Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 28, 2014 11:50 am Hi Everyone. My wife and I are looking into buying a block of land to build our dream house on. We are wanting to build a two storey home in a new estate in the country and were very specific in our approach of choosing a suitable block. The one we ended up deciding on is a perfect straight block 17m x 34 m at the end of a court at the end of the estate so we would have uninterrupted views of the hillside from the balcony. This block was roughly 20k cheaper than those of similar size but on flat blocks Upon looking at the block with the agent we were informed it has a slight sloped gradient, going to fall approximately just under 2m across the entire 34m length (going from front to back, high to low). From street level it doesnt appear too noticeable as blocks opposite us have a steeper slope going high to low (design of estate is practically sloped so that each house overlooks the one infront etc). After meeting with the builder it was brought to our attention to ask whether they were benching our block to which we found out they werent, they were only benching those opposite us to keep with the appearance of houses overlooking the others. So the few questions i have and am in need of answers are. Is a gradual slope of nearly 2m over 34m going to be an issue building a two storey house (measurements 15m wide by 21m long)? Would i be able to get away with building the house and then retaining afterwards, so the backyard gradually steps down over the length of the yard (approx 12m backyard)? Would i need to retain with that amount of slope over that length? and if so what sort of costs and work is involved? (just to weigh up options with whether moving to a flat block would be more desirable) Also, i'm curious, since its a new area and blocks dont settle til May, we have been informed by the builders and land agent that we have approx 18 months from settlement of land to commence building. We are currently mortgaging a house so we are not in the greatest rush to build and are happy to purchase the block and allow that to sit for the maximum amount of time if need be but i was wondering would it be smarter to see out the duration of the 18 months and ällow" the neighbours to build theres in the meantime and have them install retaining walls on their property boundaries? Any help would be greatly appreciated Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 2Jan 28, 2014 9:51 pm My block is 14 x 32m long with 3m slope back to front, i am building a 2 storey split level house with a few steps in the centre of the house. By doing this its adds a bit of character to the home and saves me $37,000 in site costs. There a small 500mm retaining walls on the sides of the house and the rear which will be done with gabion baskets. Slope over building envelope is 1.6m so split levelling reduces excavation and retaining walls Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 3Jan 29, 2014 2:14 pm Slope is great for DUG. But - some large builders don't like it. It can cost a bit - ie digging and removing fill. They may want allowances in case of rock. Building first has its advantages - eg access - for a pool for example at the rear. But - you then may have to organise fences etc etc. I found it great to use neighbours blocks to allow trucks to rear - eg drop supplies. So long as they take care. Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 4Jan 29, 2014 7:15 pm @Saint Mike. We are in the process of speaking with the builder (Metricon). They have been issued a soil report and have been instructed to let me know the findings i.e site costs and alternatives to cut and fill. We are building at the end of a court with a proposed road along side the house (a 5m buffer from fence to road) and we are intending to put a pool in so they should have easy access to the site through one whole side. @Sunshine2013, depending on the findings i get from Metricon i will see if they can accommodate for a split level two storey design. I did mention this to my wife as a possible option and she thinks it'll look great no matter what so thats always good. Adding steps for different level for the yard isnt much of an issue as our design is practically outdoor room overlooking pool overlooking garden. In the end its all about saving money and if i can save 20-25k on possible site costs by having a split level design then its worth it Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 5Jan 29, 2014 10:36 pm I doubt Metric@n would build a split level home for you, they tend to be gospel with their designs, otherwise they will sting you thru the roof. I enquired in Melbourne with Metric@n on making several changes to the floor plan, just got penalised every time like they didnt want my business. If its split level your after, id see a custom builder. Volume builders tend to be ideal for level blocks, and if you block isn't level, they'll level it for you and charge you a substantial amount for it. Custom builders that take on split level designs work WITH the block, not against it, tend to save money on retaining walls, excavation and soil removal. And they're not more expensive than a volume builder Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 6Jan 29, 2014 10:41 pm Also look to have fixed site costs, volume builders have massive provisionals just in case they encounter "difficult ground" ever after 1-2 different soil tests. I had an additional $30,000 provisional in my site works with M and once that final contract is signed, they can ask for that and theres not all that much you can do Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 7Jan 31, 2014 10:12 am Are you in Qld - saw an advert in todays paper - builder who "specialises" in slope ... Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 8Oct 03, 2014 12:51 pm Sloping lots are often overlooked by many buyers due to the extra site costs involved. Having said that the cost of buying the land often has the extra site costs taken off the price. In most cases I find the land cost has this reflected in it and leaves enough money with a little extra to cover the extra works. Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 9Oct 03, 2014 3:50 pm I'm 3/4 of the way through a build on a block that has over 4m of fall from the front left to front right of the house. the block has 7m fall over 22m frontage. So depends who you talk to, but a 2m fall over 34m could be considered reasonably flat. Re: Buying a sloping block Advice and Help 10Oct 03, 2014 11:21 pm Don't be afraid to spend extra money on good drainage and footings. This is so important IMO..... 'It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.' Give Jonathan a call. Tell him you know me. He is in my opinion the best surveyor I have ever worked with. His number is 0425 285 622 All the best Simeon 3 12423 i did click it, still couldnt make it out rofl. in any case, doesnt look like too extreme a slope, you may be in luck. Just shoot out some emails to volume builders in… 3 18574 Hi, We are looking for a builder that can build a small home (smaller length) on a sloping site. We came across Mojo's Zephyr design 10.6 m wide and 11.5 m length. Does… 0 23029 |