We want a granny flat on the back of our 600sqm property in NSW 2541, Australia.
I would appreciate input from anyone who has built a granny flat, particularly on the NSW South Coast. What was your experience like with whoever built it, who did you use etc?
I would prefer to use a builder for the build but I am wary about construction quality issues, problems with the builder etc.
I have talked to two local builders to get a general feeling in my local area. The first builder sounded like he would be very difficult to deal with and be a problem in containing costs with. The second one wouldn't listen to what we wanted (we want electric water heater, no we don't want instantaneous gas with gas bottles thank you very much etc) and was possibly dodgy too. So, I am now a bit sceptical about using a "local" builder. This is making me wonder about using a bigger organisation e.g. the likes of Masterton Homes etc?
I have been working on the drawings for what we want and I am happy to take the drawings to a structural engineer myself and then take the lot to Council for certified complying development planning approval. I am even happy to arrange to get the water supply upgraded to cater for the granny flat too through council. Incidentally I would insist with the builder that my local council act as my Principal Certifying Authority (PCA) to help make sure that the builder does the right thing.
Because of the BASIX requirements and because we want to rent the granny flat to a single person down the track, the granny flat will only have one bedroom.
In terms of construction, well, I am open on that subject but we do have clay that starts 300mm down below the dirt. So the ground is reactive. Because of that I think I want brick piers on concrete, with ant caps and then platform timber construction above the piers. The joists and bearers would be hardwood (stringy bark or spotted gum which is termite resistant). The rest would be treated pine, with fibre cement flooring and wall panels and external cladding. Roof would be colorbond or Lysagt.
I have, in WA, been an owner builder twice before. In NSW, I have my NSW white card and I have done the NSW owner builder education requirement. However, I am not particularly keen on doing the owner builder thing again. I would rather someone else do the actual building, but with us as owners in residence.
One other point is that trades in our area (country NSW) tend to be more expensive. However, there is another issue and that is that sometimes it looks like it is necessary to get trades in from elsewhere to help. For example, I wanted to deal with a flooding problem and needed someone to do 5m of straight concrete cuts. After phoning around I found someone in Wollongong (an hour plus away by car) who had a concrete saw and came out to do the cuts. Yes, I probably could have hired a concrete saw locally but I didn't want to do the cuts myself although I took the remedial work from there to completion after the cuts had been done.
Read the full thread at RenovateForum.com...
I would appreciate input from anyone who has built a granny flat, particularly on the NSW South Coast. What was your experience like with whoever built it, who did you use etc?
I would prefer to use a builder for the build but I am wary about construction quality issues, problems with the builder etc.
I have talked to two local builders to get a general feeling in my local area. The first builder sounded like he would be very difficult to deal with and be a problem in containing costs with. The second one wouldn't listen to what we wanted (we want electric water heater, no we don't want instantaneous gas with gas bottles thank you very much etc) and was possibly dodgy too. So, I am now a bit sceptical about using a "local" builder. This is making me wonder about using a bigger organisation e.g. the likes of Masterton Homes etc?
I have been working on the drawings for what we want and I am happy to take the drawings to a structural engineer myself and then take the lot to Council for certified complying development planning approval. I am even happy to arrange to get the water supply upgraded to cater for the granny flat too through council. Incidentally I would insist with the builder that my local council act as my Principal Certifying Authority (PCA) to help make sure that the builder does the right thing.
Because of the BASIX requirements and because we want to rent the granny flat to a single person down the track, the granny flat will only have one bedroom.
In terms of construction, well, I am open on that subject but we do have clay that starts 300mm down below the dirt. So the ground is reactive. Because of that I think I want brick piers on concrete, with ant caps and then platform timber construction above the piers. The joists and bearers would be hardwood (stringy bark or spotted gum which is termite resistant). The rest would be treated pine, with fibre cement flooring and wall panels and external cladding. Roof would be colorbond or Lysagt.
I have, in WA, been an owner builder twice before. In NSW, I have my NSW white card and I have done the NSW owner builder education requirement. However, I am not particularly keen on doing the owner builder thing again. I would rather someone else do the actual building, but with us as owners in residence.
One other point is that trades in our area (country NSW) tend to be more expensive. However, there is another issue and that is that sometimes it looks like it is necessary to get trades in from elsewhere to help. For example, I wanted to deal with a flooding problem and needed someone to do 5m of straight concrete cuts. After phoning around I found someone in Wollongong (an hour plus away by car) who had a concrete saw and came out to do the cuts. Yes, I probably could have hired a concrete saw locally but I didn't want to do the cuts myself although I took the remedial work from there to completion after the cuts had been done.
Read the full thread at RenovateForum.com...
Granny flat - suggestions and experiences?
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