Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 16, 2013 8:04 pm Hi all. I've hit a bit of a snag with my builder regarding the placement of our water tank. Here's the facts; House width; 14.17m Block width; 16.5m Council side setback; .9m So our builder's 'slimline' 3000L water tanks are 900mm wide on a 950mm slab. Some quick math; 14.17 + .95 = 15.12 which leaves only 1.38m combined left over. I don't care if I can't walk past the water tank on the 'dead' side of the house. Is the water tank slab under the same setback requirements (in council and CDC eyes) as the house slab? My builder is saying that the water tank needs to go up the back of the block, something I really want to avoid as our backyard is small enough as it is. Some options I've thought of; 1) Slimmer tank (if possible: owner supply) 2) TWO lower capacity slimmer tanks (from builders supplier) 3) Go through DA instead of CDC due to side setback infringement (will take longer to approve) 4) last last last resort... stick it up the back... Not interested in underground tanks due to the added expense. Help! Re: Water Tank Slab and setback requirements 2Sep 17, 2013 8:17 am The builder themselves may not know the answer to this question; it may be a question for the compliancer they use. If they're not willing to ask the compliancer, they may still give you the details of who they use, and it's possible that person might be willing to give you an answer directly (ie. without having paid their fee yet) in order to get the business & maintain good will with the builder. If you look in the guide to complying development, the diagrams regarding side setbacks have eaves & window shades poking into that setback area; so some "stuff" is definitely allowed to infringe on that setback. HOWEVER ... if you're thinking about blocking that side of the house completely, I have a suspicion (withut knowing) that'll be a no-no. I'd kind-of suspect the council will veto that as well, I really think they'll want access to be possible down both sides of the house. You might be allowed to have the tank closer than 900mm to the fence-line, but I think they'll want to allow enough space to get past, which means you'll have a bigger gap from fence-to-house on the side where there tank's a big obstacle (dunno if that's a problem - and your slimmer-tank options may resolve that too). Re: Water Tank Slab and setback requirements 3Sep 17, 2013 8:54 am This will depend a lot on your particular council. Most regard a water tank, garden sheds, cubby houses, BBQ etc as temporary structures ( basically anything non-structural ) and can be placed inside side and rear setbacks but they sometimes ask for a letter from the neighbour stating that they have no objections. Stewie Re: Water Tank Slab and setback requirements 4Sep 17, 2013 10:39 am MadamImAdam So our builder's 'slimline' 3000L water tanks are 900mm wide on a 950mm slab. Threads like this should go in the Eco Living sub forum to have the best chance of being seen. It also pays to post what State you are in due to differing regulations. Rainwater tanks are defined as a structure – Class 10b under the Building Code of Australia. A 950 mm slab width is very narrow. There are narrower tanks but my feeling is that you would be better off having a couple of narrow base round poly tanks sited away from the house. This will also allow you to have a superior settling system. You need to be careful though; most of the installs that I see on these threads and blogs are sub standard and over priced (but often still compliant due to poorly written regulations) and having a tank away from the house will almost guarantee that you will have issues that will haunt you in the years to come. If the tank(s) is/are correctly set up, you will have a trouble free run. Avoid the rip offs! 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Water Tank Slab and setback requirements 5Sep 17, 2013 7:05 pm Quote: Rainwater tanks are defined as a structure – Class 10b under the Building Code of Australia. Maybe, but our council seems to turn a bit of a blind eye to those that are installed in the 900mm side setback. YMMV as they say. Stewie This was on google. Development controls 2.3.1 Front setback D1 New buildings within residential areas shall adhere to a front building line, which is 5.5-6m to the… 1 3664 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Thank you for the generous offer. I need to get the plumber out to give me an explanation. As mentioned I haven't seen any rain water discharge from pipes 1& 3. It… 7 10810 18 90479 |