Rentable granny flat 4.5m x 10m with veranda on sloping block in bushfire zone at Ocean View QLD
Level at the back, elevated at the front
If you’re building a granny flat on sloping land using Backyard Pods, you don’t necessarily need to excavate. Our customer at Ocean View, a bushfire-prone district north of Brisbane in QLD, chose to elevate their granny flat on one side, using extra-long piers, taking advantage of the breezes and views. It’s in Colorbond Ironstone with black-framed windows and sliding door, Zincalume roof, and Surfmist under the veranda.
Some granny flats need to be very compact to fit into tight spaces on suburban blocks. When people have got a bit more land available, granny flats can be much larger and more accommodating while still retaining a small footprint compared to the proportions of the main house.
On a property of significant size, and with a reasonable budget in mind, our customer got in touch with us for help with the supply of what turned out to be a 4.5m x 10m flatpack building kit with matching 2m-wide full-length deck and veranda kit. We also helped to get approval sorted for our customer to have a fully self-contained and potentially rentable granny flat. Using a local builder with no previous experience building with Backyard Pods building kits, the construction was successfully organised by our customer directly and with the septic system connection, their granny flat became certifiable for occupation!
Queensland regulations can allow rentable granny flats. This provision has created a mini-boom in the number of Queensland property owners weighing up the income-producing potential of a granny flat on their land. It’s an idea that will recoup and return on investment much faster than buying a small strata unit to rent out, for example.
Getting approval for a granny flat in Queensland
Our network architect is very experienced with getting building approvals organised for our customers in Queensland. You might be surprised at how easy it could be to turn part of the backyard you’re not using into an income-producing rental property!
Not everyone is allowed to have a granny flat on their property in Queensland, even if it sounds theoretically doable. There could be constraints on your property that could prevent further development. Perhaps your ideas might need to be modified in some way, like size or positioning, in the planning stage to get your project through the approval process.
Our customer in the coastal hinterland north of Brisbane needed to comply with bushfire regulations involving also high-wind rating, and specialist advice was needed in relation to the elevation and extra-long piers needing certification. All of the detailed issues pertaining to this project were sorted through our network partners, saving heaps along the way for our customer compared to getting a conventional build or prefabricated building.
If you’re interested in getting a granny flat in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, or the ACT, just click below to give us some details and we’ll be at your service.
Versatile foundation options for Backyard Pods
Our flatpack building kits can come with foundation piers in either standard length (600mm) or longer lengths that can be specified and ordered to suit the gradient of your sloping site.
Other options include what they call ‘screw piers’ that can be adjusted on-site. Either way, building on a sloping site can be tricky for DIY enthusiasts who will usually need to rely on the professionals in our network for expert advice along the way. If you’re using a licensed builder or one of our network installers to complete your project, or one of our network partners is assisting with your building approval or project management, they can sort for you any tricky details surrounding the specification and installation of your piers.
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