Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 12, 2009 3:06 pm Hi all Well after reading for a while we now have our land, a simple plan and today a survey report yay We were just going to get a slab in, of the right size (before october which just needs a pour rcpt for the fhog, as long as we finish in time and of course council approval which *should* only take about 4 weeks fingers crossed very tightly )and then take a breath, but speaking to the council again (Northern NSW) with todays surveyor report, the elevation requirements have gone from half a metre to 2.7metres! So now thinking steel frame for easier owner-building. All the cheap ones are in Qld lol and with a 6 or 7k delivery fee so because of the ASA and there only being a couple of steel manufacturers, does anyone know if we could get just the elevated steel flooring system made in a kit form, (i probably mean with the bolts, and the holes in the right places and get that engineered first for the soil type) that we could do ourselves (hiring a hole auger 1.5m spacing and maybe hiring someone local for set-out. The kit home places say that their frames go straight into the ground then concrete whereas before that i was thinking U or H frames which would count as foundations (unipiers pretty expensive) but maybe be open to what THEN goes on top as we didnt wanna be pressured to buy any specific kit (they wanted 4k just for the plans, then if the're *not* approved they still keep 2.5k which seems a bit steep. So now ive learnt the 'engineering' in these plans dont count anyway and we still have to pay for engineering per level and for foundations and bracing etc . So now ive drawn up some plans (only 9x9m inc verandah - not our dream home but we just want a garden for the new pup and away from sydney ) and ill ring around steel places to get some prices to get them made, (which might be good to post up as a comparison, for anyone else) and if we get a trussed roof then the internal walls won't matter so much (from what i gather) as we'd love to source recycled stuff and won't be in as much of a hurry. The rich alluvial soft soil is crap for foundations but great for veggies! Oops sorry for the ramble - 3 months of brain-stuffing Teri Re: steel frame 2Aug 12, 2009 7:16 pm Why do you think a steel frame makes for easier owner building? Steel frames are more time consuming to assemble than timber frames as you can't use a nail gun, its all screwed Re: steel frame 4Aug 13, 2009 4:58 pm Termite treated timber framing also means no termites and is much much cheaper (and less noise) Re: steel frame 5Aug 13, 2009 5:06 pm Re: So now thinking steel frame for easier owner-building. All the cheap ones are in Qld lol and with a 6 or 7k delivery fee so because of the ASA and there only being a couple of steel manufacturers Why is steel the cheapest in QLD? :S We ended up ordering our steel frame from Qld too... Re: steel frame 6Aug 13, 2009 5:11 pm Just on the noise issue - we have lived in a steel frame house for 10 months now and havent found it to be any noisier than our old house which was timber framed. Someone mentioned on a previous thread that this was more of a problem with older steel frames that were welded not riveted (I think Ive remembered that correctly:th: ) Re: steel frame 7Aug 14, 2009 12:58 pm Thanks all for your replies. Have now then decided the metal sound (worn brake bads *shudder*) may be too much to risk so been looking at timber kits (I had thought steel would be easier because it's a lot lighter,and the holes are pre-drilled and numbered so less to go wrong lol - oh also i was probably believing the hype on the websites ). I'm just not finding timber kits cheaper at the moment tho, ive read before that a lot of tradies and trade places may not be on the net so ive been ringin the yellowp small ads without websites or ads, but maybe the trick is to forget the kit, get the engineering done and find a timber supply place that cuts it for you? I did find out though that using timber some spans can be 3m wide so we'd have less holes to dig No idea why theyre much cheaper in Qld but glad to know someones gettin a bargain Still excited Teri Re: steel frame 9Aug 14, 2009 6:58 pm Any frame and truss factory will knock up what you need if you give them the plans Hi I am wanting some opinions about the build of a steel shed I am going to get one about 4.5 x 2.5 m steel shed and the height will be about 2.3-2.4m high The one I am… 0 14442 This is 100% true. You can not hang anything on steel frames. very frustrating 8 8021 Hi, I have a steel frame house which was built 2 years ago. When you are down stairs you can hear clunking noises when someone is walking around. We were told if you… 0 4458 |