Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 03, 2014 8:35 pm Hi, My wife and I have purchased land, and getting ready to approach our preferred builder. The land has about a rapid 2 meter drop from from the road, then is relatively flat. It is near the top of a hill, and the road slopes down towards the right (looking at the property from the street). Our neighbour on the downward slope is a single storey. About 500 - 1000 metres away is a forest, and I would LOVE to build our house so that the top storey can just peek over the neighbour and see the views of the forest. So I really don't want to build at the bottom of the drop and have the house in a hole. I am looking for advice as to the options I have to bring the bottom storey up to be as close as possible to street level. Can I fill the land? How much would it (very roughly) cost? Do I ask the builder to do it? Do I do it before approaching a builder? Is there such a thing as an extra-extra thick slab? Anything else? Re: Options for raising ground level 2Feb 03, 2014 8:51 pm Does your builder do split level homes? We have a similar issue and our builder is now doing it via bearer and joist construction (aka stumps or piers) so we can stay on one level. It does mean the rear of the house is raised up off ground level but we were planning on putting in a deck anyway and so it suits us perfectly. Re: Options for raising ground level 3Feb 03, 2014 9:41 pm Hi Yvonne, The thing is we don't want to be on ground level and going down at the back, because then we definitely won't be able to peek over the neighbours and get the view of the forest. I'd ideally like the ground level to be at street level, and then the second storey above that. Re: Options for raising ground level 4Feb 03, 2014 10:17 pm Definitely ask about bearer and joist construction. That way you will get the ground level where you need it and can go up another one. Otherwise I think you'll find the cost of fill and then the drop edge beams to be excessive. Another option is a pole home (which really is the same thing in my opinion just on skinnier piers ) Re: Options for raising ground level 5Feb 03, 2014 11:10 pm I agree. A pole home really suits your situation if your builder will build it. Re: Options for raising ground level 6Feb 04, 2014 7:23 am You need to see the council regs for your area regarding cut and fill ( for raising the ground level ) and also for the maximum height you are allowed from natural ground level. The above suggestions regarding split level and pole homes are good ideas but until you know if your council would allow it then it may be a moot point. Stewie Re: Options for raising ground level 7Feb 04, 2014 10:31 am At the end of the day it does come down to what council will allow in terms of building height. Front setbacks will also be a determining factor as to where you can place the building. A pole home would be a good option as it would probably be the most cost effective way of keeping the floor level high. You could use brickwork on strip footings as well if you don't want an open sub-floor. Split level could work well as you could have your living areas upstairs enjoying the views and your bedrooms downstairs where the views may not be as important. The building height limit is usually to the upper most point of the roof, so you can tweak the roof design to get the building as high as possible. Possibly look into low pitch skillion roofs. Be aware that your council might also have wall height restrictions, so regardless of the overall building height, you may have a limit on how high your walls can actually be from ground level. Your designer will be able to do all of this for you anyway, just tell them what you want and they'll look into it. I would go to your local councils website, download their development control plan (DCP) and check their requirements. If you can do a cross section through the site, you can easily check the height compliance yourself... provided your building is placed accurately. In my experience, councils are usually willing to negotiate on variations to DCP requirements provided they are not too excessive or too numerous. You will need to justify to them how the objectives of the DCP are still met regardless of the variation and how the variations are to the benefit of the occupants and don't affect neighboring properties. Again, your design should do this Mark Re: Options for raising ground level 8Feb 04, 2014 11:29 am We are currently experiencing a MASSIVE problem as our builder of his own accord raised our slab FFL 590mm from the approved council plans. Our block is similar to your and had step ups in the front room and step downs in the rear to make it follow the land and cut costs...it now does not Make sure you get council approval BEFORE you raise/cut any levels. 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