Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Sep 03, 2013 9:30 am We're looking to purchase in the inner city suburbs of Melbourne and would like to hear from people who have done a knockdown and rebuild. I'm curious as to what factors would hinder me from knocking down an existing house and building a family home. We have shortlisted a couple of old wooden Edwardian homes and have checked the property report and they do not have any planning overlay except that they are in an R1 zone. What else would you suggest that we check? Re: KDR - Knockdown and rebuild - any tips? 2Sep 03, 2013 1:16 pm First port of call should be to the council - find out about any specific demolition conditions. If you're talking about inner city then spend some time talking to the planning department about what planning restrictions and requirements they have - some inner city councils can have quite onerous requirements around what you will be allowed to build. Organising the demolition itself isn't that hard. You will have to arrange for abolishment of gas and electricity to the boundary. Get plenty of quotes for demolition and make sure you check their conditions and prices around asbestos removal. Demo contractor should coordinate your demo permit. Make sure you get someone reputable - there are some d0dgy ones around. They'll rip it down and cart it off before you know it. Make sure their contract includes removal of all footings and concrete to a reasonable depth. And that if they miss something they'll come back and remove it. Otherwise you can end up with a nice surprise charge from your builder for stuff not removed properly. Make sure vegetation removal is included. Check whether there are any trees on site that require a permit to remove if there is a protection overlay. If there's no underground power you'll need to arrange to have that done before you rebuild. It's not cheap. Builders will want any trees/bushes in neighbouring properties cut back to the boundary if they are anywhere near the building envelope. Best tip I can give you is grab a good camera and take photos of EVERYTHING. All fences. Footpath. Crossover. Neighbours properties. Anything you can see. Document all activity performed on site as much as you can. You never know when it might come in handy. Completed a knock down and rebuild in northern Melbourne. Handover completed 27/09/2013 and now moved in. Re: KDR - Knockdown and rebuild - any tips? 3Sep 03, 2013 10:13 pm Goes without saying but don't knock down whats there until you get your approvals for what you want to build. if the original house is in good condition most of what you listed could be added in stages without the need for KDR and costs and disruption of having to live elsewhere… 1 13673 Thank you so much. This has been very helpful. We definitely wish to settle and get these people out of our life. They are trying to charge us interest on late… 7 14262 Hi We have finally decided to complete a KDR on our corner plot in NE Melbourne suburbs. Given its a corner plot approx. 400 sqm just a standard design may not fit the… 0 8556 |