Surveying

Karen has found a very reasonably priced surveyer (John Muldowney) who will do the following:

• Title re-establishment
• Footprint of house on subject site and part-footprints of adjacent properties within a 9 meter horizontal radius of subject site (102 and 106 Evans Street)
• Location of windows facing boundaries adjacent to subject site.
• Levels to AHD including existing natural ground levels and floor levels on subject site and adjacent properties, levels of eaves and ridge lines of house on subject site and adjacent houses
• Location of site features such as signifcant trees and fencing
• Any relevant easements

We've sent him the title... so surveying can begin!

The architect debate

From my point of view, analysis / design is one of the most important parts of a project. Hence I was prepared to spend a little more on this phase, especially if it saved money later on. Still, we considered all our options:

1. Architect
2. Building designer
3. DIY, with the help of a draftsperson

By the time Feb came along, W was thoroughly sick of visiting architects and building designers. Surprisingly, some building designers were significantly more expensive than architects. We finally agreed that given the need for a planning permit, the complexities of Rescode and the small site we had to work with, we wanted a professional's help.

We first met with Karen, a friend of a friend, in late November 2004. She was very friendly, down to earth and highly recommended - basically we liked her the best! So with the first big decision out of the way, the long process could begin...