Building a Granny Flat - Part 2 - Construction

[virgo]

Kitchen

Hi Nek

I had a similar kitchen done, off white cupboards but with lighter grey laminate stone look alike for benchtops...it gave the whole kitchen a very light airy feeling plus my splashback was off white with greyish streaks (marble look alike). The tenant loves it....

hope this helps, can't wait for your next batch of pics!

 

[neK]

Thanks for the feedback.

I've got another question about water.

The granny flat will be connected to the nearest connection point to the existing house. This means that if the main water tap gets shut off (eg to do water maintenance on the existing dwelling), then the granny flat is also affected.

The option I have here is to connect the granny flat water right at the main water connection point instead and then install a cut off valve for the existing dwelling. This way I can I turn off the water on each house independently.

Problem is that it will cost me close to $1,000 to get this done.

Im not sure if the existing house has water cut offs to tap hence my concern.

Is it worth it?

 

[melbmeg]

Water

Looking great!

No, I don't think it's worth it re the water. How often do you really need to turn it off? (I assume you are not replacing a bathroom or anything that might mean it needs to be cut off for days at a time?)

Think how happy you could make a tenant with $1000 worth of block out curtains or aircon...

 

[neK]

An update on how everything is progressing at the moment.

Windows are in, plywood backing is on, roof tiles are on. Pretty much the only thing missing from having it look like a complete house from the outside is the cladding - which is due to be completed by the end of this week.

The only set back ive had is AGL stuffing me around. They have reported back as "No Connection Available" so they are looking at alternative methods to get gas to the property, which I've been told will be quite pricey.

However the most annoying part is that both my next door neighbours on the main street and the secondary street ALL have gas connections. I was told this could possibly be because the infrastructure AGL has is old and wont be able to handle a new connection, therefore if i want gas I will have to pay to upgrade the infrastructure .

With that, Ive gone to from instant gas hotwater to an electric heatpump and plan to change the cooktop to a ceramic electric one.

I'll post some pics up when the cladding is done.

 

[v-petn]

Hi Nek,

I've been following your thread on the granny flat build. I too am very keen on getting this done... i live in guildford so not far from you. I've been looking at Granny flat Australia and probably go with them. My situation is a lil be different though. We have a old house that we're living in at the moment. the land size is about 630 sqm... roughly... I'll probably get a survey report done to make sure it's correct before I start building. Did you get a survey report done? If so, how much did it cost you?

Our frontage is quite wide, about 20 metres. So i plan on building a granny flat next to our house and divide it using a fence etc... I will use the existing drive for the granny flat and build another driveway for the house. Do you know if I need to get council approval to get another driveway put in?

I too have a few large trees and a old fibro garage that needs to be removed...

Are you able to give me a break down as to the cost involved? I know you mentioned it being 110k to 120k which includes removing the trees etc... I'm trying to work out how much all of this is going to cost. You mention that you're going to use cladding. I probably prefer brick. I recall you saying that it's an extra $5000 for brick, is that correct?

The plan is for me to move into the granny flat once it's finished then rent out the house... probably stay in the granny flat for at least 3 to 5 years... Then buy another house and rent out both the house and granny flat.

What about council rates? Do you have to pay 2 council rates or do they charge you extra? What about rubbish bins etc? Do you have to share the bins or can you get an additional bins from the council? I assume that you would have to pay extra.

Sorry I have so many questions...

Any advice or help would be appreciated...

 

[neK]

Hi,

Your land size is 630sqm, so you already meet the requirements for a Granny flat under the SEPP (The minimum land size is 450sqm).

No i didnt get a survey done, i dont think one was required. If one was done, it was included in Granny Flats Australia's cost.

The granny flat can only be maximum of 60sqm internally (which is why mine is not a complete square, I had to create front porch so that I could fit under the 60sqm limit).

The old fibro garage will probably cost a bit to remove (I removed a small shed, approx 1mx2m), that cost of $900 to remove because its Asbestos, otherwise it would have been included in their demolition costs.

Not really able to give a break down because they priced it as one package, so basically i showed them the plans, they had a look at the site and priced it accordingly.

I then got them to increase the ceiling height (well worth the extra money!) and a few extra bits here and there. I'd suggest it is better getting all the stuff you want, get them to price it with everything, then negotiate with them to bring the total price down.

As for living in the Granny Flat, I would advise against it, as the property isnt subdivided, its going to be a pain to work out what amount of your loan for your existing property is going to be tax deductible as the granny flat is using part of the land if you know what im saying.

It would be much simplier to simply rent out the granny flat, claim depreciatation while you lived in a unit near by instead.

Being able to put the granny flat on a street frontage is good too, that way it looks and feels more like a house. You will need to take into consideration the front set backs. Based on what you've described, i think you could design a nice 60sqm house with the dimensions of 4m x 15m and give it a side entrance. This way it could have its own private front and rear yard and have minimal impact on your existing property. Or you could just build what I've got. You're welcome to come check it out once its done, im guessing (and hoping) that it will be finished a month from now.

As for council bins, I just called Parramatta council and ordered a 2nd set. I think they charge me a bit more on my council fees to cover for it. They didnt ask me too many questions, I just explained to them that Im building an approved granny flat so I'd like a 2nd set of bins and they sent it out in a few days.

As you are not subdividing, you only pay one set of Council and Water rates. Electricity you can get a 2nd connection so each person pays their own electricity. Not sure about gas though, AGL messed me around so im not putting gas in anymore.

 

[neK]

Wooooo! Cladding is on.



Stuff still to be done

1. Connection of water and electricity
2. Hot water system
3. Doors
4. Plasterboard
5. Tiling inside and porch area
6. Carpet

but its getting close

 

[v-petn]

Hi Nek,

Thanks for getting back to me... Your granny flat is looking really good... And yeah if it's possible I wouldn't mind checking it out or do you know if granny flat australia has a display centre?

 

[neK]

No they dont.

They normally use the most recent build as a display to showcase their work.

Helps keep the costs down so they can pass the savings on to you.

 

[Rockstar]

Helps keep the costs down so they can pass the savings on to you.

Sounds like a typical marketing slogan neK

Nice feeling to get the shell wrapped up mate. Is that vinyl cladding?

 

[neK]

haha it does sound like a marketing slogan doesnt it.

Definitely a nice feel to see the exterior of the house completed, and yes, that is vinyl cladding.

I opted for it due to the following reasons

1. Its cheaper than brick
2. It allowed me to have a slightly bigger space than internally (brick would have made all the rooms slightly smaller).
3. Renters dont care (well at least i dont think they would)
4. Its easier to maintain (so I've been told), just use the high pressure house and clean the house once a year.

 

[ArJay]

Excellent thread...

When we were over in Canada a few years ago noticed most of the new housing going up used vinyl cladding.
Very popular over there as an alternative to timber (cedar) as it's far cheaper, weathers well and doesn't need painting/maintenance.

Great project. Looking forward to seeing the final product!

R

 

[neK]

Thanks!

If anyone is interested, I'm happy to open the house to somersoft forumers who want to check the place out once its done.

 

[ditzy dame]

just wanted to say a huge thank you for sharing the info in this thread

i have learned a lot from here that was exactly what i was after

 

[neK]

No worries ditzy!

 

[neK]

An update on the situation

Opened a letter on Friday from my real estate agent saying the tenant living in the existing house is going to vacate on the 2/9/2010

Pretty unhappy because with all the construction going on, I dont like my chances of renting the property back out. So I've contacted the agent to see if they can convince the tenant to stay by cutting the rent from $380 (it was previously $430) down to $250 for the remaining duration of the construction. Some money is better than no money.

After that conversation with agent, i get a call from Cid with some pretty good news.

Gypbrock has gone up inside the building
Tiling and kitchen will be done by this Friday.

Cid has explained that the kitchen cant go in before the tiles because the tiler will then tile around the kitchen.

By having the tiles in first, if i ever decide to replace the kitchen, I wont ever have to retile.

I made a similar mistake 7 years ago when I polished the floor boards with the existing kitchen in there, then when I ripped out the kitchen a month later and put a new one in (because all tenants were getting turned off by the kitchen), I got left with an area of 10cm x 40cm that was unpolished (and it is still unpolished to this day).

Anyways, the only things left are:

Trenching the side of my existing property so that they can install the water, electricity and telephone line.

Once that is done, pretty much all that is left is doors and painting.

Estimated time of completion 2 - 3 weeks.... pretty much when my tenant wants to move out

 

[sydsider]

Awesome post. Kudos to you.

 

[neK]

Just after some opinions on which hotwater system I should go with.

1. Gas Instant - AGL have finally said I can get gas and will be charged the normal install rate of $125, but this will take up to 30 days.

2. Electric Heat Pump - Will cost me $1850 in extra costs. Reading up on heatpumps, the only message that seems to be conveyed are
- It loud. Neighbours want to people to court over the noise
- It breaks down
http://www.productreview.com.au/showitem.php?item_id=53009

With all this im leaning towards getting gas installed, mainly because its cheaper and it sounds like its 100% more reliable that a heatpump.

Downside is that it will delay the property finish date.

Feels like a roller coaster ride, one day im down, then up, then down again.

 

[Propertunity]

Feels like a roller coaster ride, one day im down, then up, then down again.

Welcome to the world of property development.

You've already got the neighbours a bit off-side by building, best not push your luck with a noisy HWS, IMO.

What about solar/electric. With govt rebate it should be cheap enough?
Otherwise, go with the gas one. It will take 2-3 weeks to get a tenant anyway (they have to give 14 days notice) so the 30 day delay will fly by.

 

[neK]

Welcome to the world of property development.

You've already got the neighbours a bit off-side by building, best not push your luck with a noisy HWS, IMO.

What about solar/electric. With govt rebate it should be cheap enough?
Otherwise, go with the gas one. It will take 2-3 weeks to get a tenant anyway (they have to give 14 days notice) so the 30 day delay will fly by.

Judging from the placement of the HWS, i think it will affect the tenants renting the place more because the HWS will be right next to the bedroom.

The Solar / Electric will cost around 4k, dont know what rebates ill get seeing ive already used the ceiling insulation for the existing dwelling and this is classed as one property.

Also the place wont be completed so I wont be able to get any tenants to inspect the place until its actually finished. So i guess ill just have to wear that unfortunately. $1600 loss of income is better than having to deal with neighbours and tenants complaining about noise and the breaking down of a HWS.

Property development is fun isnt it. I guess I just have to take comfort in the fact that I always said to myself that building a granny flat will help prepare me for the crap that can happen if (and when) i ever decide to build a new full size house in the future. Hasnt killed me yet, so hopefully its made me stronger.

For all you people who are looking to build a granny flat in the future, I will offer the following piece of advice.

Call AGL ASAP (or at least when the concrete base is laid) and get them to quote. I purposely held back calling AGL because they told me that if they get someone out to have a look and its not ready, they'll put my job at the end of the list and only look at it in another 30 days time.

I didnt realise that they would simply quote and not proceed any further until I told them to. In hindsight I should have just called them when the concrete was laid, get them to quote and all of this would have been sorted out a lot quicker.