Building a Home DIY style, Sasha'a house building story...ongoing!

[Snappy]

Ok here's the plan for the house. It has taken us one and a half years to get this far and originally it started out as a place to build just to make some quick cash instead of squandering all of our cash whilst travelling but now it will become our home for a couple of years until we decide what we are doing.

So this is the official thread for my house building and I thought it would help others to know what processes we have been through and will be going through over hte next year or so.

Firstly we bought our land just under 1400m2 backing onto the National Park rainforest it cost us $140k. So we found a solicitor and went ahead I can't remember how much that all cost but I'll find out and edit it this later.

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The architect firstly drew up the house to be built in brick and once it was finished Roy wanted to alter it to be changed to timber framed. The reason was he knew he could do a lot of the work himself but blockwork would be a different story and when you are looking at charges of $6 per block to lay them including material the costs was going to be enormous.

So back to the drawing board and the house plans wasn't that far off finished when Larry hit and the architect lost everything. So started once again only for him to get ill and need an operation. He then lost them again when his computer went bang and so third time lucky (by which time we thought we weren't meant to be building the house as something was telling us to forget it!!) we now have plans :ecstatic:

The architect cost us $1000 per house design so as we also have one in blockwork it has cost us $2000 but that is very very very cheap other people have said for a house our size we should of been paying more like $10k. All the waiting has been worthwhile by saving so much cash :yes:

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You have to get the drawings certified by an Engineer and that costs about $400, this must be done before putting it in for planning permission.

We went to a builder to see how much they would cost us and their prices seemed to vary from $1000 to $1600 per m2 to build a house. Eventually as Roy was at the time working for the company he decided we would go owner builder as the decent tradesmen all seemed to quit and go out on their own around Christmas time.

To go owner builder you have several hoops to jump through firstly you have to sit a course which can either be done by a weekend course but we decided to go the flexible learning approach. We got in touch with a company called The Peach institute and they sent through all the paperwork required for the course....pretty daunting but very very easy i.e. they tell you what to read, and where to read it, then which questions to answer on the test. It took a good weekend to go through it all and cost us about $350 to do the test.

I then had a certificate arrive saying I had passed, this then was sent on to the BSA (Building authority for Australia) along with the application form and fee (another $270) and finally got my Owner Builder number and certificate.

This all then has to go in with the plans to the local Council. So on Monday I will be handing in the plans of the house including a drainage plan, all the application forms, fees and energy efficiency rating (done by architect). They say it takes about 10 days for the go ahead to come through so fingers crossed it will be that as time is pushing on.

Mortgage - now for us we need a mortgage to build the house even though we still have some cash tucked away. As an owner builder the mortgage side of things is far more complicated. We have to put up 60% of the final cost this also includes the land value so for us that was fine we matched the percentage.

We also have to list ALL the costings which has been a massive nightmare as it has meant we have had to get prices and quotes for everything way before we will need anything and most likely half the prices would of altered by the time we do eventually order them. The list the bank gave us was very intensive down to the last bolt and screw so be warned for a lot of leg work and research very early on.

As soon as the plans come back as passed we have the initial cash to go ahead with the ordering of materials and paying the builders to start the house but at the same time the mortgage application will be going in to the bank so we are playing a risky game as they could say no. That said we have had meetings with the bank manager and she has been great just be very honest with them. We have chosen to go with the Bendigo bank, they weren't the cheapest out there but over all what they offered us and along with their service we have decided they are the better option. The Manager is so nice and helpful and we thought that would be a great plus for us having a bank manager that is approachable in the time ahead.

If anyone wants a list of what the bank requires then please pm me and I'll send you through the spreadsheet of the breakdown titles.

I have also set up an account with the local builder merchants (although still waiting for the final approval on that one), but here you will find there isn't just one place you can get everything from like the UK. We have had to go to different companies for steel, timber, blocks, roofing sheets, etc etc.

The builders we are using are just local carpenters who have great experience in timber homes. Roy also has worked with them in the past and knows that they work hard for their money so choosing a builder is definitely word of mouth and something you should spend a lot of time researching into. We plan to get them to get it up to lock up stage for us so frame up, roof on and windows/doors in, then they can start to clad the house although Roy may take over that bit as well depending on how the money is going.

As an owner builder you have to use a licensed electrician and plumber but as Roy has experience in plumbing the local plumber has already said Roy can do the drainage work and plumb a lot of the job but he will check his work afterwards. The electrician is also a friend and he has said we cqan save money by laying out the wires and he will just come to wire it all up for us.

This is the advantage of being owner builder as you can finish off jobs you know you are capable of doing.

Anyway until the plans are passed I will leave you to digest all this ramble :D

[Snappy]

I took the plans into the Council today and get ready for it ...it cost us $1443.50 :o :o the plans for one of the house designs didn't come to that much :o

They charge you for inspecting every single sink, toilet, bath etc etc

plus then they charge double for putting in a pool. So they charge you for inspecting the plans for the whole house and then the same amount for inspecting the pool plans!

It is the biggest rip off but they said we should get them back by the end of the week or at the start of next week :thumbsup:

[Snappy]

Latest shocker was the insurance cost :o As we are owner builders we have to take out liability and the construction insurance both of which have come in around the $2000 mark :o :o :o what a shocker!

So if anyone wants to come down and break their leg on the site we're insured up to $5 million and we'll split the money :lol:

[Snappy]

We now are all ready to rock and roll the planning has been passed by the Council the mortgage is in place, the steel has been delivered so as of next week it is all go go go on the site. :ecstatic:

One thing I must get organised is a sign which has to be shown on the site with my Owner Builders number on it.

We have been shopping around for timber quotes and this seriously pays off as we have saved a massive $6k on some of the timber from shopping around. Also things like window galleries and doors can vary enormously so it is well worth a bit of leg work at the start. The other thing to consider is the freight charges as they have varied from a massive $2500 to $500 so again worth a look around.

Our order for timber is huge as it is a timber framed house so the various timber merchants are clambering at our quote sharpening their pencil all the time. We are waiting on the cheapest one to sharpen it a little bit more as they think they are slightly off which is another great way to get a bargain let them think they are close but not close enough to getting your order :wink:

My lounge now has an old camping table as a makeshift office which you do need a fax machine for and it is well worth paying out for one of these.

I will update with pictures once it has all started...can't wait now :D :thumbsup:

[ProofReader]

:thumbsup: Excellent news, Snappy, and yet another great post. :more: :flowers: