Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 28, 2016 10:46 pm Hi there, We are building our single storey house in Bardia. After the builder did their land survey they informed us with level cut and fill our home would sit at 78.2m but the street level is at 79.2m. So our house would sit 1m lower than the street. We are a little bit concerned that how it might look from the street. It got to us when driving through the area, we saw the house directly in line with ours and facing the same direction is significantly lower than the street, but the house right beside it isn't. After looking closely at the second home we saw it has retaining walls all over so it seems they have filled in a lot. Most probably the first home did not do anything so it ended up lower than the street and looks odd to us, though I am not sure how low it is from the street whether it is lower than ours or not. I asked the builder about a ball park estimate of the cost if we wanted our home to be at level with the street. The lady informed it would cost tens of thousands of dollar just to fill in 1m across the site of the house and retaining walls would cost extra. Does it sound reasonable? Our home is only a 20 square house. We haven't tried to negotiate yet. Thought would see what people has to say. We are thinking of few options if it costs lesser than "tens and thousand of dollars plus cost of retaining walls" 1. Would fill 0.5m plus retaining walls. Still we would be lower than the street but better than previous. Technically it should cost us half at least in the filling bit also may be for retaining wall or may be not? 2. Ask the builder to put in suspended concrete slab. Do project builders do suspended concrete slabs any more? Will it cost a lot more? Downside or suspended concrete is that I would need to put insulation for the floor as well. Not worth it? more expensive in total? Building Newport 20, Edmondson Park, NSW Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 2Apr 28, 2016 10:55 pm It's not just a matter of filling and retaining. The soil needs to be adequately compacted and the big cost comes from needing concrete piers through the imported soil down to solid ground to stabilise the slab. No matter what type of slab or sub floor you go for, your foundations will need to go through the fill. 10s and thousands of dollars and then some. Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 3Apr 28, 2016 11:05 pm Frye It's not just a matter of filling and retaining. The soil needs to be adequately compacted and the big cost comes from needing concrete piers through the imported soil down to solid ground to stabilise the slab. No matter what type of slab or sub floor you go for, your foundations will need to go through the fill. 10s and thousands of dollars and then some. Thanks Frye Building Newport 20, Edmondson Park, NSW Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 4Apr 28, 2016 11:37 pm My house is built below the street. The house has a suspended floor and no land fill or retaining walls. And yes, to satisfy energy efficiency requirements new suspended floors need to be insulated but underfloor insulation is not cost prohibitive. Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 5Apr 29, 2016 1:36 am Same issue we had. Our neighbours built before us and are down in a hole. Looks awful. And if their stormwater drains block they will have big issues. We didn't want any of that. We asked our builder to build up. They didn't want to. We asked several builders. None wanted too. We ended up getting our own earthmoving contractor to fill and level our block. We got soil from adjacent blocks that were building - builders were grateful to get rid of, bought it over for us. No one wanted to do the compacting because getting a compacting certificate was too hard for them. And I rang almost every earthmover in Adelaide. So we got our builder to engineer our slab for 'uncontrolled fill'. Which was: thickened slab, double reinforcing mesh, deeper drop-edge beams and piers. The slab cost $37k. Our soil is highly reactive. We had to retain too. That cost about $10k (think - can't remember). We are very happy. Our house sits proud, level with the street. I would feel depressed in a house where my windows were below street level. Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 7Apr 29, 2016 7:46 am Not sure on your financial position - but could you put a garage under ? This would lift you and maybe provide a rear deck and view ? Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 8Apr 29, 2016 11:10 am ^Awesome idea St Mike! Also split level homes are beautiful. And some people have done bearers and joists to accommodate the slope. That looks great too (storage under the house at back). Go to a custom builder, particularly one that deals with sloping blocks, lots around. Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 9Apr 29, 2016 5:26 pm TomCat I would feel depressed in a house where my windows were below street level. Good to know that we are not the only one Thanks for the costing details. Probably we have to do something similar. Building Newport 20, Edmondson Park, NSW Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 10Apr 29, 2016 11:11 pm We think it's the best thing we did in regards to our house hamu Don't let peeps talk you out of it. It can be done Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 11Apr 30, 2016 7:15 am The other thing to remember too is that apart from the drainage issues having a house lower than street level is that by not raising it up you are probably going to slice a lot of money off its resale value. A house around the corner from us is about 2m down from street level and they have had a lot of problems selling it. Others close by have sold easily. Stewie Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 12Apr 30, 2016 7:26 am Saint Mike Not sure on your financial position - but could you put a garage under ? This would lift you and maybe provide a rear deck and view ? Great idea, but we are a bit tight on budget also we would need to change the builder. This would be expensive as well both in terms of money and time Building Newport 20, Edmondson Park, NSW Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 13Apr 30, 2016 7:34 am Stewie D The other thing to remember too is that apart from the drainage issues having a house lower than street level is that by not raising it up you are probably going to slice a lot of money off its resale value. A house around the corner from us is about 2m down from street level and they have had a lot of problems selling it. Others close by have sold easily. Stewie Absolutely right. Thanks for that. This makes the case for spending money for this stronger, not just the asthetics and drainage issues. Building Newport 20, Edmondson Park, NSW Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 14Apr 30, 2016 7:42 am Our builder confirmed, they do not do suspended slabs:( Their excuse is it delays the job and can result in structural issues! Whatever that is... I guess we have only one option then - fill with retaining walls. Changing builder might be a bit more ecpensive for us. Already finalised every internal and external selection with them, don't want to repeat it again. Its too hectic Building Newport 20, Edmondson Park, NSW Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 15Apr 30, 2016 8:42 am The house we live in now (it's about 18 years old not built by us) would be about 2m below street level. While aesthetically it's quite open from both the street and front window, we have issues with drainage during those occasional huge downpours of rain. The water from the street runs down our driveway like a river and the drains in front of the garage just can't cope. We've come close to flooding twice in a year, both neighbours did. It's only because we were home at the time and could cordon off the driveway at the top and madly sweep the water down the side of the house. Complete nightmare!!!! It's our main reason for moving and was our number one criteria when looking for our block of land. I'd never live on a block like this again. First time home buyers, we didn't know any better 5 years ago. Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 16Apr 30, 2016 8:47 am Just3ofus The house we live in now (it's about 18 years old not built by us) would be about 2m below street level. While aesthetically it's quite open from both the street and front window, we have issues with drainage during those occasional huge downpours of rain. The water from the street runs down our driveway like a river and the drains in front of the garage just can't cope. We've come close to flooding twice in a year, both neighbours did. It's only because we were home at the time and could cordon off the driveway at the top and madly sweep the water down the side of the house. Complete nightmare!!!! It's our main reason for moving and was our number one criteria when looking for our block of land. I'd never live on a block like this again. First time home buyers, we didn't know any better 5 years ago. Thanks for sharing your story Just3ofus. I had this question if the drainage infront of the garage is enough. Thanks for the confirmation. Building Newport 20, Edmondson Park, NSW Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 17Apr 30, 2016 9:43 am Just3ofus The house we live in now (it's about 18 years old not built by us) would be about 2m below street level. While aesthetically it's quite open from both the street and front window, we have issues with drainage during those occasional huge downpours of rain. The water from the street runs down our driveway like a river and the drains in front of the garage just can't cope. We've come close to flooding twice in a year, both neighbours did. It's only because we were home at the time and could cordon off the driveway at the top and madly sweep the water down the side of the house. Complete nightmare!!!! It's our main reason for moving and was our number one criteria when looking for our block of land. I'd never live on a block like this again. First time home buyers, we didn't know any better 5 years ago. I wonder if these days builders/engineers have improved with drainage? We are on a downwards sloping block and have no issues with drainage. Since we have been here we have had a couple big downpours. We designed our driveway with multiple angles and drainage points. We also have drainage in front of the house, in front of the garage (the side that faces the street) and down both sides of the house. Plus the front retaining walls have drainage also. We don't have any garden directly against the house on the 'up' side as there is drainage there. Admittingly we had issues in the very beginning but since the drainage was finished and the front gardens were planted out its been fine. Our house is a 10m setback (garage 10m and actual house is approx 16m setback) which I think makes a difference too. Being far away enough from the road ensures you don't feel like you're living in a cave. Haha! Also helps to ensure the driveway isn't as steep. We have a nice outlook from our front windows and can see the neighbours houses and cars driving past etc. Our lower level is on a slab and the front part of our upper level is on piers. I guess when building on a slope (regardless if it is up or down) you have to consider drainage in the design otherwise you will have issues down the track. Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 18May 01, 2016 9:36 am Stewie D The other thing to remember too is that apart from the drainage issues having a house lower than street level is that by not raising it up you are probably going to slice a lot of money off its resale value. A house around the corner from us is about 2m down from street level and they have had a lot of problems selling it. Others close by have sold easily. Stewie This is a really good point. You may not think so NOW - but who knows what's around the corner. $10k (?) on DLUG under might mean $50k down the track. Below street level might mean losing money. But - budget does count. All I can say is that your loan and repayments tend to stay the same - allowing for interest rates of course - and with inflation and time your salary goes up. So comparatively, if you can struggle for a few years you will turn the corner. Maybe take the loan for 30 years rather than 25 etc. Ask your lender what they recommend. Also - paying fortnightly is always a great way to get the balance down - ie 13 monthly payment per annum rather than 12. I always feel a little more now can mean a lot later. So tend to suggest you really think about Stewie's idea - even if it costs a little now. Also - my Garage idea. But - clearly - you must go with what you can afford. Re: Home lower than street level - possible options 19May 01, 2016 11:12 pm Saint Mike Stewie D The other thing to remember too is that apart from the drainage issues having a house lower than street level is that by not raising it up you are probably going to slice a lot of money off its resale value. A house around the corner from us is about 2m down from street level and they have had a lot of problems selling it. Others close by have sold easily. Stewie This is a really good point. You may not think so NOW - but who knows what's around the corner. $10k (?) on DLUG under might mean $50k down the track. Below street level might mean losing money. But - budget does count. All I can say is that your loan and repayments tend to stay the same - allowing for interest rates of course - and with inflation and time your salary goes up. So comparatively, if you can struggle for a few years you will turn the corner. Maybe take the loan for 30 years rather than 25 etc. Ask your lender what they recommend. Also - paying fortnightly is always a great way to get the balance down - ie 13 monthly payment per annum rather than 12. I always feel a little more now can mean a lot later. So tend to suggest you really think about Stewie's idea - even if it costs a little now. Also - my Garage idea. But - clearly - you must go with what you can afford. Thanks St Mike for your great advice. Have asked for couple of independent quotes as well as asked the builder. If it is within 15K inclusive only then we will be able to afford that. We already made the rookie mistake of settling the loan amout exactly to the dollar contract with the builder (we settled the loan for both land and build together, not a wise decision we now know ). We did not allow us any cushion if something out of ordinery comes along, like this. Now anything extra we have to source it ourselves Building Newport 20, Edmondson Park, NSW Hi there, We’ve recently had plans approved to add a 1st storey addition to our existing house for a growing family in Sydney. With the current cost of building… 0 4296 Thanks! I'm spoke to the builder I'm not sure if this is all true but basically went along the lines of they considered all options and if I was to compact and fill it… 2 7307 interesting situation what happened after builder issued final invoice? did you list as defect or not does the building surveyor have any responsibility? ie. issuing… 13 46960 |