Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 03, 2007 2:12 pm We are planning on designing our own place and we will be needing to get a draftsman to finalize our simple plans. But is it possible to get the council to look at the plans first and tell us if they have any big problems with the design before we get a draftsman to finish it off?
On the other hand, are there any companies that sell house designs that we can use ourselves without having to go to so much trouble? Jezz Re: Getting a new design past council and others 2Jul 03, 2007 2:48 pm jezzcb We are planning on designing our own place and we will be needing to get a draftsman to finalize our simple plans. But is it possible to get the council to look at the plans first and tell us if they have any big problems with the design before we get a draftsman to finish it off? This depends on the coucil. Our council (Parramatta/Sydney) has a counter that provides this kind of consultation service for free. But it's only verbal and high level checkings. You won't get anything in writing until you paid the application fee and submit it. jezzcb On the other hand, are there any companies that sell house designs that we can use ourselves without having to go to so much trouble? Jezz Never tried that. I guess legally you can pay $ and purchase the plan. Technically as there's so many floor plans on the internet, can't you just copy a few designs from different builder web site and make changes as required? Of course this can only be for the rough high level floor plan, not the detail construction drawing.... Cheers Allan http://building-our-first-house.blogspot.com/ Current stage: old house demolished, contract signed, waiting for excavation to start... Re: Getting a new design past council and others 3Jul 03, 2007 3:04 pm I could copy them off websites but was not sure if I might get into hot water with copyright.
My thought was that maybe some architect company sold building plans that already fit regulations. Jezz Re: Getting a new design past council and others 4Jul 03, 2007 7:11 pm Jezz - check with your relevant council. Each council will have a Development Control Plan which will outline their rules for residential development. This will include
* setbacks for garages * side setbacks - for both ground and upper floors * shadow requirements (e.g. long shadows on neighbouring properties) * privacy issues etc. etc. Each council is different so I think it would be unlikely that you'd find an architect selling plans that would suit council regs without knowing which council. If you want to use a particular builder's plans - then you can get a copy by paying a licence fee to them. Mind you - if they are project homes - then it's going to be cheaper getting them to build even the shell and you doing the insides yourself, than taking a project home design and DIY. DCPs should be available on Council websites for free. Re: Getting a new design past council and others 5Jul 04, 2007 10:11 am Jezz,
I am sure I have seen a magazine at various newsagents that lists pages and pages of free floorplans. May be worth you while to have a quick filck thru and see if there is anything you like. 3xb Re: Getting a new design past council and others 6Jul 04, 2007 10:45 am Our plan has just been drafted. The drafters are locals and seem to know enough of the council regs to be pretty confident that everything is right in terms of both design in general and specifics like set-back etc.
Whether the council passes the plans or not is yet to be seen, but I'm fairly confident there will be very little trouble. Re: Getting a new design past council and others 8Jul 04, 2007 4:38 pm jezzcb We are planning on designing our own place and we will be needing to get a draftsman to finalize our simple plans. But is it possible to get the council to look at the plans first and tell us if they have any big problems with the design before we get a draftsman to finish it off? On the other hand, are there any companies that sell house designs that we can use ourselves without having to go to so much trouble? Jezz We did something similar to what you want to do. We had a custom design that was loosely based on the council development rules (set backs, open space etc.). We got our architect to draw up the plan and took it to the council to have a look at. They got back to us with a list of things we should change. Some of them were ridiculous, others made sense, so we fixed up some issues and left the rest. The design got through first pop and some of the original concerns were never bought up! They did however lay a few conditions on our design, like ceiling fans in the 2nd and 3rd bedroom? Can't tell you why. And a 30cm retaining wall with stairs and a balustrade for near flat land?! Re: Getting a new design past council and others 9Jul 04, 2007 6:04 pm double07 We did something similar to what you want to do. We had a custom design that was loosely based on the council development rules (set backs, open space etc.). We got our architect to draw up the plan and took it to the council to have a look at. They got back to us with a list of things we should change. Some of them were ridiculous, others made sense, so we fixed up some issues and left the rest. The design got through first pop and some of the original concerns were never bought up! They did however lay a few conditions on our design, like ceiling fans in the 2nd and 3rd bedroom? Can't tell you why. And a 30cm retaining wall with stairs and a balustrade for near flat land?! I heard that sometimes it depends on which person was assigned to look after your application. If you got knock back the first time, the second one might have totally different idea of what can/can't be done... Cheers Allan http://building-our-first-house.blogspot.com/ Re: Getting a new design past council and others 10Jul 05, 2007 11:47 am ahuang double07 We did something similar to what you want to do. We had a custom design that was loosely based on the council development rules (set backs, open space etc.). We got our architect to draw up the plan and took it to the council to have a look at. They got back to us with a list of things we should change. Some of them were ridiculous, others made sense, so we fixed up some issues and left the rest. The design got through first pop and some of the original concerns were never bought up! They did however lay a few conditions on our design, like ceiling fans in the 2nd and 3rd bedroom? Can't tell you why. And a 30cm retaining wall with stairs and a balustrade for near flat land?! I heard that sometimes it depends on which person was assigned to look after your application. If you got knock back the first time, the second one might have totally different idea of what can/can't be done... Sure seems to be the case. We just recently moved in and I was worried they weren't going to let us move in yet because our stormwater, driveway etc. haven't been done yet. One guy I spoke to said it must be done before we move in, I then rang back and asked to speak to a council engineer and he said of course we can move in, as long as our stormwater isn't spilling into neighbours properties. He was more concerned about me getting our applications in for the driveway and stormwater crossovers! Re: Getting a new design past council and others 11Jul 06, 2007 7:59 pm Apparantly there are no local drafters in the area we are planing to build. Can anybody recommend a good drafter in Tas? Does the drafter have to be in Tasmania or could I hire a drafter in any area of Australia?
Jezz Re: Getting a new design past council and others 12Jul 06, 2007 8:21 pm Jezz a 'drafting' firm needs to be registered in Tas
A registered Architect can do designs in all states Peter Clarkson - AusDesign Australia www.ausdesign.com.au This information is intended to provide general information only. It does not purport to be a comprehensive advice. Thanks. I called VBA today and they said it was a Consumer Affairs issue, the old handball. Seems like the government organisations don't want to do their job at the moment. 2 5282 Use a product like Equisol's Vitalise to clean the deck then coat with a penetrating timber oil. It will look 10 years younger and add value to your home. Visit for… 1 10526 How much are you ahead in payments compared to where the build is at? Have you fully drawn down the loan? 5 8681 |