Just bought a block of land…

A soil test will tell you the type of concreate slab you will need to be able to build on it.

This will affect costs. For example, from what I know so far, a class M soil is the best type in that it requires the basic and cheapest slab. The sandier the soil and the more chance of movement in the soil means that there will need more reinforcement in the slab and hence more concreate and more costs.

The type of soil alone could add $3,000 to $10,000 to the slab costs.

Also, the slope of the land will make a difference. Again if you choose to build on a concreate slab you may need to cut out some of the soil to make it level or introduce soil to raise a part of the block. This could add more. A reasonably flat block may only require about $1000 to $1500 in cutting and leveling of the land
but a really steap slope might cost you another $8,000 I’m guessing.

A builder on this site may be able to clarify

I’m in the same boat as you audrey.

Never bought a vacant block of land but just about to take the plunge.

We are looking at 120 acres at the moment some 25km from the Perth CBD.

We have no intention of building anything on it in the short term…..but plan on digging it out and selling the sand (a big sand hill would be perfect) and then apply to council to fill it full of rubbish once the hill has been converted into a dirty great hole.

Soil tests aren’t too important to us, as there won’t be any when we have finished….but it’s fun to look.

Having a council onside is more our important criteria.

lyndon_g, great to have you on board. We are currently just starting a reno on the PPoR and just finished pouring the footings for the building. 7 cubic metres and 17 tonnes of concrete at 25 MPa. Didn’t go far in the footing but was a good job and should form a good basis for the house. That penetrometer they use to check the footings compaction is very dodgy in my opinion. 6 blows with a 9kg weight for the first foot (I think the OD of the metal probe was 3/4″ inch) and then a further 6 blows for the second foot.

Looking at the “engineer”…..he wasn’t but called himself such, it all looked a bit agricultural, but if subsidence occurs they all fall back to the certificate he scribbles on in the dust. It didn’t seem right to me…..but was told “she’s right mate – everyone does it”…..hmmmm. Being a senior engineer myself, I could see flaws everywhere. On further discussions, I was told if cracks do appear later on in the building and settling process, the building company doesn’t actually refer to it as a “crack”, until the assessor can fit his entire hand through the crack…..[blink]….until then it’s officially just a hairline anomoly….and “nothing to do with me mate”….[angry2]

bloody frightening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![grrr]

TroynBec

You can have more than you’ve got because you can become more than you are

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Hi audrey123,

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a block of land 1170 sqm, in the inner SE suburbs of melbourne, with a 6 month settlement. At this stage, will be building 3x3bed on the block . This will also be my first development project.

Things I needed to consider before signing the contract that was specific to the land:
– trees. Two great cedar trees on the property which were potentiall a problem. Hired an arborist in conjunction with the building designer to confirm whether or not, they would impede development. opinion was that we would get away with knocking down if we conceded the other. Worked out ok.
– easement. You can’t build on top of a registered easment. There was one running on the back of the land that wasn’t a problem. However, the vendor statement showed another easement that was running accross the block two thirds of the way. On investigation, It was classed as “unregistered”, recommendation being that I would be able to build a garage over it, but not the house building itself. The building designer reviewed it, and yes, it would could still implement plans that were profitable. (However, it did stop me from building 4 units which was on my original plan).
-look around the block. Has there been precedent set for what you want to do? That was important in my area where monash council are incredriby strict on planning guidelines. (I looked on a website somewhere recently to find they had the highest rejection rates for council approvals.)

I know that some building designers/town planners offer a site valuation service, that you could employ to assess the site to ensure that it would be suitable for your development needs. This would generally also include the soil tests that you talked about. There is a charge, but they are generally incorporated into your main costs should you go ahead with the deal. You could always purchase subject to one of these clauses. At the minimum, get an experienced building designer on board to review the drawings on the vendor statement and get his opinion on whether you can build to meet your needs.

I am meeting again with my designer to look at 1st drafts of plans this afternoon, and am very excited. in the meantime, I am on the look out for a mentor to help me over the nitty gritty bits of development, as no matter how much I research, 1st hand experience is priceless.

Good luck

Mee Chee