Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 04, 2012 2:18 pm Hello All, This is my first post here, after doing lots of reading. Your advice to eachother is great and I'm hoping someone can guide me in the right direction. We settled on our property 6 weeks ago. 10 acres in the north west of sydney (hawkesbury region). We know we need to start looking at water tanks, sewerage systems, electricity, house plans, etc. However, which one first! So this is our story... Initially we have decided we need to build a shed with 3phase power to start with, a suitable water tank (perhaps one that can also be linked to the house) and sewerage system. We are considering putting in a DA approval for that initially and then following up with the house plans. Does anyone know if this is a good idea, or how much more will this cost? To explain further, we will not be building a project home. It is most likely to be a kit home/or building contractor custom design. We have not decided yet. Budget will decide alot. Our block is predominantly bush, with a couple of cleared acres. I'm keen to get the "experts" to the site to create something that is best for the property and for us. However, we fully intend to do alot of the internal work ourselves. And this is where I need help... and here come the questions!! +does anyone know of/recommend a concrete water tank builder (greater than 110,000L) in the north west region of Sydney? +can anyone recommend a sewerage system/supplier for this size of property? +is it a better idea to get one person to put manage everything from beginning to end, i.e. the long term house builder, or we should manage the initial builds, i.e. the watertank, etc and contract a builder for the house? +I am not local to Sydney or Australia for that matter, so if anyone has recommendations for architects/builders/home designs in our area, it would be great. +Just wondering if anyone has dealt with Harakaway homes in Vic, any comments, recommendations, etc? Ok, thats all I can think of now... so I look forward to your responses... All at once! (I'll explain the name later ) Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 2Oct 04, 2012 11:19 pm Welcome, sorry cant help you with most of your enquiries, just wanted to say goodluck. Gorgeous part of the country and to have 10 acres must be fantastic. I actually looked at Harkaway as I loved their homes but unfortunately WA is a bit far to ship a house to - Oh well Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 4Oct 25, 2012 1:21 pm Ok, its been a few weeks since I last posted, and I don't think I'm much clearer. I've been doing lots of reading on this forum and many others. I have spoken with some builders, kit homes people and an architect. I've started to make a list.. I have figured out these are our initial requirements/needs: +We are planning to build a single story house. +I don't expect the house to be bigger than 200sqm. +Its a relatively flat site. +We will lay a concrete slab. +The house will have 3 bedrooms, a kitchen/dining, formal living room, laundry, main bathroom and ensuite to main bedroom. +We are planning to do the kitchen, bathroom, fittings, flooring, etc, very cheaply at the beginning or do it ourselves so don't need it as an inclusion. I really don't want to take out mortgage money for this stuff. +We don't need a garage +We are in a high bush fire zone, so we expect this to have an impact on our building materials. Hence why I'm steering towards a custom build, as I don't think large builders will be able to accomodate to our requirements. + We have large site costs, i.e. 120K L watertank, electricity about 150m from road, phone, sewerage, excavation, meeting bush fire requirements around our house. I'm wondering if anyone can give some guidance or recommendations on the following: +Can you get a builder/house designer to build a house without inclusions and how much does that reduce the cost? +What should we expect to build a custom designed house, 200sqm, without inclusions? +To what level does a house need to be at to get the certificate of occupancy? i.e. does it need to be finished or can it have basic fittings? +Does the bank have requirements on finishing? Or is that usually agreed before the mortgage is approved? +Do you think it is reasonable to meet the above requirements, to build with electrical and plumbing, without interior fittings, for $150K? Or is this all just a pipe dream?? All at once... Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 5Oct 25, 2012 2:10 pm Hi Allatonce and welcome! I too are building in a high bushfire area so may be able to answer some of your questions, however i am in melbourne so not sure of differences in rules... Do you know what your bushfire rating is yet? Yes a builder can build without inclusions, you just have to find one! If you use a designer they will design whatever you want, my advice is choose one that is well versed in designing for fire. Occupancy in my area is all wet areas finished (i.e. bathrooms/toilets) kitchen and laundry sinks must be plumbed up but no need for cupboards etc to be in. And i think one bedroom must be finished. Not sure about the bank thing... Depending on your bushfire rating I would think $150K is unlikely. Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 6Oct 25, 2012 3:21 pm Hi ktotherose, Thanks for the welcome and the response. I've been reading this forum for months, and while everyone has some great ideas, I'm not sure where to find exactly what I'm looking for... so your help is greatly appreciated. I actually had started to read your blog. And it brings a smile to my face. Our properties are very similar and in a similar situation. The old man that owned it before us used at his personal dump. So we have been doing alot of tidying and cleaning. The neighbours said that there were 30 semi trailers of steel, cars, rubbish and what not moved from the property before we bought it... and they didn't get everything. So I feel your pain on the clean up! Also we have been finding melted metal everywhere, as when the 2001 bushfires came through, it melted everything to the ground. We have not had an official report done yet, but I've heard we may be at least BAL29...We'll find out soon. I have sourced an architect that lives in our area, and seems to be well versed in Bushfires. However, I'm unsure if I should be trying to find an alternative way to build than to custom build, if I'm trying to keep down costs. Yet, I'd imagine most project builders can't accomodate our needs for bushfire... is that what you have found? Oh that sounds good about the occupancy... need to find out more about that. I'm very happy to move into a plumbed house, with minimum fittings and the main bedroom done... and do the rest in our own time. We did that with our current house, and we enjoyed every bit of it. We are both "handy" people. If I was to suggest the 150K did not include our site costs (we have accounted for that outside of the build cost) or any landscaping, just purely the build of the structure...is it still too low? Whats more realistic? Any advice is appreciated. Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 7Oct 26, 2012 8:08 am i think without site cost, it may be more realistic. with BAL 29 you will be fine. There are kit homes and project builders that will comply up to BAL 40. We didn't want to go with them as we wanted a passive design and often these project builders etc don't really do that kind of thing. We tossed up between an architect and a building designer and picked the designer. Heaps cheaper. So that may save you some cash too. We chose our designer first and then started with all the other stuff. We needed to have an idea about where the house was going to be and made of etc. Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 8Oct 26, 2012 9:11 am Hello and welcome! I am from the Hawkesbury too - have lived here for 20 years. About to start building Penrith way though Our first home... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60460 Land Dep paid 26/2/12 Site cleared7/12/12 Slab 20/12/12 Frame 25/1/13 Bricks 19/2/13 Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 9Oct 26, 2012 10:13 am Hi ktotherose, Thanks for that information. Thats reassuring. I will do some more research into house designers this weekend. I am not really interested in project builders, mainly for the same reason as you. I'm looking to build a environmentally passive house also. Considering the cost of fuel and electricity, I'm keen to maximise the naturally cooling, heating and lighting of the house. Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 10Oct 26, 2012 10:15 am Hi Spottie, Nice to meet you. Its good to meet a local, if you have any advice or recommendations for builders in the area, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm searching blind at the moment! Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 11Oct 29, 2012 8:09 am allatonce I am not really interested in project builders, mainly for the same reason as you. I'm looking to build a environmentally passive house also. Considering the cost of fuel and electricity, I'm keen to maximise the naturally cooling, heating and lighting of the house. Thats so great to hear!! If only there were more people trying to build green!! Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 12Nov 02, 2012 12:25 pm Hi ktotherose, Yeah, I think the benefit of building from scratch is being able to design a house that was designed for the property and the environment. and for me! Speaking of the environment, we found out that we are in "flame' zone for bush fires. Not what I was hoping for. Although the architect I met with has said that if we position the house in certain places, we may get it down to BAL40 or even BAL29 on certain sides of the house. Just wondering... how do I find building designers... I don't know where to start. I must say, the Architect was impressive. She was very open to non-standard building materials and layouts. She was very cluey about local council requirements and fire restrictions. So far so good, just waiting on her quote for services... Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 13Nov 03, 2012 8:45 pm Hey ktotherose, We are also building on 10 acres, in Adelaide S.A. Ours is a little easier than yours, as we have an existing small house, power and water ect. On the septic system, I recommend looking for a unit that requires no 3 monthly checks from service tech's. As you got the 10 acres, for peace and privacy not to have random service dudes rock up to check your septic system. We have chosen a sand filter system made by Septek http://www.septek.com.au/whatis.htm Approx $11,000 installed and water is suitable for irrigation. Good luck with it all. Our Build Here: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=74037&p=1255246#p1255246 Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 14Nov 17, 2012 5:34 pm Hi All, this is my first post here, and I'm glad to find this forum, which seems a friendly encouraging one. We've just bought 9 acres in the Hawkesbury too, so we're about to head down the same path as Allatonce: hunting for architect or building designer, and getting our heads around what we need to do and in what order. We'd like to go as sustainable and off the grid as possible, and we're even thinking of strawbale (just love the way they look), but... wow, now that the rush of excitement of finally getting our block is done, I'm feeling more than a bit daunted at what ****** ahead. ( I did talk to a local architect, who ticks all the right boxes in terms of passive solar energy, sustainable design, etc. - except when I sat down with her, I found her designs are a bit too slick and modern and kind of, well... boring. ) Allatonce, can I ask you if you are going ahead with the architect you mentioned ? I am thinking a building designer might be a better option. Oh, and did I mention that BB wants a tower? A man tower. To do man things in. For the sake of my sanity, I may have to start a blog... Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 15Nov 18, 2012 5:35 am Will be watching this thread/blog with interest. We have 55 acres and are at the stage of engaging designers to plan a passive sustainable design. We decided custom over project for much the same reasons that the project builders do not seem all that interested in passive designs. Our first design meeting is next week so we will see how it goes. Our house site is also about 150m+ from the road with power and water having to be run, plus the äll weather driveway"for the build. We are lucky to have town water to the site but will aim at large tanks to minimise/stop paying for water in the long term. Our designer has already mentioned envirocycle type systems for waste but it is early days yet, and like most people we are on a budget for the build. Will look at the system mentioned above. Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 16Nov 19, 2012 10:59 am Hi Claypot, Thank you for your suggestions on the septic system. We have been speaking with locals and they are suggesting envirocycle also. So lots of research being done at the moment... Hi Allora, Great to hear someone else is in the same boat as me... and so local to me too. I am not looking at strawbale, purely from the aspect of I think that we could have difficulty with that for fire regulations and council requirements,(even though the straw is concealed!!) and I think there are other materials just as effective that could pass through easier. However, you may not have the same fire requirements as we do. I have received my quotes from the architect so at the moment I'm weighing my options up. I'm unsure where to find building designers... if you have any suggestions, they would be greatly welcomed!. The one thing that greatly impressed me about her was the local knowledge, knowing local council regulations, knowing local suppliers and contractors, and certifiers. In my book, that can count for alot for time and hidden costs in the long run. She was also very open to using some building materials I suggested. I'm hoping to see some of her projects over the next week or so, before making any decision. Hi Roadrunner, Thank you for your interest and will try to update this as much as possible. At the moment its quite slow, as I'm searching for information. However, I will give as much feedback as possible. Looking forward to hearing about your designer. Do you mind me asking, where did you find a house designer? I met with another home builder...not quite a project home group, as they tend to customise their designs to the customers requirements as standard. However, while I like their style and finish of home, when I mentioned some of the bushfire requirements and some of the passive heating and cooling design ideas I would like, he was stumped. He didn't appear to know much about either or the materials I was suggesting. So I think I'm pretty set on a custom build now. Its better to get it right from the start, that to "add-on" afterwards, and a lot cheaper. Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 17Nov 20, 2012 8:19 am allatonce Hi Roadrunner, Do you mind me asking, where did you find a house designer? The custom building company that we had initially spoken with recommended 3 or 4 different design companies in the area, so we went with one of them. The advantage being we own the design when completed as pay the designer direct. Can then use the initial building company or shop for quotes. The designer has been great, four site inspections at different times of day. Photos taken from all aspects so can be used in design phase. Seems fully on top of all requirements with basix, fire, flood, council etc. In the end we are getting the house design to suit the features of the land while in budget. Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 18Nov 20, 2012 11:40 am Hi Roadrunner, That sounds excellent. If you don't mind, would you PM me the names and contact details of these companies? Everything you described sounds exactly what we are looking for... Thanks in advance. Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 19Nov 27, 2012 11:02 pm Hi. We are building with Harkaway. We are building in BAL 19 in Victoria near the Kinglake Ranges on an acreage. If our BAL had come back at 29 it would have added extra cost but luckily we were BAL 19. About 18 months ago we started down the custom build journey with a builder and found with the size of the house (25sq) we just couldn't afford it, almost $600,000. Simple design, medium to high finish. Let alone the site costs. Then we headed down the owner builder path. We have found building with Harkaway has had the benefits of the experience of highly recommended and established builders with the benefits of project managing it ourselves. They are always willing to answer every question. Also, when there is something we can do we do it. We will be painting the doors soon and the cladding over Christmas if all goes to plan. We have built a project home in the past and wanted more control over the build. We have a few site costs including approx 500m driveway, septic, water tanks, and electricity trench just to name name a few. We have found Harkaway to be great support from the very early stages of design and we are up to roof stage now. Harkaway have a list of recommended trades also. As far as occupancy cert, each state may differ. We wanted a house that would sit well in the environment. Something that would have character. Our house will have verandahs all around, double glazing, 5mm glass (to comply for fire rating) and 3m ceilings. Check out Budgeree House in the search section, another Harkaway build. Fantastic! Sustainable. Goodluck with whatever you decide! Re: New Build-10 acres- north west sydney - where to start? 20Dec 04, 2012 4:09 am There are people who call themselves designers, and some design in 3 D, but the majority do only concept plans that simply do not do the job. Draftspeople do working drawings but one has to pick someone who really does know the bushfire rules. Really, this is Austalian Standard 3959. It is complex, especially when one considers the interaction between design ideas and construction. A Designer-Builder is your best option if you can find one that suits you. cheers to all. You could be looking at anywhere between $400,000 to $800,000 depending on so many variables including: 1. Site conditions - what material is being excavated 2.… 1 2063 Hi Everyone, One of my favourite parts of a build is when the temporary fence comes down and the home begins to reveal itself. It also means we are on the home straight… 103 371971 It might be a bit darker in the mornings but the light is still light, so you should be getting it. Similar to what you see from your western windows 3 20653 |