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Sustainable design is not rocket science - it's just smart.

Completing the working drawings

DESIGN SERVICE - NEW HOUSE

Process and the costs
(all prices indicated include GST)

Own Home Design charges $120 per hour for design and drafting work including any site visits, meetings, driving time, and consulting external agencies such as engineers or town planners.

Because every house is so different, we initially calculate an hourly rate from the first meeting to the completion of the floor plan. This can be anywhere between 10 and 20 hours ($990 and $1980) depending on the complexity and size of the house. If you have firm ideas of what you want including any pictures or sample floor plans, this may reduce the number of hours required. This is the time to decide exactly what you want your house to look like including the sizes of rooms, types of windows and the layout of your kitchen. It is the longest part of the process and you should allow plenty of time to make sure you are completely happy with the design of your new house.

OWN HOME DESIGN is a GreenSmart professional business. We understand the environment on the Atherton Tablelands - working with it, rather than against it. Your home can be designed environmentally sustainable to suit our conditions. Recommending lightweight construction using timber and/or steel in preference to concrete block, we can offer advice on the use of materials to design a home that is comfortable and healthy to live in. A sustainable house on the Tablelands does not require airconditioning in summer and only a small amount of heating in winter.

We know when we can expect the rain and where it is likely to come from. We have a fair idea of how hot it will be in summer and how cold in winter. We know where the sun rises and where it sets, we know it shifts to the North in winter. So, we can use this basic knowledge to apply some basic design principles to position of a house so that you work with nature: shutting the heat of the sun out in summer and welcoming it in winter. Put in some windows to capture the breeze - cooling your home without inviting the mildew in with the rain.

From sweltering heat in the middle of a summer day, to crisp cool mornings in winter, the Atherton Tablelands has variable conditions. Endless drizzle and unrelenting south-easterly winds can change to magical clear skies and fresh air before the day is out. But we escape the muggy coastal heat and the lowland flooding and farmers welcome the rain each year. We know what we can expect from the weather, so we can work with it rather than against it when designing our homes.

Own Home Design, Malanda, North Queensland

Malanda

Pole home.

PORTFOLIO: HOUSES

INVOICE ONE >

Once you are completely happy with the design, you will receive a floor plan, elevations and a 3D image of what your house will look like with the first invoice. These preliminary plans should be enough to ask a builder to give an estimate. We can now also give you a cost to complete the full set of plans required by council for building approval. This estimate can range between $1800 for a very basic house to $3200 for a more complex design.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY >

Before the design is finalised, an initial energy efficiency assessment will be done to assure that the 6 star minimum will be achieved. This is mandatory requirement introduced in Queensland in March 2009. Council will not accept any plans without a 6 star energy certificate. This assessment is done in-house by a qualified energy assessor. The cost varies between $165 for a house up to 300 square metres and $220 for two story or houses larger than 300 square metres; this will be included in your final bill.
SAFE DESIGN >

As of 1st of January, 2012, The National Harmonisation of Work Health and Safety requires that you provide information on risks to health and safety on your proposed building site. This information is then collated into a written safety report which is provided back to you by a qualified WHS expert at a cost of $285. Please be aware that as much as we would like to eliminate this additional cost, you are obligated to provide this report to council with the submission of your plans. (a separate fact sheet on this new statutory obligation is attached or you can refer to www.worksafe.qld.gov.au)
CHOOSING A BUILDER >

If you have a builder in mind, now is a good time to involve them as they may have specific construction preferences which we will need to know about.
THE ENGINEER >

We have a local engineer which we will engage to design your footings, bracing, and other structural details. He will also stamp and certify the final plans which go to council. Please let us know if you or your builders have a preferred engineer. We will not challenge what the engineer has specified or his fees, if you or your builder does not agree with the engineers details, you will need to contact him to discuss possibly changing the plan. Similarly, you may wish to ask for a quote from the engineer prior to his commencement of work. Please let us know if you wish to do this and we can put you into contact with him. The engineer works at a rate of $181.50 per hour. We cannot anticipate how much they will be, it depends on the complexity of the design and can vary between $600 and $1800.
MAKING CHANGES >

Once the design has been approved and working drawings have commenced, try to avoid making changes. Changes to plans including engineer’s details will incur a fee of $120 per hour. It may also not be possible to complete them in your required timeframe.
THE FINAL BILL >

The final bill will be included with the plans and the engineers certificate and energy efficiency report when you collect them. This will include:

• Cost to draw final plans for council

• Energy efficiency

• Engineer’s fees

• Safe design report
FEES IN OVERVIEW >

Invoice one

estimated between $990 and $1980 for the design

Final invoice

Drafting estimated between $1800 for a very basic house to
$3200 for a more complex design.

Energy efficiency $165 for a single storey house to $220 for a two storey house.

Engineers fees estimated between $600 and $180

Safe design report $285
WHAT NEEDS TO GO TO COUNCIL? >

Four sets of plans stamped and certified by an engineer incl:

Original stamped set of plans and the Form 15 completed and signed by the engineer

Energy efficiency assessment showing at least 6 star rating incl:

Form 15 completed and signed by an approved energy assessor

Soil test

Safe design report

Building application including builders lic number and signed by the builder (your builder will arrange this)

Plumbing plan including plumbers lic number and signed by the plumber (your builder will arrange this)