Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 20, 2008 12:00 pm Hi
I've just come across this site and it looks really informative. You seem to know what you're all talking about so I thought I'd pick your brains. We're thinking about demolishing and building a new house (my husband fell in love with the metricon home - Lindeman 27). However I'd like some info about what costs we should expect in addition to the base price of the house. We'd like to demolish our current house which is on a slight slope in Blackburn, VIC. We saw a Henley home just around the corner from ours that is close to completion, and I was surprised to see that out the back they only dug out and flattened the land to just around half a metre beyond the alfresco area. Past that the land goes up a metre until the fence which is ~4 metres back. I'm probably not explaining this very well, but does this mean that they have to level it themselves (if they want any yard at all) and build a retaining wall adjacent to the fence? I'm only asking because our land is sloping and I'm wondering if we're going to run into the same problem. If we pick the metricon home we're only going to be left with a 5m strip of yard at the back and I'd like it to be flat and kid friendly. Any advice you can give us would be much appreciated as we're completely new to this game. Cheers Re: Would like some advice about new building costs. 2Oct 20, 2008 1:30 pm Welcome Miss Sunshine!
Unless specified in your contract and documents going to the authorities, most builders will only cut/fill the site where the house will be and immediate surrounds. Owners will usually have to do their own retaining walls (which after reading some experiences on here can get expensive!). Look for the thread by Rikster - they had to build a small retaining wall at the back of their place - you can see it in some of the pictures. After 4 years - we're in! No the fireplace doesn’t work. It’s been enclosed. I’m not sure what was removed, as it was done quite some time ago - well before what I can see with photos online… 2 11588 Versaloc is a mortarless besser block system that still needs a properly engineered footing. If you just do a 400x200 footing it will fail in time. At 17m long you need it… 1 18053 Hi VK, Think it's worth investing time in an Owner Builder course to equip you with basic knowledge on Australian Building Industry and its regulations. Also, I suggest… 11 23340 |