Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 05, 2009 9:04 pm Hi all just after someone in the know to explain the following for me.
The sales representative in the estate stated that our land will be engineered with a compaction report showing the land has engineered fill (1m I believe - but I am not 100% on that). I have spoke to the builder whom said that they will be interested in the report when it is avaliable and that if it is the case it is a good thing. FYI the land is in Truganina in Melbourne's west quite flat but with clay soils (most land west of Melbourne is clay). Basically I just need someone to explain to me in laymans terms what it means for me as neither of the sales reps were quite able to do so. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 2Jan 05, 2009 9:12 pm I am not expert however putting two and two together you land has fill and you already know that. However it is engineered and compacted hard so that the foundations of the house doesnt have to be that deep.
However from my understanding even compacted fill is not ideal. So this report would need to be given to your engineer that will design the slab so he knows how much pressure each square meter of dirt can take. Natural ground can always take much more pressure before sinking than any type of fill. Most sales rep will try to make it sound better than it is. The reason a lot of that area has fill is because a lot of it is a flood plane so the fill is to bring it above the flood plane. This is the same issue in Central park deer park. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 3Jan 05, 2009 9:14 pm We got hold of the soil compaction report for our block and it reduced the need for piering to our slab and therefore reduced our site costs.
Site costs are worked out on a worst-case scenario, based on the soil tests and other factors. If the soil test reveals a lot of fill, the builders will probably over-engineer your slab, rather than risk movement and cracking... that's all well and good, but you could be paying for extra stuff you don't really need. I can't explain it properly, but a soil compaction report provides assurance that fill was added to the land and compacted following correct protocols (whatever those are). I'd attach a copy of ours, but it's in Word format and I have no idea how to do that.... Besides, I doubt you'd be any the wiser, it's in engineer geek-speak. Bottom line is, if one exists for your land, get hold of it from the developer and give it to your builder. It will probably save you some $$. We saved $2000, which we were very happy about. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 4Jan 05, 2009 9:16 pm borg The reason a lot of that area has fill is because a lot of it is a flood plane so the fill is to bring it above the flood plane. This is the same issue in Central park deer park. That makes sense to me, most new development in the west in the corridor between Caroline Springs and Tarneit is on very very flat land. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 5Jan 05, 2009 9:19 pm kek Bottom line is, if one exists for your land, get hold of it from the developer and give it to your builder. It will probably save you some $$. We saved $2000, which we were very happy about. Thanks for that Kek it is supposed to be coming as soon as it is done. Development on the stage is not due to finish until at least March with title in April. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 6Jan 05, 2009 10:37 pm My last question for the night I promise!
Just wondering what all the numbers etc mean on the planning documents. I understand the dimensions, easement etc and I figure that the arrow is the general slope of the land. It is more the FS, T, CH numbers (If I remember correctly these also show the slope of the land but I'm not 100% hence this post). Thanks All! Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 8Jan 06, 2009 12:59 am Hey Zerosignal, looks like you're getting the block from Rose Grange?!?! We're getting lot 1113!! The sales lady told me that the compaction report is for your builder to do the work properly--as not to ******** you by quoting LOT extra than needed, i.e. they can't quote you a price for compaction again coz it's been compacted!! Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 9Jan 06, 2009 6:39 am popcorn-chicken Hey Zerosignal, looks like you're getting the block from Rose Grange?!?! We're getting lot 1113!! The sales lady told me that the compaction report is for your builder to do the work properly--as not to ******** you by quoting LOT extra than needed, i.e. they can't quote you a price for compaction again coz it's been compacted!! Yeap it is in Rose Grange your block is just around the corner from ours - small world! Thanks for the info, let me know how you go with everything as it looks like you may be slightly ahead of us as far as building & title on land etc goes. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 10Jan 06, 2009 5:43 pm Ya. We love the Monaco 32 from Carlisle, but... the sales guy said we may not be able to build it--or any home that size due to the slight awkward shape of our block. Otherwise we'll see if we can fit a 30SQ home.. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 11Jan 06, 2009 9:24 pm popcorn-chicken Ya. We love the Monaco 32 from Carlisle, but... the sales guy said we may not be able to build it--or any home that size due to the slight awkward shape of our block. Otherwise we'll see if we can fit a 30SQ home.. I took a quick look at the 36 sq version as well as the dimensions of your block couldn't find the 32sq version though. What are the dimensions of the 32 sq? The Rose Grange minimum setback is 4.5m to the porch/portico/patio and 5.5m to the garage if I remember correctly. The garage can also sit flush against the fence lin. Unless the council have imposed a restrictive building envelope on your block I do not see why it wouldn't fit. Hope for the best - when do you find out further information? Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 12Jan 06, 2009 9:59 pm well, the sales guy in Tarneit is new, very new to the job. So he's forwarding all the info to the office today for me. Hopefully will hear something back from office by tomorrow. So far the staff from both Tarneit and Point Cook are super friendly and helpful! Will give them 5 star rating!
Yes, I reckon we can just squeeze in the 32SQ design, with only 3 metres left for backyard!! hahaha... I asked him if they can cut the back a bit to make it 30SQ so it can fit better, but he said they don't do it that way. hmm.. i wonder if the sales manager will say the same thing... Damn! should've pay more attention to the layout of the block! we got too excited with the price, and we really can't afford anything higher. so.. oh well.. back to original, 30SQ house should be fine. We currently living in a 16 SQ (probably) house, so even 26 SQ is big enough for us with two babies. But after seeing all those houses over 30 SQ, anything smaller than that looks small.... yes, we're too greedy I think... Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 13Jan 06, 2009 10:46 pm At least if you need to there will always be another builder somewhere
Guess your looking for a house with all the living areas at the back and bed rooms at the front to maximise the solar orientation? I was looking at a block with a similar orientation as yours in Wyndham Waters - the developer wanted to much for it - $175k for a block of land that over looked the old Melbourne open sewer drain... No thanks, maybe if they had a clear plan to cover it over but couldn't get anything concrete on that. Anyway... my point is - I was looking at some houses that might fit your block as well if you do get stuck. The M3tricon Broadview & the P0rter D@vis Inspiration both have all the bed rooms at the front and living spaces at the back. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 14Jan 06, 2009 11:26 pm Thanks for that. I guess if Carlisle can't make it, we just have to consider other builders. Love PD, Big M, and Henley's houses, but all the stories and reviews have stopped me going further with them....hmm.. maybe i should reconsider them again?!? Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 15Jan 06, 2009 11:43 pm The floor plan of Orbit Chilton 31 really looks nice too. My husband really likes Orbit's style. But most of the reviews about Orbit from Product Review stating they're slow, very slow...We want to have a house within a standard time frame. If they can't guarantee the finish time, we can't put our trust on them. So I'd rather go for other builders. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 16Jan 07, 2009 6:49 am popcorn-chicken Thanks for that. I guess if Carlisle can't make it, we just have to consider other builders. Love PD, Big M, and Henley's houses, but all the stories and reviews have stopped me going further with them....hmm.. maybe i should reconsider them again?!? I read all the stories and came to the conclusion that just about everyone has something to complain about with their builders - quite legitimate complaints and I do not think any builder is immune from them. Though as always some will always be worse than others. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 17Jan 07, 2009 10:33 am Our house was slightly too big for our block, but PD were happy to change it just a little to make it fit.
We built the Bridgeport 35, and it was really hard to find a block big enough to fit that monster on - especially because we wanted our land in a particular estate, and we were fussy about things like orientation, proximity to power lines and future railway extension, and we refused to live on a road that was likely to have a lot of through traffic in future. Boy, that narrowed down the options.... I found a block that looked almost perfect. Quiet street, close to parks, but not right next door, well away from the power lines and far enough from the railway reserve, and the street goes nowhere, just does a loop, so through traffic isn't an issue. Most impotantly, the orientation was ideal. There was just the 2m easement at the back, which meant the house wouldn't quite fit. PD simply shaved 600mm off a section at the back of the house, moved the rumpus/family room wall forward by about 300mm, and then extended at the side by 800mm. We ended up with exactly the same floor area, just two rooms that were a bit narrower, but also slightly longer than the original plan. Easy! I agree with Zerosignal's comment that all builders will have positive and negative stories flying around. People who are unhappy tend to be more vocal than people who are satisfied too, so take that into account. We had some major problems with PD, but in all honesty (and I can hardly believe I'm saying this!), I would probably still recommend them as a builder. I think that we were particularly unlucky due to an unusual combination of circumstances, and in the end, they made good all the defects with barely a murmur. They also made no argument about compensating us for going past (WAY past) our contract end date, and we had a nice fat cheque from them a week after handover. The CSC we had wasn't particularly experienced or proactive, but she was pleasant to deal with and generally followed up on issues we raised. And outstanding issues at handover (all minor) have either been fixed or will be very shortly - there was never any dispute about those things, either. Most importantly, the house is beautiful and exactly what we wanted, and the quality in general is good. I think if you go into a build with your eyes open, and you're prepared to: - keep a close eye on progress and immediately highlight anything you're not satisfied with; - constantly follow up on outstanding issues; - put EVERYTHING in writing, and insist on a written response; - get your own independent inspections, at least at frame stage and prior to handover; - be polite in all your dealings with them, but don't be a pushover; - and remember that the builder and their staff are not your friends....so don't be afraid fo offending them by pointing out sub-standard work or poor customer service; ...then you should come out of the experience with the house of your dreams and only a small amount of stress. I really must finish telling my story on my blog, since it has a reasonably happy ending.... Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 18Jan 09, 2009 4:35 am Thanks for that Kek. but Monaco 32 will be 2 meters over the the easement at the corner at the alfresco area, and the sales guy said they can't push 2 metres back! Well, of course i guess they won't. Talked to the lady from land sale office, and she suggested that maybe we can take the alfresco off the plan, and we just put a decking in later. that way, the easement won't be touched by the slab.
Otherwise, the Madison 30 will fit in perfectly. It's a cheaper range with similar floor plan. So we went all the way to Lynhurst to have a look. Weren't really impressed by it. It doesn't have all the WoW factors as Monaco did to us. Different layout of the Master bedroom and kitchen does make a difference to the house, and the sales guy said they won't alter the wet area to fit in a spa for me! hmm.. I think we'll talk to the sales lady from Point Cook and see what she'd say about that. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 19Jan 09, 2009 4:54 am Bridgeport 35 from Point Cook looks stunning! hmm... will definitely pay them a visit again. I like the fact that the corner after BR4 is cut off from the floor plan, which maybe able to fit in our block! If we can't have it all open up at the back, I guess we can open it up on the side...we'll see... If Carlisle can't comprimise to keep us as a customer, then we have to go somewhere else. Re: Vacant Land : Compaction Report - Engineered Fill 20Jan 09, 2009 7:40 am There's a 30-square version too. Also, the newer Sandhurst is the same basic floor plan as the Bridgeport, just the dimensions (and a few details) have changed - it's wider, but shorter.
I'm sure you'll find the perfect home for your block, there are so many to choose from. It just means looking at a lot of houses.... Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15924 Thanks Simon, I guess I'm no concerned with the volume of the noise rather that dead and hollow sound and feel that is associated with floating floors. But I'm not sure… 3 6164 2 4356 |