Browse Forums Increasing Home Value 1 Oct 20, 2011 8:38 am Hi I wish to lift my timber cottage in the Richmond Valley Council, NSW and create a selfcontained apartment below, both for personal use and also to rent. The existing house above would also be rented independently. I spoke to an architect who raised concerns about fire proofing.... wanted to put a suspended slab between, so then suggested cost blow out and so recommended tear down cottage and start again. He identified how to fireproof ceiling however, he was concerned about preventing an upstairs fire impacted on downstairs. I have tried to establish this with council building inspector, however, they referred me to BSA.. any comments would be appreciated Penny Re: Raise cottage and build unit beneath 2Sep 20, 2014 4:24 pm Hi penny232, If your land area permits, you could roll your cottage to the rear of the block perhaps and save a lot of money. Then build whatever you want where it once was - town planning permit and car parking etc. needed either way it seems. Novel thought though... and there are very expensive hydraulic jacks that could possibly lift your cottage well clear of whatever fire proof slab you need, making it easier to construct the lower level, but sounds too costly still, Cheers, Leonardo_23 Re: Raise cottage and build unit beneath 3Apr 14, 2015 1:24 am House moving has a long and distinguished history in the states, and its morphed into house lifting in the urban San Francisco Bay Area where I live. Here the firms who own and operate the requisite equipment (computer-controled synchronized hydraulic jacks) are literally related -they are descendents of a family of builders who worked out appropriate techniques back at the turn of the 1900s. I'd suggest you find a firm that is actually experienced in the lifting, and ask them for referrals to builders or architects they've worked with in the past. We lifted our 1880s Victorian to build a granny flat and a laundry tall enough to accommodate the hubby. We were required to put in fire-resistant finishes wherever the two units shared a wall or floor/ceiling --but that was extra-thick plasterboard and nonflammable insulation, NOT floating cement! Chris On the threshold of retirement... and trying to check my assumptions at the door ok thanks - yes was wondering if that should have been listed as Option Three! 2 8054 i had the my concreters concrete right up to the fence. I have pits all along my path, so the water tends to drain away from the house and into the pits. There's only one… 7 13227 Hi All New to the forum and looking for some advice, has anyone else renovated an old miners cottage in or around Ballarat and been able to identify the flooring? We… 0 8958 |