Design/Drafting Services in the Mandurah Area

Hi

We have recently purchased a block of land in Singleton WA. Can anyone recommend a drafter/Designer in the area that understand sustainable Solar passive design? We are looking to get our house designed, plans drawn up and then try and find a builder who will build what we want. We are trying to get a modern style of house that is very minimalist, practical yet smart. Hopefully we will find a local builder (Can anyone recommend a local builder who has a good reputation?) to build the house.

If anyone can assist it would be muchly appreciated.

Regards

You might find that most builders are based in Perth, I think you're really restricting yourself trying to find a Mandurah local, especially if you're serious about passive solar.

When I did my initial hunting around for an architect that truly considered passive solar to be important, I found that most of them only seemed to pay lip service to the concept, it was quite frustrating.

However, there are a couple of Perth-based builders that seem to have a good reputation regarding solar - check out Right Homes. You could also get a design done by a regular builder and ask an architect like Solar Dwellings to review the design for you from a passive solar perspective - I think the service costs a couple of grand but worth it IMO.

Don't know if you've had a look at the Mandurah Sustainable Home http://www.sustainablemandurah.com.au/. It may give you some ideas.

Don't know much about local designers but Danmar are a local building company with their own designers http://www.danmarhomes.com

Right Homes were my first choice but they have told me that they don't build down our way and so unfortunately can't help me. It seems that if you mention "Solar Passive, sustainable, green star, energy efficient" the builder whacks a few hundred dollars m2 onto the price. I have talked to a few builders and they are talking $2000m2, WTF.

All we want is a practical, smart, energy efficient, solar passive little house of about 220m2. These guys are talking $400 - $550k. We are budgeting around $250 - $270k and we should be able to do it and without going through a project builder or having a double brick house.

A lot of the cost comes from the massive amounts of insulation that are generally included. I'm not sure exactly how much this adds up to, but it's a fair chunk. And if your block orientation is a bit wacko (like ours is 45 degrees to north), getting a thermally efficient house means a weird shape, and weird shapes end up costing because of things like complicated roofing lines.

$2000/m2 is pretty high, you should be able to do it for a lot less - that's what the Josh's House project was all about - affordable energy efficient homes. He built with Highbury, maybe you could have a chat with them?

Also, If you want to know more about the costs involved, I'd suggest giving Solar Dwellings a call and speaking to Griff Morris if you can get a hold of him - he's passionate about this stuff and loves to talk, I'm sure he can give you some more direction.

Our block pretty much runs east/west so the long side faces due north so it is perfect for the house we want.

We may have to talk to these guys but we got scared of the huge cost of a design by them, my parents went and talked to Griff and it was going to cost them something like $12 - 20k for the plans to get drawn up.

Your block sounds perfect then!
I'd talk to Griff directly rather than through your parents (it's great that they're willing to help but you're getting second-hand information and they may not ask right questions). And he may be able to offer you some alternative services if you explain your situation. I've found him to be pretty conscious of budgets, every meeting we've had with him he's talked about staying within budget - almost to the point of being obsessive about it! And he also does believe in things being affordable, so don't get too scared. If he can't help, at least you'll have the information you need to make decisions going forward.

Have a look at ecoserene's blog: http://ecoserene.wordpress.com, although she hasn't updated it for a few months....?

If your parents were being quoted for design up to and including working drawings then that cost is not unreasonable. Usually there are three stages, concept drawing, planning drawings and then working drawings. Some people may make a lot of changes to their designs, some may go through two or three different concepts before they move into the planning stage. There can be a lot of work on the architect/designer's behalf to get to the finished product.

We got our designer to provide the concept and planning drawings however our builder performed the working drawings so that the construction details were to their standards.

I just came across a list of builders I put together when I was starting out, who I thought might be good on passive solar design. We didn't end up interviewing them so I don't know if they will be suitable for you, but maybe you can get some ideas:

http://www.arcologic.com.au/
http://www.designforseasons.com.au/
http://www.econstruct.net.au/
http://www.arcologic.com.au/

I bit the bullet and rang Solar Dwellings to see what they can offer. I ended up talking to Griff. It was a very informative chat. We are going to meet with him on Wednesday. See how it goes.

Good luck! Let us know how it went!

For a budget of 250-270k you will be spending a lot that on an architect designing your 'solar passive' home. That sort of money could go towards solar panels, premium insulation, double glazing and other physical items that will net u a great return.

Work out the basics yourself (orientation of sun, position of windows, insulation, location of bedrooms, sea breeze etc) and build a normal looking house... Unless your after an unusual design ie something off grand designs..

By the way I'm all for solar passive design and respect your pursuit of it, best of luck.