Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 19, 2020 10:41 pm Hi, New to this forum, but it's great. Been reading a lot of the posts. My professional background is a bit of a mixed bag of architecture, interior design, 3D visualisation and graphic design. I've got enough knowledge of computer programs to build up a set of concept plans in AutoCAD (Floor, Ceiling, Elevations, Sections, Joinery Elevations etc) + draw and render a set of 3D visuals in SketchUp/Vray - but not enough knowledge to complete an entire planning process or set of tender/construction drawings myself. My wife and I are looking at this massive piece of land to build a long but "skinny" house using what we think (hope) will be cheap / standard materials. Conrete slab, concrete blocks etc. Effectively something like a combo of this https://www.archdaily.com/8178/silent-house-takao-shiotsuka-atelier & this https://www.archdaily.com/776909/vila-matilde-house-terra-e-tuma-arquitetos plus a little lap pool & full size indoor concrete Basketball Court at the back. The idea is to start a new family and effectively grow and expand it into a big compound for when the kids are older. We are wondering what is actually possible vs what is impossible as we have absolutely no idea what something like this would cost. We're not cashed by any stretch so this place won't be on Grand Designs etc. But my thought is to at least get the main structure up and a roof over our heads. Loose furniture we will just use what we have or use IKEA/Gumtree etc. My plan is to hand over my concepts to an Architect to fine tune the concept, prepare & complete the planning application and construction drawings,and then manage the build from start to finish. Outlined below is more detail: I've started a drawing very basic floor plan in AutoCAD with all the walls based on a 390x190x190 concrete block with 10mm grout. Ideally to be built in two stages - HOUSE to be completed first. BASKETBALL COURT to be completed later if way over budget. Stage 1 - HOUSE = floor slab is 330m2 approx. (a long rectangle) & Floor to Ceiling would be 2400mm -Single-storey -Double Garage -3 Bedrooms (1 master w/ ensuite & walk-in robe + 2 regular w/ built in cupboards joinery) -1 Bathroom (w/ shower, toilet, sink) -1 Separate small guest toilet -1 Laundry -1 Kitchen (stainless steel joinery w/ walk-in pantry/store room) incorporated with Open Plan Living Room -1 Study -1 Lap Pool (concrete) -1 Stair up to usable outdoor concrete slab rooftop (to sit and have dinner on in summer) -AirCon/Heating -Good built in Ethernet connection & WiFi connectivity -Solar Panels -Rain Water Tanks -Polished concrete floor throughout -Concrete block external and internal walls (insulated if possibele) -Concrete ceiling -Floor to ceiling glass windows & sliders -Floor to ceiling swing doors throughout internal rooms -Gravel driveway -Minimal landscaping (use what's already on the site) Stage 2 - BASKETBALL COURT = floor slab is 630m2 & Floor to Ceiling would be 4800mm approx (double the main house). -Full size NBA Court -Concrete floor -Vinyl or painted line Work -Two basketball rings Basically, before putting an offer down for the land, it's a big ask but if anyone would be kind enough to advise a very very rough ballpark number on what this would cost for both stages that would be an amazing help. If someone says $3million, then I'm cancelling the dream... If someone says STAGE 1 could be done for $400K & STAGE 2 could be done for $100k I think we'll go ahead! Thanks guys Re: Long House 8.2m W x 40m L (plus Basketball Court)? 2Jun 20, 2020 12:31 am Definetely much more than $500K. $1M+ will be the building costs only, depending on where you are located. You would need to insulate + render concrete blocks. Probably worth considering ICF construction or building house from light concrete using Hebel AAC blocks. There is also possible to build walls using Dincel or pre-cast concrete panels, etc. which will require insulation over. AAC and ICF won't be requiring any extra insulation, but you would need 250-300 mm walls. Re: Long House 8.2m W x 40m L (plus Basketball Court)? 3Jun 20, 2020 11:30 am I see you mentioned Grand Designs, are you a fan? I love the show! One thing I'll say about the show - I've watched most of the British episodes - a common theme in many of the builds is "I WISH I'D BUILT A SMALLER HOME". I've never heard anyone say I wished I'd built a larger home, but often they say they've built to big. They've bitten off more than they can chew! It's costing way more money than they expected, & could bankrupt them. Their mortgage is huge & they'll be posting off forever, of they're luck enough to even service the debt. It's taking far longer than expected, with endless stresses of making decisions about the build, & endless bills rolling in. One the build is finished they realise that a larger home costs more to heat & cool, maintain, & takes longer to clean. So I'd say, 300sqm is huge. The average Australian home is 240sqm, the largest anywhere in the world. Actually 3 times larger than the average home in the UK, where house sizes are shrinking! Do we need all of this extra space? No we don't! Not only is a large home bad for your wallet, it's horrible for the environment. One average, the energy (& emissions) it takes to build a home, called the 'embodied energy', is 15 times the annual operational energy. So it takes a lot of energy to build a home, creating a lot of emissions. So even if you've got solar panels on that roof of your large home, & water tanks, you really haven't build a sustainable home. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/embodied-energy A large home also means a larger block (of the outdoor areas are the same proportions). Larger blocks mean more urban sprawl. If you were horrified my the images of the koalas dying in the bushfires, thing about this fact. Before the fires koalas were already classified as a vulnerable species, moving towards a threatened species. Why? Due to loss of habitat, much of it created by urban sprawl. The same can be said for the platypus. If you care about Australian wildlife, & the future of your children, you'll take these points into consideration. SO BUILD SMALLER! Less debt, less stress, less time to build. Cheaper to heat & cool, & maintain. Quicker to clean! Build small, but smart. Use smart storage solutions. Don't build more rooms than you need. Use multipurpose rooms, that can do double duty. Whether they can be a second living room, an office, a guest bedroom, a craft room, a bathroom that's also the laundry. Children don't need 10sqm bedrooms, with double beds. Along with building a smaller home, the best thing you can do is orientate your home correctly, so your polished concrete floors will receive winter sunshine, but will be shaded in summer (as the sun is higher in the sky). Orientating your home correctly, with north facing living areas will not only ensure your home is lighter, & more comfortable, you'll also have lower energy bills for heating & cooling. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design So, what is the orientation of the block? Will it be possible to face your living areas to the north, without being overshadowed by neighbours, or trees. Will there be privacy issues if living areas face this direction. You also want very few western windows, particularly in habitable rooms. West facing bedrooms can be a nightmare, stifling hot in summer. So will this block allow you to have bedrooms that face south or east (or even north, if there's excess room here after facing the living areas to the north). While you're at it, what climate would you be building in? Cairns had very different requirements to Melbourne or Canberra. Last point, use sustainable materials. When sustainably sourced, timber is much more sustainable than steel or concrete. Concrete has HUGE embodied energy - due to cement production - this can be decreased by using fly ash, a waste product. Not only does fly ash lower the embodied energy of concrete, it improve long term strength & resilience to the environment (concrete cancer). Re: Long House 8.2m W x 40m L (plus Basketball Court)? 4Jun 20, 2020 4:36 pm I would think about $3000sqm, so maybe $900K as a starting point, while you say you want to build using cheap/standard products, there is nothing standard about polished concrete floors, concrete ceilings, floor to ceiling windows and doors, stainless kitchen etc, that is where the $$$$ increase from a project home cost of $1500sqm to starting from $3000sqm, add in your pool, and basic landscaping, your at a million before you start (assume there is difficult site access, as its so narrow. The basketball court, well who knows, but there would be $$$$ in steel to get walls at that height with no cross supports, surely?? I’m just someone building my 4th home, this and my last were custom builds, so have an idea of how quickly a standard build can creep into wanting all the luxuries. Think about tiles for example, surely you’ll get to bathrooms and want floor to ceiling tiling $$$$ Nice front door $$$$ Rain head shower $$$ Nice appliances $$$$ If you really happy to go to Bunnings and buy basic Chinese imports you may have a chance on doing it cheaper, but think about the quality of fixtures etc Re: Long House 8.2m W x 40m L (plus Basketball Court)? 5Aug 18, 2020 11:45 pm HI Gogo, Since you are a veteran in Australian build, have you used any alternative materials so far? I am jut looking for alternative to brick veneer which in my personal opinion is waste of brick since it has no structural bearing and i dont even like brick look. Anything that would come to similar cost? is my understanding that ICF with poured concrete in it comes at a high cost? I am in my start of the build journey and trying to hear as many stories and opinions as possible. Many thanks I've filled, levelled and compacted around 100mm of roadbase in preparation to lay some outdoor court tiles. Prior to doing the final compaction, I dusted the top with… 0 3041 1000000% definitely add insulation. I have in my home and it makes a big difference minimising sound transfer. Insulation is pretty cheap and definitely worth it 2 6173 We are building a house that was planned to be clad in Hardie Linea, our builder has now requested to swap this for BGC Nuline Plus. They look fairly similar and he has… 0 550 |