Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 06, 2011 8:29 am G'day We have a block of land in Macquarie Links, NSW (Campbelltown Council), where we are soon going to build a custom designed single storey house. I am planning to have the design completed by an architect or a home designer, get it council approved, and then request quotations from a number of the potential builders. Or should it be the other way, better leave the council approval to the builder New to the home building, I’m not sure how the council approval system works. Please help us to put ourselves on the rails…… Looking for a starting point. ************************************************************ The best is yet to come...... ************************************************************ Re: Council Approval Process 2Dec 06, 2011 12:30 pm You should get quotes first. No point submitting plans for a place you can't afford to build then have to go through the process again to change them. I would do the following: -Get feature/contour survey of land. -Get soil tests done (get at least 8 test sites checked. We had the std 3 or 4 and they missed a big patch of fill that ended up cost $15k to fix) You'll need to have an idea of setbacks required and where you want to put the house on the block (if you have much scope depending on size) and its good to take the aspect of the block into account when planning to put living rooms and bedrooms on particular sides of a block. -Draw/Sketch up a floor plan with every thing where you want it. Make sure you put all of the dimensions you want. -Send to get working drawings based on your drawings(send your sketch+survey+pictures of any particular feature you want.. There may be some changes to them if the measurements you want don't meet a particular standard but the architect/drafter should let you know why they had to be changed. -Once you have a site plan, floorplans, elevations, an electrical plan (if your council needs it) you should have most of what you require to submit for planning and a permit. Also take note of any trees that may need to be removed, existing site conditions that need attention, the location of a vehicle crossing if it may need to be moved. You may also need to submit a plan for landscaping depending on your council. Mine just required me to keep the block clean and re--instate the nature strip if(when) it got trashed. We're currently working out how to re do it with out gras as most of it was dead anyway and our new landscaping will not have any. Re: Council Approval Process 3Dec 06, 2011 1:35 pm Thank you chrisandkate Its a new release land, and we were given a geotech report when purchased. But I have your point noted to have my own soil test done. I have already drawn up 'my' plan what we need and where it has to be, and until this stage we are sticking to it. Lets see how much we will have to change to comply with the requirements. I was thinking that if we have the council approval first, then ask a few builders to quote the same, then it becomes easier for comparison, and ask questions why they are so cheap or so expensive. You are absolutely right, there are a lot more to consider before we reach to that stage. The land is clear of any trees, other than back-to-front slop, which I think will attract some capital. ************************************************************ The best is yet to come...... ************************************************************ Hi Minho I have heaps of experience in Ku-ring-gai with both DAs and CDC ( this is the main area we build in). DA's are taking 12-18months and CDC's we have been doing… 1 3234 I apologise for any confusion, but your understanding is correct. We approached our situation differently based on advice from… 11 53748 Thanks very much! And would the landscaper/contractor generally involve the engineer or is that something the client would do? Thanks for your help 2 10176 |