooring and ceiling over the past 6 years and height varies from 2350mm to 2370mm. Can anyone recommend a building certifier in the Wynnum area who could help with obtaining council approval that the bedrooms downstairs (there have always been bedrooms) as being habitable? Re: Legal height for building, council approval 6Sep 11, 2022 1:59 am The certifier can't approve bedrooms under 2400mm. They are bound by the DTS (Deemed-to-Satisfy) provisions of the BCA Building Code or Australia. The under height proposed bedrooms need to have a couple of things confirmed first. 1, Adequate Light 2, Adequate Ventilation 3. Minimum Height above external finished ground level. 4. Smoke/Fire Detectors Once these are confirmed you would be best to have a PBS (Performance Based Solution) by a Fire Engineer showing that the occupants can safely evacuate the room in the case of a fire. We are Expert Consultant's, and we are here to help. Hi Minho I have heaps of experience in Ku-ring-gai with both DAs and CDC ( this is the main area we build in). DA's are taking 12-18months and CDC's we have been doing… 1 2187 Even if it's not being sub-divided and you want to keep it as Torrens title, you will still need to talk to a town planner or Council themselves, to see if they will allow… 1 6842 1 1345 |