You will notice in the contract documents a clause relating to ‘All Weather Access’. This normally requires the Landowner to provide all weather access to the site.
In other words a hard access from the nearest road to the site of your house wide enough to take a delivery truck. Typically this will be a shaped gravel track.
On sloped sites the access should be to the construction pad level. which may be either higher or lower than the existing ground level. (May require considerable excavation, or fill)
I would advise against doing this on the cheap if the road becomes deeply rutted or a truck becomes bogged you could be faced with:
The cost for towing trucks off the site.
A claim for additional costs due to delays and repairing the track.
An extension of time on the building contract.
Access Over Footpath
Most suburban blocks will require site vehicles to cross the kerb and footpath within the road reserve.
Damage to the footpath and kerb should be covered under the insurance clauses of the building contract ……………………Usually the words are “ must indemnify the Owner in respect of, and insure against liability for personal injury, death, property loss or damage arising out of the Building Works. If you don’t see these words in your contract, or see an exemption for footpath damage BEWARE.
Although a good builder will normally protect paths by installing a timber mat over the footpath that may not stop all the sub-contractors driving over other other parts of the path, and causing damage.
One useful check is to take photographs of the kerb and footpath before the start of construction. Send copies of these photos to the site supervisor saying these are a record of the condition of the councils assets.
If you see any damage to the footpath before work starts I would also send copies of the photos to the council pointing out the initial defects.
A Masonry veneer structure has two main components:
The Frame. Can be either Timber or Steel. This is the main structural component of the house supporting the roof, and if required the upper floor. This is usually ‘wrapped’ as in photo above.
The Masonry Veneer. Although this looks solid it really only supports itself, and relies on ties to the frame to keep it stable. It provides a weatherproof ‘skin’ to the building.
So Why
Gives a solid look to the house.
Lower cost than solid brick
The prefabricated frame allows the frame to be erected quickly allowing the builder to get the structure weatherproof.
I have previously posted about the relatively small heat loss from a slab on ground
But what if you have got in slab heating, or just want to minimise heat loss/gain from your house?
Before Construction
This sketch shows the placement of the insulation, if you can arrange for the builder to install it before construction.
The way this is installed is the insulation foam is installed inside the slab formwork.
A 40mm foam board with an R value of 1.0 will typically reduce the heat loss from the slab by 50%.
If you have a small builder or are having a custom home built this should be possible……some project builders however will probably be unwilling to do this installation.
After Construction
If you want to insulate after construction this detail is as effective as the previous method.
It works by using the soil as insulation.
Although soil is not a great insulator by stopping the heat escaping upwards 1m of soil will provide a R value around 1.
In England the washing machine and dryer are generally in the kitchen.
As a consequence the laundry in our first house we built was tiny. It was just big enough to fit the washing machine, dryer, laundry trough, and a walkway about 800mm wide to the back door.
After ten years in that house we decided that the next laundry would be bigger.
Our current house has a laundry that includes room for washing baskets, and a linen press. We also have room to store the ironing board, brushes and mops. I am still not sure however I have got everything the laundry right.
I have tried to list all the things below you might want in this undervalued room besides having a home for the laundry appliances and the trough:
Baskets for dirty linen and clothes baskets.
Room for baskets of laundry brought in from the washing line before they are folded
Storage of soaps, detergents, toilet rolls.
Room to set up an ironing board.
Rail for ironed clothes.
Airing rack.
Laundry press.
Television, to watch while doing the ironing.
Hooks for gardening clothes and a boot storage rack.
Pet food storage.
Dog basket.
Storage for mops, buckets, brushes, and a vacuum cleaner.
I am not saying you need to have room for all these things but its worth considering what space you want.
Other things to think about are
Installing a floor drain to protect the rest of the house in case of floods.
Putting the machines on a plinth to save all the bending over.
Making sure a drier can be vented to the outside.
Plumbing to allow grey water to be collected for garden watering.
Living costs during the time your new house build can be much more expensive than after you have moved in. Its well worth planning for the additional expense.
Why is it expensive?
Well you will have either a mortgage or rent on where you live now, You will also be paying the mortgage on your new block, plus the mortgage on the stage payments on the house construction.
In the last couple of months of build you could be paying close to twice the monthly cost of the final mortgage. If the build is delayed things can really go pear shaped with regard to debt.
There is the opportunity in a standard building contract to have a liquidated damages amount which can help control the risk. In our last building contract this was set at $250/week (which would pay the rent on the place we were living in) if the build took over a year.
If you are unmarried and still living at home, or can move back with family for the time of the build, that can really help. For the rest of us its a case of making sure that we budget for the additional costs and putting some cash aside.
It’s worth remembering that if you have selected the right size of house you should be able to afford more than the basic mortgage on your new house so that you can stand possible future interest rate rises.
Just make sure that when you move the credit card isn’t maxed out. There are usually lots of costs up after the move such as blinds, curtains, additional furniture and gardens. All things needed, to finish off your house.
If you think all this as a major obstacle, then perhaps building isn’t the way to go. Buying an established house or finding a house/land deal with a standard real estate contract deal of 10% deposit and the balance at settlement may be better options.
For more posts about decisions like this see Starting Off
Contraction Joints have been previously described in Pavement Joints 1
The second most common form of Joint is the Expansion, or Isolation Joint.
Although concrete does shrink as it cures, in hot weather it will expand.
Unless an allowance is made for the expansion the concrete paving can push foundations. In long runs of concrete it can create a hump in the paving like the photo below.
The following sketch shows a typical Expansion Joint against a building.
Holes are drilled into the concrete and steel ‘dowel bars are grouted in, so they all face the same direction. In order to stop the concrete holding onto the dowel and stopping the expansion the dowel is fitted with a close fitting plastic sleeve both the joint and the end cap are also fitted with a compressible foam.
For more posts on on getting your paths and driveways correct see Concreting