Rebuild to Semi D or Detached

[kenhee 0]

Hi everyone, I recently bought a land which is about 6100 sqft and will be rebuilding it.

Currently the house is a Semi D, but is able to rebuilt into a Detached. Would like to seek some advice if I should rebuilt it to a Semi D or Detached.
My main concern is that the land only has 12m of width, by building to a detached, the house would only have 8m of width as compared to 10m for a semi d.
Will 8m be too narrow for a detached?
Other than being a detached house, are there any benefits in rebuilding it into a detached?

Thank you in advance.

[snoozee 98]

is your land irregular sized? cos your frontage of 12m would mean a site depth of 47m which is not the usual case for regular sized plots

if you intend to maximise the GFA, then keep it as a semi-d

for detached house, you are limited to a site coverage of 50 percent. assuming your house is in a 2 storey zone, the max GFA you can have for the house would be 3000 x 2.5 = 7500sqf. compared to leaving it as a semi-d, your max GFA would be 4060 x 2.5 = 10150sqf

one advantage of a detached house is that you can have cross ventilation throughout the whole house on all sides compared to a semi-d which wind can only enter/leave via 3 sides. also, because of the limit on site coverage, you can have a big garden or open area outside your house.

whether 8m is too narrow or not is subjective. it all depends on how the architect designs and layout the house. if the architect designs the house such that the stairs and common access  is in the middle, then you are left with room sizes of about 3m wide on both sides of the stairs. but if the stairs are pushed to the sides, then you can have rooms which are 5m to 6m wide. so it's all based on the design.

[kenhee 0]

Yes, my land is a rectangular shape with a depth of 47m and in a 2 storey zoning.

I think a GFA of 7500 is more or less sufficient as I do not have a very big family.

Will the bank valuation for a detached be higher than a semi d?

[snoozee 98]

39 minutes ago, kenhee said:

Yes, my land is a rectangular shape with a depth of 47m and in a 2 storey zoning.

I think a GFA of 7500 is more or less sufficient as I do not have a very big family.

Will the bank valuation for a detached be higher than a semi d?

ah. must be those houses with super long driveways like one of my friend's parents' place near chomp chomp

can't really comment on bank valuation as from what I know,  valuers normally base the valuation based on similar sized and type of houses around the area. so if nearby don't have similar sized and type, then the valuers will look at data from further out and this may affect your house's valuation. anyway for loan purpose, normally the valuations will end up as the same number as what the bank is looking for.

[shhh201 0]

Hihi Kenhee, congrats on your purchase. I recently also purchased a plot and am looking to either keep it as a semi d or detach it. Coincidentally its also the same width. We are also wondering which is better, please let me know what you decided so we can gain some inspiration as well. thanks for sharing! 

[kenhee 0]

Hey shhh201, congrats to you too on your purchase. We have decided to build a detached house after some considerations.
 

The main plus point for us was to be able to have windows on all sides of the house. The 50% plot coverage wasn’t a concern for us as the land size was more than sufficient. Also as we currently live in a semi-d, living in a detached would be a change for us.

The 12m width was the pain point as we are quite used to our current place width which is 13m and a semi d, hence the built in width was 11m. But with some good placements of the staircase like not having a U shape staircase, it turns out ok. Did also visit some developer built houses which were of similar widths to get a feel of the internal space.

My builder had also advised that land of this size and width will almost always be rebuilt into a detached. I guess when it comes to resale, a semi d may have sort of invisible cap in the price, whereby buyers may not pay above a certain amt if it’s a semi d. On the other hand, detached doesn’t seem to have this problem.

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by kenhee

[shhh201 0]

Thank you for sharing your opinions! @kenhee
Can I check what was the decision making process like in choosing to rebuild vs A&A?

Just checking if I am correct here: 
As long as my house does not exceed addition of more than 50%, (assuming current build up 5600)

i can tear down the whole house, level the ground keep some of the pillars and then redo the house till 8480 sqft and that is considered still an A&A correct?

and in this case, build cost will still be looking at around the same cost as a rebuild pricing on a PSF basis?

 

thank you so much in advance! and happy chinese new year! 

[yoongf 11]

• Proposed additional gross floor area shall not exceed 50% of the approved gross floor area;
• External walls that are to be removed and replaced with new walls shall not exceed 50% of the approved external walls;
• Structural changes to the existing landed dwelling house (eg replacing or constructing new columns/beams and reconstructing existing floor slabs) shall not exceed 50% of existing building;
• Changes/replacement of entire roof (with/without resultant increase in height) shall not involve an additional storey;
• Where an attic is added, the increase in GFA shall be less than 50%.

[snoozee 98]

16 hours ago, shhh201 said:

Thank you for sharing your opinions! @kenhee
Can I check what was the decision making process like in choosing to rebuild vs A&A?

Just checking if I am correct here: 
As long as my house does not exceed addition of more than 50%, (assuming current build up 5600)

i can tear down the whole house, level the ground keep some of the pillars and then redo the house till 8480 sqft and that is considered still an A&A correct?

and in this case, build cost will still be looking at around the same cost as a rebuild pricing on a PSF basis?

 

thank you so much in advance! and happy chinese new year! 

tear down the whole house and leave some columns is considered reconstruction already. no longer A&A
 

Edited February 18, 2021 by snoozee

[IceEyez 4]

18 hours ago, shhh201 said:

Thank you for sharing your opinions! @kenhee
Can I check what was the decision making process like in choosing to rebuild vs A&A?

Just checking if I am correct here: 
As long as my house does not exceed addition of more than 50%, (assuming current build up 5600)

i can tear down the whole house, level the ground keep some of the pillars and then redo the house till 8480 sqft and that is considered still an A&A correct?

and in this case, build cost will still be looking at around the same cost as a rebuild pricing on a PSF basis?

 

thank you so much in advance! and happy chinese new year! 

Basically the more "work" you do, the closer it is to the rebuild price. The whole point of A&A or even Recon is to minimize the amount of changes (versus rebuilding) to be cost effective.


But anyway the case you are describing - leveling almost everything but keep some columns will be considered as "Recon" and not "A&A". Guidelines for A&A is as per what yoongf has posted.

[shhh201 0]

I see, thank you very much all!

so in my case i have been talking to a few builders and it seems like everyone interprets it differently.
for example my land is "supposingly" a non zonal land.
But i was told by one of my builders that the type of residence (ie 2.5 or 3.5) will then be the plot ratio i will have to adhere to.

another question will be GFA. 
so in the case of a land of 5000 sqft, i gather that the GFA will be
5000*1.4=7000.
but i also have builders telling me as long as its within envelop control, it doesnt matter if u exceed this GFA calculations.

Can I have your opinions please? What was deployed in your situation: did the authorities use the GFA or envelop control to vet the property?

I was quoted 100k for cabinetry by 1 builder：inclusive of all rooms(4 walk in wardrobes), living room, front porch cabinets, kitchen(dry and wet), all toilet. Is this normal? will the contract list everything because i have seen another builder that lists everything for 160k.

What do you mostly look out for in a contract/quotation, which details are you particularly careful about?

 

thank you all once again!

[yoongf 11]

Familarise yourself with the URA Masterplan, especially the landed housing control plan. It will state whether your plot is zoned for 2 or 3 storeys. It could also be zoned 1.4 or 2.8, but those numbers are irrelevant if u are building a landed property.

There is no GFA control for landed property. U are capped by the envelope control. So if u are really into huge GFA, feel free to dig a few more basement levels.

For info... GFA for landed is only relevant if u are sub dividing the land. The difference between the poposed GFA and the baseline GFA will be the development charge payable. 

 

[yoongf 11]

If the current structure is a semi D and the plot is big enough to be a detached, my preference will be to keep it as a semi D but physically build a detached.

Semi D regulation is looser, and the 2m gap between the new detached structure and the party wall, u can consider putting a glass enclosure to look like a 3 floor high Green house. Similar to the restoraton of the old supreme court building / National Gallery Singapore

[snoozee 98]

Whoever mentioned about residential need to follow plot ratio for landed residential house does not know the regulations well enough. Like what yoongf mentioned, landed residential houses built on non-landed house zone need not follow plot ratio. As long as design is based on envelope control is ok. But basement is only up to a certain depth. Beyond that depth belongs to government. 

for 1.4 plot ratio land, you can build up to 3.5 storeys Based on envelope control.

different Builders will quote same items differently due to the subcons they engage. For carpentry, confirm with them what would be provided. Selection of laminates max pricing. Vanity cabinets for toilets. Is countertop material provided for kitchen and vanity cabinets? if yes, what type of material? Solid surface, quartz, marble?

100k or 160k might seem high but really depends on how extensive your carpentry work is. If alot of custom work then you need to pay. If you are not willing to pay, then need to cut down on your requirements. For my house, I did not opt for very customised carpentry work and my total cost is a fraction of what you were quoted. Mine includes a walk in wardrobe for master, 3 sets of wardrobes, 4 vanity cabinets, one shoe cabinet, cabinet below stairs, a few cabinet styled ‘concealed’ doors, kitchen island and wet kitchen bottom cabinets. Countertops not included as I bought marble slabs separately. I didn’t do custom tv consoles, shelving, display cabinets, etc. 

I think Builders normally quote an estimated lump sum for carpentry work and if their subcons end up charging lower, they will make a bigger profit from it. Cos if the house has not been designed, it is not possible to get an accurate costing for carpentry work as one need to know how tall and wide the cabinets, wardrobe are in order to quote as carpenters quote based on per foot run.

I suggest you work an architect for your job rather then going directly to builders. At least you can work with someone who knows the regulations clearly and can project manage for you. 

Edited February 19, 2021 by snoozee

[shhh201 0]

ah ok i see!

I was very confused when they mentioned GFA. I was only under the impression I had to fulfill the envelop control regulations.

Is this possible? @yoongf to keep the submission as a semi-detached and physically build a detached? This will be quite ideal because i wanted to build one side with a bigger allowance for a playground and a BBQ zone. Will this actually infringe because they will need to do a final check before TOP.

Also, just based on experience here, is going with an architect always more expensive vs the builders?