Knock Down Rebuilds in Canberra region

poetix said :

Madam Cholet said :

….In fact when we get our kitchen reno….

Oh dear, it looks like another kitchen renovation thread will be starting soon. They never die…

Well, now you mention it….

I think we will be right. But rest assured, if it’s good or bad, you’ll hear about it, I’ve already got two post titles ready to go…’My kitchen reno has gone horribly wrong, why didn’t I consult the RiotAct first…’ & ‘What a glorious kitchen with European laundry, thank god I didn’t listen to anyone on RiotAct…’.

Design and build your new house properly and you’ll end up with a home that is vastly more comfortable, usable and energy efficient than one of those nasty old ex-guvvies.

I love our new downsized laundry. So does the wife. It used to be a full room, mostly walking space, that took a good chunk of useable space. It’s now neatly tucked behind bifold doors in the downstairs bathroom.

Now for the original question and to respond to the suggestion that renovations are generally cheaper than a knockdown. We’ve just spent the wrong side of $200k to renovate and extend (only 50sqm) an inner north Duplex. Obviously knockdown wasn’t really on the cards, although we did look into it. Some friends in Ainslie however did the knockdown route (on a fibro shack before the hippies get their hemp knickers in a twist.) and spent not much more for a full brand new 4 bedroom house. They basically went with a slightly tweaked off the plan design from Blackett, which was fully constructed in about 10 weeks.

As for planning approval, if you stick within the guidelines then the first your neighbours even have an inkling is when your builder sends them a letter informing them of the working hours and expected construction dates. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Not everyone wants a cold draughty outdated house and not everyone wants to live out in gungahlin. We love being able to walk to the city or Dickson and we can now do it from a nice light filled comfortable modern house.

Madam Cholet said :

….In fact when we get our kitchen reno….

Oh dear, it looks like another kitchen renovation thread will be starting soon. They never die…

GardeningGirl said :

saraphine said :

thanks riotact…couldn’t agree more re “knock down rebuilds in canberra region” ! ugly, excessive mcmansions…and beige, beige, beige. and what’s with the ‘european laundry’ in these ‘renovations’? another pretention…ironically from a time in europe when couldn’t afford to have separate laundry..or toilet..so would put both in the kitchen..yuk.
give me a simple, functional, liveable ex govvy house that i can purchase without having to sign my life away, any day.
yes far too many, large ugly homes in canberra…and while the other half of population is homeless or below poverty line…shame canberra, shame.

Haha, yeah, European laundry! I saw an extended renovated house for sale which had been turned into a nice spacious house on a nice old-fashioned big block of land, 5 bedrooms, multiple living areas, still a decent size garden left around it, looked real nice, except they’d put in a “European laundry”. Enlarging a house and adding extra bedrooms and downsizing the laundry? I don’t care what fancy name you give it, that was not an improvement!

I’m not sure what the problem with downsizing a laundry is. Coming from a country where the washing machine fitted perfectly well in the kitchen and the laundry basket sat in a handy communal spot I have seen the other side and its not going to kill anyone. Australians expect space for every reason instead ofhaving to have more economical practices. What I wouldn’t give right now for my ‘laundry’ (read: room no one gives a sh*t about), to be nicely contained behind doors a la the Euro model (so they call it), rather than the shabby waste of space room it is right now. In fact when we get our kitchen reno, that’s what I’m going to try and do for my money and get a bigger kitchen into the bargain.

Ben_Dover said :

Something that has puzzled me for a while this. I see people kicking down old houses, set in amongst many other old houses, and building some post-modern nightmare box, with primary coloured paint schemes, which are TOTALLY out of character for the area.

I can give you many photos of such monstrosities if you wish.

Is there no requirement, as there is in the UK, for buildings to blend into the setting and surrounds?

That’s pretty much become the norm in Griffith,Red Hill and to a lesser extent Bundah,although it’s only a matter of time.The wealthy are well and truly cracking the whip!

Something that has puzzled me for a while this. I see people kicking down old houses, set in amongst many other old houses, and building some post-modern nightmare box, with primary coloured paint schemes, which are TOTALLY out of character for the area.

I can give you many photos of such monstrosities if you wish.

Is there no requirement, as there is in the UK, for buildings to blend into the setting and surrounds?

saraphine said :

thanks riotact…couldn’t agree more re “knock down rebuilds in canberra region” ! ugly, excessive mcmansions…and beige, beige, beige. and what’s with the ‘european laundry’ in these ‘renovations’? another pretention…ironically from a time in europe when couldn’t afford to have separate laundry..or toilet..so would put both in the kitchen..yuk.
give me a simple, functional, liveable ex govvy house that i can purchase without having to sign my life away, any day.
yes far too many, large ugly homes in canberra…and while the other half of population is homeless or below poverty line…shame canberra, shame.

Haha, yeah, European laundry! I saw an extended renovated house for sale which had been turned into a nice spacious house on a nice old-fashioned big block of land, 5 bedrooms, multiple living areas, still a decent size garden left around it, looked real nice, except they’d put in a “European laundry”. Enlarging a house and adding extra bedrooms and downsizing the laundry? I don’t care what fancy name you give it, that was not an improvement!

yellowsnow said :

whoodzzz said :

Personally, I’d almost always try and renovate rather than build afresh as the approval process is less, the overall cost will (generally) be less and updating the current house is more emotionally easy for people.

Actually, i hear that for knockdown-rebuild single dwellings there’s hardly an approval process at all. You just pay off – oops sorry – I mean employ a private certifier to approve your plans and away you go. No need to go to ACTPLA, to consult with neighbours etc. The first they know about your plans is seven days before the bulldozers move in – they can contact the certifier to express their concerns but their chances of stopping or changing the build are zero (this is what senior ACT govt officials actually told a forum earlier this month).

Builders and their certifier mates are probably laughing all the way to the bank.

Dodgy Certifier Joseph Fekete (see http://www.acat.act.gov.au/judgment/view/5110/title/construction-occupations-registrar-fekete) is earning $100,000 per month, plus all the kickbacks inherent in a private certification scheme. Money for jam. He gets caught (again), and ACAT fines him $1,000. Some deterrence.

And agree with some of the comments above – for God’s sake don’t demolish a sound, older cottage and replace it with a beige abomination, like Andrew Kefford did.

yellowsnow said :

whoodzzz said :

…. Very few checks and balances involved, except when it comes to multiple dwelling developments (when a DA and ACTPLA involvement is actually required).

Builders and their certifier mates are probably laughing all the way to the bank.

You don’t get rich involving the banks. They lend it to each other. Any society sub-group knows that.