Council Permits

[mick61]

G`day this might be a silly question but here goes .I want to add a study to my house do I need a permit I am not moveing any walls I am just creating a room within existing rumpus room.
Mick

P.S I would have to put stumps under new wall?

[mako]

I wouldnt worry about one. Some one who knows more about this area will have better advice but seen as you are not removing any walls you are not really doing any structural changes. As far as stumps uner the new wall if it is not a load bearing wall, which i presume it wont be then it should be fine. I would check under the house anyway and work out exactly where the new wall will go and see what will be underneeth the wall.

[mick61]

G`day thanks Mako one wall is going back where it was before where the outside wall used to be so it should be well supported. But I will double check.
thanks Mick

[ausdesign]

If you're replacing the outside load bearing wall then you will need a permit.

[silentC]

I think what Mick is saying is that one of the walls of the new study will be located where an external wall was previously removed when the house was extended and will now be an internal wall, is that correct Mick? So presumably whoever took it out has replaced it with an appropriate beam or lintel. The new wall would just be a partition under this.

Even so, strictly speaking I think you would require a DA for that, so I guess the correct response would be to contact your local council, tell them what you're going to do, and ask them what they require of you.

[ausdesign]

On re reading the post I would agree silent.
[By the way I haven't been around for a while but the 10000+ posts are impressive - how's the S.E. coast?]

[silentC]

... and at least 5% of them are constructive and on topic!

S.E. coast is a bit cold and windy today. Spring came and went in a matter of days. Oh well, summer will be here soon

[Terrian]

G`day this might be a silly question but here goes .I want to add a study to my house do I need a permit I am not moveing any walls I am just creating a room within existing rumpus room.
Mick

P.S I would have to put stumps under new wall?

Permit - would not think so, from the sounds of it you are not making any structual changes, but best to check with your local council.

Stumps - personal opinion, nope, wont need to add stumps to support the wall, a 3' fish tank full of water would be heavier per square inch than the wall you plan to erect, and I can't say I have ever met anyone who added stumps to take the weight of their fish tank )

[silentC]

As far as I know, if you are making changes to habitable rooms, structural or otherwise, technically you need approval, although I'd bet 80% or more of such jobs would be done with no approval. Whether or not the council in question cares about it is another story. Most probably don't. But it pays to be safe. I'd make an anonymous enquiry and go from there.

[mick61]

G`day you are right silent the wall will go back exactly where the external wall was.D A?I will ring the council thanks guys.
Mick

[Make it work]

Just my 2c, but unless you are about to sell your house as soon as you finish your study, I would NOT even approach council about this.
They will only want to charge you fees, muck you around for months and make you install a watertank for your trouble.
Maybe I'm just being bitchy but I don't think I would be too far off the mark.

Alan

[silentC]

Nothing stopping him from making an anonymous enquiry and finding out whether or not it would be an illegal development without approval. Make the decision with all the information, not just based on hearsay.

[thebuildingsurv]

I do not know of any council that takes down the address of every enquiry they get, then check it out later to see if works have been carried out. However providing you are not carrying out any structural changes you wont need a building permit to install a internal wall, check you dont need a planning permit though (unlikely). Ensure light is still 10% and ventilation 5% through windows and all should be fine. Dont know what happens in NSW, but in vic you wouldnt be asked to put in a water tank. In fact for a building permit you wouldnt even need to use council. What council you in out of interest.

[seriph1]

no way I'd seek a permit for this .... I'm not you though - going by the description of your project, there is really nothing to permit - closing up an opening that was once a load-bearing wall - that was removed (with permission I imagine) - would make this new one, just a partition wall wouldn't it? Everything else seems to be cosmetic. Our Council (Mitchell Shire, Victoria) requests your address each time you interact with the building/planning dept. In that way, they have at least a basic idea who they're not calling back. eg: I am 4 weeks into a shed design project and need to know what setback I need as the shed is 5.6 metres tall .... 3 calls with the person responsible for such things ..... to voicemail each time - no call back.

As Robert Heinlein once said: Public Servant - Public Master - semantics

[silentC]

I believe that adding an internal wall to create a new habitable room falls under the heading of "Alterations and additions to a single storey dwelling house".

According to my local council's Exempt & Complying Development Plan, there are exemptions which apply to internal building alterations - non-structural work is one of them. However, this exemption is modified by: "Work not to include changes to the footprint of the dwelling or residential use of rooms whether by removal of existing walls, partitions or by other means." This is where I believe the council's involvement would technically be required, as you are changing the size and use of one or more rooms.

If you wanted to be pedantic, you're adding a wall, not removing one. However I think the intention of this clause is to require people who are making changes to rooms within an existing house to apply for consent. So at least in my area, technically you would be required to put in a development application.

If you were putting in a plan for a new house and you decided to make a change like this, you would be required to submit a variation. I don't think the intention of that policy is served by just letting people do what they want once the house is built. Whether you actually get a permit or not, assuming that you need one, is up to you and you would have to make that decision based on whether or not you think it's likely you'd get caught, or that it would be picked up in a future inspection when the house is sold. I know how I would handle it. But what I am saying is that the most sensible advice to give in this case is to contact the council and ask them. Whether or not you choose to follow that advice is up to you.