Site costs on a sloping block?

[Jamie_D]

Hello

I am looking at purchasing a block which slopes down from the street. There is an initial drop from the road of about 2 mtrs and the slope gradually descends from front to back by 2 mtrs.

How much should I budget for site costs and what problems should I forecast for this type of block? ie, effect of heavy downpours etc

I really like the location and there are some magnificent houses being built in the area.

Any thoughts and recommendations would be greatly appreciated

 

[Aaron Sice]

are you looking to build a stumpie or a slabbie?

because if you want a slab home i would recommend putting the money into the HOUSE, not the GROUND.

a stepped house creates a house with character with little courtyards and interesting levels - you may even find the house is worth a little more. makes a home stand out a little from the rest of the pack.

a house with a flat slab and a 2m retaining wall at the back makes the house cheap to build (which means it's resale may be lower), which means you've effectively "buried" your money because you won't get it back in any completed valuation or sale.

my 2c - but i would rather put my money in the house.

 

[Gee Cee]

I do build / sell houses.
I only go for level or near level as i build through the major builders who do slab construction.

If the block is sloping slightly you can always split the home in the middle and this allows you to not have to excavate & fill to much.

However if you just go ahead and do a slab on a sloping block the costs are HUGE.

Excavation costs, Costs to get rid of soil, extra piering, Extra costs to beef up the slab. (Concrete , steel, engineers reports) You could end up putting a extra $30k + into the ground. Which no one sees . I would prefer to put the $39k into air cond, extra garage, better facade etc. (Something people can see) Telling the buyer that you put a extra $39k into the slab is not really a selling point
Then retaining walls. If they are over around 1 metre you have to have a engineers design for them. Then they cost heaps. Also going out the back door to a 2 metre high brick retaining wall is not actually a pleasant view.

Of course you can always do piers and joists. However you will usually require a private type builder for this as most project builders only do simple stuff. If they do piers they will charge heaps.

If it is a personal place & you can afford it go with a sloping block.

Otherwise pay extra for a easy build block.

Gee Cee

Greg

 

[Jamie_D]

are you looking to build a stumpie or a slabbie?

probably slabbie, however will consider stumps as it does create more character.
Are the costs more or less for stumps as opposed to slab?

 

[Jamie_D]

If the block is sloping slightly you can always split the home in the middle and this allows you to not have to excavate & fill to much.

What do you mean here.?

Sounds very interesting...please explain further

 

[Gee Cee]

If the block is sloping down from the road you can have say the front half of the house at one level. Then in the middle of the house you have a drop down to the next level. (Split level)
Saves having to cut a heap out of the front then fill at the back to get one level building site.

Gee Cee

 

[BayView]

If the block is sloping down from the road you can have say the front half of the house at one level. Then in the middle of the house you have a drop down to the next level. (Split level)
Saves having to cut a heap out of the front then fill at the back to get one level building site.

Gee Cee

This is what we are doing with our PPoR build.
The entry is at ground level, then you go inside and go up one level to the main level, and the same staircase at the entry also takes you down to another level below the main upper level.
This way there is minimal cutting and filling.
The garage is at the top of the block and on a slab, so no escaping a cut there, but the rest of the house is on stumps.

 

[Sunfish]

I did mine on steel piers. The double garage is on a slab with the lounge kitchen and patios on piers abt 1200 higher with the bedrooms another 1200 higher built over the garage.

The original picture I saw was a southern home in brick but I'm in the north so did it with weatherboard. The result was quite nice.

 

[BayView]

I did mine on steel piers. The double garage is on a slab with the lounge kitchen and patios on piers abt 1200 higher with the bedrooms another 1200 higher built over the garage.

The original picture I saw was a southern home in brick but I'm in the north so did it with weatherboard. The result was quite nice.

Chuck us some pics S.

Sounds nice.

 

[Jamie_D]

I just found out that the initial drop is approx 5 m and we require a specialised builder which should cost an extra $100k
I think we'll give it a miss at this stage, but thanks everyone for their comments.

 

[Gee Cee]

Yes that is the usual case.
Then when all finished you need one leg longer than the other

Even blocks that look near level can have a fall of over 1metre across the block.

Gee Cee

Greg

Being LEVEL Headed

 

[leighton]

The cost for building on a sloping block do not have to be all that higher than a flat block. i have built many designs over 27 years of building - a huge number of them on sloping block. A lot of the skill is in designing something to suit the sloping block. leighton at clark new homes. cheers