Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 05, 2013 11:23 pm hello doing my own plans for a 2 bed, 2 bathroom pole home current size is 105m2 for house with 18m2 of verandah anyone with similar dimensions? wondering about costs - i know there are a few more variables, but just trying to get early ideas Cheers Re: home size 2Mar 06, 2013 8:32 am My parents have downsized to an apartment with an identical internal area to your plans. It's a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment, with an open planned kitchen/dining/living area (& separate study nook). Their external areas consist of a small balcony (10sqm approx) - good for breakfasts in the sun - & a larger terrace on the roof (40sqm) - good for entertaining. Overall, for a residence of that size it feels modern, light & quite spacious. I'd recommend thinking very carefully about storage areas (you can never have enough, especially in a house of that size) - smart solutions will really make a difference. As it's a pole house I'm guessing you'll have views. This should also increase the "feel" of the size of the house too. As for the cost of a pole house, sorry I can't be of much help. I'd expect it to be pretty pricey for a house of that size, though cheaper than a cut & fill on a steep block, if it's even possible. Much lighter touch on the landscape too Good luck, sounds like it could be a very interesting house (I love the idea of pole houses). Re: home size 4Mar 08, 2013 4:56 pm jodge, it's a house built on stilts. Expensive to build, but often necessary to build this way on a very steep site (where cut & fill can be either extremely expensive or impossible). Footings need to be deep but won't have a large area, so as I said there will be less site disturbance & less drainage issues, resulting in a greener build. jamt007, your obviously going to need a light structure for a pole house, double brick won't cut it You should look into Structural Insulated Panels (SIP's) for the structure. SIP's are pretty new for Australia, but have been used in the US/UK for the last 20 or so years (although the first SIP build was in the 1930's). They are prefab panels consisting of 2 outer structural skins (usually OSB, but can also be ply, steel, fibre cement or MgO), surrounding an insulating core (of Polystyrene or Polyurethane). SIP's can be used for walls, roofs & floors. Houses built this way are extremely energy efficient (high R material & no air leaks). They are also much stronger than you may think (stronger than a stick build), passing cyclone certifications. Material cost can be more expensive than a traditional build (especially in Australia were it's quite new & where builders are conservative), but labor savings can be substantial, as the structure can go up very quickly (often possible to get walls up in a couple of days). Something to think about Re: home size 5Mar 08, 2013 6:56 pm ohhh. . . I see! Actually, I was just flicking through a magazine today and saw something similar. . . They built the new Sydney Harbour YHA on stilts, as it spans an archaeological site. here's a link: http://www.icssydney.com.au/index.php?id=206 I thought I saw something about them using some kind of brick, actually I think it was in a "Think Brick" magazine or something. . . maybe worth a look anyway? I can grab the mag and scan in the pages if you'd like a read. Re: home size 6Mar 08, 2013 10:22 pm Interesting building. The architect's website wouldn't play nicely with the tablet, so I'll have to check it out on a desktop tomorrow. Not sure if you watch the program "Dream Build", those short little architecture episodes on the ABC. Here's an unusual house they featured last year that really captured my imagination. It's certainly out there to say the least! http://www.abc.net.au/tv/dreambuild/episodes/ep02.htm The structure is described a few times, particularly at 6:45. Re: home size 7Apr 22, 2013 5:00 pm ddarroch, finally got plan together then found an old post (this one) and you spoke about SIP's - will email builder right now for costs, I got a base price of $50000 for parts/labour/soil testing/engineering and scaffolding and $85000 for bog standard walls/doors/windows. Now for the detail, the financing and everything else Dear Members I have to decide the Facade column size. My custom builder standard is 350mm with rendering, but i asked for 470mm plus stone or tiles and yet to get… 0 7496 All sorted guys. Just needed to buy a blade with the correct bush. Dunno how to delete this post, can't find any help file. Cheers. 1 3663 Current door width is approx 2700, looking to have double doors fitted 820-820. What size does the frame need to be before door jamb? Thanks 0 3548 |