Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 27, 2015 2:09 pm Hello All, Firstly, thank you all who has posted on these forum. I've gained considerable knowledge by reading your posts. I too am planning to building a low set home in southern Brisbane. So far I've paid the deposit for the land and finalized the design I'd like to build with the builder and paid the initial deposit for the soil test and site survey. Unfortunately, the results are not so good and it's an E1 soil type , which has increased nearly $17K just for the slab upgrade and would definitely need 1m deep piers which would be extra $12K. Are these costs reasonable for 260 Sq m house? Also, generally is it OK to buy such land which would require on going maintenance (read some online reports which said have to take extra care that area surrounding the house should be consistent in regards of moisture) and have pathways all around the house? I'd really appreciate any help/info you can give me. Re: Building on E1 soil type 2Apr 27, 2015 2:19 pm Are you on fill? Did you buy off a developer or private sale? If there is fill see if the person who sold it has a compaction report. You should find that soil will go up to either P, H2 or H1. Did your land contract have a soil clause allowing you to pull out in the event the soil was worse than say a H2? Our H1 slab is costing us around $8700 and we have $3500 in piering. There is alot of movement on E1 so they need to make it stable Re: Building on E1 soil type 3Apr 27, 2015 3:28 pm Gunna Are you on fill? It is on fill. The block of 2300 sq m was divided into 4 lots and mine lot is where the old house used to sit. Did you buy off a developer or private sale? If there is fill see if the person who sold it has a compaction report. You should find that soil will go up to either P, H2 or H1. Thanks, I'll ask for the compaction report Did your land contract have a soil clause allowing you to pull out in the event the soil was worse than say a H2? Yup, I can still pull out but I only have another week to do so. I had condition put in for soil report and house design of my liking. Our H1 slab is costing us around $8700 and we have $3500 in piering. There is alot of movement on E1 so they need to make it stable I can live with those costs, but our site costs are going towards upper $30K. The soil report recommends piering of 1m depth. Our builder has provisioned $10K for these. How accurate is this? Re: Building on E1 soil type 4Apr 27, 2015 5:58 pm Just my personal opinion, but I would be very reluctant to built on a class E site. The soil is extremely reactive, so even with pathways and other preventative measures, you will still probably end up with cracks in your slab or wall due to movement. A compaction report is unlikely to change your classification. If it were uncontrolled fill, your site would be classed as P. Your class E deals only with soil reactivity, not whether or not there is fill onsite. Dale - Building Newbie Proserpine, QLD Re: Building on E1 soil type 5Apr 28, 2015 11:12 am Thanks Dalemengel. Another update which just tells me to get out of this deal. The finance lender has estimated this land $20K less then what the seller is asking and I'm sure the seller won't budge on the price. Re: Building on E1 soil type 6Apr 28, 2015 11:52 am Yup.. yup.. get out of it.. not worth the headache and financial pain. When we started our own journey, we almost went down the wrong road ourselves (a different reason) but upon realising our mistake, we quickly got out of at no cost to ourselves and secured an immensely superior house and land package. Even if there was a small cost of a few thousand, it's better than the alternative. Paddington 29 @ Blue Horizon Estate (Lot 105, Wattleridge Crescent, North Kellyville) Our Build Progress Blog: http://light487.wordpress.com/ Re: Building on E1 soil type 7May 01, 2015 1:43 am Just asking, why can't you build on stumps ? Is there a reason not to do this, does it save money to do so? I have no idea about it all but think that stumps or whatever they are called would work Cheers Lorri Natural stone tiles like slate, travertine, and limestone add a timeless, elegant look to… 0 24917 2 4186 With that sort of soil type if you ask for a design to include piers then I would also include void formers. That way you should reduce the chances of settlement and heave. 7 4634 |