Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Bushfire requirements 7Jun 10, 2009 3:07 pm My Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=29109 Site Start: 5th January 2010 Base stage completed: 24th January 2010 Re: Bushfire requirements 14Jun 10, 2009 8:16 pm We are building on the edge of a small town. Our lot is part of an acreage development - lots between 2 and 6 acres. Across the road from us is just pasture, but there is a bush reserve about 1 km south of us and we also have large scattered gums on and near our block. Our block has been rated BAL12.5, which means that it is in an ember attack zone. At this level, the modifications are designed to prevent ember entry into the home. They include aluminium flyscreens to all windows, screen doors on all doors. metal mesh (ember guards) covering all weep holes in the brick and all vents or other openings in the roof, "Emb-a-seal" around the garage door to prevent ember entry into the garage, and 4mm safety glass on all windows within 400 mm of the ground. It also requires full sarking of the roof with no gaps anywhere, colorbond flashing between the gutter and the roof and "eaves constructed with 4.5 mm fibre cement sheeting with PVC joiners" - but I'm not sure how these latter things differ from standard construction. Our builder says that they are charging a flat rate of $4,000 for houses that they build in BAL12.5 zones rather than calculating the individual costs for each house. The problem we have with this is that we had already included some of the things listed above - flyscreens on all windows, upgraded glass and roof sarking. So we seem to be paying double for some things. So I have asked the builder about getting some sort of credit or discount on the $4,000 fee. Also, we had been planning on putting in timber windows - either meranti or western red cedar, but in the BAL12.5 zone we cannot have exposed meranti or cedar (I guess because they burn too easily?), so we have had to upgrade all our windows to KD hardwood. All in all, I don't think the requirements are too bad. Yes it costs quite a lot of money, but it will make the house more able to withstand the inevitable ember attack if we have a large fire anywhere in our vicinity. I just hope that builders do not use this as an opportunity to extract more money from their customers. My builder did not charge a fee to do the BAL assessment. If you look at the guidelines (see http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/re ... L_Guide_(3).pdf), it is hard to imagine why a builder would charge over $200 to do the assessment. Are they saying that someone spent hours making the determination? Re: Bushfire requirements 15Jun 10, 2009 8:33 pm oh god that is a lot of money. And that is low risk, 1sttimer? I'd hate to imagine how much is would be for high risk areas!! Hiker, did your builder say that they would provide you with a credit? It would only seem fair. Building the Trinity - Waiting to sign contracts Re: Bushfire requirements 16Jun 10, 2009 8:45 pm yup that is for zone 1, the lowest zone.....i believe zone 3 can cost as much as 10,000 to 15,000. Re: Bushfire requirements 18Jun 10, 2009 9:07 pm I haven't yet received a reply about a credit. I think this is something that anyone thinking of buying a country block of land should now consider before purchasing the land. We bought our land before these new regulations came into effect. If I were buying any land now I would definitely include a contingency clause in the contract: "subject to a satisfactory BAL assessment report" and then get the assessment done before completing the purchase. I found the following brochure to be a good guide to what is required a the various BAL levels: http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/re ... arch10.pdf Re: Bushfire requirements 19Jun 10, 2009 11:29 pm The Building Codes are stratified according to the level of risk to the dwelling e.g. low, medium, high, extreme. Any building at risk must be built to minimise its vulnerability to ember attack (the most frequent cause for houses to burn down) which can strike even when the fire front is kilometres away. The risk profile is then calculated on the degree of exposure to direct radiant heat. The closer the vegetation (fuel) is to the house, the more vulnerable is the dwelling. Standard windows cannot withstand the fierce radiant heat generated by burning proximate shrubs or trees. Once they shatter your house is a goner, fire quickly engulfs the interior and the structure collapses. A good rule of thumb is that the safest distance a house should be from a nearby tree is 2.5 x the height of that tree. Clearing vegetation markedly improves the chances of your house standing. In SA, the risk is assessed by a member of the Country Fire Service who then submits a report to the council prior to building approval. It will make a request that the design is compliant with the stated risk. A couple useful links are: http://www.metrobs.com.au/key_bush.html http://www.esa.act.gov.au/ESAWebsite/co ... uction.pdf If you really live in bushfire prone area then I would highly recommend: The Complete Bushfire Safety Book (out of print, but available on Amazon) or Essential Bushfire Safety Tips by Joan Webster The information is well summarised and referenced. The evidence is based on research and coronial inquests following disasters such as Ash Wednesday. Re: Bushfire requirements 20Jun 10, 2009 11:53 pm More info from the CFA. http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/residents/building/risk.htm A very useful site for those wishing to live in a bushfire risk zone. This was on google. Development controls 2.3.1 Front setback D1 New buildings within residential areas shall adhere to a front building line, which is 5.5-6m to the… 1 3665 I'm wondering if anyone knows what the requirements are of a builder to be eligible to hold Domestic Building Insurance for proposed works. https://www.dbi.vmia.vic.gov.au… 0 3334 |