Browse Forums Building A New House Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 363Oct 17, 2012 7:51 pm Hi Carak If it helps we have a similar fall and are putting in a step down. Depending where the slope is, you can cut at the front have a modest step down and then have some modest elevation at the back. If interested our draft plans are here viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60056 Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 364Oct 17, 2012 8:26 pm Gogo, The alfresco will be elevated still, back over there next week so we have a full on week catchng up with the guys, Re: OMG what are we doing buying a sloping block!!! 365Oct 17, 2012 9:30 pm carak777 O.k. found out from Andrew that there is quite a bit of fall on the block. Before I tell you the fall I must explain that the block size is 1,274m. Front measures 15.5m, back 35m, one side 52m the other 62m but because at the back there is the bush and a fall into the bush that side is really only 40m long. So for the bad news the fall on the site is 4.5m but when you look at the building pocket it is actually only about 1.5m (by my calculations), so not really good news but a least we have a big block and the fall over the whole block balances out a bit (I have to keep myself positive). If the measurement has been taken from the footpath that may have added to the fall because there is a drop down from the footpath (3 steps) down to the existing house. To quote Andrew "nothing we can't design and build a house on! " Yah sure Andrew your a builder, of course you are going to say that. So it looks as though we will definitely be looking at a step down in the house so we don't have to worry about fill & drop edge beams (o.k. I am not too sure on these things but I have heard about them) or retainer walls. It all seems to be adding up before we even start.... haven't got the soil test back yet.. that will probably be a P slab which is more $$$$.... How much is Powerball worth this week??? O.K. back to look at floor plans with step downs Hi Carak. I would like to share my knowledge about CDC for your plan. You said the front width is 15.5m and the block is 1250 sqm (wow it's a huge block!). And you said you want to go CDC right? Given my calculation your need to have minimum side set back 1.7 m each. So the maximum house width is 12.1 meters. Your plan has 12.86m so you will need to reduce the width little bit (~80cm) Secondly, the maximum cut and fill is 1 meter under CDC. That includes Cut 1m and fill 1 m, so the total fall allowance is 2 meters AFAIK. Yours is 1.5m, so you don't need split. My block was 2.2m fall from the highest to the lowest. so I had to have sunken lounge by 30cm fall. Actually it makes the house more elegant. From my case, Alkira has not offered fixed quote for drop edge beam & piering. Regarding p-class, Zen charged about $5k for both Main & granny. Following link is about CDC code and you might want to check with this while you design the plan. http://housingcode.planning.nsw.gov.au/ ... D&tabid=40 My home building https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55844 Demolished: 11/May/12 Approval: 3/Jul/12 Concrete Slab: 20/Jul/12 Frame: 14/Aug/12 Handover: 21/DEC/12 Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 366Oct 18, 2012 9:48 am Carak - you are probably in the peak now of paper work and design nightmare. Trust me, it DOES get better. And I am so glad that you got the contour survey rather than mucking around with standard designs which would need substantial re-work later. Much better to work with your land, pick the right designs, and to also try to get accurate costings from builders. Zen build a lot of split levels and on land with a fall, so that is good. When we were talking to Masterton, they had limits (1m I think?) that they would build with, so make sure you ask all the builders you speak with about their policy (and costs) of building on sites with a fall. That is where I think Zen come in much cheaper as they don't load up the site costs. We had a 2-3m fall on our land (it is always measured from the footpath), but like you our actual building envelope was reasonably flat (about a 1.2m fall). 4.5m, or even 1.5m is still pretty decent. Split level can save heaps on retaining walls and other site costs. I personally like split levels (and I wanted one in the house), although my DH doesn't like them. For us we got away without split level in the living (but we have one up to the garage) but yours sounds like it might be the best solution. If you are feeling stressed, then just take a breather, re-assess whether you need to rush into things this week, and take your time. This is one of the most difficult stages. We took 2 years from contour survey (which we got right at the beginning before doing designs) to final plans 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: OMG what are we doing buying a sloping block!!! 367Oct 18, 2012 1:20 pm gogo65 Carak, you are still more than welcome to come and see my house, particularly as your design is so similar to mine, it should really give you an idea of whether you like it or not, you will also see benefit of having the step down and the resulting high ceilings. Gogo, thank you for the invitation, might just have to take you up on that offer soon... Would be good to see how the steps work and that amazing ceiling that you have. kiwi yes, her house was lovely in the building stage. I am sure now, it is FANTASTIC is 366 in the ball park? Hi Kiwi, I have seen photos of Gogo’s place on HI and it looks amazing, I am sure it looks even better ‘in real life’. Yes that figure is in the ball park but it depends on site costs, bushfire zone costs and if we need any upgrades etc. streamline80 Carak, Our bock has 2.5m of fall and that is across the buildng envelope!! Our design with Zen has 1000mm step down in it so wen you enter the rear half of the house we will have 3650mm ceilings. Its better to design your house around the fall of your land, saves on site costs, DEB's etc. Streamline your house sounds amazing....3650 ceilings... wow, where are you building? Would love to see your plans. Have you started building yet? Sorry about all the questions, just being a bit nosey. free will Hi Carak If it helps we have a similar fall and are putting in a step down. Depending where the slope is, you can cut at the front have a modest step down and then have some modest elevation at the back. If interested our draft plans are here viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60056 Free will, thank you for the link to your draft plans, definitely be checking them out... I really appreciated everyone’s help, advice and information about sloping blocks. I don’t know what I would do without the H1 Forum. Apue carak777 O.k. found out from Andrew that there is quite a bit of fall on the block. Before I tell you the fall I must explain that the block size is 1,274m. Front measures 15.5m, back 35m, one side 52m the other 62m but because at the back there is the bush and a fall into the bush that side is really only 40m long. So for the bad news the fall on the site is 4.5m but when you look at the building pocket it is actually only about 1.5m (by my calculations), so not really good news but a least we have a big block and the fall over the whole block balances out a bit (I have to keep myself positive). If the measurement has been taken from the footpath that may have added to the fall because there is a drop down from the footpath (3 steps) down to the existing house. To quote Andrew "nothing we can't design and build a house on! " Yah sure Andrew your a builder, of course you are going to say that. So it looks as though we will definitely be looking at a step down in the house so we don't have to worry about fill & drop edge beams (o.k. I am not too sure on these things but I have heard about them) or retainer walls. It all seems to be adding up before we even start.... haven't got the soil test back yet.. that will probably be a P slab which is more $$$$.... How much is Powerball worth this week??? O.K. back to look at floor plans with step downs Hi Carak. I would like to share my knowledge about CDC for your plan. You said the front width is 15.5m and the block is 1250 sqm (wow it's a huge block!). And you said you want to go CDC right? Given my calculation your need to have minimum side set back 1.7 m each. So the maximum house width is 12.1 meters. Your plan has 12.86m so you will need to reduce the width little bit (~80cm) Secondly, the maximum cut and fill is 1 meter under CDC. That includes Cut 1m and fill 1 m, so the total fall allowance is 2 meters AFAIK. Yours is 1.5m, so you don't need split. My block was 2.2m fall from the highest to the lowest. so I had to have sunken lounge by 30cm fall. Actually it makes the house more elegant. From my case, Alkira has not offered fixed quote for drop edge beam & piering. Regarding p-class, Zen charged about $5k for both Main & granny. Following link is about CDC code and you might want to check with this while you design the plan. http://housingcode.planning.nsw.gov.au/ ... D&tabid=40 Apue, thank you so much for all that wonderful information & figures. I am really getting bogged down with all these figures and stuff but I really appreciate all of them, every last number because I will keep reading and learning and hopefully when I am talking to builders (and other people who have built a house) I will sound as though I know what I am talking about.... Thanks for the link to CDC Housing Code... a little bit of light reading so I don’t doze off in front of the telly tonight.... SunshineT Carak - you are probably in the peak now of paper work and design nightmare. Trust me, it DOES get better. And I am so glad that you got the contour survey rather than mucking around with standard designs which would need substantial re-work later. Much better to work with your land, pick the right designs, and to also try to get accurate costings from builders. Zen build a lot of split levels and on land with a fall, so that is good. When we were talking to Masterton, they had limits (1m I think?) that they would build with, so make sure you ask all the builders you speak with about their policy (and costs) of building on sites with a fall. That is where I think Zen come in much cheaper as they don't load up the site costs. We had a 2-3m fall on our land (it is always measured from the footpath), but like you our actual building envelope was reasonably flat (about a 1.2m fall). 4.5m, or even 1.5m is still pretty decent. Split level can save heaps on retaining walls and other site costs. I personally like split levels (and I wanted one in the house), although my DH doesn't like them. For us we got away without split level in the living (but we have one up to the garage) but yours sounds like it might be the best solution. If you are feeling stressed, then just take a breather, re-assess whether you need to rush into things this week, and take your time. This is one of the most difficult stages. We took 2 years from contour survey (which we got right at the beginning before doing designs) to final plans Sunshine, you are the second person (Gogo also told me) that it gets easier after this stage, if it doesn’t, I promise to haunt you both for a very long time.... Had another look at the slope of the land today, funny how it looks different after you have seen the site contour plan... I think if we were to do a split level, we would have to use a lot of fill at the front of the block because of how it drops from the footpath and then it has a very gentle slope of the building envelope to get to the 1.5 – 2 metre fall. At the moment just getting very confused about falls, split levels, step downs, house plans, might just take a few hours break to breathe.... Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 368Oct 18, 2012 1:36 pm Take the weekend off, and Chilax but on Monday, you need to work out if you want to do 2 storey, split, who with, where with, how with...or this can go on for years!! Taking a few days to not think and let the house you are suppose to build form in your mind ( kind of like a mediation) will help. Then next week you are fresh and ready to look for what you really want. Reading and reading and reading and not taking time to ' think' just blows your brain. Something on the weekend might just click..or you might be driving and you ' see it' Or you visit a display home and realise..this is ' the one' So for the next 3 days don't think..if you know what I mean. Just clear your head.. And maybe on Sunday go for a drive and see gogos, and if you love it...look into something like it, and if you don't, at least you will know. If that all sounds like crap advice, just ignore me!! Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 369Oct 18, 2012 1:46 pm kiwi Take the weekend off, and Chilax but on Monday, you need to work out if you want to do 2 storey, split, who with, where with, how with...or this can go on for years!! Taking a few days to not think and let the house you are suppose to build form in your mind ( kind of like a mediation) will help. Then next week you are fresh and ready to look for what you really want. Reading and reading and reading and not taking time to ' think' just blows your brain. Something on the weekend might just click..or you might be driving and you ' see it' Or you visit a display home and realise..this is ' the one' So for the next 3 days don't think..if you know what I mean. Just clear your head.. And maybe on Sunday go for a drive and see gogos, and if you love it...look into something like it, and if you don't, at least you will know. If that all sounds like crap advice, just ignore me!! Could never ignore your very thoughtful advice Kiwi... You are right, need to step back for a few days... too many things swimming around in the clogged brain... need to reassess, recover and remember to not stress because as Sunshine & Gogo have said (and I am holding them to their word) this is the hardest part.. Thank you Dr Kiwi, think I might go and have a nanna nap for an hour or so Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 370Oct 18, 2012 2:25 pm O.K. Soil Test Results are in.......... Most people know that when you are buying real estate you have to consider the three P's.... Position, Potential and Price.... So our results show that we will need a P Class slab, again the three P's... Problematic, Pricey and Poor (what we will be soon ) Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 371Oct 18, 2012 2:28 pm Carak it is truely the most stressful part of the build. We were warned by our sales person that this part would be frustrating. We listened, but didn't take it on board too much. We haven't moved to site yet - should do in less than a week and I can tell you the stresses have melted away and I am glad I am over that admin part. With the fall on your block - Rawson is probably out. I have read in their paperwork that they work on sites with up to a metre of fall. They probably do larger falls, but the site costs would be extra. I have found with larger builders, the non-standard blocks they like to add a lot of $$$$ We are H class soil and we were charged an additional $5000 for the slab. I work for a builder and he said he wouldn't charge for the extra for the H slab. Gogo's was P for memory and I dont think Zen charged any (or much) for the P slab. Slap me if I am wrong Gogo Modified Fernside 38 Rawson Homes Blog: http://www.thehousethatmatandjenbuilt.blogspot.com Build Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60501 Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 372Oct 18, 2012 2:37 pm Jen1977 Carak it is truely the most stressful part of the build. We were warned by our sales person that this part would be frustrating. We listened, but didn't take it on board too much. We haven't moved to site yet - should do in less than a week and I can tell you the stresses have melted away and I am glad I am over that admin part. With the fall on your block - Rawson is probably out. I have read in their paperwork that they work on sites with up to a metre of fall. They probably do larger falls, but the site costs would be extra. I have found with larger builders, the non-standard blocks they like to add a lot of $$$$ We are H class soil and we were charged an additional $5000 for the slab. I work for a builder and he said he wouldn't charge for the extra for the H slab. Gogo's was P for memory and I dont think Zen charged any (or much) for the P slab. Slap me if I am wrong Gogo Thanks Jen for the reassurance that this part of building is the most stressful, can't wait for that 'melting' feeling So good to hear that you actually start next week such great news. Can't wait to see how it all goes.... Fingers xxxxxxx if we go with Zen they will be kind, very, very kind..... Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 373Oct 18, 2012 2:41 pm Hi Carak Yeah, Jen is right, most companies won't build more than 1m fall. Or if they do, that is when the inflated site costs come in. Masterton had almost $100K in site costs for our place!! (Things like DEB, rock provisionals, bush fire allowances, storm water systems, distance allowances of $14K etc!!!). Which was one of the main reasons we didn't go with them. I still think Masterton, and Rawson, actually build excellent houses for a good price. Provided it is one of their standard plans and on an easy site. We had neither of those, which is why we were lucky to find Zen. On Monday when you are back in the saddle, probably good to ask Alkira about their site fall policy. Oh, and don't forget Hontondo do build on slopes (eg. nina marie) and seem reasonable. Now that you have your accurate contour surveys, you need to discuss this with builders up front. This will cull your list quickly, and so much better to have done it now than go through designs and tenders then have to start all over again! We were also P class soil and Zen were very reasonable about it. Much better to build for P class than try to slip in as H then have movement in the site down the track which causes major structural issues in your slab. Good luck. I am willing to place a bet that the day your slab is laid all this frustration and angst now will complete dissolve away! Jen1977 - Exciting that less than a week! Do you have a thread? 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: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 374Oct 18, 2012 3:07 pm Quote: We were also P class soil and Zen were very reasonable about it. Much better to build for P class than try to slip in as H then have movement in the site down the track which causes major structural issues in your slab We had a soil test done using Mac Jones and the soil was M class. Rawson did it and it came back H. We have gone with the H slab, just to be sure. No point paying all that money and not having adequate foundations. Quote: Jen1977 - Exciting that less than a week! Do you have a thread? I haven't got a thread. I started a blog and I am crashing Tarshas thread. Do you think I should start my own? Modified Fernside 38 Rawson Homes Blog: http://www.thehousethatmatandjenbuilt.blogspot.com Build Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60501 Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 375Oct 18, 2012 3:19 pm SunshineT Hi Carak Yeah, Jen is right, most companies won't build more than 1m fall. Or if they do, that is when the inflated site costs come in. Masterton had almost $100K in site costs for our place!! (Things like DEB, rock provisionals, bush fire allowances, storm water systems, distance allowances of $14K etc!!!). Which was one of the main reasons we didn't go with them. I still think Masterton, and Rawson, actually build excellent houses for a good price. Provided it is one of their standard plans and on an easy site. We had neither of those, which is why we were lucky to find Zen. On Monday when you are back in the saddle, probably good to ask Alkira about their site fall policy. Oh, and don't forget Hontondo do build on slopes (eg. nina marie) and seem reasonable. Now that you have your accurate contour surveys, you need to discuss this with builders up front. This will cull your list quickly, and so much better to have done it now than go through designs and tenders then have to start all over again! We were also P class soil and Zen were very reasonable about it. Much better to build for P class than try to slip in as H then have movement in the site down the track which causes major structural issues in your slab. Good luck. I am willing to place a bet that the day your slab is laid all this frustration and angst now will complete dissolve away! Jen1977 - Exciting that less than a week! Do you have a thread? Well Sunshine didn't think you were the betting type. Would love to know your tip for the Melbourne Cup (we need money!!!!!) Yes, I agree, now that we have the soil type and contour survey it certainly will make a difference in which builder we choose. That is amazing that Masterton wanted to charge you almost $100K in site costs After reading your thread, gogo's and a few other Zenatics/Zenologists/Zenites threads plus meeting the Zen team, I can see that they really do look after there clients. As with all builders they have their good & bad days plus the ups and downs just the same as everyone else, I suppose life would be boring if we didn't have things happening to keep us on the ball.... Perhaps the P in the P Class slab is P for Perfect, anyway that is how I am going to look at it P for Positive Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 376Oct 18, 2012 3:23 pm Jen1977 Quote: We were also P class soil and Zen were very reasonable about it. Much better to build for P class than try to slip in as H then have movement in the site down the track which causes major structural issues in your slab We had a soil test done using Mac Jones and the soil was M class. Rawson did it and it came back H. We have gone with the H slab, just to be sure. No point paying all that money and not having adequate foundations. Quote: Jen1977 - Exciting that less than a week! Do you have a thread? I haven't got a thread. I started a blog and I am crashing Tarshas thread. Do you think I should start my own? So Jen you have an H for Happy slab I agree we all need adequate foundations, especially as we get older Yes, Yes, Yes, start a thread NOW..... Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 377Oct 18, 2012 4:21 pm Yep P for perfect that's what we have Zen definitely didn't overcharge us for the slab, we had to pay extra for the concrete pierswhich was a couple of thousand $$$, but we had really deep piers over 2m as a result of a P site, so they just charged us the extra costs involved there. Our alkira tender had a estimate of $14k for drop edge beams Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 378Oct 18, 2012 4:36 pm gogo65 Yep P for perfect that's what we have Zen definitely didn't overcharge us for the slab, we had to pay extra for the concrete pierswhich was a couple of thousand $$$, but we had really deep piers over 2m as a result of a P site, so they just charged us the extra costs involved there. Our alkira tender had a estimate of $14k for drop edge beams So Gogo, piers can mean tears Just have to wait and see, perhaps all P slabs need deeper piers, something I could research when I have nothing else to do $14K for DEB's from allkira.... bit over the top isn't it? Still haven't received any pricing from Alkira yet...... Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 379Oct 18, 2012 4:42 pm Ok, and now to bed.... Don't worry about it. Give your brain a rest. You can research piers on Monday if that's the type of house you want... Now relax. Go and have a sherry Go around to gogos and have a sherry with her and chat in person, it will help you sort things in your head out... At least you know your soil and you know your contours... Now Chilax Re: OMG what are we doing!!!!! 380Oct 18, 2012 4:45 pm I don't think it generally means more piers, our block was an old market garden, so had heaps of lovely fertilised soil, so when they went down they didn't come across anything substantial, just more lovely soil metre after metre, which is very unstable (I think it wasn't compacted enough or something) I think we paid an extra 3 or 4k in piers. 0 2020 The DIY project can be broken into two major steps. Planning and Design and Construction. Both of these steps are as important as one another to ensure you give… 0 5172 Hi group, have some damage to the door frame and skirting board. It's a side door to the laundry area. Only has a security door. I had a termite inspection (note drill… 0 5054 |