Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 15, 2009 10:23 am I'm a little confused by the whole issue of site costs (I'm not sure why I didn't have to deal with this the past two time I've built... maybe it was all included??). I'm planning on building a very small house with PD (16sq) on a small block (340m2). The block is one that has been 'allocated' to PD by Highlands, so it's a package deal. I know that once the soil test is done that I can still change my mind (but I lose the $1000 deposit to pay for the soil test). So I'm trying to figure out - would the price in PD's brochure have some sort of allowance in it for a 'standard' soil type?? Also, if the soil type wasn't 'standard' that even though I'd have to pay more it would be minimal because of the small size?? What sort of things makes a soil not 'standard'?? I've read some frightening posts on here about site costs of $20K or more... what does this actually pay for?? I'm planning on building in Highlands (Newbury) and mostly it's just a big paddock which some roads just being cut out in the dirt by bull dozers. Can they still accurately test the soil at this stage?? TIA.. Re: Newbie Question - site costs/soil tests 2Aug 15, 2009 10:32 am Can PD do a fixed site costs for you on it? I had a similar deal with PD and the estate I am in with the block being pre-allocated. If your block has a lot of fill on it (where the developer puts soil on top to make it look flat) it will cost more to pour the slab as they need to do concrete piers into the ground to stabilise the soil. Also if they hit rock then that will cost more as they need to dig it out. I took the gamble and did a fixed site costs deal with them. What they do is they average out the sits costs in your area and charge you that - you could be lucky and pay less than needed or unlucky and pay more but I chose this over the peace of mind of having it fixed and knowing what I was up for. I won in the end as I reckon mine would have cost a lot more than what I paid for due to the piering. 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Newbie Question - site costs/soil tests 3Aug 15, 2009 10:41 am Hi Piper, I found the PD salesperson near us was a great wealth of knowledge, he had been with the company for years and knew the area well enough to say the estates with rock, fill etc and all the possible charges, also ask at the land sales office they may be able to give some info to you. When we were looking at builders we were amazed at how much they differed ( varyed from $0 to $25k). H class slab if included with some builders, others its an upgrade, rock allowance ( even if no rock), fill etc ...... alot of variables and not 1 same response ( yep site costs were one of my biggest gripes - pre construction start that is, have now moved on the will they ever start, who knows what I will whinge about next) Melissa I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13098 We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 37142 PM me your email. I have a build excavation calculator you can use based on your plans to double check what your builder is telling you. Cheers Simeon 1 10242 |