Which one comes first? Land survey or house plans?

Discussion in 'Development' started by Zak, 7th Oct, 2015.

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  1. Zak

    Zak Well-Known Member

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    Which one comes first? Land survey or house plans?

    i would have thought a land survey will be conducted first then the survey information will be provided to the architect to develop and draw up the house plan?

    is this correct?
     
  2. 380

    380 Well-Known Member

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    Land Survey is a first step!

    If you have some spare time, please feel free to read eBook on our website, it may give you basic idea of property development. (link is in signature below)
     
  3. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Spot on Zak. The survey lets the designer know what slope they have to contend with - front/back or sides. If retaining walls are required & how tall, extent of cut and fill etc.

    More importantly it provides solar orientation so they know where to put windows and shading, glazing selection, living areas, amenities etc. All of thatmay go out the window if you have a view.
     
  4. Zak

    Zak Well-Known Member

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    tx guys. does it matter if the a survey is done before or after when an existing house is demolished?
     
  5. Tenex

    Tenex Well-Known Member

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    Yes it does. In fact the demolisher needs the current contours to understand how far he will need to go.
     
  6. MikePan

    MikePan New Member

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    There are different types of survey. Initially, get a boundary survey (or identification survey if there's house/buildig already on the site, a contour survey is also recommended). At the end, you might get a final bulding survey.
     
  7. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    If the survey is completed prior to demolition then you can progress the design and provide RLs to the demolisher.

    If you are demolishing outside of the build contract, if the demolisher alters the RLs the builder may go hunting for variations in the earthworks.
     
  8. Tufan Chakir

    Tufan Chakir Well-Known Member

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    You're looking at a "feature survey" as the surveyors call them. Done BEFORE the house design, for the reasons stated above. usually before demolition, but it's not going to make much difference if it's after demolition. Before demolition is going to give you more information about what's there, but if you're looking at a redevelopment you may as well leave it until after demoliiton
     
  9. smator

    smator Well-Known Member

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    Is there some type of special report format that you need to get this in for a builder to rely on it when quoting on a job? Does anyone have an old copy of a report for reference?
     
  10. bashworth

    bashworth Well-Known Member

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    This is a typical survey

    [​IMG]

    from; Understanding your Survey Plan
     
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  11. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    When the surveyor is out there, they should also be plotting the location of existing windows as well to prevent the design needing modification due to privacy/overlooking, pick up on significant trees, location of services etc.
     
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  12. lixas4

    lixas4 Well-Known Member

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    Hi Zak, my recommendation is to choose your designer/architect first, get a rough idea of what you are wanting to design, then approach a surveyor (preferably use the one your designer recommends). This way if there are any 'extras' or non standard features that need to be located your designer will request it. Rather then having to pay the surveyor to go back out onsite again at a later date.

    As far as whether to do the demo before the survey, from a surveyors point of view, its a lot easier to do a survey after demo, but most clients like to keep the existing dwelling until they have DA.
     
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  13. smator

    smator Well-Known Member

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  14. bmc

    bmc Well-Known Member

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    AHD stands for Australian Height Datum.
    Most councils will have a minimum list of requirements to be shown on the Detail Survey Plan. Levels shown relative to Australian height datum is usually one of these requirements.
     
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  15. bashworth

    bashworth Well-Known Member

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    Getting AHD only really matters if you are in or near a possible flood area.

    It does cost extra with the amount based on the distance from the nearest fixed datum point
     
  16. Tufan Chakir

    Tufan Chakir Well-Known Member

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    AHD without a doubt. That way it's universal and not site specific. Avoids potential problems later
     
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  17. Tufan Chakir

    Tufan Chakir Well-Known Member

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    A FEATURE SURVEY is what you want, it will pick up all the necessary information for designing a building
     
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  18. lixas4

    lixas4 Well-Known Member

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    As discussed earlier AHD is the Australian Height Datum, which is an Australia wide height reference, in simpliest terms, the AHD number provided is a height above sea level.

    TBM is Temporary Bench Mark, which is a mark placed by the surveyor with an AHD height attached. It can be used during construction to help with the levels, ie the concreter will use it so the slab is built to the correct height.
     
  19. smator

    smator Well-Known Member

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    Thanks, just looked up the minimum requirements and it needs to have AHD
     
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