Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 01, 2010 12:55 pm Hey, new to the site, and new to home ownership in general. My family and I would like to invest in a couple of units, and would love to build rather than buy something already established. Not including land, we are wanting to keep costs per unit <$100k Looking at pretty basic units I suppose, 2BR/1BTH,SLUG or Single Carport. We would like the units to be as eco-friendly as possible, and are hoping to have some solar inclusions if it meets to our budget. Not sure if this is even possible, but figured here was the best place to ask. I've been doing some browsing on the net over the last week, and have been having problems even finding designs for units/townhouses. Doesn't seem like any of the major builders even have plans for them. Thinking that maybe we should go direct to an architect to draw up some plans for us that will meet our budget, but am not sure what extra cost this will incur. Wondering if anyone here has done something similar, or has any advice for us. Would appreciate any information you think could be helpful! Thanks Re: Building for under $100k 2Apr 01, 2010 4:05 pm If you're looking to build something green on a budget, you should contact Derek Wrigley. He is a retired architect who has released a really good book on sustainable housing design and refurbishing. We consulted him with our own build, and at that time he was very keen to show us some designs that he had been working on. I think from memory he'd worked out an almost completely solar passive (possibly totally self-sustainable) home for around 80k built (although I may be dreaming). He was using things like biolytix black water recycling units to ensure that any waste water was treated and redistributed to look after the garden, and really good designs to ensure little or no need of heating or cooling. Using lots of thermal mass and double glazing. They weren't particularly startlingly beautiful (rather boxy), but brilliant in their simplicity and cost. You should be able to locate him through googling. He may be willing to show you (or sell you) one of his designs if it meets your needs. Re: Building for under $100k 3Apr 01, 2010 7:04 pm Thanks for that I've checked out his website, and have sent an email. Looking forward to seeing what he has. and wow, $80k for a full built self-sustainable home, I hope your not dreaming! sounds great! Will update when I hear back from him. Elle Building Standards; Getting It Right! There doesn't look to be any rebate in the slab to prevent water from scooting under the window. AS4654 is the Australian standard to look at/refer to. They have… 1 10166 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16159 I want to build a bigger driveway (without a nature strip) than has been approved under my CDC. I’ve also had a DA approved to build a deck. It looks like I can do this… 0 4814 |