Wollongong Drafting

GRANNY FLATS 
A granny flat is a slang term for a secondary dwelling on your property. Secondary dwellings can either be in the form of a 'granny flat' or a 'dual occupancy'.​

A granny flat can be no bigger than 60m2 and is always linked to the title of your house. Dual occupancies, however, have their own title either in strata or Torrens scenario, which means you can sell it off as a separate residence. Granny flats cannot be sold separately.

Granny flats can be stand-alone structures, or made up of a few spare bedrooms in your house. The second option will require some fire rating solutions to protect both homes in case of a fire.​

Granny flats are a fantastic way to generate income and can in some cases be approved by private certifiers.​

If you are thinking about a possible granny flat addition just ring or email and we can come and have a chat.

DECKS
We give you everything required enabling you to get permission to build your deck. Plans, elevations, council forms... everything.

We work closely with many builders, so if you need a hand finding one we are here to help.

EXTENSIONS
What's included in the price? Everything. There are more people involved as the jobs get bigger, possibly engineers, surveyors etc. Don't panic though, we know the best in the business.

NEW HOMES
Whatever you need for council or private certifiers is what you will get. House plans, elevations, sections, forms etc.

You will need additional consultants like engineers and surveyors, but we work with the best. we'll make sure you get looked after

UNITS
Council and private certifiers require certain information from designers and their clients. We prepare all the documents required for you to build. Floor plans, elevations, sections, site analysis, BASIX reports.....everything.

just be aware, because of the nature of the project, you will require additional help from surveyors, engineers, landscape architects etc. but we know the best, and can get you the best prices. 

Some Common Questions Answered
Getting your house plans drawn can be a little daunting, so we have put together a few answers to help you out. Please take this purely as a guide. Actual prices may vary, but this will at least give you a ball park figure to work with.

01. What's the process?
First things first, have a real think about your budget and stick to it. Armed with that figure, approach WOLLONGONG DRAFTING about what you want to do. We will tell you what the potential issues are, and we will design your project with your budget in mind. Too often the job gets approved for construction, you get quotes from your builder, it's WAY out of your budget, and you have to redesign. Once you have a concept in mind, it gets drafted into a set of house plans ready to lodge for approval.

02. Approval from whom
You have 2 options, your Local Council, or Private Certifying Authorities (PCA). The nature of the job and its location dictates who you can use. For instance, if your project complies with 100% of the council's regulations, and you're not in an area affected by floods, bushfires, landslips etc, you can use a PCA. In all other cases, you need to use council. To find out if you are in an affected area just jump on your local council's website and find your block in the MAPPING section.

 If it is decided you need Council, they will split your application into 2 parts, the DA (Development Application) and the CC (Construction Certificate). The DA portion HAS to be approved by council, the CC does not. You can get the Private certifier to approve the CC for you. You just need to comply with the issues council bring up as part of the DA process.

03. I have approval, now what?
Once you have the approval, then you can start talking to builders. Getting 3 quotes is difficult in today's market. So a better option is to ask them for a 'ballpark' amount. This gives you an indication of how busy they are, and if they want the work. When selecting a builder it helps if the builder and the PCA know each other. A good working relationship between these two guys is worth its weight in gold. WOLLONGONG DRAFTING know many builders in the area. We'll find the right one for your project.

04. what's included in our prices?
We provide all the documents, forms, and time required by either council or the private certifier to get approval for construction. That includes the following:

House Plans
- Site inspections / detailed measure up of existing house if needed.
- A site plan: Showing setbacks, footprint, neighbours etc.
- Floor plan: A plan showing the internal configuration of your project.
- Elevations: Elevation views of all sides of the project.
- Section: A cutaway view of the internal workings of your project.
- Shadows: If required, a plan showing what kind of shadows your project makes.

We allow you to make as many changes as you need to the plans to make sure they are exactly like you wanted prior to lodging with the council. Once lodged, however, we limit the number of changes we make to the plans.

Miscellaneous
- Completion of council forms.
- Statement of environmental effects.
- Electronic copies of plans in PDF.
- Demolition and construction waste management plan.

Once all the documents have been completed WOLLONGONG DRAFTING will lodge the application with the council and babysit it through the process. If additional details are required outside the normal scope of works we will charge at an agreed hourly rate. Jobs vary in complexity, therefore we don't guarantee approval for every application, however, we will know very early on if there are any potential issues to address, and make sure we give ourselves the best chance of getting the concept approved.

05. What Other Cost Should I Expect?
Jobs vary in complexity however the following costs are an approximation based on a large extension / single-story house.

Additional to our costs you will need the following;
- Council fees. $ 800 - 1500
- PCA fees. $ 1200 - 1800

Depending on the scale of you may need the following.
- Surveyors, $ 1100 - 1500
- Engineering. $ 500+
- BASIX assessment (Only needed if construction is over $50k) - $350

If your block is in a bushfire area, or prone to land instability you will need the following.
- Bush fire report, $1000 - 1200
- Geotech assessment, $1200 - 1800