Property Renovations

bromster

bromster

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I want to buy and renovate a house, but I am a total Noob. I would appreciate input from anyone with experience. I think I am confused between planning permission, building plans, and blueprints.

1. What do I need to do to change my boundary wall from vibracrete to brick? How high can I build without getting planning permission if the house is not a corner stand?

2. Can I change interior walls however I want? Will I ever need planning permission for this? Will I need a draughtsman to draw new blueprints?

3. Who is a good person to ask (before I buy) to check that a 2nd storey floor was built correctly, the house is correctly situated and built on the erf, the foundation is correct, floors aren't rotten etc?

4. Do I need to add conditions to the offer to purchase regarding question 3 and the roof etc?

Edit: 5. Has anyone done polished cement in Cape Town recently? How much is a decent price per m^2?

This is all quite daunting for a first time buyer. I don't want to end up with problems.

As always, thanks for the input.
 
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About to start building mine when I get back to Cape Town in +-24 hours (long flight(s) via Dubai from China!).
Don't take my answers as verbatim, do your own research.

I can hook you up with my architect if you need some basic questions answered.

Suggest go here and read - http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Planningportal/Pages/BuildingControl.aspx

1) Nothing - you can build with whatever you want **as long** as it can support the load.
Heights - look at the building plans site for Cape Town, and look at the rules / regulations (bylaws) for your area. Different area's have different rules.

In general

No solid boundary wall shall exceed 1.8m in height on a street boundary and 2,1 m in height on a lateral boundary;
No palisade type fence shall exceed 2.1m in height on a street boundary or lateral boundary.
No fence shall exceed 2.1m in height on a street boundary.


More here - http://architectassist.co.za/Boundary Wall and Fence Policy.doc

You will need plans to demolish and rebuild the wall though.
That can take a few months to approve. Cape Town took roughly 5 months to approve a wall plan for me in Obz for example.
Far cry from the alleged 6 weeks its supposed to take.

2) Structural walls no for obvious reasons!
Non structural walls yes (within the regulations - eg rooms have to be a certain minimal size fit for usage).

3) Structural Engineer, Building inspector and Land Surveyor
I'd check that the council has the plans registered for the 2nd floor, and possibly give the building inspector a call before you do anything.
Land surveyor can check erf borders and make sure its built in the correct place (Although if you can see pegs, just measure distances yourself). You can ask the building inspector for names of people that can inspect the property and give you a report too.
If you need a surveyor, I've used Trevor Stander a number of times. Reasonable pricing, compared to others, and a nice guy . Happy to recommend him to others - http://capetownlandsurveyors.co.za/.

4) Recommend doing it if you feel there are issues.
I'd **strongly** suggest asking the council for a copy of the plans, and making sure that they have the 2nd floor in their system.
If its unapproved, its going to either have to come down, or get approved.

I'd probably make that a condition of sale..

5) I got pricing for that in late December. I thought it was reasonable, but I earn in real currency vs monopoly money (rands), so anything in rands is peanuts at the moment (not a good thing, my net worth has dropped 50% due to the rand dropping). Lesson learned though - teaches me to keep assets in a basket of currencies, vs in one..

Every floor is different so without an inspection it is very hard for me to give a accurate price. Normaly it would be anything from R200 per sqaure meter up to R300 depending on the consition of the floor abd what kind of finish you are looking for. I am more than happy to meet up with you so we can discuss the floor that you need done

Regards
Gideon Zeelie
0795235232
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What area are you building in? Northern or Southern?

My new build is in deep south, so I get to ask questions at Plumstead. They're waaaaay more helpful than the people at Cape Town above the BMW building.
 
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lsheed_cn said:
About to start building mine when I get back to Cape Town in +-24 hours (long flight(s) via Dubai from China!)..
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Lovely man. I am glad for you.

Please remember to include in the design the 12VDC solar and distribution system as proposed by SWA in the other thread. The design is far advanced now, Swa is just working on a few more details. It should be complete by 2020 ...I think! :D :D
 
I'm not bothering with Eskom / CoCT for my new build, its pure solar + lithium over single phase :)
Will be 230v AC, and probably 48v inverter (although need to check on whats available in 48v for 5kw!)

I'll be strongly looking into the 12v DC system that SWA proposes, just as soon as we get some super conducting cables at room temperatures, so that the voltage drop isn't an issue :p
 
lsheed_cn said:
I'm not bothering with Eskom / CoCT for my new build, its pure solar + lithium over single phase :)
Will be 230v AC, and probably 48v inverter (although need to check on whats available in 48v for 5kw!)

I'll be strongly looking into the 12v DC system that SWA proposes, just as soon as we get some super conducting cables at room temperatures, so that the voltage drop isn't an issue :p
Click to expand...

My only concern with Lithium

Lithium battery question....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_787_Dreamliner_battery_problems

Also many reports with cell phones exploding or igniting??

Best to build the battery room separate from the main dwelling with space and/or boundary wall in between just in case. ;):
 
Completely different chemistry.
They were using Lithium Ion (against the recommendations of pretty much everyone!), plus they overcharged the crap out of them.

I'm using Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiPoS04). Those expand if overcharged, but don't "blow up". They're pretty resilient too, you can force them back into shape if you overcharge them.

Lead Acid is more dangerous - they vent out hydrogen gas, which is flammable.
I do have a separate room for my stuff though, on both my solar builds (and probably my 3rd build).
 
lsheed_cn said:
Completely different chemistry.
They were using Lithium Ion (against the recommendations of pretty much everyone!), plus they overcharged the crap out of them.

I'm using Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiPoS04). Those expand if overcharged, but don't "blow up". They're pretty resilient too, you can force them back into shape if you overcharge them.

Lead Acid is more dangerous - they vent out hydrogen gas, which is flammable.
I do have a separate room for my stuff though, on both my solar builds (and probably my 3rd build).
Click to expand...

Can you source the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiPoS04) locally yet?
 
I'm importing some from China for myself, I can add to my next container shipment, but I prefer to do some more testing before I supply to others. If you don't mind being a guinea pig can add more though.
 
Thanks Isheed. Some great info there. I'm buying somewhere in the Southern Subs I reckon. Wynberg/ Plumstead.

Is it as easy as phoning the council and asking for a copy of the house's plans?
 
lsheed_cn said:
I'm importing some from China for myself, I can add to my next container shipment, but I prefer to do some more testing before I supply to others. If you don't mind being a guinea pig can add more though.
Click to expand...

Pricing will be interesting. Let us know!
 
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