Building under the back half of my Queenslander -Woodend QLD

Hi All, My wife and I purchased a renovated qld'er in a very nice suburb of Ipswich with lots of nice old heritage listed colonials. We purchased the house about 18months ago with the intention of not necessarily staying forever....we have since fallen in love with the area and the home and now would like to explore building downstairs before we start a family.

The house is on a gradual sloping 850sqm block with limited side access. The stumps are the original timer ones and despite most likely needing to be replaced in the next few years are in reasonable condition for there age. The house is about 800-1000mm off the ground at the front and at its highest point is 2400 at the back.

The Plan:

I would like to avoid having to raise the house due to the extra cost, I am no expert but I do believe with some small excavation work I will be able create legal building height by cutting 600mm in the heights point into the block. (Despite pictures shown we are only planning to build half way up underneath where current height is 1800mm. We would need to escavate extra amounts to allow for concrete slab. There is some concrete already under the house but is only 80mm deep which would need to be removed.

The idea is to create an extra 2 bedrooms + living area and bathroom with access through an internal staircase in the upstairs sleepout opening up to patio/alfresco underneath the existing upstairs deck. There is an existing toilet downstairs which is where the new bathroom would be located so sewage and water supply exists in the prime location.

I am not sure whether I should replace all of the stumps using timber at the front (for originality) and in the area we are building to use narrower metal stumps.

We don't want to just pay someone to do the entire thing from start to finish as this will prove to be very costly. My brother can do all the electrical work as he is an electrician.

Questions.

Where do we start?
Who would I use to get plans drawn up?
Do I need an owner builder licence or similar?
What type of slab would be required?
Would I need to get soil tests done?
What costs will be involved?
What should I look out for?
What do you think this will cost me done right and cost effectively?
When building underneath what would the most cost effective way of building the external walls? Weatherboard or brick?? (This will not be visable from the right hand side pictured or the front)
Would you use VJ paneling for the interior walls and roof same as upstairs or use plasterboard?

I will update as we go, I have a couple of photos of the house but will take some more photos this week of the areas under the house and at the back so give more understanding of what we are doing.

Please feel free to give advise and recommend trades and estimated costs to do individual things.




Thanks Sam

anyone?

Hi Sam,
I am not able to help with all your questions (partly as I am in NSW) but from a resale point of view (having done this a lot) I know it is best to try to stick as true to the original as possible. So VJ boards would be great- and matching architraves/skirtings etc as well as windows.
For hardware, handles etc perhaps try our site www.restorationonline.com.au for products to match your existing ones. For advice on matching handles etc give us a call on 02 6355 2003 or post a photo and we will do our best.
Good luck with it- it looks like a lovely home.

You should get a draftsman involved to draw up some plans. They would also be able to give you an idea of cost. Before you submitted plans to the council, I'd get a couple of builders in to give you a better idea of how much based on the plans.

Stewie

Hi Sam

I have done a few similar projects in the ipswich area before.

Start with plans
Kings architectual engineering are very familiar with these sorts of projects as far as drafting goes
If you want to organise your own trades then yes you need an owner builders licence
Slab type would depend on the soil test
You would most definatly need a soil test, Kings can include this and design the slab based of the results
With out a bit of a mud map as a starting plan its hard to give an estimate, plans and approval can add to 5K before you start
Keep to the same weatherboard (my opinion) also would be easier and cheaper
I prefer plaster cealing with vj walls, but have done it both ways

If you need any other help/advice or would like an estimate on some of the work just let me know
Andrew

Hi mate.

Hope your plans are going well. I came across your message and realised that I am wanting to embark on doing something similar to my Queenslander in Norman Park. Just wanted to find out how you're going and how much has it ended up costing you?

Any pointers would be much appreciated.