Browse Forums Increasing Home Value 1 Aug 11, 2010 2:56 pm Hi All, A while ago my partner and I bought a 3 bedroom house in Mackay that is about 20 years old. It has an unusual layout, so we got together measured out the entire house and did a plan using Visio. We then did another plan of what renovations that we would like to do the new proposed layout of the house. We are going on holiday but when we get back we are going to start renovations, what I want to know is, Is it worth going to an architect or draughtmans to get professional plans done up for the house or will we be better off using the plan that we have come up with ourselves. We will need to do a bit of structural work but not much and there will be no extensions to the existing house other than making the current deck larger and converting the current attached double carport, to a double garage. What does everyone think? Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 2Aug 11, 2010 11:18 pm Hi, I am also using visio to house plans for an extension we are doing but I am them as a rough layout and then sending them to our draftsman to draw up properly. It might be a good idea to get them drawn up properly so you know exactly what your measurements are but it may mean you would need the land surveyed and thats prob not neccesary. . Also there going to be any implications with council about closing in your carport depending on how close to the boundary it currently is. Good luck with it all, very ecxiting when you see it all coming together Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 3Aug 12, 2010 10:43 am So this is the part I get confused about. Can we take our "ideas" to the council and then see where if we need to get proper plans or do we have to get proper plans done first then take it to the council. The other thing I am really confused about, is who do we ask about the possiblity of moving structural walls etc. We are only removing one and a half walls but need someone to come and check to see what we have to do. If they are structural or not? Is that just a builder? As for the carport, I have read on the forum that in VIC if the walls are 900mm or less to the boundary you need special fireproof walls. Our is 1600mm but I do not know if its different in Queensland. Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 4Aug 20, 2010 7:11 pm Sure, Visio is great for helping you know what to do (I use it all the time), however 1) You can't submit half-concocted plans to council, but you can certainly draw up a concept plan and go down for a 'chat'. They will advise what steps you need to take from then on, including development conditions ("planning controls") that apply to your property. This will include a pointer to resources to determine possibly imposed 'fire ratings' needed for certain structures. 2) Discuss your concept with a builder to determine structural requirements. If you are reasonably sure about what you want to do you *might* be able to get an estimate for the job (he certainly won't if you aren't specific). 3) When you have a good idea of what you can build, as Bendo said, get a draftsman to draw it up, because you can't underestimate the nuances in the plans that make a BIG difference to both the council and builders. The draftsman should advise if he can't draw it up without engineers/architects advice. You can then get accurate quotes for the job if you aren't owner building, and you'll have plans that match to submit to council if needed. It's not the precise and spunky nature of the Visio generated plans that the council/builders are looking for. They don't care if it's completely hand drawn as long as all the required elements are there, and if you don't know what the required elements are you should get a draftsman/architect to do it. Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 5Sep 17, 2010 8:50 pm We are in the building industry and we have always decided our own plans/renos etc. With the last house though, we plan on staying here for a very very long time. Have decided to get the architects at my work to nut out a few details that we cant decide on. Have worked out everything for the lounge, foyer, kitchen, family etc, etc. The only prob is we cant decide on relationship between the lounge and foyer and I also want to add study nooks in there also. Have wrecked our brains so its now off to the professionals. I think it depends on how important the plans are for you. Do you plan on making this your last house? If so, I'd go architect for sure. They have some great ideas well worth the money I think. If you plan on short term ownership, save your money until you decide to do all over again. Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 6Apr 15, 2011 9:17 pm Depends on how confident you are about how it will turn out. Im sure if your like us you have measured all your rooms and stood for hours trying to picture how it would work. Considaring its all internal I dont think you need councils permission for minor internal works but you can discuss it with a town planner and get your plans stamped incase someone cones knocking on your door about that wet saw waking them up! Make your own Organic Vegetable Patch, Learn How to Build a Pergola http://www.homestyledesign.com.au Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 7Jun 13, 2011 3:12 pm Hi Mel_h Structural walls are something you will need council approval on. I'd suggest you get a drafts person to draw up plans to submit to council. You will probably need an electrical & water plan for your tradespeople too. Photocopy the plan that the drafts person does and use that with your quoting with tradespeople. They are very familiar with these sorts of plans and you'll get better quoting on jobs when you do it this way Holly Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 9Dec 02, 2012 7:23 am Are you in Queensland? I think you need to go through council if it's more than $10K. Just ring council and they will tell you. When doing inside renovations it's usually the cost that determines this. Over a certain amount you can't do owner builder. I know it's more restrictive in Queensland than it is in NSW. Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 10Jul 31, 2013 9:28 pm Helllo Mel_h, First of all congrats for this home . Using visio is a good idea but renovating a house from scratch is a big investment and it takes a lot of time and money, so you must plan in way that you don't need to repent later by using some easy solution. Do a permanent work whether you have to hire professional so that you can confidently invite guests and show off your home. Re: Renovations: Do we need a professional design plan or no 11Jun 05, 2015 8:20 pm Choosing a best professional design plan for your house is great! 6 55346 Thank you so much for the effort. We will use it to talk with builder. We also had idea of building duplex instead and seeking suggest ions. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106744 11 13835 i thought the flipped plan initially but bec i want narrow pathway from entry to dining (dont like bend), also cannot fit the… 7 17278 |