Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 23, 2007 10:41 am Hi there
I have been lurking on this site for a week or so, and must say that it is a brilliant resource! We live on the northside of Brisbane. After swinging backwards and forwards about adding an extension onto our current home vs. building a new home, we have finally made the decision to start from scratch. We have our eye on a block at the moment, which is to be released very soon. I’ve been doing my homework and have been onto the council website looking at the development application. The block is 740m2 with a 16.8m frontage. The sewer line runs to the front of the property along the road. There is quite an area of fill to the front of the block – (probably the first ¼ of the block is fill) – and the front of the block and part of one side is to be retained with a “Steel Reinforced Concrete Block Retaining Wall” – leaving an opening for the driveway at the front . What sort of problems might we run into with fill on the block? The plan says that “All fill is to be compacted in accordance with Brisbane City Council guidelines”. “Fill shall be compacted in layers not exceeding 300mm thick, to not less than 95% density ratio.” “Fill material shall comprise only natural earth and rock”. Would there be extra costs involved to reinforce the foundations of the house over an area of fill? Would we be best to look for a block without any fill involved? Thanks in advance Kylie Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 2Nov 23, 2007 11:10 am Hi Kylie, firstly a warm welcome to the forum. Are you are going for a house on stumps or slab? Hopefully there is not too much fill on the block, whether sand or rock, you builder will charge for it. If you have selected your builder then ask them to do a site inspection on the block to give you an idea? Were there large trees on the block beforehand? All these things will add up as you might need deeper foundations for the house.
Some builders won't build on a block of land that has a fall larger than say 2m over the actual building area. Better to go into this knowing as much as possible about the land that you are buying... At the end of the day, sites costs can add many thousands of dollars to your house cost.... Good Luck. Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 3Nov 23, 2007 11:26 am The fill will defenitely increase the site cost. The soil classification will be most likely H class, or worse, P class. For normal waffle pod for H class, my builder charge me about $7,500 (this include piers if needed). Builder might charge extra, so ask further. Also ask the surrounding of the blocks about their soil classification (type of foundation) and their site costs. these could be good indication when you talk to your builder.
ozn Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 5Nov 23, 2007 12:15 pm Hello again
Thank you for the advice so far. Just a few clarifying details. This land hasn’t actually been developed yet. The "goldrush" for land around here is unbelievable. The way that the release is working, is that they are taking $1,000 “Expressions of Interest” on the land – site unseen. The only thing that is provided is an “Estate Plan” showing the block sizes and how they are set out. People are staking their claim on blocks with no details about cut/fill, sewerage/drainage or anything else. I have all of the development plans from the council website with this additional information, and am trying to make some sort of informed decision so that we know which blocks to target. I guess initially we were looking at block size and aspect as the main factors to consider. We want to build quite a substantial double storey home with pool, and figured that the bigger the block, the better. Now we are starting to think otherwise. There is a block next door which is 700m2 and has a lesser degree of fill. Or otherwise a 627m2 block with next to no fill and no retaining. We are going to see Metr9con tomorrow (our preferred builder) and I’m hoping they may have some advice on this if I take the plans along with me. Although I guess we will just be talking to their salesperson. If we wanted more expert advice, would we need to contact a builder/surveyor? Thank you for your responses. I am so glad I found this website. Kylie Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 6Nov 23, 2007 1:01 pm Hi Kylie
Our soil was classified as a P soil with quite a few meters (2- 3 from memory) of fill. Footings and site costs for our place are costing an extra $7,500. Bare in find as well, that if you want a pool, any lot with fill will require a piered pool. Generally that can cost up to an extra $10K. Good luck with your search. Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 7Nov 23, 2007 2:17 pm Why did the developers fill the land? Couldnt they have just left it with the natural slope?
Also you just need to see an engineer who will take a core sample of the soil. Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 8Nov 23, 2007 2:39 pm I'm not an expert with any of this, but my understanding is that all of the blocks are designed to be "level" and ready to build on. At least, this is what they claimed in Stage 1 (where expressions of interest have already been taken).
The fill is only within the front 1/4 of the block. We understand that we have to leave 6 metres at the front, and so I guess we are hoping that perhaps the "Area of Fill" that is marked on the plans won't impinge on the actual building too much. The area that we are proposing for the pool has no cut or fill marked on the plan. I think we may need to get in touch with someone who can actually read and interpret the information that I have, as obviously I'm just a total amateaur! Thanks for the advice! Kylie Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 9Nov 23, 2007 5:58 pm Hi Kylie,
Welcome to the forum! So you also like Metricon homes! Is it Liberty? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 10Nov 24, 2007 8:41 am VJ! Yes, it's the Liberty! We are putting our $1,500 deposit down with Metr9con today to lock some of the pricing, but we don't even have land yet! I hope we can get a suitable block and get this ball rolling. But yes, we love the Liberty! Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 11Nov 27, 2007 7:48 am We bought a block before the actual release and paid $1000 deposit, but in the contract we put subject to soil test and survey. As soon as the developers were out of the way we got a soil test and survey done and were'nt happy with the way that block came back so changed to a different one, they let me move the deposit and contract and everything.
Jet landfill 12Nov 27, 2007 8:18 pm Hello,
Go to the builder and provide them with that info. Info about landfill is not enough. More important is what soil is under. We build in south west of Brisbane and under landfill was very reactive soil. That worsen our soil qualification and resulted with reinforced house (double story) that costed us $23k! On the other hand, I appreciate the money I spent as I do not feel any impact of the soil movement. I would go for the biggest block and wouldn't be scared of that fill. M*tricon is a good builder and will do the right thing for you to not to fill the impact of moving soil. Having said that, the builders around me were using waffle pack and all these houses have some problems. One of the houses had the slab next to the laundry door remooved becase the owner couldn't open the door. Don't try to save money on structural issues cuse this will come and bite you. cheers kate Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 13Nov 28, 2007 8:04 am Yeah I agree with kasiakm.
My parents built 15 years ago in the northern suburbs of Brisbane - very clay like reactive soil. They spent a little bit extra on foundations above what they needed to (which was a lot anyway - I think about $15K total which at the time was a lot for a $60K house) and where other houses are cracking because of the drought theirs hasn't moved a single bit! Needless to say - don't skimp on the foundations! After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 14Nov 28, 2007 8:05 am Ooh and that was my 50th post - hurrah! After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: Suitability of Land - Does "Fill" cause any proble 15Nov 28, 2007 8:31 am go muzzman!
50 posts indeed! if i have understood your dimensions correctly my suggestions include using the smallest toilet and wall hung handbasin eg Caroma Urbane with in wall cistern, small wall… 1 17255 yeah i couldnt picture it issue either, but i could clearly picture what they were doing wrong haha 2 10624 If you're in a flood zone, not only are you dealing with the importation of fill and laying it down in 150 lifts to achieve compaction, you're going to have to consider… 4 10754 |