Blogs

Building on a slope

There are many reasons you may purchase sloping land, and if well designed, a home built upon a sloping block will likely provide many benefits such as beautiful outlooks and cool breezes. It is imperative that we design a home to suit the land which works with the natural slope, rather than trying to force the land to suit a home

Design, design design!

You can never put too much effort into the design stage when building on sloping blocks. It is so common for project homes to be ‘plonked’ on a sloping block which is impractical for many reasons and can lead to issues with drainage and moisture ingress causing dampness and mould inside the home as well as structural damages to the building envelope. Our top 3 considerations include:

1. Consider a well elevated home build on poles/stumps

Designing a home that works with the slope rather than against it will often require decreasing the degree of earthworks (and cutting flat house pads) and particularly the size of any concrete slabs.

By keeping a home well elevated and considering building a pole home, this will encourage natural drainage and ventilation under the subfloor to prevent long term structural damages and decrease costs of retaining walls.

When designing a pole home, there is an opportunity to get creative and their designs can be extremely architecturally pleasing with specific features such as diverse and interesting roof lines, and split floor levels.

2. Coming up with a drainage plan

Understanding the positioning on the slope in which you intend to build your home is vital in coming up with a drainage plan. Proper drainage around your home and land will ensure that the foundations of the home are not overloaded with moisture and soft earth, this will not only increase the structural longevity of your home, but also assist in preventing flooding and water damage (in a weather event) which can lead to toxicity of indoor air quality and contribute to poor health.

We work closely with hydrologists and plumbers to come up with a drainage plan and design when building on sloping land.

3. Investing in well-designed retaining walls

Retaining walls are necessary on all sloping blocks, the degree of retaining that your land will require will depend on where the home is built, how much earthworks is required (as this will change the drainage and structure of the slope) and the degree of slope of your land.

Retaining walls assist in supporting and stabilizing the earth to prevent soil from collapsing suddenly or eroding slowly. This in turn would result in destabilized earth and drainage issues around the site leading to long term structural damage.

Retaining walls can be constructed from many different materials such as timber, concrete blocks, reinforced concrete, stone and brick.

Costs associated with building on a slope:

Usually, there will be additional costs when building a sloping block, these costs include:

• Earthworks to the site, including importing or removing fill to level out land and allow for any house slabs.
• Waterproofing of underground walls when required – it is also important to note that waterproofing membranes are only designed to last 7-10 years and will need to maintained to prevent dampness and mould. This is only a consideration if building into the slope.
• Retaining walls .
• Foundations and engineering costs which may include the need for soil stabilization or retaining/brick build up walls under the home.
• Difficult site access. Depending on the land and neighboring homes, there may be a need for temporary fence removals (of neighboring homes), earth stabilization to ensure heavy trucks are able to get to the site, and sometimes even cranes.
• Additional steps around the external and internal of the home.

By designing a home design that works with the slope, it will likely reduce the earthworks and building costs in the short term, and be well designed to prevent potential moisture ingress in the long term. There are many considerations when building on a slope, and our top 5 considerations and tips include:

June 15, 2022 by Shani Sulter

Understanding your project journey

At Healthy Living Homes, we want you to enjoy every step of the process of building or renovating your dream home. It is a priority to us that you find excitement and joy in this process, and we believe that the key to this is by understanding each stage of your building project and what to expect through this journey.

Once your design has been finalised, and all necessary engineering and approvals have been completed, a project schedule will be developed with all stages of your project (including trades) penciled in to assist you in understanding what will be occurring in specific time frames.

There are several stages involved in a building or renovation process, and every project will slightly differ in the detail of works completed in each stage as well as the time frames it will take to complete them. It is also common for stages to overlap – for example, the external painting may occur while the internal fit out is being completed. This is why having a schedule is so important, to ensure efficiency and productivity.

On the completion of most stages, there will be a required inspection from engineers and certifiers to ensure that the structural elements of the project meet the Australian standards as well as our own high standards at Healthy Living Homes.

1. Demolition stage

Demolition is only necessary for existing homes where there will be renovations and/or building extensions completed. For new homes, this stage typically is not relevant.

Demolition stage involves all relevant trades ‘stopping off’ water and electricity to ensure there is a safe work environment for us to complete demolition works to necessary areas of the home.

This can be as minor as moving a few walls, or major where the whole internal (and sometimes external) of the home is demolished to leave an empty shell for the new home layout.

Upon commencement of this stage, a skip bin will arrive to site which will be emptied on a regular basis and will remain on site for majority of the project.

The time frame to complete demolition works varies from project to project, and can take anywhere from 1 day to 3 weeks depending on the amount of structural changes and renovations to the home.

2. Preparation and base stage

Once the necessary demolition work has been completed, the preparation and base stage will begin, this stage is relevant for both new homes and extensions.

This stage involves the completion of any necessary earth works to the site, as well as the construction of foundations and footings to structurally support the building.

There are two main types of foundations which are both extremely common in Queensland, this includes concrete footings and a concrete slab for a slab home construction, or concreted piers, joists and bearers for a home built on a subfloor system. All plumbing and electrical pipes will be in place prior to ant concrete slabs being poured.

On completion of this stage there will be a termite barrier installed and an inspection from a qualifies certifier/engineer to ensure all requirements are met. The average type frame for the preparation and base stage is between 2-4 weeks, however this does vary depending on the structural system the home will be built on, and the size of the project.

3. Framing stage

The frame of a home is another structural element and is done in two parts; wall frames and roof trusses.

Wall frames – wall frames are most commonly constructed from light weight timber such as CCA treated pine, however other common building materials used to include besser block/brick, concrete or steel.

During the wall framing process, the building envelope/external walls will be constructed with the correct holes for windows so that they can be fitted (during the lock up stage)

Roof trusses, rafters and ceiling battens – These are most commonly constructed from either light weight CCA treated pine or steel and are correctly engineered and constructed to carry the weight of the roof, and to allow for proper ceiling installation.

The time frame to complete framing stage is typically 2-3 weeks, and hugely depends on what the external structure of the home will be. If for example it is constructed from brick or besser block, it is a much longer time frame then the process of using light weight treated pine.

4. Installation of roof, windows and external cladding

While the base and preparation and framing stage provide the home with the major structural elements, installation of the roof, windows and external cladding assist to reinforce the structure (making it stronger) as well as making it airtight and weatherproof.

The roof will be installed first and is most commonly constructed with steel or roof tiles.

The windows will then be fitted, followed by external cladding (if not constructed by block, brick or concrete). Common cladding materials include fiber cement sheeting (of which there are many different sizes and textures) and hardwood timber.

Once this stage is complete, the plumbing and electrical contractors will complete their first ‘rough in’ to run cables and pipework. The project will be ‘lockable’ and is referred to as lock up stage, where the internal structure will now also be waterproof.

The time frame to complete this stage is approximately 4 weeks, once again depending on the size of the project and the materials selected.

5. Internal plastering, flooring installation and fixing stage

Once the house is protected from weather events, the internal elements of the home can be completed.

Plastering is completed first, with plasterboard being installed and finished (also referred to as ‘hung and set’) on the internal framework of the walls and ceiling. In wet areas such as the bathrooms, cement sheeting will be used instead as it is resistant to water.

Internal flooring is then laid (depending on the materials selected), including tiling of the bathrooms. Fix out stage is then completed where internal doors are hung and floor skirting and architraves are installed.

Some flooring options such as carpet may not be installed until after painting is completed, and other flooring options may have already been installed (such as hardwood timber on a subfloor), this means that the time frame for this stage varies hugely taking on average 3-4 weeks

6. Painting

Once plastering and fix out is completed, painting can begin internally (and may already have begun or been completed externally). Prior to commencing this stage, painters will seal all gaps to achieve a clean finish.

One coat of undercoat and then two coats of your selected paint colour will be applied

The time frame of painting completion is approximately 1 week for each external and internal painting.

7. Kitchen and cabinet installation

The cabinetry installation is what really brings the project together and starts to make it feel like ‘home’. Particle board (also known as white board) is cut to specific measurements and screwed together (off site) to create the base of your cabinetry.

This will generally arrive to site and be fixed into position (for the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry), followed by the benchtop and cabinet door/draw installation.

Plumbing and electrical trades are involved in connecting pipework and installing appliances in this stage. The completion time frame for cabinetry is usually 2 weeks.

8. Fit off stage

During fit off stage, all of the finishing touches will be completed, this includes door handles and catches, tap ware, mirrors, tiling of splash backs and necessary touch ups.

The plumbing and electrical contractors are also involved in connecting pipework and installing relevant appliance at this stage.

Fit off stage is generally very quick and will usually take around 1 week

9. Completion

Hooray! Once the above stages have been completed, there will be a walk through ‘completion meeting’ with the builder and client to ensure that everything is completed to your expectations and that there is no defective work.

Your project will be completed and handed over once we agree all aspects of your project are completed and meet our high standards.

If we have engaged a building certifier, they will complete their final inspection and submit necessary forms to council to sign your project as being complete.

Sep 21, 2022 by Shani Sulter