Browse Forums Buying Land 1 Sep 01, 2014 3:22 pm Hi all, I am wondering if there is anyone on here who has or is building in the Serpentine Downs estate (WA)? I want to know what people have or are spending on site works and septic tanks? Anyone who has any feedback on this estate and their building experience would be muchly appreciated! We are very excited... and look forward to joining the community out there. Hopefully it is a smooth process and we are in our brand new home within 18months time! Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 2Sep 03, 2014 8:15 pm Hi Hanssonfam! We are building in Serpentine downs, generally the builder you choose will know more about the cost of site works once they have done the site survey, depends on which section and how high you are off of the water table, the developer will be able to give you this info if you are buying through them as it is in the Annexure where the ground levels need to be brought up to, our block is fairly sandy with a clay base deep down so we needed deeper footings than a usual (say in Baldivis for example) we had budgeted roughly $50,000 purely because of the clay content of the area ours came in at just under $23,000. Have you purchased a block yet? If so or if you do end up doing it there is a couple of things you should know.. we purchased our block in November last year, and we cannot wait to get out there! We have already been told by many people out there that we will love it second thing is there is no postal service to the houses so get your name on the list at the post office in town asap so you don't wait too long we only have a slab and picked up our post box keys yesterday RE: the septics, there are a couple of popular options one is the filtrex leach drain system which is what a lot of people have chosen, the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale are very helpful with any information you need re: septic units that they will accept. We had to go with an ATU (Automated Treatment Unit) as it is a smaller unit in size it could be put in our building envelope a lot easier, it does have a twice yearly service required though. We were happy to have the service over the size and the leach drains need to have sand mounded over the top, driving around you will see some positioning of these units leave you scratching your head a little bit. Some of the project builders wont build in Serpentine, and some have a loading fee (ours didn't) Have a read through our thread if you like theres a few pics there too, hope to hear more about your build in the future. Our build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66620 Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 3Sep 03, 2014 9:46 pm Thanks for your response swc68 That is all very good to know. I do realise we wont know actual site work costs till the block can be surveyed...I just wanted a rough idea of what people out there are generally paying as we have a budget and I am trying to work out if it will be possible to stick to :/ We have bought a block that is subject to being valued early next year (titles arent till March 2015 & bank wont value till it is within 12 or so weeks of that). We have a builder...and no loading either (yay) great to hear your slab is down. You must be very excited! So you say the annexure will give us a better idea of costing of siteworks? Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 4Sep 04, 2014 9:16 am It will tell you the height that the sand pad level where it sits now and where it needs to come up to. In ours it was in a table format showing each lot number. Did you buy in the new release? That will be off of Lefroy? If you did great views in there!! We agreed to buy in May 2013 and our titles came through in November, look forward to seeing your curbs Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 5Sep 04, 2014 10:19 am Ok great will have a look Yes in the new release...rangeview loop Thank you! So do I Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 6Sep 08, 2014 7:21 pm gday hansson fam and speedwaychik family okay here goes in serpentine downs estate there is 2 site classifications which are M class which is clay and A class which is sand between the both there is substancial price difference in siteworks the bestway to clarify this is you can call structere to get them to drill 3 bore holes and they will tell you what site classifacation it is aswell as what footing you will need aswell as do you need to raise your pad height this costs 1250 to do this but it will be money well spent also get it addressed in your builders name then they will use this when time to build for example we are building on tranby ave 2nd from the corner which is a A class site with clay detected in the area so we needed a b1 footing which was 4100 and on top of that level and compact which was 3100 so total siteworks 7200 but we also put a offer on stage 6 hardy rd and that was M class block which is a c6 footing 19000 plus a 600mm sandpad 12000 so there is a big difference between the 2 classes. for septics there is 2 systems which are filtrex and a alternative treatment plant ATU. filtrex system is similiar to the old leach drain systems only difference is they put a special dirt and heshing over the drains because it contains chemicals that wont be able to leach in the ground. ATU is a mini waste treatment plant which recycles all household water and waters your garden or lawn via subsurface irrigation or subsurface which sj shire prefer subsurface so no humans can come in contact with the water even though it is treated. filtrex is roughly 14500 for a 4x2 and we went a ATU which is quite easy to install yourself and i went biocycle and payed 11700 all up. i have posted a bit of info on here for you which hope it doesnt do your head in but you need to be clued up because your builder will give you a ball park figure but they wouldnt have a clue until that geo tech report is done . we know 3 people who have built on rangeview loop and there site costs were 55000 70000 68000 all m cass sites which is clay but the other end could be A class blocks fingers crossed i bet we absolutely love it out here kids everywhere trees to climb nice people stunning views i could say we would have come out to our block at least 100 times just to check to say wow our water metre is here or look foot prints builders been here lol it is great fun building best of luck to all building in here great lifestyle great blocks kids can be kids cheers castleclan 40 Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 7Sep 09, 2014 5:33 pm wow thats a lot of info castleclan40 well done is your the build with the 'barn style' shed? Our build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66620 Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 8Sep 10, 2014 12:31 am gday speedway yes the red shed cant say the other word developer doesnt like them lol yes i agree that was a lot of info i posted did my head in aswell we have been looking in this area for 4 years and i reckon weve been on nearly every block things we do lol we love your brick choice tumbled looks stunning especially out here hopefully we get our keys end of october been a pretty smooth build . construction is the quick part its the paperwork and shire approval which is painful we hope you enjoy your build its well worth the wait and driving past 1000 times if like us lol regards castleclan Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 9Sep 11, 2014 12:02 am Lol yes know what you mean I will come say Hi next time we are both out there Our build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66620 Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 10Nov 25, 2014 3:48 pm Hi Guys, We have just signed up one of the plots on Rangeview Loop, Titled in March We have signed up with Content-living, love the look of the area and the views to the Darling Range look fantastic, cant wait to start building. Me and my wife have been down there every Sunday for the last 4 weeks and had a walk round and met some of the Neighbours. One question, what happens to the storm water drains, we previously built in Baldivis and put soakwells in, but we were well above the water table? Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 11Nov 25, 2014 5:07 pm We have a filtrex ATU as well. The cells are huge. Make sure you site them in the right place as you can't grow anything deep rooted (or vegies) on the top. DH didn't realise how big they were or he would have sited them differently (and I didn't check cos I left him to it!) Here's a tip: don't buy any more "antibacterial" products: cleaners, disinfectants, handwash, etc because they destroy the bacteria in the cells. Try out the cleaning products that are greywater safe and aren't antibacterial, so you will be used to the brands etc once you move in. Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 12Dec 06, 2014 1:55 pm Treeseachanger We have a filtrex ATU as well. The cells are huge. Make sure you site them in the right place as you can't grow anything deep rooted (or vegies) on the top. DH didn't realise how big they were or he would have sited them differently (and I didn't check cos I left him to it!) Here's a tip: don't buy any more "antibacterial" products: cleaners, disinfectants, handwash, etc because they destroy the bacteria in the cells. Try out the cleaning products that are greywater safe and aren't antibacterial, so you will be used to the brands etc once you move in. Great advice Trees I have been using the "earth" brands for a while now to get used to them, what type have you been using other then non antibacterial? Our build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66620 Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 13Dec 06, 2014 4:28 pm I just use normal handwash and make sure the water is hotter and I wash my hands for longer (the old fashioned way but it works). Also pay attention to dirt in nails. It's amazing how many germs hot soapy water will kill. If I need to use bleach or disinfectant on something, I just empty the water outside onto some weeds (good way to kill them). Check out www.lanfaxlabs.com.au if you want to use your greywater on the garden, they have to be Phosphate free and low salt detergents. Just a few products I know are safe and low P: dishwasher brands Earth Choice, Ecostore, Morning Fresh, Palmolive Eco, Enviroclean powder/tablets are safe. Clorax, Duck and Earth choice toilet cleaners are otoo. Other cleaning products, Ajax cream cleanser, Orange Power, Handy Andy, Go Clean Go Green, Enviroclean, Ecostore Multipurpose, Ecostore cream cleanser, etc ....there is actually a good choice of products you can use. Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 14Dec 09, 2014 10:36 pm Rick_PF Hi Guys, We have just signed up one of the plots on Rangeview Loop, Titled in March We have signed up with Content-living, love the look of the area and the views to the Darling Range look fantastic, cant wait to start building. Me and my wife have been down there every Sunday for the last 4 weeks and had a walk round and met some of the Neighbours. One question, what happens to the storm water drains, we previously built in Baldivis and put soakwells in, but we were well above the water table? We have two very large soakwells draining off of our house, it was still a requirement. Do you have an easement on or near your block? Some of the blocks in our stage had it but not all of them. You will be quite a bit lower than in Baldivis I would assume you will have to build up the height of your pad also, looking forward to following your build too Our build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66620 Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 15Dec 11, 2014 10:29 am Speedwaychick68 Rick_PF Hi Guys, We have just signed up one of the plots on Rangeview Loop, Titled in March We have signed up with Content-living, love the look of the area and the views to the Darling Range look fantastic, cant wait to start building. Me and my wife have been down there every Sunday for the last 4 weeks and had a walk round and met some of the Neighbours. One question, what happens to the storm water drains, we previously built in Baldivis and put soakwells in, but we were well above the water table? We have two very large soakwells draining off of our house, it was still a requirement. Do you have an easement on or near your block? Some of the blocks in our stage had it but not all of them. You will be quite a bit lower than in Baldivis I would assume you will have to build up the height of your pad also, looking forward to following your build too Thanks Speedway, yes a lot lower than Baldivis. Yes we have a small easement at the back of our block and we have to build our slab up by around 850mm. Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 16Dec 13, 2014 9:22 am Rick_PF Speedwaychick68 Rick_PF Hi Guys, We have just signed up one of the plots on Rangeview Loop, Titled in March We have signed up with Content-living, love the look of the area and the views to the Darling Range look fantastic, cant wait to start building. Me and my wife have been down there every Sunday for the last 4 weeks and had a walk round and met some of the Neighbours. One question, what happens to the storm water drains, we previously built in Baldivis and put soakwells in, but we were well above the water table? We have two very large soakwells draining off of our house, it was still a requirement. Do you have an easement on or near your block? Some of the blocks in our stage had it but not all of them. You will be quite a bit lower than in Baldivis I would assume you will have to build up the height of your pad also, looking forward to following your build too Thanks Speedway, yes a lot lower than Baldivis. Yes we have a small easement at the back of our block and we have to build our slab up by around 850mm. I think you need a thread rick so that Hanssonfam doesn't get overloaded with emails Our build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66620 Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 17May 17, 2015 9:37 pm Finally have titles (have for about a month). Signed off on Septic system on Friday just gone. Went with the big Filtrex System. One we don't have to do anything to for the most part. Have pre start tomorrow. All very exciting Our site works came in at budget... and the house sand pad was lower than expected. All smiles here. Just cant wait to get out there! Do any of you have children at the Serpentine Primary? Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 19May 26, 2015 5:00 pm Not in Serpy Downs but we are starting a build just across the way. Signed in February with Cachet homes but have been getting no end of paperwork delays! Just trying to decide on leach unit for council approval so we can finally get things moving :p Re: Building in Serpentine Downs!! 20May 30, 2015 5:27 pm Camowen77 Not in Serpy Downs but we are starting a build just across the way. Signed in February with Cachet homes but have been getting no end of paperwork delays! Just trying to decide on leach unit for council approval so we can finally get things moving :p What do you mean by just across? Other side of hwy or other side of railway track? We went with the Filtrex Septic system... have you decided yet? Even if it's not being sub-divided and you want to keep it as Torrens title, you will still need to talk to a town planner or Council themselves, to see if they will allow… 1 11521 Not unless you have managed to put it as a special condition into the contract somehow. 1 6424 I do enjoy the drama:-D In his latest two videos he has started bringing security guards to site, I am waiting for the punch on to begin lol 6 46070 |