Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 07, 2013 12:02 pm Is anyone building in Perth had their block assessed for bushfire ratings. I am interested to know how much the builders charge for window meshes, fire doors, roof sarking etc. Apparently by builder quoted $460 to carry out the assessment. The building requirement and associated costs to follow after that. My Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62776 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 2Feb 07, 2013 3:59 pm The cost is a broad topic, as it depends on the actual rating to what is required (so how much extra it would cost) The builder would of have to of employed a certified contractor - most seem to be between 380-500 from what I have found. Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 3Feb 10, 2013 3:14 pm thanks Tim_k. Still waiting for my assessment from the BAL inspectors. It would be interesting to find out what make these inspectors qualified. From a quick google search I could not find any certified courses that you can take or any university offering the course. Spoke to council last week and they were quite adamant that it need to be done by a 'certified' person although they could not confirm what the qualification needs to be. My Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62776 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 4Feb 10, 2013 5:04 pm I am BAL 29 at the front of the house and 19 sides / rear. I am in Sydney so take prices with a grain of salt... We had to upgrade to 5m toughened glass on all windows / doors - total cost $3480 We also needed spark arrestor on every weephole - $880 Spark guards to whirlybirds - $87 Aluminium mesh on all openable window - $1800 We also decided to do stacker doors - I cant remeber wether this is a requirement though - $1820 Thats it...total cost $8067 Dont let anyone tell you that you need gutter guards - there is no mention of these in the standard except to say if you want them they have to be non-flamable (aluminium) Hope that helps Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 5Feb 14, 2013 6:22 pm Brizz I am BAL 29 at the front of the house and 19 sides / rear. I am in Sydney so take prices with a grain of salt... We had to upgrade to 5m toughened glass on all windows / doors - total cost $3480 We also needed spark arrestor on every weephole - $880 Spark guards to whirlybirds - $87 Aluminium mesh on all openable window - $1800 We also decided to do stacker doors - I cant remeber wether this is a requirement though - $1820 Thats it...total cost $8067 Dont let anyone tell you that you need gutter guards - there is no mention of these in the standard except to say if you want them they have to be non-flamable (aluminium) Hope that helps It does help.. Thanks But the cost does add up.. My Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62776 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 6Feb 27, 2013 3:32 am I believe the screens will be to all windows and doors here. I might be wrong but the cost suggests doors too. So then normal doors can be used and savings for that. Also , the charge for glass 5 mm seems high to me. cheers Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 7Feb 27, 2013 3:37 am The assessor has to carry out the assessment to the Australian Standard. But it must be accepted by the Building Surveyor. Of course, now a lot are being referred to the CFA and changed as a result. One of our jobs went down from BAL 29 to BAL 12.5. Usually, they go up. Confusing huh? Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 8Mar 07, 2013 4:44 pm Finally got the estimates regarding our BAL. Ours cost $5250 + $460 for the BAL assessment. Seems a bit on the higher side but nothing much we can do. My Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62776 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 9Mar 07, 2013 7:28 pm Hi Navarch what BAL did you end up as? We've just been through it all with a BAL19 house that we get the keys to tomorrow Ours ended up costing around $5500 and like Brizz said you don't need gutter guards. I've just spent the last 2 weeks arguing the point with my private certifier until the council came to my rescue with a letter explaining you don't need it. This link gives a good idea of what you need. Unfortunately most of the bush around us has now been cleared so we would probably come in alot lower now but what can you do. http://www.bal.net.au/BAL-Chart.pdf Building the Lawson with Eden Brae in Cameron Park Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 10Mar 08, 2013 10:39 am Hi Welby. Our BAL is 12.5. Yes our builder didnt include the gutter guards. I think BAL 12.5 and 19 has pretty much the same requirements except for the 5mm glass to the bottom panel of windows which I think is pretty much 5mm anyway with standard windows to meet the glazing codes. Surprisingly the costing of our builders seem to match. My Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62776 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 11Mar 08, 2013 6:46 pm We are in Perth and we are on a BAL19 block. We needed a few extras on the house to meet the requirements including sarking, a brush set around the garage door, vent covers etc. Our glass is veridian already so that meets the standard and didnt need upgrading. Our door was an issue as we wanted a pivot but there are none rated above BAL12.5. We checked with the council and the requirement does not yet apply so we are getting a BAL12.5 rated one. We are pretty keen to have the house comply as really we want it to be able to withstand a fire as much as possible. Cost wise the builder made an error originally so we got it at cost price apparently and it was less than $2000. Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 12Mar 14, 2013 8:27 pm We've just been quoted $8970 in perth for bal 12.5 with summit for a 4x2 brick and tile! I think they have double uped the cost of a bal rated front door in that and we have asked for breakdown but they haven't supplied. Who are you building with and did they give you a breakdown of the costs? Our requirements included sarking to full roof, ember guards to roof vents, grade a safety glass (1 small window) ;alum flyscreens, ember sill to garage door, non flamable external roof plumbing, and also a bal40 door which is excessive to needs. From what others have said in the area its more like $6500, so they have done something wrong! Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 13Mar 15, 2013 12:14 pm Hi harvestsummit, We have been quoted $5250 for BAL 12.5 compliance in Perth. I did ask for a breakdown of the cost and was told that it won’t be provided according to their policy. Hope summit is more flexible with you and gives you a breakdown. I think sarking is a major cost and having read the various H1 forums it is about 3.5k. Out of interest are you building in harvest lakes in Aubin Grove? harvestsummit We've just been quoted $8970 in perth for bal 12.5 with summit for a 4x2 brick and tile! I think they have double uped the cost of a bal rated front door in that and we have asked for breakdown but they haven't supplied. Who are you building with and did they give you a breakdown of the costs? Our requirements included sarking to full roof, ember guards to roof vents, grade a safety glass (1 small window) ;alum flyscreens, ember sill to garage door, non flamable external roof plumbing, and also a bal40 door which is excessive to needs. From what others have said in the area its more like $6500, so they have done something wrong! My Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62776 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 14Mar 15, 2013 12:26 pm harvestsummit We've just been quoted $8970 in perth for bal 12.5 with summit for a 4x2 brick and tile! I think they have double uped the cost of a bal rated front door in that and we have asked for breakdown but they haven't supplied. We are building in Bedfordale and also have a BAL 12.5 rating. Our BAL costs are $9,675 and the other people I know building in the area had similar costs. For some reason, it seems to cost double in WA compared to the east coast for BAL 12.5 requirements. We were not given a break down of costs either. Our custom Gemmill Home in Bedfordale WA Build thread:https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53788 Timeline on page 1 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 15Mar 15, 2013 12:48 pm The builders seems to mark the price up on everything. This is not different at all since they know we dont have any other option. Its highway robbery when the Building Commission says the typical cost would be around 3-3.5k (without GST) for a 3 bedroom house and the builder charges 9K for the same. My Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62776 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 16Mar 15, 2013 1:09 pm I don't think the cost the Building Commission states is very comparable with most of the types of houses being built over here. They base that cost on a standard 3 bedroom (18 squares) home with a single garage and brick veneer external wall construction. 18 squares is equivalent to around 167sqm. Our house is almost 3 times that big at 460m2, meaning almost 3 times as much of the more expensive stuff like sarking and safety glass, etc. We also have a hell of a lot of windows so that increases our costs over what is the norm. I have no doubt the builders are robbing us blind because we have no choice, but I don't think you can take the Building Commissions guides as gospel. Our custom Gemmill Home in Bedfordale WA Build thread:https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53788 Timeline on page 1 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 17Mar 15, 2013 4:00 pm Yes you are right in saying that Building Commissions guide is not a gospel. But the cost should not be 3x times. Also as you mentioned before there is a huge variation in cost between what’s been charged in the eastern states and in WA when essentially its compliance to the same standard. To be honest most of the builders doesn’t have a clue about any of the BAL requirements. In my case they knocked off 2k when I pointed out that grade A glass is required for low level glazing by the Australian glazing code and BAL 12.5 does not add any additional costs. My Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62776 Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 18Mar 20, 2013 9:59 pm [quote="navarch"]Hi harvestsummit, We have been quoted $5250 for BAL 12.5 compliance in Perth. I did ask for a breakdown of the cost and was told that it won’t be provided according to their policy. Hope summit is more flexible with you and gives you a breakdown. I think sarking is a major cost and having read the various H1 forums it is about 3.5k. Out of interest are you building in harvest lakes in Aubin Grove? Wow we'd be thrilled with $5250! Out of interest whats the size of your house? We are about 270 with a 30 odd sqm alfresco. I still think we are being overcharged grrr, feel like we are being taken advantage of! Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 19Mar 20, 2013 10:00 pm soakedblonde I don't think the cost the Building Commission states is very comparable with most of the types of houses being built over here. They base that cost on a standard 3 bedroom (18 squares) home with a single garage and brick veneer external wall construction. 18 squares is equivalent to around 167sqm. Our house is almost 3 times that big at 460m2, meaning almost 3 times as much of the more expensive stuff like sarking and safety glass, etc. We also have a hell of a lot of windows so that increases our costs over what is the norm. I have no doubt the builders are robbing us blind because we have no choice, but I don't think you can take the Building Commissions guides as gospel. That price for a massive house is realistic, ours is 200m2 less than yours Re: Anyone having bushfire rating (BAL) assessed ? 20Mar 21, 2013 11:20 am Thats a good size Alfresco. Ours is a bit smaller at 287m2 (incl. Alfresco & Garage) harvestsummit navarch Hi harvestsummit, We have been quoted $5250 for BAL 12.5 compliance in Perth. I did ask for a breakdown of the cost and was told that it won’t be provided according to their policy. Hope summit is more flexible with you and gives you a breakdown. I think sarking is a major cost and having read the various H1 forums it is about 3.5k. Out of interest are you building in harvest lakes in Aubin Grove? Wow we'd be thrilled with $5250! Out of interest whats the size of your house? We are about 270 with a 30 odd sqm alfresco. I still think we are being overcharged grrr, feel like we are being taken advantage of! 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