Queenslander Reno: Tips

[NickZed]

Hi there,

I am in the process of searching/purchasing a "Queenslander" to renovate.

I am new to the QLD property market and have a couple of questions:

1) I see that a lot of people add extra bedrooms / living area to the downstairs portion of the Queenslanders - however, I am a bit unsure as to the legality of this? What are the legal requirements regarding minimum height of ceilings (etc) that I would need to consider before embarking upon something like this? Are there any other considerations that I should think about - i.e. making sure that the house isn't in a flood prone area before I try and create bedrooms that might be flooded?

2) In NSW a lot of this information can be found in the DCP's for the relevant council - what document should I be looking at in Qld that spells these requirements out?

Thanks for your help.
Regards
Nick

 

[RPI]

Hi
If it is in Brisbane, google brisbane city council and you will see a link to planning and development. then go to PD online and type in your address. This will give you the zoning local plan etc. you can access all these on the same site to see what they mean.

2.4m is min normally but looks crap in a qlder. I normally try and match the ceiling height above, udsually 2.9 or 3.0m. The lowest i have gone is 2.7 but that was in a 3 storey and the top 2 were 3.0m so not too bad.

hope that helps

hope that helps

 

[willair]

Hi there,

I am in the process of searching/purchasing a "Queenslander" to renovate.

I am new to the QLD property market and have a couple of questions:

1) I see that a lot of people add extra bedrooms / living area to the downstairs portion of the Queenslanders - however, I am a bit unsure as to the legality of this? What are the legal requirements regarding minimum height of ceilings (etc) that I would need to consider before embarking upon something like this? Are there any other considerations that I should think about - i.e. making sure that the house isn't in a flood prone area before I try and create bedrooms that might be flooded?

If it gets too the offer part of the deal then prior,look at the plumbing layout ,very costly to jack up old qld these days,2400 is basic legal height,but as RPI has already said if you set it at 2400 it just does not look right,3200 and above is the level i would set it at,do a rough take off on materials,labour-council permits-elec-slab- frame-external-external cladding then all the BCC red tape and enviro add ons and you will be above the 100k mark very quickly,sometimes it's better to find someone who has to sell that has already done all the hard work only to find out the 210k reno that was never passed and signed off on is worth nothing..all the flood maps are within the BCC site imho..willair..

 

[NickZed]

thats great information,
thanks for the hints... I'll check out the councils website.

Thanks for the ideas on the minimum height requirements for the downstairs to look any good.

Sorry - just to clarify - is it necessary to get council approval prior to creating more living space/bedrooms (etc) downstairs in a Queenslander? As you can see... this is my first foray into this sort of thing.

Thanks for your help
Nick

 

[willair]

thats great information,
thanks for the hints... I'll check out the councils website.

Thanks for the ideas on the minimum height requirements for the downstairs to look any good.

Sorry - just to clarify - is it necessary to get council approval prior to creating more living space/bedrooms (etc) downstairs in a Queenslander? As you can see... this is my first foray into this sort of thing.

Thanks for your help
Nick

It can work both ways if you were to go outside the footprint of the plan then yes,or look at it this way if you intend to reno then onsell this will be illegal from the slab up,then you will have the elec-plumbing not passed ,I think it was passed under law in QLD,about a new plumbing law that states a $1000.00 plus fine for any illegal work in plumbing very easy to check if it has been passed or not,so "YES" you will need council approval,why spend above 75k only to find out you will be forced to comply with all building-elec-plumbing codes from the start,or rip it all out and start again..imho..willair.