Several plumbing questions - building kit home

[Plastic Fang]

Hi all - a few questions for you.

1. We are building a kit home with a 22,000 lt water tank. The home comes with colourbond downpipes (rectangle box type) but I've been told I will need pvc downpipes if going to a water tank (something about you can't get a good join between the colourbond & pvc). Is this true? If so, I will ask for a credit on the colourbond downpipes.

2. I want to use the water tank to connect to two toilets in the house. Can it be hooked up to the washing machine as well? Any health issues there and do I need to have some type of filter somewhere?

3. My house is about 32sq, double gabled pitched colourbond roof. The plumbers quote showed $13,500 just for installation of the roof (kit home mob supplies the materials, plumber just has to turn up & install). Does this sound a bit steep?

Cheers.

[journeyman Mick]

1. Sounds right.
2. No problems hooking up your washing machine. I live in a rural area and all my water comes from the roof. If you live in an urban area then drinking wwater from a roof can be a problem due to pollutants.
3. Sounds a bit steep, does it include the guttering, barges and fascia (in metal) and will they require lots of scaffolding? (Ie is the block really uneven/steep/difficult access?)

Mick

[Plastic Fang]

Thanks Mick.

I am rural too so that is good news re. the water off the roof.

Yeah, the quote does include the guttering, barges and fascia (in metal) but scaffolding would be pretty standard. The block is perfectly flat with no access issues at all. They gave me an itemised quote and that part of it jumped out at me as seeming excessive.

[SilentButDeadly]

Fang........Victorian plumbers use a 'code book fee' per square metre of roof when the roof has to be done to code - which yours will be. We just had our little place re-done - roughly 180 sqm of roof. Two blokes, 2.5 days and about $2,800 for installation only. We supplied everything else.

I've no idea how big the roof area is for a 32 square home but I reckon you can figure it out. Alternatively, Archicentre might be able to tell you what the book price is - they can certainly tell you whether the quote is 'fair'.