plans Archives - 32 Degrees Building

What comes first? Plans or Quote?

We often get asked: “What should I do first? Should I get a quote for my home extension/addition or should I get plans drawn up?”

These are our top 5 tips on why you should get a quote from a builder BEFORE getting plans for your project when building an addition or extension.

1. Obtaining a detailed written quote or proposal for your addition or extension comes with many benefits. In your quote the builder should provide you with an indication of the size of the build (how much room is going to be added to your home), the number of rooms being added and what materials and inclusions are being used so you know what is included and if you can afford what you are planning to build.
2. A builder can arrange to assist you in drafting plans inhouse or have relationships with draftspeople or architects that specialise in the type of build you are after. This can make the whole process smoother and faster saving you time and money.
3. When you work with your builder they can review your plans with you and the draftsperson to ensure you are staying on track with costs and may pick up on items that may be of concern from a construction viewpoint. This input is important in ensuring that you achieve what you set out for in your build while staying within your budget and avoiding issues that could arise during the build if not picked up during this critical planning stage.
4. A builder can help and advise you on the true costs for different material options before you commit to plans and approvals. This can in turn ensure that you get the right materials, resulting in the right look for your build at the right cost.
5. A builder can consult and guide you with on how to achieve what you want while managing what you can afford. This is best done prior to plans being drawn up due to the builders expertise in the type of build you are looking at. This can reduce the amount of plan revisions and save you time and money in the short term and long term.

If you are thinking of planning or building an addition or extension contact us on (02) 4647 2324 or fill out the form below to get things started.

Planning a Second Storey Addition, 8 Things to Consider Beforehand

More often than not, when you moved into your home, you didn’t prepare for any future life changes to happen that require you to extend your house either outward or upward. But here you are and what do you do? There are advantages to either option.

If your property still has room for a ground floor extension, then you can build out and keep everything on a single level, however, if your property is smaller and you would like to keep the backyard space then you should consider building a second storey addition. Doing so also means the least disruption to the existing house below and you can practically live at home throughout the extension project.

Before you decide to build a second floor addition or ground floor extension, there are some things to consider.

Thermal performance

This must be taken into consideration when creating house plans for a new addition to your home and should be well-integrated into existing sections of your house. A building sustainability assessment is required to ensure an extension meets the minimum sustainability benchmarks.

Ensuring thermal performance can be a simple as fine-tuning the size and orientation of your window or a bit complex as adding skylights or light tubes.

Insulation

All new constructions are required to be insulated to climate appropriate levels. This could mean existing insulation in the original building may have to be retrofitted to prevent leaks of any kind.

Heating and Cooling

It is possible that your existing HVAC system will become insufficient once the new addition is completed. Increased living space often means increased heating and cooling requirements. So you should take this into account when developing house plans and when estimating a budget. Don’t forget the amount of work and costs needed for the ductwork if you go for a ducted AC.

Roofing

The roof on your second floor addition should blend well with the rest of the house. Unless, of course, if you prefer the extension to stand out. But if you want a unified look, it is important that the roofing matches the existing one, even in the choice of Colorbond tin or tiles.

Cladding

Continuing with a unified look so that your addition or extension blends in you also need to consider your cladding options. Brickwork, weatherboard, hebel or render. To match existing, to change the entire façade or to use a mix of different materials are all possible to make your addition look like it has always been a part of the home.

Flooring

Should your second floor addition use the same type of flooring as the original building? The choice is really up to you. Different types would delineate the extension from the not, while similar types will ensure continuity and create the illusion of a bigger space.

Electricity

Depending on the size of the second-floor extension, 1 to 3 more circuits may have to be added to the electric panel. Not to mention, electrical lines that have to be added and integrated with the rest of the house.

Termite proofing

Protecting a home addition from termites should be a priority right from the start. This means choosing termite-resistant materials, adding termite barriers, treating timber products if you use them, or creating house plans that allow easy inspection access.

With these taken into account, it’s time to decide on what type of extension you want to build and the kind of materials to use.

At this stage, it is highly recommended that you consult with professional builders and designers. Tap into their knowledge of the best material to use or the most suitable design for the climate in your location. They, more than anyone, else have intimate knowledge in everything and anything building-related.

To book a consultation with the professionals, contact us.

Article written by: MyChronicles.net

What should you expect to pay before your build can start?

To fund an addition or extension on your home, you may find yourself applying for a Construction Loan with your lender. This is all well and good, however, you may find that the lender will not formally approve and release funds until plans, Council approval and a Contract is in place outlining the progress stage payments of the build. So, to get to this point, how much should you expect to outlay? The short answer is that we find for most of our clients it’s around $20-$25K to complete the preliminary stage – this is for preparation of all the documents required to start building.

Here at 32 Degrees Building we break it down into two manageable costs for our clients and below is an explanation of the preliminary process to help you as a client understand what happens before we can issue contracts and start your build:

Preliminary Phase 1: Design and development of your architectural plans

This is the start of your building journey with us. Here we coordinate a survey and engage the draftsperson to come out and meet with you. The draftsperson will talk you through your ideas, then design your initial concept plan to align to the quotation you have received. Usually, a few tweaks may be required and then you can sign off your concept plan and the full architectural drawings can be created ready for us to lodge for planning approval.

Preliminary Phase 2: Council Lodgement – Development Application & Construction Certificate OR Complying Development Consent

Once your plans are finalised (sitemap, elevations, shadow diagrams, floor plans etc..) the next step is where we will lodge your plans to Council or to a Private Certifier either as a Complying Development Consent OR as a Development Application and Construction Certificate

CDC or DA/CC fees will be advised once plans are developed and a Council fee quote can be provided. Here we obtain the additional relevant documentation needed in order for your build to be ready to start and this includes;

Statement of Environmental Effects – Details the potential environmental impacts the proposed build will have.
Waste Management Plan – Applies to all homes across Australia and explains how waste generated onsite will be managed, maintained and disposed of.
BASIX – The Building Sustainability Index applies to all residential homes across NSW and confirms the glazing and energy rating minimum that is required to comply to
Engineering plans and if a first floor addition a first floor certification to confirm your existing home will support the addition
Hydraulic plan and certification – This is to confirm your stormwater connections and how we will connect to the existing or if there are upgrade to the existing needed
Sydney Water check – To confirm that your build will not impact any of Sydney Waters assets
Sewer Service Diagram – We obtain this for the plumber to see where the existing connections to the home are
Long Service Levy – Applies to all residential works over $250K
There may be additional supporting documents required (e.g. Bushfire Report, Flood Report, Acoustic Report etc…)
and any other supporting documents as required

How long does this process take? Well, this all depends on the Council, the service providers and you as the client. We find that from planning to Council approval to issuing you with contracts can take around 3/4 months. Once your build cost and inclusions have been finalised and your HIA fixed price contract has been issued you can then provide these to your lender in order to finalise your finance approval.

If you haven’t built before or have no knowledge of the building and construction industry then preparing all of these documents can seem quite daunting. That’s why with us, you would have us as your main point of contact to do all of the hard work for you. We even liaise between yourself and the draftsperson to help you stay within your budget when developing your plans and address any of the questions you have about the build along the way.

To get started on your building journey with us, we ask you to download our packages or complete our pre-quote enquiry form and tell us what you would like to build, from there one of our team members will be in touch with you.