Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 31, 2012 11:00 am Hi All! I am a first time home owner to be and I intend to build. This is a mammoth project and I'm finding it very difficult to get my head around what I need to do and where I need to start. Basically I have been working for the last 6 months on a house plan that will work for my partner and I along with potential future small people. I've come up with a design that is as small as I can make it without compromising comfort and ease. I want to include as many eco friendly options as possible. My mother has sold her house and is able to give us some money so this is the window of opportunity and now I need to get in and do it. So I have a floorplan I am happy with and it will fit on the block I am thinking of buying. Now it's really the next few processes that have me in a tizz. I assume that I will go and get preapproval for a certain amount before I go ahead with anything at all. This is a block that will be a private sale. How do I go about a private sale? Has anyone had experience in this before. I will obviously need a solicitor to oversee contracts etc. I will also need to make it conditional on finance, are there any other things I should make it conditional on? Should I do an engineers report before I buy the land? Once I have a contract of sale for the land pending on finance etc. what is next? My assumption is -Have a chat about things I might want to include or leave out with a builder who knows abou eco construction -Hire a draftsman to draw up the detailed plans -Submit plans to council -Get plans priced by a few different builders with clear instructions on the cost of internal fitting etc. -Submit plans and contract building price and land contract to bank, who will approve then issue the land cost for settlement followed by 5% for builders deposit. Is there anything I've missed in there that I need to make sure I do? Is there anything I have entirely wrong? I'm suddenly feeling a bit nervous and panicky about it and I don't want to lose my nerve! Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 2Dec 31, 2012 11:37 am Best thing to do is have chat with the bank first, find out what you can borrow etc. they will give you a pre approval (this isn't really worth the paper it is written on though as until valuations on the land are conducted, you will not be given unconditional approval, this will be the same for the house you decide to build on the land). I'm in the same situation as you I bought the land and am now waiting for the pre approval for the construction loan (valuations yet to be conducted). With the land if you want you can put subject to finance, this is usual and you can also put subject to soil test, this you will have to pay for but if you don't know the area and the soil test doesn't come back as say an S type then you could be up for addition cost during construction, this is for works that may need to be conducted, earthworks and piering etc. Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 3Dec 31, 2012 2:20 pm Hi Imille Common four things could blow your budget with land:, slope,unusual site features, H or P classification and rock One of my clients was hit with $45000 extra for rock(and he did have a soil test). Do your homework, ask around, ask at council, ask land developer ask neighbours and do a soil test. Then cross your fingers. Once your house is drawn up and you have building permit then it's the art of packaging your tender, it could scare builders off or increase your price by tens of thousands unnecessarily. Eco features sound nice but are mostly not cost effective. Then remember, it's your design and your draftsperson if it's wrong you will be wearing the cost. Then how are you going to pick a right builder? If you run on trust and hope, you will likely run out of petrol. Do your homework, take time, take a cold shower and invest in professional help Then go ahead and do it, the world belongs to the young and brave! Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 4Dec 31, 2012 4:38 pm Hi, thanks for replying. The block of land is more or less completely flat. There are no trees and no visible rocks but I imagine your friend could not see his rock either. The house two blocks over is build on a slab so maybe I should see if i can ask them if they had any such issues. The area is one with a few blocks for sale and houses at various stages of completion so it's quite a new area opened up for development. I understand also that not all sustainable features will be necessary for the size of house and the people in it. I would like gas boosted solar hot water, rainwater tanks and grey water reuse at this stage. There are two builders in town that I know of that specialise in eco-friendly housing construction so I think I will talk to both of them about what they usually consider in projects like this. I had spoken to one already last year and the woman seemed interested and enthusiastic about the project which was refreshing compared to the patronising and dismissive attitude of many builders who could only think of the cheap route. Ultimately I want a house that is cheap and efficient to run in the future, not just cheap to build. I have taken passive solar designs into account so heating and cooling shouldn't be a huge problem but I would like to reuse as much that comes out of the house as I can and water is a precious resource. I have thought about PV cells but I'm not sure that it would be worth it as this is a first home and I don't know for sure that we will be there long enough to see the benefits. That is however something I have to consult with an environmental specialist about. I do live in a climate with highly variable weather, anything from the mid 30's in summer to -11 in winter so it's very important that I prepare for that in the planning stages instead of building what's cheap and then freezing in winter because we can't afford the power bill. At this stage I'm just mostly concerned with the nuts and bolts of the process, I don't want to forget a document or something and set the project back because I didn't do things in the right order. It's scary! But exciting all the same. Lucy Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 5Jan 01, 2013 8:44 pm Hi Lucy Are you near Canberra or some such place?! With weather extremes like that! (I grew up in Canberra). Some good advice above. I was just going to write to encourage you with your sustainable design ideas. We did the same and initially found it hard to find architects and particularly builders who really cared. The path we took was get an architect with sustainability credentials to help us with the design (we paid him $3,300 - best money ever spent as he helped us get 3 bedrooms and all our living areas facing north, plus a really clever sound / insulation lock at the front door foyer with two sliding doors). I got some advice from an enviro friend on things like sarking (which is cheap and super effective) which is particularly important on the Western wall plus of course the ceiling. We also insulated between walls, designed for cross ventilation (with the bizarre back firing of our doors slamming all the time in the wind until DH installed hooks today) and of course passive solar orientation. There is a thread on house orientation and sustainable design if you are interested: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55057 Good luck and don't give up on the sustainable elements. We haven't installed an air-con in our house (we have a gas fire place in an enclosable room area and ceiling fans). Our last electricity bill was $210, so it is worth it! SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 6Jan 02, 2013 10:40 am The house is in Armidale up in the New England region. Similar to canberra weather on a few levels. It sounds like you've been through a process similar to mine! Unfortunately budget is very tight so the block I'm looking at won't allow for any bedrooms to be on the northern side and I decided I wanted single story only. I have all living areas there though with windows designed to allow ventilation. I was also hoping to use only ceiling fans and a single gas burner in one room too. I have the fewest windows on the western wall and my garage is there as well so it blocks the one bedroom on that side from being obliterated. The only windows into the living space on that wall will be high louvre windows that will allow the air in and out but not the sun. I am going to attempt to chat to some of the builders in the area who claim to use sustainable practices and see if I can nut out a few more ideas. It's difficult working on such a tight budget but I think it will eventually make it a much more interesting house when we have to think around corners like this. P.s. I can't seem to access any of the photos in your thread which makes me sad Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 7Jan 02, 2013 5:07 pm Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is the floorplan I've come up with so far. I'm using an app that is flexible enough that I can change walls and dimensions with ease. My bathroom needs reworking probably and I would like to see how big I can get the garage. Will upload roughly how it will go on the block as well. It's less then 10 degrees from north towards the northeast. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 8Jan 02, 2013 8:34 pm Your design looks great! Nice and efficient. And the positioning of rooms, garage, kitchen wall and minimal windows on the east looks perfect. Not sure why you couldn't see photos on my thread. There are mostly there from photobucket. But photos of our house plan aren't accessible any more because they were via a different website that is now down. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 9Jan 02, 2013 9:17 pm It was mostly the early photos I couldn't see so maybe if I go through further (your thread is super long haha) I might be able to see more. It's been tricky trying to design all this based on all the research I could do online. It's good to have a little confirmation that it's on the right track at least. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 10Jan 02, 2013 9:19 pm lmille32 It was mostly the early photos I couldn't see so maybe if I go through further (your thread is super long haha) I might be able to see more. yes, it is a tad long But if you go to the first page I have an index at the very beginning of most the photos, so you can then just go to select pages. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 11Jan 02, 2013 9:36 pm Ah that is much easier. I was a bit out of it when I was looking at it earlier but it makes more sense now. I've noticed most people are going for quite modern looks in the houses and I haven't come across many trying to keep a more traditional aesthetic yet but there is still time. I like the modern look but I don't think it's ever been very me. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 12Jan 04, 2013 11:09 pm Hi Lucy, I also want to encourage you not to give up on sustainable elements as I know some of the 'experts' are derisive of the whole concept, and as you know, things like solar orientation don't cost more. Your design is good - like grouping wet areas together. But I will, if I may make a few suggestions for you to consider (not that I'm an expert myself). I'm assuming north is at the 'top' of the image & that's is also the backyard. I wonder if you couldn't get another room on the north by moving some of the house to behind the garage - which could also allow for internal access from garage. Like, what if you moved the laundry & kitchen left (which I presume is west) & access garage thru laundry or kitchen, then you could bring the study up to beside the lounge with a north wall. I'm sure you know about the importance of eaves. This: http://www.susdesign.com/overhang_annual/index.php is a great online tool for seeing the effect of different combinations of eave size, window size and window position. What you also have to consider is what you do with that outdoor area on the north. A tiled patio could reflect the summer heat & glare into those rooms. A deck roof could stop the light & warmth entering in winter. If you'll be using heating in winter in the bedrooms or dining room, try to add a door across the hallway near the front door to create an 'airlock'. This is so when people enter or leave by the front door, less heat is lost, by having that other door closed. One last suggestion: put the built-in robes in bed 2 & 3, spanning b/n bedrooms 2 & 3 (moving the bedroom doors) to create a bit of soundproofing between the kids rooms - so they don't wake each other up etc. You can either have a wall to wall robe in each room so you have back to back robes, or each has a robe spanning 1/2 the width of the room so the robes are side to side. The side by side robes can be standard depth or walk-in robes as deep as you like/need. another thought: with the garage on the other side of the wall from your head in bed, consider if one of you might be coming or going when the other is sleeping & if there's an alternate solution. P.S. sorry I can't help with any advice you actually asked for! Re: Help please! About to embark on building and would advic 13Jan 05, 2013 10:31 am Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Hope this link works but basically this is why I can't have anything else on the north. It doesn't really fit and still face north. I am also trying to build as affordably as possible and that means the simplest shape. It's a bit of a trade off for build more solar passively, i could build up for instance, and then not have any money left for things like solar hot water or grey water reuse or actually any money for anything at all. I want to keep the actual footprint as cheap to make as possible. It was a good suggestion though considering I hadn't posted that image yet. The patio material I haven't decided yet. It may be a timber or concrete patio, I'm not sure. But I was intending to have some sort of pergola that lets in the winter light and not the summer light. Like a solar pergola or vergola whatever they call them or simply a normal pergola with clear section at the right distance to let in the winter sun which I can cover with reflective material in summer. Something like that anyway. Thanks for the eaves tool as well! I had also thought of the door in the hallway and I will probably do that. As for the bir's. I think, and I could be wrong, that if I put the robes on those walls, it will cut off too much of the room to fit a double bed. Because the rooms are wider then they are long I don't think it's possible to put them along there and not make some long, narrow rooms which are usually a less practical space. So it would be a trade off between a double room and the occasional noise getting through I guess. Still something to consider though. Thanks so much for commenting! Really great ideas. 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