Hi All,
New member here.
My wife and I want to do a couple of alterations to a near new (~9 months old) previously unoccupied house we bought recently. The main change is moving a doorway of a ground floor bedroom by about 1.5m towards the centre of the wall, as well as enlarging it from a standard single to a double French door. Depending on costs and our budget, we also like to enlarge the height of a forward facing window on the first floor (above the garage).
The builder told us they don’t do post contract/handover alterations, so we are on our own. Want to know how such an alteration may impact our warranty. And what is the best way to go about it.
The house has a slightly modified version of a standard floor plan provided by the builder. The doorway we want to change is of a bedroom that was created by closing off a living space in the original plan. We like the option of having a ground floor bedroom, but we also like to have a second living space, hence the double French door. Since the builder’s original floor plan doesn’t have a wall there, I’m assuming it is non-loadbearing, therefore the change shouldn’t impact the structural warranty. But I don’t want to take any chances, especially since the house is fairly new and may not have settled completely, there is also a new double story house is being constructed in the neighbouring block very close to the boundary.
What is the best way to go about this? I don’t mind engaging a structural engineer if the costs are reasonable and if it makes a difference. What other things should I look out for when contracting the work?
Thanks.