Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 28, 2018 4:33 pm Hi Guys, I have over layed my preferred house sitting over the contour plan of my lot. I am building in Schofields, NSW so under Blacktown Council. I would like help and your suggestions on understanding the best FFL for the house. As i understand the contour and house designs, the survey has assumed RL 20 as base line: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ (1) The Road sits at 19.91 RL to Top of Kerb. (2) The 3.2 meter crossover could have approx ~1.2% gradient, therefore an RL of 20.35 at the boundary line of the property. Is this right? (3) Setback to top of garage is 5.5 meters from boundary line. (4) Considering i would have to recess the garage, say we have the garage at a FFL of 21.00, that is a 12% gradient. I'm told this is the maximum for optimum use. Is this right? or Can i go higher? Or should i push the house backwards by a meter? Or should i be looking to raise the house as much as i could? (5) Now considering the rest of the house is cut and fill, if i were to design the entry into the house from the garage with only one step of 180mm, this would limit the FFL of the house at 21.36 at one level all though. This seems okay for most of the house, right up until we get to the backyard. (6) The above calculation is considering the garage is level. If the garage could be slopped at 2% gradient. The garage would rise another 100mm through its length towards the back end. Not sure if people include for a slope in their garage? If they did the garage ends at an RL of 21.10 and the rest of the house slab has an FFL of 21.46. (7) Backyard is about 8.7 meters long on a slope- Gosh! What have we got here! This is where i tend to get lost and need ideas. I would prefer a level backyard, but that means removing tons of soil and about 1.5 meter retaining wall along the north-east end of the lot. Don't see that happening. (8) What i'm currently thinking - level up backyard by at least 4 meters so its usable. That's still a lot of soil needing to be cut from 22.6 to 21.36 Rl to be flush with the house. That's already a 1.3 meter tall retaining wall in the middle of the house. (9) The rest of 4.5 meters i'm think of having stepped / terraced yard to get to the back which would be leveled at 22.4 RL. I know this would turn out to be expensive with plenty of excavation. Any estimation on costs? What things should i be looking at earlier to start of building, so that it may be cheaper/ easier to do? Thanks Heaps Re: Contour Plans - RL's; Driveway Gradients and Backyard- P 2Jul 02, 2018 5:21 pm So, I have managed to get my soil report for the lot as well. As i make understanding of my limited geo-tech engineering, H1 class slab is required, with piering in places to the depth of 1m if necessary? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I have no clear account for site costs yet. But there is a provisional sum for these on the sales estimate: (1) 3000 for additional earthworks (2) 2800 for upgrade to H1 slab (3) 2500 saline soil requirements (i did not come across any measure on salinity for the soil; so am i missing something? - Could this cost be avoided?) (4) Another 3000$ for drop edge beams There is another 10k estimate for house & garage stepdown, which i think would be necessary. I hope to have a clearer understanding of these costs at my tender appointment next week. If any one feels the costs are slim and i should be concerned (Or) if the costs are excessive and can be trimmed, please let me know. Two very different surveys. Contour survey identifies the boundary pegs or which ones are missing the spot heights across the block to create the contour lines and… 1 873 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair That laser level looks lovely! We bought one for less than a quarter of that price off eBay. It worked really well for us and it's still going now, five years later. After… 1 13278 It's possible but a soak well is usually much larger. Your 'soak well' only holds 424 litres when full. What is your soil type? Soak wells need sandy soils. 10 6169 |