Building a new home is an exciting time. It’s an opportunity to create your dream home, tailored to your needs and lifestyle. By choosing our professional and experienced builders in Orange and Dubbo, you can be sure of a unique, architecturally designed home perfectly aligned to your requirements. An important aspect of building your new home is buying suitable land on which to situate it. To ensure a smooth building process to match your budget, it is important to choose your land wisely. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
1. Block size and shape
It’s important that the land you buy has adequate room for your planned home. When choosing land, consider the overall size and also the shape of the block. If your planned home has a large, rectangular or square footprint, it will be difficult to fit on a narrow block. Check regulations regarding the distance required between the building and the land boundaries.
2. Slope, rocks and vegetation
A sloping block can be advantageous, commanding excellent views and offering a picturesque aspect. However, fitting your dream home on a sloping block could mean extensive groundworks to level an area suitable for building. The keywords here are ‘site costs’. Excavating and building retaining walls will add substantially to the cost of your home.
Other factors which are liable to impact site costs are large trees and rocks on the building envelope. A wooded block will provide instant shade for your garden. However, removing large established trees from the building site can be costly. It’s not necessary to avoid these features altogether and it may be possible to utilise them in your home design. Just be aware that modifications to the land could increase the cost of building your dream home.
3. Proximity to utilities
Home and land package deals in residential developments generally include the cost of infrastructure for utilities. If opting to build outside an established estate, it’s important to consider proximity to utilities. The onus (and cost) of connecting to the nearest hub point for gas, electricity, mains water, phone, internet and sewerage is on the landowner. It’s important to include the cost of connection in the overall building cost.
4. Geographical aspect
As Australia is in the southern hemisphere, north-facing building blocks are generally considered preferable. Modern building design and construction includes adherence to sustainable principles. A north-facing site addresses one of these principles as it is best for passive solar design. A northern aspect will not only make your home more comfortable, it will also reduce heating bills in winter.
5. Services and amenities
It would be idyllic to live surrounded by nature, but most of us have more prosaic concerns. A good local school, medical professionals, grocery and department stores, and sporting and community facilities all form a vital part of our lives. Transport to and from work or school is an important consideration for most people. When choosing land, consider how far you are willing to travel on a daily or weekly basis to access essential services.
For more information on our building and construction services and our architect-designed homes, call 02 6884 1890 today.
