| 77 One of the things to consider before you build is your site and its attributes; what type of site do you have? Is it lat and relatively simple to build on, or steep and more complex? The selection of a site has signi icant implications for the homeowner. It becomes more relevant as we see in ill becoming more common and the accessible lat sites get built on early. Think about the phasing of activities and how tradespeople access your site. What order will activities occur in? Contractors falling over each other because there are too many people on site is ine icient and dangerous. Trades vehicles parked up and down the street won’t endear you to neighbours and is ine icient around getting materials to the site; the result is likely more time and cost. It will usually pay to spend some money early on in construction for driveways and metaled areas to facilitate deliveries and parking. Your contractors will thank you. Complex access adds cost to a project, so bear that in mind for that cheap site; how are you going to get heavy loads on site? Flat sites are straightforward to build on; steep sites come with plenty of challenges, so if you want a view or to build on a hill or slope, be prepared to pay more for some aspects of the build. Contours and slope: The steeper the slope, the more complex the build will be, so take professional advice on slope stability, New house drainage considerations ground type and stormwater design. Natural features, while looking good for landscaping, such as rock outcrops and boulders, can complicate access for foundations and trenches for services and design. Site enabling works facilitate the start of construction so the site can be formed for construction and a site cut can be done. Consider how this will a ect construction longer term. The design will impact on costs and complexity of the task, so keep things as simple as you want to a ord to stay within budget. Architects love to throw in complex features on sites, which is often a desirable thing from the owner’s point of view but bear a thought for ease of construction and cost impacts. Boundaries are crucial, so locate boundary pegs or get the site surveyed, so you are con ident of site boundaries and setbacks. Work out who owns what bit of land; this may save costly disputes with neighbours later. Establish your scope of works, what’s in and what’s out: this is probably the most signi icant thing to get established before work starts on site. Scope creep and scope change create lots of disagreements on site. They can result in bad experiences for both the tradesperson and the customer. Get your scope nailed down early and decide what’s in and what’s out of scope for your job. Make sure your contractors are aware of the scope and check your scope against your budget. What are the priority items of work to be done, and what contingency do you have for unexpected cost escalation. Check your team’s ability, who is on your team, and how experienced they are; check trade references and ask previous customers how the build went. Would they use those guys again; a telling factor? Do your team have the capability to undertake the work? If they don’t, who does? Where will those skills come from? Do some research. Research a realistic timeframe for construction, try not to move in the week before Christmas, and test all your systems out before moving in. Hence, there are no unpleasant surprises during that honeymoon period of new ownership. Budget often a ects the completion of landscaping, inished levels and contour, try to get this as close as possible to the desired inished level to avoid looding during heavy rain events. Consider what season you are working in and how the weather will a ect things during construction, such as soft ground for heavy loads, silt control and site stability. Will buried tanks loat with high groundwater? Drains should be back illed and illed with water during wet weather to prevent the pipes from loating in looded trenches. Getting good advice from professionals experienced in their ield is invaluable for the building process; this usually means you will have to pay for it, so be prepared; however, it may well save you in the long run.
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