Can You Subdivide?

I would advise calling into the Council Planning Department and discussing your block as early as possible. I have always found them very helpful.

To be better informed here are 4 things to think about before talking to the planner:

State and Local Planning Zones, Schedules , Overlays,  Rules, and Guidelines.

What State and Local Planning Scheme Zone,  Schedules  Overlays and Rules apply to your Block?

Has the council got any Guidelines on:

    • Neighbourhood Character
    • Heritage
    • Strategic Planning

This information can usually be obtained from the Internet, as there should be links on your Council’s website.

The Block Size

Generally the minimum block size most councils like to see is around 300m2. Planners may be flexible depending on the Building Envelope.

I don’t hold too much trust in Real Estate Agents statements so I would either check the Title Plan (follow the link to see an Explanation of Title Plans) or even get a tape measure out.

Building Envelope

This the actual area within your title boundaries that it is legally, and physically possible, to build on.

This can be affected by a wide range of factors described in this post: Building Envelope

Additionally with many block subdivisions there are shared driveways  which usually becomes a separate  common area rather than being  included in the block areas.

This means that you will probably need the original block to considerably more than 600 m2 to get two acceptable blocks.

Precedent

A similar subdivisions in the area, which establishes a precedent, can improve your chances of an approval. It is therefore well worth having a walk around the area looking at what has already been built.

If you want to see what’s behind the fences I find Google Maps is a useful tool although it can be a year or two out of date. Another website is Nearmap.com, which generally have more up to date maps than Google,  but you will have to pay to view them.

Even though you may decide to use a Surveyor or Planning Consultant to prepare your application, your research will give you a better  understanding of what is likely to be successful.

 

For More information see Subdivision Process

Another useful post is Subdivision Costs

 

Restricted Site, Costs

People are astonished at how the builders costs soar when building on a restricted site!

A restricted site is generally when a the building takes up most of the block. Generally this means that there is little room to store materials and special techniques may be needed to construct the house.

Generally if you are on a new subdivision you should be able to avoid  restricted site costs but if you are looking to build in an existing suburb, particularly something like a Battle Axe block, then there is a good chance that you will be hit with the extra charge.

Here are some of the reasons why it can costs extra:

Double Handling, If all there is limited space for storage on site the builder may have to store some of the materials at his own yard. He then has the additional cost of reloading the material onto his truck and delivering to site.

Smaller Deliveries. When you buy building materials the charge is normally based on the cost of the materials and the cost of delivery. If you need 2 or more smaller deliveries rather than 1 the cost is going to go up.

Different Construction Machinery. In some cases the contractor may have to use smaller, less efficient, excavators. For really restricted sites it may need a much larger crane, parked in the road (which can mean traffic management costs) to position heavy items, like roof trusses.

Difficult Construction This can mean more hand work or dealing with building a wall on a boundary with limited access, and having to support foundations of neighbouring buildings.

Parking Fees Sound insignificant,  but if its going to cost the tradies $5/day each when they normally park for free so they are going to want be charging that to your job.

 

See Blocks for more information on buying land

 

Tips for Setting up a Home Office

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When you are drawing up plans for a new house, you may want to think about including a home office. The number of telecommuters and home business owners is on the rise, with the advances in technology that make it easier to conduct business at a distance.

Office workers are drawn to the flexible hours and lack of a commute, while business owners are interested in cutting costs. This makes it a win-win situation for many.

Whether you plan on simply telecommuting to your regular job one or two days a week or starting your own ecommerce business, you’ll want to create a space that’s conducive to your productivity.

The following are a few tips to consider before you start constructing your home office.

Consider your Individual Business Needs

Every business will have different needs, so before you start designing and constructing your home office it’s best to sit down and draw up a detailed plan of action. This should include a list of all of the items you will need to store in this room, including both furnishings and storage.

A graphic designer or illustrator would need a large worktop, for example, while someone working for a web design company Australia might need multiple computers or printers.

If you plan on meeting with clients you would need additional filing space and a room for consultation.

Be sure to outline what you will need and allocate the proper space ahead of time.

Build Storage into the Room

Rather than filling up your new home office with bulky filing cabinets, you can get creative and start thinking about alternative storage solutions in your home office.

You can use a desk with file cabinets built into its base, or build additional shelving units into the walls. This will give you more room to work and help you feel organised and productive when the room is completed.

Purchase the Right Equipment

When it comes to designing the basic layout of the room, you’ll need to ensure that there’s enough space for all of the equipment you’ll need. Again, this will depend on the type of business you plan on operating. It’s worth investing in a chair with good back support.

Computers that can be used for your most important tasks. This could include everything from accounting to web development Australia. For my home I would tend to look at having a lap top and a desk top to allow convenient daily back up 

A desk with adequate work space is also very important, so don’t skimp on this aspect of your office.

Illuminate your Office

There’s nothing more depressing than a workspace without windows. You’ll want to choose a corner of your proposed house that has no shortage of natural light to help you feel more positive and productive. A bright working space is particularly useful if you need to see fine details or are meeting with clients.

Remember to  position your computer in a way so that you can reduce glare.

You’ll also want to plan for good artificial lighting with  lighting fixtures that help fit in with your overall design scheme and provide good general illumination.

More concentrated lighting lighting for desks and worktops may also be needed.

By taking the time to draw up detailed plans for your home office, you can enhance its use and make sure that you have a clean, organised, and useful space for all of your business needs.
 

Don’t need a Home office?……Perhaps you need a Mission Control

 

Lap Dog Window – Fail

Three horizontal windows, a Builder’s design “Wow factor” that was quite common in show houses around 5 years ago.

What is the point of that bottom window?

About the only thing that could see out of it would be a small dog. A cat would just jump up to the higher window cill.

It must be a real pain to get down on your hands and knees to clean!

Do you need to get 3 separate blinds fitted?

The extra cost of 3 separate windows with the lintels between them must be fairly significant.

Walking round a new Display Village the other day I couldn’t see any examples of this detail so perhaps its gone out of Fashion.

Think I am being unkind……….tell me why I have got it wrong!

 

For more Unusual Houses and Fails see What the………………….?

 

Reducing External Noise

 

It’s not always possible to build in a quiet area so there are a number of techniques for reducing noise that you can use in your new home.

Here is a quick review of the options:

  • Minimising  windows facing the noise. OK  as long as the noise source isn’t on the North side otherwise you loose the effect of sunlight in the house.
  • Screen walls. These reflect sound. If you are going for this approach at the front of the house put some thought into the design of the wall. A plain wall just looks ugly.
  • Buffer zones. I’ve previously talked about Buffer Zones in relation to heating and cooling but they can work well in keeping some rooms quieter.
  • Soft landscaping. Absorbs sound, rather than paving which reflects sound. If possible a landscaped bund (low embankment) can be effective.
  • Roofing material.  Tiles will absorb more noise than a colorbond roof.
  • Acoustic Plasterboard. It’s possible, on special order, to get a range of Plaster boards including ones with a denser core that help to reduce sound transmission. A second layer of plasterboard at a different thickness to the original can help.
  • Ceiling  and wall insulation. Ordinary heat insulation batts will absorb noise but for the best performance it is better to use ƒspecialist acoustic insulation.
  • Glazing. Thicker glass will help but double glazing with a larger air will give better performance. The use of  laminated glass can also improve performance.
  • Curtains Heavy curtains can be effective, when they are closed.
  • Solid Doors. Better performance than the standard lightweight doors.
  • Windows and door seals. Need to be  properly fitted, and maintained.
  • ƒRefrigerated Air Conditioning.  Unlike evaporative cooling this doesn’t rely on open windows.
  • Sound absorbing materials Although acoustic tiles, carpets, underlays don’t stop noise getting in they will absorb it better than hard surfaces like tiles or wood floors.

To get effective performance  will require a range of the above options rather than a single ‘Magic Bullet’.

When you are considering these options its also worth bearing in mind that most of these improvements will also improve the thermal performance of your new house.

 

For more posts about plans see the Design Category.

To save money on Heating and Cooling see Insulation

 

Choosing Bricks

If you want brick you really need to go and visit one of the brick manufacturers display centres where they have display walls built with the various bricks.

Make sure you look at the bricks in the builders standard range first. If you are happy with a brick from this range you will save thousands of dollars compared with the ‘premium’ brick.

Looking at a couple of square metres of wall gives you a much better idea than looking at a couple of bricks in the builders office.

Seeing a larger panel may also stop you going for one of the short term trends such as brightly coloured bricks.

When you are at the brick manufacturers check what colour mortar they use in the test wall as this will probably be the best colour for your house.

 

More about selecting finishes including 28 pages of Check Lists in the‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

 

Brickwork Fail 2

This brick wall is on a house opposite my bedroom window.

To me its wrong on so many levels!

  1. Bricks are meant to be laid with a bond rather than stacked like this as it makes a stronger job.
  2. To be able to get away with this effect you need accurate, even brickwork as stacking really shows every mistake.
  3. The actual bricklaying is poor with uneven joints and inaccurate bricklaying.
  4. The pointing of the brickwork is poor.
  5. There is excessive mortar staining of the brick.

Can you believe this is on the side of a new house, currently for sale, in this state!

Planning some building work in the garden? see Brick Fences

For more Unusual Houses and Fails see What the………………….?

 

Manhole

When I started in the drainage business 40 years ago we called them Manholes.

Since then due to political correctness we have had; Person Holes, Access Points, Inspection Pits, but now we seem to be coming back to calling them Manholes.

We are not talking about the small inspection covers less than 300mm across for the individual house system but pits big enough for someone to climb down to inspect the public sewer or council storm drain.

Some manholes look like the photo, some have round concrete covers and some have square concrete covers.

But what does it mean to you?

Appearance

The initial issue is that the manhole may spoil the look of your driveway or paved area of the garden.

Maintenance

Hopefully with most new developments it will be quite a while before something goes wrong. Rebuilding in a long established area you may not be as lucky. For older sewers tree roots getting into the pipes are a big cause of problems, which might need action a couple of times a year.

Well if something goes wrong with the public system someone will want access to the manhole

Don’t bury the manhole or cover it with paving. You don’t want to delay things if there is a blocked pipe which affect you.

When you plan your house It’s going to be easier if you can give access to the manhole without workmen going through the house, or garage. If not you might have to take some time off work.

 

Also see Easements

 

Noise

Noise pollution should be an issue to check when choosing a block.

Relatively low noise levels can affect how you enjoy your garden and allfresco areas. Bad noise  can spoil your enjoyment inside as well. (We rented for a few months near a railway and would miss 3-4 lines of TV dialogue every time a train went past)

Here are a few potential noise issues to be aware of:

Construction

Buy on a new subdivision and you are going to be woken up a few times at 6.30am as the tradies start until all the neighbouring properties are finished.

Construction noise can be aggravating but at least it does come to an end

Roads

It really depends on the sort of road.

    • Major Highways are built with noise walls which control the amount of noise in the house. You will still get a dull roar in the garden.
    • With major roads it really depends on the sort of traffic. The more trucks the more of a problem its going to be. Also look out for things like Fire Stations and Ambulance Stations. sirens every night can be a bit much.
    • If you live in Melbourne trams can be an issue especially on tight corners where the wheels can squeal.
    • For minor roads avoid living on a long straight road….much loved by hoons drag racing. Also check if the street is likely to be a ‘rat run’ used by rush hour traffic avoiding a busy junction.

Railways

Most people quickly become aware of local commuter railway lines. They don’t realise when the local trains stop some lines are used overnight by freight trains that seem like they are over a km in length, with three or four noisy diesel engines.

Aircraft noise

Just because no aircraft fly over the day you inspect the site doesn’t mean that with a change in wind direction you won’t have planes over every 2-3 minutes.

Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in July 2004

A useful link for checking airport approach patterns is Air Services Australia, go to ; http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aircraftnoise/airport-information for noise specific information
 

See Blocks for more information on buying land.

 

Tree Selection – Fail

The sight of this Norfolk pine towering over this single storey house caused me to stop the car!

And the tree is only half grown.

It breaks RULE 2 of suburban tree selection – “Don’t get a tree that grows to more than 50% taller than your house.” 

(Rule 1 is “Read the label”)

Getting Rid of Unsuitable Trees

Removing dead and unsuitable trees and stumps safeguards your landscape so that you can replant and redesign the space as you please.

To ensure you are working with a healthy landscape, ensure you have inspected the area and identified all trees or stumps that may need to be removed.

Tree and Stump removal requires a high level of expertise and is not recommended as do it yourself.

Enlisting a professional removal service like Daryl’s Tree Care and Surgery is essential to identify potential hazards in your garden and to safely undertake the removal process without disturbing the rest of your landscape.”

 

For more Unusual Houses and Fails see What the………………….?

 

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