DIY House Plans

[ausdesign]

I Knew that
I just forgot!

[masoth]

There is a heck of a lot of very good advice above.
I don't recall mention of getting a termite certificate, but you should get one, even IF your council reckon the district is clear, and I'm positive Heathcote is NOT.
Therefore to save an annual spray treatment of $130-$200 I would certainly do the steel frame thing. Actually the framming can be prefab and raised in a weekend if the skill is present. This may also save theft if no secure storeage is available.
You may well stay the Owner/Builder but I doubt you have the qualifications to complete everything to required standards - this will increase costs by having your contractors travel there.
If you don't have the experience hiring/controlling/directing contractors give a thought to sub-contracting a supervisor (you cannot depend on the inspections to protect your interests) and then YOU can stay 'friendly' with the workers.

soth

[elphingirl]

Hi Paul

I don't really wish to comment on your plans - as others have said, it's whether they suit your family that counts (although a bit of research into passive solar design is a really good idea).

We built a house near you in Elphinstone (Mount Alexander Shire though), and we produced our own plans, so I thought I'd tell you some of the benfits and drawbacks of having done that.

We had a fantastic helpful building inspector (Council). He was able to assist us in knowing what had to be on the plans, and to what level of detail. He also helped work out construction details later on. In the end our plans were passed first time with a few additional handwritten notes by the INspector on them. Don't underestimate the impact of having a good relationship with the inspector - he helped us solve many problems.

From drawing them up by hand (I have drafting experience in another field) I knew every inch of the house - this was helpful in being able to answer questions by subbies throughout the building process. In the end there were very few design changes, or changes due to unforseen problems, at the end (3 years after we began). This was due to thinking everything through very carefully during the design phase, and also allowing enough spare money to help us through technical problems (such as overestimating what we could do ourselves).

We did have some trouble getting quotes from some tradies, though a lot of this was due to a local building boom. Some trades used the plans extensively (electrical, plumbing), while others largely disregarded them and just visited on site and measured up themselves. It both helped us get some great tradies (people who like the challenge of individually designed housed, happy to work out details as we went along etc) and get the runaround from others (wouldn't quote, didn't show up etc) Some of that probably had more to do with the owner-builder thing rather than the plans themselves.

You seem happy to live with your mistakes, and that is a necessary thing to accept - my only advice is to be able to say that there wasn't anything else you could have done to prepare the plans better.

Being in the country it certainly wasn't as hard as some of the other posters have made out, certainly dealing with Council and tradies is a whole different ball-game out there that in the city. Contracts are rarely signed, and yet we had not one problem in the three years that caused us to even think about witholding money/requesting rework.

Good luck, Justine

[masoth]

Nicely said Justine. There are always positives.

I'm hoping my adult (hah) son joins me in fiindinig a wreck to rebuild into a palace, for him and his family.

soth

[ausdesign]

as an aside to the topic & in support of (some) 'tradies' who can get maligned. From their perspective they need to get in & out of the job quickly. They are asked to come up with a competitive price ( often the lowest ) & then carry out the work professionally.
From the initial contact they will quickly sum up how professional the OB is & then tailor their quote to suit. Admittedly some may be looking for an opportunity to make a fast $ but many will be looking to make sure they don't lose a fast $.
Generally trades need to spend more time with an OB & often their quote will reflect their perception of how professional & organised the Client is - whether it be an OB or a registered Builder.
The secret to successful owner building is in part to be spot on with organisation & know all the ins & outs of the various trades.
When asked a question ( trades will often do this 'to test the waters') know the right answer.

[paullmichelle]

Yes, some good advise Peter. Being in the trade myself, (Roof Tiler), and also having had 12 months experience of house construction with a qualified chippie, I feel quite confident in building my home, otherwise I wouldn't take on such a large job. I am self employed, so I will be taking the time of to build full time, and doing most of the work myself. I imagine it would be very difficult to take on this task if you had to work on another job as well.

Cheers

[ernknot]

Are any of you builders taking Radon readings? No point bulding a house if it is going to kill you. How often do you hear of a person dying of cancer and someone saying" never smoked, its not in the family history, exercises all the time........" Radon is probably the culprit. I am working on a project at the moment and we got Medium Radon readings which means we must put down extra protection under the slab to keep the Radon gases out. Look it up on the www

[bitingmidge]

I thought Radon was something to put in your bath to help you relax! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I would have thought if Radon was going to be a problem, you wouldn't buy the site?

On the project you are working on, if it's such a great problem, what happens when people go outside??

Cheers,

P:confused:

[paullmichelle]

Thanks for the advice ernknot, but I don't think I'll woory about Radon too much, unless I was building my house in a cave or a mine.

"If you have a timber home, or one built on stumps, and if your home is well ventilated, it is unlikely that there will be a problem from high radon levels. If you have a brick home built on a concrete slab and you tend to keep all your doors and windows closed, it is possible that the radon levels in your home may be higher than average.

[ernknot]

I thought Radon was something to put in your bath to help you relax! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I would have thought if Radon was going to be a problem, you wouldn't buy the site?

On the project you are working on, if it's such a great problem, what happens when people go outside??

Cheers,

P:confused:

bitingmidge
No one measures because not many people know about it. It certainly does not come up in a title search etc.
When you go outside it is ok because dissipates in the outside air, it concentrates inside buildings and dwellings. Real good ventilation like a ductet A/C helps disperse the gas. There is also geotechtic materials available to put under the house footprint to stop gas coming through the floor or other entry points.

paullmichelle
You are right but would you know what the levels were before you built?
have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/radon

[Sir Stinkalot]

Sorry that I came into this one a little late.

The north orientation seems to be a big issue on this tread so far. A good design would have assessed the sites opportunities and constraints prior to having mouse hit screen. This would have ensured that there siting of the house would make best use of solar orientation and views, obviously not every site is suited and you can only do your best.

The house will still require a 5 star rating so even if it is poorly orientated it will be compensated by upping the insulation and possibly double glazing to achieve a five star rating ..... it just basically means an increase in construction costs. Another issue would be the solar hot water system and water tank, which according to the building surveyor that we use is now mandatory on all new houses. Supposably this has been in for some time with most building surveyor overlooking it but they will now start to crack down on it.

You will need to engage an engineer who will do your lintel calculation and bracing details if you ask. They will also issue the computations and form 11.

As for the design ...... well design is a very personal thing. If it suits you than that is great, but you should also think about resale in the future. I feel that the design is a little clunky, unarticulated and screams out owner builder, (Sorry to be honest). The box design will certainly assist in ease of construction, but lacks creativity and visual interest. Sliding exterior doors in the ensuite, presumably on the same deck that services the kitchen meals area?

I really think that you would benefit from taking your design to an Architect, or Building Designer, to get a fresh look at it for you, incorporating a site visit. You have the basic outline but a great design is in the finer detail. It is sometimes the case that if you work on something long enough you start to loose sight of the bigger picture. On numerous occasions in the office we look over other designs to get a fresh perspective and occasionally it is dismissed but generally it greatly improves the design. You have already asked for our opinions so it shows that you are open to constructive criticism. The money spent on design will be well worth it. I fail to see why people (not directed at yourself) are so reluctant to spend money on a good design that will greatly increase the quality of the building and benefit the resale value, they would prefer to save the couple of thousand to buy a large screen TV.

Check out this site for details re: owner builder:
http://www.buildingcommission.com.au...asp?casid=2776

[nev25]

Hi, I'm planning to build our house later in the year. I've designed our house plan on Chief Architect. What I wanted to know is am I able to draw my own plans?
I'm doing most of the work myself.
Thank's

I'm wondering how you got on
Im thinking about going down the same path

[Terrian]

Thanks all for your replys. Taking it all in. Peter, do you have an idea of cost to have our plan drawn up? As you can see it is aprox. 200m2, straight forward 4 hip roof. We will also look at building a 1.8mt verandah around 3 sides with a pergola added later, on the rear. C-Bond roof and 2.57 ceilings. It's in Heathcote vic, so will also require septic and tank water.

earlier this year I had plans made for my house, none existed, fire at the council etc.
it cost me $1400 for the gent to come out, measure up the exiting house, add in the wanted extra room. plans included existing garage, proposed workshop, he was in Wonga Park, so a litle far to travel to you Oh, and it wasn't 'mates rates'

PS: I'm looking at building my foundation, (stumps, bearers and joists). I can do this for less than $7000, How does this compare to concrete slab price and also the pro's and con's. Block is level.

Personally, I would get the pros in to do the foundation work for a new place, (but thats just me).