Building a Semi-d

[Bhuv 0]

I am planning to buy land ~4000 Sq ft in east (10m x 35m). It has a 35 year old Semi-d on it (~2000sq ft)
 

First, what is the max size of the Semi-d I can build on property? 
 

I met an architect who told me that in this area the first floor of a new build needs to be 1 m above the ground level. Is there any way I can avoid this?

 

finally, what is the good Budget for the Semi-d ? I would prefer to have a pool for sure. Would like to have a basement but this would depend on the costs. Should I try to reconstruct on the current building or do a completely new built?

 

Appreciate any help

[snoozee 98]

you will need to have 2m set back at the back and sides as well as 7.5m set back at the front. so technically your buildable area becomes 10m x 25.5m which gives you 255sqm for the ground floor. assuming the house is in a 2 storey landed housing zone, you can build another storey plus an attic level above. so if you decide to max out your available floor area is 255sqm (ground floor), 255sqm (2nd storey) and 185sqm (attic). attic is assumed to have a further 3.5m setback both front and back from the building's foot print. of cos if you decide to do a pitched roof for your attic, this area will become bigger if the area under the pitched roof is taken into account.

since your architect told you needs to be 1m above ground, it has to be as this means your house is in a low lying area and the house needs to be raised up to prevent flooding. the level above ground is determined based on a relative level which is the Singapore Datum. if your house is below this datum, it will need to be raised above this datum level hence the 1m. BUT the "good" thing is that URA can consider this 1m to be a basement and your building height is then calculated from this 1m level. of cos there are other guidelines which need to be adhered to for this basement.

a basement would cost you another 400k to 500k of construction cost. a lot of the money will actually go into providing for Earth Retaining Stabilising Structure (ERSS) which is a temporary structure to prop the ground while it is being excavated. since you are already in a low lying area, this is much more important since you have a high chance of your house being on clay like soil.

If you want a basement, the only way is for you to tear down and rebuilt. If you can forgo the basement, then you could build a pool in the existing house within the current 2m setback. of cos if you are planning to dig anything more than 1.5m for the pool, you might need to do ERSS as well to prevent the soil from collapsing during the building of the pool.

Budget wise, I guess it depends on if you are doing a reconstruction or new built. a new build could cost you 1.5M without basement. Then again, it depends on what type of finishing you are looking at. if you want to have marble or granite everywhere in the house, be prepared to fork out more money for the natural stone.

edit: forgot to mention that you will need to check if there is a public sewer running through your land. if there is and the current house isn't built over the sewer but you wish to build your house over the sewer, you will need to build a RC trench to protect this sewer. This RC trench can cost you about 50k to more than 100k depending on how deep your sewer is and how much it is within your plot.

Edited November 7, 2019 by snoozee

[3Cube 9]

6 hours ago, Bhuv said:

I am planning to buy land ~4000 Sq ft in east (10m x 35m). It has a 35 year old Semi-d on it (~2000sq ft)
 

First, what is the max size of the Semi-d I can build on property? 
 

I met an architect who told me that in this area the first floor of a new build needs to be 1 m above the ground level. Is there any way I can avoid this?

 

finally, what is the good Budget for the Semi-d ? I would prefer to have a pool for sure. Would like to have a basement but this would depend on the costs. Should I try to reconstruct on the current building or do a completely new built?

 

Appreciate any help

I have personally completed & handed over a house with your exact condition as described. Cost of entire works (Basement, 1st, 2nd & Attic with Lift) including all government fees, consultant, services connection, etc (ie: everything except your personal soft furnishings) was kept below 1.4M Maybe I can help. Email to threecubebuilders@ymail.com

[Bhuv 0]

Thanks for the quick response. 
 

is there any way I can avoid building at 1m height? My wife does not want any steps leading to the house. Should I try to keep some parts of the old house and call it a reconstruction instead of new built to maintain floor level? 

Edited November 7, 2019 by Bhuv

[3Cube 9]

4 minutes ago, Bhuv said:

Thanks for the quick response. 
 

is there any way I can avoid building at 1m height? My wife does not want any steps leading to the house? Should I try to keep some parts of the old house and call it a reconstruction instead of new built to maintain floor level? 

Does not need to have steps.  Please refer the photo links in my message to you

[snoozee 98]

7 minutes ago, Bhuv said:

Thanks for the quick response. 
 

is there any way I can avoid building at 1m height? My wife does not want any steps leading to the house? Should I try to keep some parts of the old house and call it a reconstruction instead of new built to maintain floor level? 

with reconstruction, you can retain the existing floor level. however do note that there is a limit on how much you can change to the existing house in order to qualify as a reconstruction.

with a 7.5m setback, you could actually build a ramp from the gate to the main building of the house to that there's no steps involved. if i'm not wrong, URA now allows for earth fill to mitigate this low lying issue. taking into account say 20cm thickness of concrete for the ramp, you only need to backfill up to 0.8m which is within the limits.

[3Cube 9]

As mentioned by snoozee:

"since your architect told you needs to be 1m above ground, it has to be as this means your house is in a low lying area and the house needs to be raised up to prevent flooding. the level above ground is determined based on a relative level which is the Singapore Datum. if your house is below this datum, it will need to be raised above this datum level hence the 1m"

I just like to also highlight that from time to time, government agency do carry out upgrading of public road (as my owner previously experienced) which will result in raising of the kerb, road & culvert level. When this happen with your property maintaining same level, chances are some flooding might happen when rainwater may start to pond on your property.

News regarding estate upgrade:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/private-estate-upgrade-mnd-12033924

From my FB photo, you'll be able to see the upgrading of public roads  which started before the house construction.

Maybe you'll like to contact me so I can explain more on any other concerns.

[3Cube 9]

News regarding estate upgrade:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/private-estate-upgrade-mnd-12033924

From my FB photo, you'll be able to see the upgrading of public roads  which started before the house construction.

[AWS 6]

I think most part of the East area can build 3+Attic. Additional cost required. If close to the coastline, expect piling as mostly marine clay. Again additional cost required. 

[petetherock 13]

You have to check if it's in a two or three storey zone..

There are some nice designs where you go lower for L1 as a car park and the main living / dining is actually on L2.

Just take a walk around the Frankel / Siglap area for some inspiration. 

If you need a builder, you can pm me. But if you are going to stay there for a long time, do consider the basement or the pool. I did the pool, no regrets, it's my daily physio now

[snoozee 98]

17 hours ago, AWS said:

I think most part of the East area can build 3+Attic. Additional cost required. If close to the coastline, expect piling as mostly marine clay. Again additional cost required. 

nope. URA specifies what type of houses can be built based on the zone. if 2 storey landed, then can only built 2 storey plus attic. if based on 1.4 plot ratio, then can built 3 storey subjected to total GFA.

at my estate (east side), URA (weirdly) demarcated one area as 2 storey landed houses while across the road is a 3 storey landed zone.

Edited November 11, 2019 by snoozee

[AWS 6]

Here’s a resource by URA.

https://www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Planning/Master-Plan/Control-Plans

Edited November 12, 2019 by AWS

[3Cube 9]

Go to URA Site, scroll to click on "Launch" beside "URA Space"

In "URA Space" go to "Control Plan" menu to check"

1) "Landed Housing Area Plan" to see your estate area's maximum building storey & type.

2) "Building Height Plan" which shows AMSL (short for Above Mean Sea Level)

There are also other infor that you can check

Edited November 12, 2019 by 3Cube
Remove web link

[3Cube 9]

Go to URA Site, scroll to click on "Launch" beside "URA Space"

In "URA Space" go to "Control Plan" menu to check"

1) "Landed Housing Area Plan" to see your estate area's maximum building storey & type.

2) "Building Height Plan" which shows AMSL (short for Above Mean Sea Level)

There are also other infor that you can check

[3Cube 9]

For knowing what element can be build on your landed property, go to URA site:

Click on "Property" (Top of site) -> "Residential" -> "Renovating Private Residential Property"

Click on "View" (Land-titled Residential)

Scroll down to click on "Landed Housing eAdvisor"

Use the eAdvisor to select property type & you'll see all the limitation of design, setback requirement, etc.