Have you seen a ‘Battleaxe Block’ advertised and wondered what it is?………….Well it is a block that only has a 3-4m frontage on the street.
Often these blocks are as a result of subdividing a long block with the rear block then becoming the ‘Battleaxe block” – coloured red, as in this plan.
In the plan the existing house has been retained.
You will also often find cases where the original house has been demolished to allow 2 blocks to be sold at the same time.
Another way of splitting a large block is a ‘Small Strata’ Development. (see this link: Small Strata)
What are the issues with Battle Axe Blocks?
Driveway
To get access to the site you will require at least 20m of driveway and perhaps a turning area. This will have a substantial costs. I would allow at least $600/m run of driveway for a temporary gravel driveway during construction and for final concrete at completion.
You may save on this cost by going for a Small Strata Development with a common driveway, instead of a Battle Axe Block but:
Getting agreement from your neighbour to use the access for the construction can be difficult.
In my experience the best way to have good relations with neighbours is minimise causes for dispute. Sharing a driveway means that your parking options are limited.
Looking after the shared driveway is like some of the ‘Community Title’ issues (see this link: Community Title )
An advantage of that long driveway is if you put a gate with a childproof lock at the front it gives a safe area for toddlers to play.
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 inadequate fall and property drains to road.
Sewer, usually this is 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 battleaxe blocks because of a restricted site (see this link to find out more: Restricted Site)
In Conclusion
I am not saying don’t buy a Battleaxe Block, just make sure that you think carefully about the implications.
Should you choose the block, or decide on a house design first?
Cheaper Land
Well my preference has been to build on suburban blocks so we are close to shops, cafes, recreational facilities and public transport.
Blocks in these areas are relatively small so I’ve started by either sketching up the house I would like to build, or selecting a plan.
I then look for a block with good orientation that the house would fit on.
It means that I don’t even go and look at blocks that won’t fit my ideal house.
This has stopped me getting frustrated and have to start looking at a different house to fit an odd shaped block that I’ve set my heart on.
Expensive Land
With blocks getting smaller, and more expensive your approach may have to be varied.
Currently the price of the land close to cities is usually more expensive than building costs. This even applies to suburbs 40km or more from the CBD.
In can makes sense to divide your budget by two and see what size block you can get in an area you want to live in.
You are then able to look for designs that fit that size of block.
If you can’t find a block big enough for a single storey house of a size you want at an affordable price you may have to start looking for designs for a smaller house or a 2 storey house.
Rural Blocks
Of course if you want a rural or semi rural block rather than a suburban block the overall size of the block means that you can fit most houses on the block without any problem.
It therefore makes sense if you are in this market to look for blocks early.
You can then look to choose a house that makes the best use of the site.
These larger blocks do give you more choice with the house design because the additional space means that you can move away from the typical rectangular houses to square houses, courtyard layouts, or even round houses.
With these big blocks I have heard it said that you should move a caravan onto the site for a few nights or even camp there before you decide where on the block you will site the house.
So here is a map of places withing 50km of where I live now.
As you can see it covers City, Suburbs, Bayside, the Coast and Rural Areas.
Here are a few things you need to think about when deciding to look for an area to live:
How far is the area from your work? Will it still be convenient if you change your job?
Are there good road links to your work? Lots of traffic lights and railway crossings can add substantially to Journey Times.
Is there good public transport links? In some Melbourne suburbs being within easy walking distance of the station can put more than $50,000 on the cost of the house.
How close are the:
Shops and Supermarkets?
Restaurants and Cafes?
Pubs or Clubs? Saves worrying about the breathalyser!>
Sporting facilities? Most parents will appreciate this as most Saturdays can be spent running a ‘Taxi” Service.
Parks and playgrounds?
Doctors?
Hospitals?
How good are the local schools? Or will you be sending the childeren elsewhere which can brings up a whole extra range of transport problems.
Is it close to relatives? Close enough to babysit .but far enough to need to get the car out is my rule!
You often see house and land packages advertised and they may have an attractive price . . . . . but are they a good idea?
Here are a few more things to think about:
These sort of deals are popular with property investors who just want to get a new house built and get tenants in as quickly as possible. . . Wouldn’t you prefer to have the houses next door owned by occupiers who are going to be more likely to care about the appearance of the house and garden than a tenant who has little interest.
It seems to me they are usually offered on the hard to sell and the least attractive blocks which is one reason why they are cheaper. Typical problems I have seen include:
On a major road
Poor orientation
Be an odd shape
Have access issues.
They are often based on the smallest possible block that will fit the house. Often they will have the houses so close together they will look more like a terrace and the back yard will be minimal.
One of the Real Estate maximums is that the way to make money on a house is by buying the right house.
Make sure you don’t harm your chances of a good future sale by buying a bad House and Land Package.
So you have visited the Developers Office and been shown a site plan with some blocks for sale that are the Size, and Orientation, you want.
The next thing is to get a copy of the Title Plan and go and look at the blocks you think may be OK.
Here are some things to think about.
Find the Boundary Pegs Normally the actual boundary peg will be driven in so the top is at ground level, there is normally a tall peg next to it to help locate it. Once you have found the pegs you know the piece of land you are thinking about buying.
Manholes Sewers and Drains A lot of blocks have Easements for sewers and drains which will restrict how much of the site you can build on. (The Title Plan will show the Easements) If you can see a manhole you will also need to think about how this might limit what you can do in the garden.
Site Slope As little as a 1m slope from front to back can add $3-4,000 to your site cost. A 1m slope from one side to the other can add even more. The steeper the slopes the more the builder will charge for site costs.
Below or Above the Road Where there is a sloping development site some blocks will be above the road and others below. Sites above the road are less likely to flood and can be more private than ones below the road.
Effect of Building on Neighbouring Blocks. Shading and blocking views are common problems that can affect your proposed house and garden. If you are keen on building a solar pasive house you can minimise the effect if the block you choose is higher than the one to the north. Obviously if the surrounding blocks are already developed its easier to consider the effects.
Road Crossover Many blocks now come with a driveway crossover if this doesn’t suit your design it will cost quite a bit to get it changed.
Look Up One thing I didn’t notice on my first visit to my current block was the overhead power cables just outside the block. They aren’t big pylons or anything and the poles are some distance away so its just a single cable. It does however restrict the size of tree we can have in our garden.
You will be very lucky if you get a perfect block so you are probably going to compromise on some of the above points. Good Luck!
There are lots of things to consider when choosing a block.
My basic preference would be an East facing block on a court.
This gives the best orientation of the house and minimises passing traffic.
Here are some of the things, besides price, that I think about when I look at a block:
Will it fit the house I want to build? Remember that there will most likely be a 5m setback at the front and you will probably need at least 2m from the back fence to avoid building on the drains and sewers.
In order to make a choice within a reasonable time scale most people will have to compromise.
For example our last new house is West facing at the end of a court, it has a good view westwards, but gets lots of passing foot traffic. It’s a very wide block, 25m+, but below the street level at the front.
A regular problem with vacant new house blocks is they are used as a convenient dumping ground for other builders.
It’s much cheaper to dump on a nearby site than haul the material to a tip and pay tip fees.
If you are are really unlucky the material may be contaminated (for example asbestos waste). . . . which may mean you have to pay for testing and additional tip fees to dispose of it.
Fence the Site
The best advice I can give is to make your site seem loved by erecting a fence, mowing any grass and/or keeping weeds under control.
It doesn’t have to be an expensive fence, something like a 1.2 m high dog mesh supported by steel star pickets at 4-5m intervals will be fine, and should only cost around $5-6/m.
If you have got quite a few posts to put in it can be worth hiring, borrowing , or buying a post driver.
Light fencing like this is not foolproof, but it makes things a little more difficult for the dumper. This means they are more likely to look for a block where nobody seems to be taking an interest.
If you want a rendered surface on your retaining wall one of the best ways of achieving this is by using ‘Besser Blocks’.
These are hollow concrete blocks which are designed to incorporate steel reinforcement within the block.
A few issues when building these walls are:
Don’t skimp on the foundation. Even a 600mm high wall will need a concrete foundation 600mm wide by 250mm deep.
Make sure that the cement grout is well packed around the steel reinforcement.
Buy some of the yellow safety caps you see here to put over the reinforcement bars and ‘Keep Yourself Safe.
Don’t backfill behind the wall for at least a week
As well as free standing retaining walls Besser Blocks are also used as basement walls and to provide structural strength for external walls when building against a slope.
This photograph shows a typical example where the Besser Block wall will provide the external wall of a garage. ( You can also see the builders plastic which will form part of the ‘tanking’ to keep damp from passing through the wall)
