Shifting car access gate of semi d and PE/surveyor fees

[Mandm 0]

Dear All,

I am new to the forum. Have some queries regarding a semi d I’m looking at. 
 

1) What do PEs and Surveyors look at regarding shifting of the gate for the semi d? Gate refers to the gate for cars to enter and exit. At the moment, This semi d is attached to another semi d on it’s right. On it’s left, there’s another pair of semi d that’s detached from my house. There is also a covered drain combined with a pedestrian path in front of my semi d. In this scenario, am I able to shift the gate? I understand I need to keep Min 6m of pedestrain walkway on both sides of my car gate entrance? Is that right? Or are there other factors I should be aware of?

2) Prior to buying the house, we also intend to get a PE and surveyor to assess whether we can shift the car access gate as this will determine whether we will buy the house. Any idea what the fees for PE and surveyor are, including Fees for bca and LTA submission? As I do not have any design idea yet for my rebuild, are the fees for the PE and surveyor a one time fee? Or do I have to pay for a PE and surveyor again after I buy the house and have decided on the rebuild design?

thank you in advance for your advice!

[snoozee 98]

usually gates have to be paired. for semi-d, this would mean the gates for both houses would be next to each other where the party wall is. of cos the exception is that you have a very side frontage of more than 10m which would allow for a minimum of 6m of planting verge within the plot width of your house. eg: if your plot width is 12m, you can have 6m planting verge on the side of a 3m wide gate. the other 3m can be added with the neighbour's planting verge to make up the 6m provided that your neighbour side already has an existing planting verge of at least 3m wide. see picture below.

creating a new access point is a relatively easy job provided you have the authorities approval. what's needed is just to redo the box drain where you want the access point to be and then make good the original access point and extend the road kerb until the new access point. of cos drainage drop inlets, etc also need to be done and all these must be designed by a PE and approved by LTA.

the surveyor is needed to check where the boundaries of the land is and get all the various land/road levels so that the architect/PE can design the house and access points based on these levels. normally this is done only AFTER the house is purchased. so if you want to engage a PE and surveyor to do work before you purchase the house, you would then have to pay them again after the purchase since the scope would be different already. cos i don't think any house owner would allow for a surveyor to enter their house to do a survey for a potential buyer so you can only do the external survey and later on do a full survey of the land. the PE would also need to design an entire house's structure and foundation for a new built and this work would greatly exceed just the design of a vehicular access point.

I don't think LTA charges anything for submissions. BCA charges is more for house development and not just for the drain. the fees payable to BCA is based on the GFA for the new house so this would vary for a house with 2000sqf built up vs a house with a 10000sqf built up. for the outside kerb shifting, you may also need NParks approval and pay fees as well cos the grass patch on the planting verge belongs to NParks if i'm not wrong. PUB may also need to be consulted since you are going to touch the drain which belong to PUB.

[IceEyez 4]

8 hours ago, Mandm said:

Dear All,

I am new to the forum. Have some queries regarding a semi d I’m looking at. 
 

1) What do PEs and Surveyors look at regarding shifting of the gate for the semi d? Gate refers to the gate for cars to enter and exit. At the moment, This semi d is attached to another semi d on it’s right. On it’s left, there’s another pair of semi d that’s detached from my house. There is also a covered drain combined with a pedestrian path in front of my semi d. In this scenario, am I able to shift the gate? I understand I need to keep Min 6m of pedestrain walkway on both sides of my car gate entrance? Is that right? Or are there other factors I should be aware of?

2) Prior to buying the house, we also intend to get a PE and surveyor to assess whether we can shift the car access gate as this will determine whether we will buy the house. Any idea what the fees for PE and surveyor are, including Fees for bca and LTA submission? As I do not have any design idea yet for my rebuild, are the fees for the PE and surveyor a one time fee? Or do I have to pay for a PE and surveyor again after I buy the house and have decided on the rebuild design?

thank you in advance for your advice!

Hi,

1) Typically, it is unlikely that you can "unpair" the car access gate for a typical semi-detached of width 8-12m. Like what snoozee has illustrated above, the only case you can unpair the vehicular access is if that particular semi-detached has a large frontage of more than 12m. Aside from this, other considerations would be: Are there any OG (Overground) boxes, lamp posts etc at where you intend to relocate the vehicular access to? LTA/Powder Grid might have restrictions in that case --> distance between lamp posts and maximum distances of the OG boxes from the houses it is serving electricity to. The only way to have a clearer assessment of whether it is feasible would be view the actual site (just through google earth is sufficient usually). If you wish, you can PM me and i can advise further.

2) You don't need to engage a PE nor a surveyor to assess the feasibility of the above. Just a visual inspection will suffice for the preliminary assessment. Only if it a complex case, then you might need to write in to LTA/PUB/Nparks/SPPG for further assessment. 

Anyway to do a total rebuild (tear down existing house completely),  you will need to engage an Architect (or a design & build contractor, who will engage their own architect anyway). PE will not be sufficient as PE's can only sign for A&A scale house projects. 

Topographical surveyor fees are around $1500-2500 and will be a one time process (usually done after you purchase the house). This is required by the Architect to begin the design process of the house as they need to know the exact plot sizes, levels of the ground etc.



 

[Mandm 0]

Thank you Snoozee and IceEyez for your valuable advice. 

1) In this scenario regarding the shifting of the gate, if the width of the land is 11.4m long, and I have to set 6m away from my neighbour’s gate on my right and also 2m from the boundary line on my left , does this mean I can essentially shift my gate and do up a gate that’s max 3.4m in width? 
I have also purchased the BCA plan, SIP, DIP and RLP. Except from having a surveyor or PE to come down, can I safely assume that it’s highly probable that I will be able to shift my gate?

2) Regarding the rebuilding aspects, can I safely assume $350psf including miscellaneous costs such as fees for the PE, Surveyor, soil test etc? Any idea what typically forms the main bulk of costs for rebuilding? For example, the main structure or carpentry? Or Electrical and Plumbing? I have read that $350psf for rebuild is for a mid range build. Can I understand that it means by mid range? For example, parquet instead of marble? Or bricks instead of concrete? 
 

3) For a land size of 3800 sqft, based on your experience, is it recommended to look at having 2 buildings separated by maybe a quiet garden or patio that is about 10m in length? Width of land is about 11.4m and Length of land is about 33m. I understand that an architect can give a better representation of the rebuild and I just wanted to gather from fellow contributors in the forum.

Thank you!

[snoozee 98]

You need to see if your other neighbour’s gate on the left is more than 4m away from your boundary or not. If less than that, then can’t shift. Not sure how you managed to buy the BCA plans as usually owner is allowed to buy or someone authorised by the owner. Like I said, if you really want to confirm, use good old school measuring tape on site to measure. If your family has just one car, 3.4m wide access would be good enough. But if you have 2 cars and want to park both cars inside, you may want to have a bigger gate as 3.4m could be challenging to have free access for both cars. Meaning there would be shifting of cars needed if the car which arrived home first wants to go out. Hope you get what I mean about the shifting of cars. 
 

$350 psf does not include professional fees and submission fees. You may need to factor another 100k to 200k for these fees depending on who you engage as your architect, PE, RTO, etc. 
Main cost of any rebuilt is the house foundation and main building. This can form up to about 30% to 40% of the entire cost. If your house needs to do piling, this is about 100k in costs. If need to do RC trench to protect the sewer, could add on another 50k to 100k. Other big ticket items are the sanitary and electrical. If you want to have a lift, prepare another 50k to 100k depending on what type of lift you want. Carpentry is another big ticket item but again depends on how extensive you want it to be. If you want to have marble for your whole house including toilet walls, it would definitely be more expensive than just normal tiling. Parquet flooring price is comparable to entry level tiles in terms of psf. 
Parquet floor normally is $3 up for standard 12” x 2” x 11mm strips. Longer strips are more expensive. If you want team board for stairs, this can cost from $100 up per piece. Homogeneous tiles 600x600 is normally $3 up. There are huge tiles in the market which are 1200 x 1200 or even bigger. These would cost much more psf. Marble tiles which are 600x 600 usually starts from around $24psf for the more common types. If you want exotic marble, it can be more than $60psf. Marble slabs are nice but also expensive.
Normally builders will do brick walls unless it is necessary for an RC wall to act as additional structural component as determined by the PE. RC walls are usually needed for structural needs like the household shelter or a lift shaft. 
 

a landed property gives the occupants a different type of living experience as the owner can choose to design the house with lots of greenery. Even for a terrace house, there is an option for a front garden as well and for semi-d, an additional side garden. However, many owners choose to tile up the entire open areas instead of having a garden. Of cos this is individual preference but tiles absorb heat from the sun and the heat gets trapped hence potentially making the house warmer than it should. Compared to plants which have a cooling effect, having more greenery could make a house cooler. So what you want to do with the open areas within the setback is really up to your individual preference and lifestyle. Do you want to spend time every other week to tend to the garden or you just want to have a tiled open space where you can do anything you want including having potted plants as greenery. A compromised option is to keep the side set back for the length of the house as a garden and the rear setback area and front setback area be tiled up for other purposes.

[Mandm 0]

Thanks Snoozee and IceEyez for your help!

 

[superfly21 0]

Does anyone have any idea what is the approx cost of moving the pillar housing the electricity and water meters, in order to widen the gate? Including the govt submission costs and re-connecting the utilities?

Thanks! 

[snoozee 98]

1 hour ago, superfly21 said:

Does anyone have any idea what is the approx cost of moving the pillar housing the electricity and water meters, in order to widen the gate? Including the govt submission costs and re-connecting the utilities?

Thanks! 

I had to pay 5k plus for upgrade to 3 phase 63a electricity supply. This includes the cost for SP to get their subcon to pull in new cable and commissioning as well.

for water, I paid 1k plus to commission my new water meter in the meter compartment

you will definitely need to engage a LEW and licensed plumber to do the applications and works for you. Could be another few k for their services. All in all, I think around 10k or more for this part and not including the structural works.

since you are adjusting the house access opening, need to submit to LTA as well. Need to engage a PE to do the drawings and submissions. LTA no fees but PE you need to pay for the service

 

[AWS 6]

Just to add, moving the gate post(meter box) to widen the gate will mean affecting  the outside planting verge/kerb and also the culvert(underside of the pedestrian walkway). Most likely LTA, NParks and PUB will all be involved. 
Getting approval for external works from the 3 agencies is getting more and more difficult in recent times.

[snoozee 98]

8 hours ago, AWS said:

Just to add, moving the gate post(meter box) to widen the gate will mean affecting  the outside planting verge/kerb and also the culvert(underside of the pedestrian walkway). Most likely LTA, NParks and PUB will all be involved. 
Getting approval for external works from the 3 agencies is getting more and more difficult in recent times.

Yes, NParks would be involved on the planting verge. Pedestrian kerb is under LTA. if NParks is involved, a fee also need to be paid to them. I paid around 1.6k just for them to approve the plans for a tree removal.

If the house's external drain already had been covered up by PUB previously, then no need to redo the box culvert. so PUB may or may not be involved.

Approvals is not the issue as long as all drawings are in order. It's the taking over that is troublesome these days and the agencies will take their time to response. eg: BCA will take the full 7 working days to respond. PUB official time frame is 3 weeks but sometime lucky can get response in 2 weeks plus. LTA takes 4 weeks to respond. so a lot of time is wasted just waiting for approval/rejection before something can be done to rectify the works if needed

[superfly21 0]

Thank you snoozee and AWS for your helpful comments!

External drain not covered yet, so will have to redo box culvert. Wonder how much that will cost...

Someone told us that it will take up to 3-6 months to get all the approvals done but that sounds really long even taking into account the current situation.

[snoozee 98]

19 minutes ago, superfly21 said:

Thank you snoozee and AWS for your helpful comments!

External drain not covered yet, so will have to redo box culvert. Wonder how much that will cost...

Someone told us that it will take up to 3-6 months to get all the approvals done but that sounds really long even taking into account the current situation.

box culvert not done means need approvals from BCA, LTA, PUB, NParks.

i also had to do up the box culvert for my house along with all the necessary works like new drainage, railings, kerb, etc. cost me more than 10k just for this part in construction cost.

for the box culvert, what you need to do is just what is required for your entrance. don't have to do up the entire width of the house. no point you spending money to do up public infrastructure.

yes, approvals can take 3 to 6 months because of all the waiting time in between and there's so many agencies to clear. and you need to clear the agencies like LTA, PUB first before the final plans can be submitted to URA and BCA for approval and then issue of permit to start works.

[AWS 6]

Just to add, other than doing the box culvert, your QP will have to determine the location of the culvert access cover according to LTA’s distance requirement between covers and thus in turn will also determine the location of the raised kerb’s drop inlet chamber. Your QP will be able to help assist. Just to share, NParks may have decided the location of the young tree to be planted and the PVC pipes joining the drop inlet chamber to the culvert and cover access need to comply with 1.5 meter radius separation from the replacement tree’s branch.

[Topline 1]

15 hours ago, snoozee said:

Yes, NParks would be involved on the planting verge. Pedestrian kerb is under LTA. if NParks is involved, a fee also need to be paid to them. I paid around 1.6k just for them to approve the plans for a tree removal.

If the house's external drain already had been covered up by PUB previously, then no need to redo the box culvert. so PUB may or may not be involved.

Approvals is not the issue as long as all drawings are in order. It's the taking over that is troublesome these days and the agencies will take their time to response. eg: BCA will take the full 7 working days to respond. PUB official time frame is 3 weeks but sometime lucky can get response in 2 weeks plus. LTA takes 4 weeks to respond. so a lot of time is wasted just waiting for approval/rejection before something can be done to rectify the works if needed

Why does Npark need to approve your own tree removal? Does the 1.6k include the removal itself?

[snoozee 98]

9 hours ago, Topline said:

Why does Npark need to approve your own tree removal? Does the 1.6k include the removal itself?

it's not my tree. it's planted within the pedestrian kerb itself as i do not have a planting/green verge outside. i had to remove it so that it allows for me to open up the new access to my house as previously there isn't any space for vehicle access. But i did not have to plant back any new tree though since there's no space to replace it.

removal and disposal is done by my contractor. BUT this was done after we had gotten the approval from NParks. Can't just remove any trees without approval (even if within own house) if the girth of the tree is above 1m and your property is in a trees conservation zone or originally a empty plot of land. will get fined for any removal without consulting NParks first.

submission fee is for them to assess the development plans and give approval. exact amount is $1605 ($1500 plus 7% GST)