Its not unusual to see local flooding around a house, or on streets, during exceptionally heavy rainfall.
If you are unlucky you might even see a manhole ‘Pop It’s Top!’ like this one!
This is because the council drains don’t have the capacity to deal with these really heavy rains!
Why It Happens
The roof drainage to get the water off your roof will be designed for very severe storms.
This is because the risk to your property from gutters and downpipes not being able to cope is very high. (see this link: Roof Risk)
Some localised shallow flooding around the house, that will be drained away over an hour or two, however is low risk.
Council Design Considerations
To design the public drains to cope with extreme events would have huge costs. . . Even if the pipes were big enough downstream flooding of rivers would be made worse.
For this reason although the roof drainage will be designed for a storm that may occur only over every 20, or even more years apart; the public drains may be designed for no more than a storm that occurs every 5 years.
The difference in additional rainfall between a 1 in 5 year storm and a 1 in 20 year storm can be an extra 50%. (See this link: Rainfall Intensity)
This is the water that could cause short term flooding around your house.
What You Can Do
Basically the best advise I can give is to avoid buying blocks at the bottom of slopes (These will be the worst affected by temporary flooding)
If you do get some localised flooding in your garden that either
Doesn’t drain away as the rain eases; or
Occurs every time it rains.
You should contact the council as it could be a sign of a problem.
I see from the papers that a significant number of properties are bought by Chinese Investors.
Also I have noticed many visits to my web site are referred from Australian based Chinese language website oursteps.com.au
So for all my fellow Gweilos’ (Ghost men) here is a quick guide to checking if the street number of the new house block you are buying is, or isn’t, auspicious.
Best Number is 8 八, which signifies Money
Could add thousands to your house price!
Worst number is 4 四, when spoken sounds like Death
Get in some lifts in china and you will find no fourth floor, or 14th floor!
Auspicious Numbers
3 三 – The Mandarin word sounds like “life”. 9 九 – Sounds like the phrase longlasting, also associated with the emperor.
Unlucky Numbers
5 (五 Associated with the word “Not” 13 – Although a Western Superstition this has been adopted by some Chinese
Combination Numbers
A repeated auspicious number like 88 is extremely auspicious
The first number can multiply the effect of an auspicious number – 28 means “Double Money” and 38 means ‘Triple Money’.
5 can negate the effect of an inauspicious number so 54 can become ‘Not Death”
Would you worry if you saw this guy (from Jim’s Jihad?) mowing the lawn next door?
Unlikely. . . but it does illustrate the fact that neighbours can have a big effect on your enjoyment, or otherwise, of your house.
In fact 20% of us have fallen out with a neighbour in the last 5 years, and only 1% said all their neighbours were great.
Top Five Reasons for Neighbour Problems
Domain recently carried out a survey, and here are the top 5 reasons why people had problems with their neighbours:
Loud music (30%)
Late night parties (28%)
Barking dogs (26%)
Overhearing Shouting and arguing (16%)
Untidy property (15%)
Its often said “Tall fences make good neighbours’. . . . but with the top four problems being noise related perhaps it should be “Tall fences and Good Sound Proofing make good neighbours!”
Before Buying a Block
If you are buying on a new subdivision who your neighbour will be is always a lottery . . . . so corner block have always been attractive to me as it means one less neighbour.
If I was looking at a vacant block (or Knock down rebuild) in an established suburb I would aim to make visits:
During the middle of a working day to check for barking dogs.
Mid to late evening to check for loud music.
At Selection/PreStart
If you want better sound proofing two things you should consider are:
Smaller Windows – As solid walls have better sound reduction than Glass
Double Glazing – Much better noise insulation than single panes
It may be the only house you can find in the area you like is dilapidated, like this one.
You may already live in the house but it no longer suits your family’s needs.
If the house is un-renovated, and over 40 years old its going to need a lot of effort to incorporate modern features that people now expect.
Renovate
If the existing house has a preservation order, or the area has a heritage overlay you may have no choice but to renovate.
Some older houses that have a lot of character means renovating and extending may be a better way to go. Examples would be some California Bungalows, Victorian Cottages and Federation Homes.
Just remember that you will probably want to include things like:
En Suites
Walk In Robes
Large Island Kitchens
Air Conditioning
Good Insulation
New Electrical Installation
Costs can easily reach $3,000 per sq m as access will be extremely difficult and the renovation often involves reducing the existing house to little more than a shell.
Knock down and Rebuild
If the house has few redeeming features and the existing layout makes it almost impossible to reach a great outcome then maybe your money would be better invested in a Knock Down and Rebuild.
You may find a project home builders can build a new home for $1,500- $2,000 per sq m. Even using a custom builder you may find the cost cheaper than the cost of renovations with fewer compromises.
You really have to spend some time on research before you make a decision.
A Final Thought
A house is about Your Heart, the Block you buy, or own, is about the Location.
Unless I really loved the house with all its foibles I would rebuild.
Heat Relief – Dive in to cool off on a sweltering day. One suggestion I received was have a TV installed so you can watch it from the pool.
Keeping Children Occupied – Playing in the pool can keep children occupied for hours, and gets them away from the computer games.
Relaxing – The resort effect can put you in a holiday mood.
Exercise – Even if the pool is not big enough to swim lengths there are resistance exercises such as Water Aerobics.
Parties – Great location for family pool party.
Emergencies – The pool water can be used to fight a bush fires. Pool water should only be used as a last resort as it can contaminate tank water, kill plants, and cause corrosion on unprotected steel.
I’m still not convinced, but if you think you might want a pool it should be considered before you buy a block and plan your home.
A small strata development is a way of retaining an existing house and providing a rear Block. It is an alternative to a Battle Axe Block. This plan shows a typical Small Strata Development.
With this type of development there are 3 Titles as follows:
A block title, of reduced size for the original house
A block title for the new block shown in red on the plan
An area of common title which is jointly owned by the owners of both blocks
So what are the issues if you are thinking of buying the back block for you new home?
Driveway
If the common driveway is completed it may well get damaged during construction.
Getting agreement about driveway repair can be difficult.
Getting agreement from your neighbour to use the access for during construction can be difficult.
Sharing a driveway means that your parking options are limited and can lead to disputes.
Looking after the shared driveway is like some of the Community Title issues.
Additional Service Costs
You will be need to bring in some, if not all, of the following service for an extra 20-30m.
Power.
Phone.
Water, could be two services if you want recycled water.
Gas, if it is available.
Storm water drainage, can be a problem if property drains to road.
The sewer is usually at the back of the block but check before you buy.
Additional Building Costs
I have heard additional building costs of more than $15,000 for these blocks because they are Restricted Sites
