Town Planner, Architect an Engineer. Who to contact first ?
Priscilla Stephan
4 years ago
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Kate
4 years agoRelated Discussions
downsizing challenge to help make an affordable, little oasis for me &
Comments (13)I wonder if you should look into this a lot further. I find it hard to believe that you can't sell a house in the kind of location you describe, walk away, and find a nice place maybe in one of the more peripheral areas, that will meet your requirements, give you cash in hand, and not touch your $100,000 nest egg. No, you certainly wouldn't end up in the inner city but you could end up in a situation that provides the facilities you need and gives you a financial cushion. That said, my real concern would be how to make this house workable for boarders while preserving your privacy. I think you need to provide a floor plan of what you have for anyone to make anything approaching informed advice....See MoreArchitect Issues
Comments (11)Honestly, your time frame is pretty damn good. 16wks from initial concept to an approved DA is very impressive. Ours was 16wk tweaking concept plans and another +6mth in council. We had an approval that wasn't worth building nearly 12mth later. Don't ask. Nightmare council. Another 6mth to Land and Environment Court. Hell your 16wk is looking like a fantasy to me! Construction Plans and Construction Certificate may take longer, really depends how many conditions are attached to your DA. Our last DA- I nearly died when the certifier gave the the 'things to do list' with 30 odd reports, assessments and amendments! We managed this bit ourselves to save some cash (thanks to legal fees chewing up our budget), but boy it cost me in time! It took me 3-4mth to get it all done- delapidation reports, council assets bond deposits, waste management reports, soil tests...it was endless! It might just be that your architect is up to his neck in this right now. IF he is not, you need to 1. discuss costing for him to do this and then 2. instruct him whether or not to progress. Siriuskey's advice is gold. "Keep the door open" The reality is the architect owns the plan and if you sack them- you will need them to sign over the copyright of the plan to a new draftsman, designer or architect. No other architect will touch it till this happens. Try be patient. I don't think there is much info out there to inform people about realistic time frames. It does take time, and due to all the other people involved- engineers, soil testers, surveyors...list goes on. It is out of the architects hands....See MoreHelp with floorplan for big home reno/extension please?
Comments (32)You are most welcome, I have always said that I haven't been put on this earth to "Hug" toilets, so I'am wondering who is going to clean all of these Bathrooms. Our two kids a boy and a girl had the upstairs "apartment" which they and all their friends loved. I have added a timber stair case for fun, there's plenty of space but you will need to decide what you want to do in the attic and place the stairs to open up into a tall space. I have also turned one of the ensuites into a powder room. Your Jacaranda's only drop once a year!, you used to be able to trim them by 25% each year, you would need to check with your council, we were on the lower North Shore, I think you should consider the patio side of the house and make better use of that, is the front deck something you plan on adding because of aspect, and plant some tall growing hedge ready for the apartments. Our kids Attic desk/study space over looked our pool in the rear garden. With respect to using the formal rooms for bedrooms, you will find that once you have your large family/alfresco and the kids have their upstairs space if you still feel you need it, it would make a great office. You spend most of the time there only using only using the front room in the evening for watching movies etc. I have had another play with my floor plan, I think if your wife sees this you may be in trouble, it's a Master Suite, the free standing bath in the window alcove with white timber shutters for sun and privacy control..... Iam' adding a couple of photos of our old Federation which wasn't protected, when we sold it the new owners removed all of the Fret work & posts replacing them with simple timber posts. The front rooms which we didn't use very much once we opened up the rear rooms into a family area. The room with the Bay window had a Baby grand sitting there, we sold the piano before we took the photo. Cheers...See MoreProblems with a raised garden bed
Comments (8)I'm sorry for what you're going through. A few thoughts. "I discovered it wasn’t in their DA. I contacted council over it And they told the owners to remove it. The owners then applied for a building certificate to ratify it. By that stage I was seeing signs of dampness coming through as the raised bed goes approx 41cm above my floor boards. Despite my objections on this the council passed it." Have you asked them why they went back on their original action and insisted on a credible explanation of their change in view of the clear damage your property has suffered as a result of the illegal work? "So armed with a civil engineers report as well as two reports froom damp proofing companies stating the probable cause of the damp wall is the resided be I presented this to council. Council came back and said they were satisfied that the owners had damp proofed my wall." Where is their proof of damp-proofness if you have proof of damp? Obviously if there is damp it's not really damp-proof. I think you need to be a squeaky wheel about their illogical evasion. "He also attached their side passage fence onto our house and attached their extension onto our house which I have been told is illegal. I was also told by their architect that they had to leave a gap between my house wall and their building." Have you looked up the relevant regulations yourself or are you relying on verbal advice and hearsay. There have been times people were lazy about responding to problems I raised and sometimes I found it was effective to be able to quote the applicable official document. If you get the wrong sort of people and you sound like you have only a vague secondhand understanding of the matter they find it easy to contradict that to make their workday easier but if you can quote exact clauses that gives them less room for evasion. "But they sacked him before they completed the work." If it is illegal it is illegal, that is not dependent on the person advising it is illegal being in their employ. "The other think I pointed out to Council is how could they know if my wall has been properly damp proofed when it has already been built." Good question. I know sometimes they accept written documentation stating it was done, which is no more waterproof than the paper it's written on. "Also I pointed out to council that it was bad practice to allow raised beds against someone house wall even if the damp proofing was good as all damp proofing only has a life. The havent address any of my concerns nor have they come out and looked at what is going on with my walls." That's absolutely right. Are you putting it in writing, are you creating a paper trail that puts responsibility on them for inaction regarding damage to your property? "I have spoken to many government depts including the ombudsman, building NSW, and Dept fair trade. They are all shocked that council have allowed this to happen but none can help. But I need to go back to the ombudsman." I'm just shaking my head in frustration at that. Have you tried asking them who can help, or whether they are acknowledging the system is completely useless? Have you tried your local member of parliament?...See MoreUser
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