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Category: Building Design

A Great Set Of Plans

 

People often ask us,

“What do I get on my final set of plans?”

 

This is a great question, particularly if you are dealing with a Building Designer for the first time. Every designer has their own level of detail they provide in their finished set.

 

Clear plans win work

 

We often win new work based on the clarity & presentation of our drawing set so we have decided to explain what is included in a standard set of construction drawings for a new house.
Stay tuned to this blog to be better informed about what goes into a great set of plans.

Copyright Beware

I am reminded often of the number of people who do not understand copyright law pertaining to building plans.

 

In short, whosoever draweth the plans – owneth the plans.

 

If you have your house plans done by a registered Builder of a large Major Builder, even if you handed them your hand sketch, they own the copyright on the plans – YOU DO NOT!
You cannot use the plans they produce for you with any other builder without written copyright release. This may or may not be granted & could leave you with plans you have paid for, but cannot use.  At the very least it will cost you good money to release the copyright to you.

 

Use an Independent Building Designer

 

However, if you have your plans designed & drawn by an independent building designer, you can use those plans to request quotes from any number of builders & then select the one you like.  Whilst the copyright legally rests with the Building Designer, you are free to shop it around to any available builder for a quote without fear of any copyright issues.

 

Copyright Release

 

In some cases our clients request we release the copyright to them as part of our agreement.  We normally do not have any issues with this providing the design is only going to be used for the site we were engaged to design it on.  In all cases the ‘Revit’ file is always retained by the building designer.  This file contains intellectual property which cannot be shared with other designers or consultants.

 

Remember – always us a Registered Building Designer to maximise your future options.

Home Builder Grant Applications Now Open

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE HOME BUILDER GRANT

 

Head over your the State Revenue Office and apply for the Home Builder Grant to determine your eligibility and potentially receive $25,000!!

 

Home Builder Grant Victoria

 

The links are here for the information: https://lnkd.in/g7FtSXk

And here to apply: https://lnkd.in/gNtN_FZ

 

Home Builder Grant Eligibility

 

The Commissioner of State Revenue has extended the construction commencement requirement by 3 months. This means that applicants have six months from the signing of an eligible building contract to commence construction.  Don’t  miss out!

Stage 4 Lockdown – Still Open

We are still trading as usual

 

With Stage 4 lock down our Pakenham and Ringwood offices will close tomorrow and all staff will continue to work from home.
Most of us have been working remotely for months and we are well placed for business as usual.

 

Client Meetings

 

The only real change is all client meetings will be via Microsoft Teams and no site measures can take place for the next 6 weeks.
Over the past year we have made important, pre-emptive improvements to our IT infrastructure, so you can rest assured there will be no interruption to our productivity.

$25,000 Grant has a very tight timeline

 Thinking of building?

Many people are now considering renovating or building a new house because of the federal government’s $25k grant initiative.  Few people realise the timeline required to get that contract signed before December 31st 2020.  Consider the following timeline if you were to contact us on 1st July 2020;

 Realistic Timeline

  • Initial phone call to our office about your renovation. (1st July) We advise you to request your plans of the existing house from council prior to meeting (2 weeks wait)
  • Initial free consultation in our office 15th July
  • Quote prepared same day & you sign an agreement to start the design work after some consideration (1 week) 22nd July
  • Site measure completed 5th August (2 weeks depending on workflow)
  • Existing conditions plans ready (1 week) & another meeting scheduled to discuss the design of the renovation 12th August
  • Design sketch completed (1 week) & presented to you 19th August
  • Design given the go ahead after some tweaks (2 weeks) 2nd September
  • Town Planning Drawings completed & submitted to council 9th September (1 week)
  • Council finally approved the planning permit 11th November (2 months is very short for them considering they are currently working remotely)
  • Working drawings completed & engineering consultants requested (2 weeks). Plans emailed to client & sent to your builder for quoting 25th November
  • Engineering received back 9th December & forward to builder (2 weeks)
  • Builders quote received 16th December (1 week)
  • Signing of contract with selected builder after making some amendments to inclusions 23rd December (1 week)
  • Christmas!

Conclusion

Now this timeline is reliant on the building design company being able to fit you in the workflow during a high demand period as everyone else is thinking the same thing.  Also dependent on council approving a permit in 2 months (unusually fast), & the builder having a quote ready just before Christmas in 1 week.

 

What this all boils down to is; if you want this grant you need to act now!

Call HDG on 03 5940 2340