Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Dec 18, 2011 7:59 pm Hi all, I did put this on another section of the forum, but after getting no response thought I'd try here: we'd like to build a single room building, to be a fitness room, some 20m or so behind our house, along with an undercover entertaining area/pergola alongside it. The fitness room will be 7X5m (35m2) internally, with a 2.7m ceiling height, and the pergola 7x4 (28m2). Both to have gable roofs. A builder we know has recently migrated from the UK and has all necessary licenses to operate here but is new to Aus. He's offered to build it all for us for a reasonable cost but this means we need to sort out plans and council applications ourselves. What we gain by using him, we could end up losing because he's not providing an 'all in' service that includes diagrams, council plans etc. We're thinking of building the fitness room from concrete blocks, rendered outside, lined inside. The roof structure and pergola beams would be timber. Any advice on how to proceed? Is it straightforward (and cheap) enough getting slab engineering for a small building? What else would council likely require? (I will get around to asking council this question, just starting on here before I get round to contacting them.) What about a roof truss report? Any other engineering they'll likely want? We're in the Adelaide Hills region of SA. Having had our house built last year, we already have a soil report and wind rating. Any views on other construction materials? We don't really want a colorbond shed that's lined or anything like that; we're looking for something that looks and feels more permanent. Cheers, Jim Re: Fitness room and pergola - what will council need? 2Dec 18, 2011 9:01 pm At the very least I would have thought you will need building approval with properly engineered drawings including the slab and roof trusses. If you are getting prefabricated roof trusses you can probably get the design done by the supplier. Due to the size (its definitely more than a small shed) I would have thought you will also need planning approval. 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: Fitness room and pergola - what will council need? 3Dec 18, 2011 9:13 pm Got to agree with bashworth. This is new building so I would have thought that all permits, engineering calc, etc would have to be done. I would be definately costing all this before proceeding. Settlement 1/2/12 New Shed 23/3/12 Slab poured 27/3/12 Frame complete 4/5/12 Roof complete 1/6/12 LOCKUP 29/6/12 Our new build blog http://kareenhillsownerbuild.blogspot.com/ Re: Fitness room and pergola - what will council need? 4Dec 18, 2011 9:59 pm Thanks for the replies. Sorry, I might not have made myself clear - I'm working on the basis that planning approval will be needed therefore am asking what documentation will council need in order to approve it. Just slab and roof, or is there anything else? Cheers, Jim Re: Fitness room and pergola - what will council need? 5Dec 19, 2011 4:25 am Ask your local council Building Approval Dept what they actually require, which I suggest will include fully detailed drawings of the structure and building site, engineer's and roofing frame reports etc. A mini version of what was supplied in building your recent house. Some SA councils play hard-ball in getting EXACTLY what they want Quote: A builder we know has recently migrated from the UK and has all necessary licenses to operate here but is new to Aus. Call me an alarmist but alarm bells are ringing for me. Speaking to a chap recently arrived from the UK, who said one only has to pick up a hammer there to call themselves a builder/developer! How familiar is your UK builder with our building code? Are you sure his licencing has been obtained here and have you actually seen it? Is he able to supply the relevant Compliance Notices? If not forget trying to do things on the cheap and go elsewhere. There are too many cowboys around the place now. Quote: Having had our house built last year, we already have a soil report You state you will be building 20m away from your house. Was the soil report taken from this area? Arfur Is there a building permit? RU in Victoria? What is the value of the building contract? 1 6822 About a year ago, I embarked on a DIY project to construct an outdoor Pergola, which measures approximately 5.2 meters by 4.0… 0 29607 i think option 2 is much better with easy access to the garden without having to walk through the new sunroom which makes it a better room for guests and TV .a simple… 2 8227 |