Would you really go granny flat

Discussion in 'Granny Flats' started by MTR, 16th Jul, 2015.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
  1. SK Investments

    SK Investments Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    1st Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    187
    Location:
    Wherever the wind takes me, currently Brisbane
  2. QbiK Evolution

    QbiK Evolution Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    17th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    207
    Location:
    Perth
    Hi Daniel007, There is always issues with rusting when it comes to steel in building construction however Shipping containers are better set up to combat this than any other structural steel. Firstly Shipping containers are built of a product called Corten steel this has a natural preventative in that once a level of rust has formed on the surface this in itself acts as a coating to stop further structural rust. You may have seen Corten steel used as a detail in some buildings before ( Search Corten Steel in google). Secondly these containers are coated numerous times to prevent corrosion as they spend 80% of their lifespan out at sea with the salt water environment. In normal home use environment we would never go to such extreme lengths to protect our steel so we are fairly safe to say the existing coating should not be a problem. The option I have used to protect my container and improve the aesthetic is to lightly sand back any surface rust on the container, this is usually there from damage where one container has hit another and scratched away the protective coatings. Once a light sand is complete I painted with a zinc oxide primer and then whichever exterior paint of your choice. However there is multiple options you could clad straight over the damage and have no fear that the container will last another 50 years in the same condition or even leave it as is if you like the industrial look. However I cant imagine too many councils would appreciate this look but it would be great for a holiday house in the bush however.

    Hi SK Investments,

    The insulation on this container is mainly passive insulation, what you cant see in these photos is there is a 250mm thick green roof on the top to provide a huge level of insulation to the roof. The walls however we left bare as we wanted the industrial look of the corrugated steel. I have however put in a passive solar shading device to prevent the container walls getting any sun in Summer and decent amount of it in winter to warm it up. We have planted deciduous vines and trees in certain spots to provide this shading to the container. I'm the first to admit this is not the ideal situation in our climate but we sometimes have to make sacrifices due to other circumstances. I will say however we haven't had to many issues with it being unbearable inside this container i believe it helps not having any thermal mass in the container so when you try to cool it down the air conditioner is not battling to cool while the bricks or concrete are continuously radiating heat back into the house. We installed a small 1.5kw reverse cycle which will cool the living, bedroom, and kitchen in one as it is all open air, we also haven't seen a spike in electricity bills other than the usual bump for having another 2 people using the same meter.
     
  3. Daniel007

    Daniel007 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    21st Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    256
    Location:
    Sydney
    Thanks so much, such an insightful post !
     
  4. Propagate

    Propagate Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,495
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Great work @QbiK Evolution I'd love to build a container house one day. There was a great episode of Grand Designs where an Irish architect build a container house on his family farm, it was stunning and relatively simple in terms of structure. Really showcased what can be done with a little imagination, a crane and a welding kit. Worth a watch if you can find it, here's a write up about it I found on Google.

    http://www.dezeen.com/2015/01/11/gr...eland-farm-shipping-containers-grand-designs/
     
    KLH likes this.
  5. QbiK Evolution

    QbiK Evolution Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    17th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    207
    Location:
    Perth
    Wow mate that's a beauty, that wouldn't look out of place in any top end trendy suburb in Australia. He is really pushing the boundary's of what can be created with these abandoned steel boxes.

    A big design factor you have to get used to with this type of construction is room sizing, trends have been pushing for bigger rooms for a number of years now but I believe we are starting to see that fall away. The tiny house movement has been at the fore front of this change but as most people are not willing to shrink their lifestyles to the size of a caravan ( which is fare enough i might add) container house could possibly fill that gap.
     
  6. KLH

    KLH Member

    Joined:
    25th Aug, 2015
    Posts:
    15
    Location:
    brisbane
    I thought that was the case too? If you have a granny flat, particularly in Qld, isn't it only meant to be rented to family members?

    Isn't it a big risk to build a granny flat then have the neighbours dob you in for renting it out?

    Does anyone have experience with this?

     
  7. thatbum

    thatbum Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    5,788
    Location:
    Perth, WA
    Rules are different in each state, and possibly different between some councils too. In WA and I believe NSW, there's no issues with renting them out separately because of the statewide policies in place.
     
  8. Rich2011

    Rich2011 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9th Aug, 2015
    Posts:
    1,315
    Location:
    Brisbane
    How do they go with heat in summer and the cold in winter, that has always been my concern....? Obviously you can install A/C but what insulation measures do you do?
     
  9. headsonbeds

    headsonbeds Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    20th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    155
    Location:
    Brisbane
  10. The Social Investor

    The Social Investor Active Member

    Joined:
    15th Sep, 2015
    Posts:
    28
    Location:
    Williamstown Victoria
    I had a great experience with Ian Cubitts classic home improvements in Emu Plains.
    They built a GF with no hassles and I would highly recommend them.
    As for the affect,
    I have a 3 bed 1 bath existing house on 1050sqm for 390k
    I built the GF 2x1 and it was a touch better quality than the garden variety GF for 130k including council plans and contributions Pathway access and carport/driveway etc. The rental market was tightening and by the time it was completed I rented both houses for $330 PW each
    The valuation on completion was the 390k plus 75% of contract price on GF (125K)
    I had a complete valuation of 480k
    Summary
    Great experience with GF company
    If you expect equity gain forget it
    Cash flow is good but may be less than expected
    The block was large enough that neither house was compromised. Access and space around it etc. Happy to talk it through with anyone. I plan to do a GF in logan shire as the cashflow is very healthy
     
  11. QbiK Evolution

    QbiK Evolution Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    17th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    207
    Location:
    Perth
    Hi rico2011
    The insulation level in these buildings is up to you. In Perth with our typical double cavity construction the wall provides an r value of 0.5.
    If you were going for the most insulated building you could. We could batten and clad the internal and external walls if you added insulation batts to the internal and external walls along with foil insulation and the typical cladding methods I would expect the right value would be bordering on r5. As you can see only one level of insulation is needed to bring the walls up to a suitable level for liveability.

    There is also numerous other passive solar methods to reduce heat gain and loss in a building.

    If you'd like to discuss further let me know.
     
  12. Rich2011

    Rich2011 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    9th Aug, 2015
    Posts:
    1,315
    Location:
    Brisbane
    I'm hoping to do the same in Logan (already have the IP just waiting for council sewar diagrams and other docs), PM me if you'd like to discuss...
     
  13. larrylarry

    larrylarry Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    5,386
    Location:
    Sydney
  14. QbiK Evolution

    QbiK Evolution Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    17th Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    207
    Location:
    Perth
    I think there is valid points in that article but in the end it comes down to your situation and preference. Id be more than happy to have a large discussion on this topic I feel I have a fairly good understanding and overview of them as a whole and who they would suit as an end product. What are your thoughts on the article?