Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 03, 2013 9:11 am The guy I'm getting the land off had his own soil and structural assessments done, should I buy them off him or do my own? What are some of the other things I need to know about the land and what kind of things should I look out for? There must be things you guys didn't do any regretted later or did do and were glad to have done them. Also will my builder probably do those tests or do I have to find someone to do them independently? Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Buying Land 2Jan 03, 2013 2:02 pm If he wants to sell you the land surely he will give you the reports anyway? Pretty tight arse if he doesnt... I think you need all that info anyway when you go to the council / bank etc anyway? Sorry, Im not much chop - just had my offer on the land accepted today, so Im newbie in same boat (my builder doing soil tests for us next week.....). Lets do it on Facebook... https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Ho ... 553?ref=hl Building a Loft Home with a rear balcony... http://www.lofthomes.com.au/ Re: Buying Land 3Jan 03, 2013 2:28 pm Well I assume because he paid for them to be done he would want his money back on those. Obviously I could just get it all done myself and then know it was complete and accurate I guess. I don't even entirely know what's in them! I know there is a soil test and that's about it. There isn't a huge amount to know I don't think as the land is flat with a slight drop towards the back of the block but stil slab-able and it's all just plain grass but you need to know like the soil types and soil profile etc. I'm just not sure what information I need to make an informed decision as I know nothing about land! lol. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Buying Land 4Jan 03, 2013 2:34 pm Guess Im just thinking about it like when you sell a car - you get the AA report done on it to show the potential buyer the status warts & all...it adds value to show you are up front etc ... The soil test will bascially help you with ascertaining what site works need to be done (if any) to prepare your house pad...... - maybe a compaction report if site works have been done? Depending on where you are - site works could be expensive (as they are where I am!).... hopefully someone with more experience will reply. Lets do it on Facebook... https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-Ho ... 553?ref=hl Building a Loft Home with a rear balcony... http://www.lofthomes.com.au/ Re: Buying Land 5Jan 07, 2013 12:50 pm Our builder did the soil test and survey for us before they started building (cost us $750 for them to do this). The soil report should tell you what type of slab is required. How reactive the soil is and how saline etc it is. This is what I found for types of slabs: A - Mostly made up of sand and rock and has very little change when wet. S - Slightly reactive clay in the soil with only slight movement due to moisture. M - Moderately reactive clay with moderate movement due to moisture. H - Highly reactive clay site with High ground movement. E - Extremely reactive site with extreme movement due to moisture. P - Soft soils, land slip, mine subsidence, etc. Collapsing soils due to moisture and soil structure changes. What type of slab you require will impact on the site costs that you will have to pay to build your house. Also you should also have a report to show if you have rock on your block. Rock will mean added costs to your build. Also is the block level or does it slope? A sloping block will add to you costs. As we needed an M class slab and had rock and a sloping block, the site costs added another $20K+ to our build So these are some of the things that you need to consider when you are thinking about buying land. I know there will be others such as council requirements etc, set back of house from street front etc that you will need to consider. Oh and don't forget stamp duty on the land purchase (that is if it applies to you). Stamp duty added another $20K to the purchase of our land. Slab – 31 Oct 2012 Frame - 15 Nov 2012 Bricks – 26 Nov 2012 Roof - 14 Jan 2013 Lock Up- 11 Feb 2013 PCI- 23rd May 2013 Settlement - 7th June 2013 Re: Buying Land 6Jan 07, 2013 7:20 pm The land is pretty much flat. There is a slight slope but it doesn't go down more then 50cm from front to back. Also he did have plans drawn up and they used a waffle pod slab and the elevations he had done look reasonably flat so I assume there won't be too much issue but I don't know if I should go by his report or get my own just to be sure. That's if he can even find his! He said it's on an old computer somewhere..... Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Buying Land 8Jan 07, 2013 10:53 pm A waffle pod slab is just a type of slab. It doesn't tell you what class slab you will require. Our builder only does waffle pod slabs be they M class, H class or other. If it makes you feel better to get the tests done then go for it, especially if the person selling can't find theirs. Our builder had a requirement that they do the testing themselves although we had to pay for it to be done. If you r building through a custom builder it may be a good idea to ring around to a few to see if they require you to do that type of testing or if they want to do it themselves. A subsurface rock report will also be handy to see if you will have rock issues when you build. Slab – 31 Oct 2012 Frame - 15 Nov 2012 Bricks – 26 Nov 2012 Roof - 14 Jan 2013 Lock Up- 11 Feb 2013 PCI- 23rd May 2013 Settlement - 7th June 2013 Re: Buying Land 9Jan 07, 2013 11:10 pm I don't think it's all about the slope of your land as much as its about the composition when you start digging. Our soil test had a graph of all te slopes but the primary report was re the types of sand / dirt underneath... They dug around 1mtr down on 4 or 5 different spots for our soil test. The spil test cost $750 & Surveying cost us $3500. Yeah I don't know why I came to a forum. Place is full of wierdos/pedos thought internet may help but I suppose I'll try my luck with someone in person. Cheers. I tried… 0 6731 Need advice on the backyard plan above. Should I excavate and cut all of the dirt to level with the house slab or semi-excavate as per photo above? Both left and right… 0 25295 13 6860 |