The Complete Guide To The Development Approval Process: Part 2/2

[youtube id="NEkvo1OofbM" align="left" mode="lazyload" maxwidth="500"] After you have development approval there is a still a lot of work to be done. Here's what happens after you get your DA Approval. Speaker 1:        Once you've received your development approval or DA, as they call it. And, you're ready to go ahead and move forward and build your property. There's still some steps that you need to take in the designing process. And, so today, I have with me Luke from durackarchitects.com to talk through this second stage of The Building and Development Process after you've had your DA approval. So, hey Luke and thanks for coming on again today. Luke:    G'day Ron. It's good to be here again. Speaker 1:        Okay. So, we did a previous video, which people should go back and watch if they haven't already, talking about working through the planning and getting the development approval for your development, whether it be a new house or a renovation or whatever it may be. So, we assuming that now people have that approval, and we're going to talk through the next steps, which will be getting the construction documentation ready, choosing builder, as well as going through the construction process. Just to give you guys a really good overview of the complete process that you're going to go through. So, after we receive our DA, what's kind of the next step? Do, we then go back to an architect, and then we start working on new documents? Luke:    Yeah, so you've got your approval, hopefully that hasn't taken too long. Speaker 1:        Yeah. Luke:    Meanwhile, your architect may have chosen to continue on with the documentation in the hope that there wouldn't be any real issues with getting the approval or things might have been put on hold until you've got that approval from council. So, assuming everything goes well, your architect can say, "That's great, we got our approval. We'd like to move ahead with the next stage." So, the next stage is basically an additional level of detail to the drawings and documents that you supplied council that enable a build up to price and build your project. So- Speaker 1:        So, this is not just the blueprints that you see, that gives you the overview of the floor plan and stuff like that. This is like, "You need X amount of timber and like all these sorts of materials to go into the house." Is that what this is? Luke:    Yeah, it's the detail that a builder needs in drawing form, and written documentation form that allows them to build what you designed. So, you've built a house that's got these lovely screened balconies on it. You've designed it with these steel beams that run the perimeter. How exactly do you want those steel beams to look? How do you want the screen to connect to them? How are they going to hook onto the building? It's that detail that lets a builder know, "Okay, it's steel, it's not just a line on the page. It's got a certain type of connections and this the way the architect wants us to connect it to the building." So, builders don't typically build from DA drawings, or development application drawings, although from some cases they do. But, there's not a lot of detail in DA drawings. They're there to give the council a general idea of what you're planning to do, and satisfy them that your design sits within their rules and codes and controls. But, in order to get the building built you have to add more detail. So, as they say God is in the detail. And, you need to take those DA drawings to the next level, which involves in many cases some additional months of work in order to get them to that stage that they can be priced. Speaker 1:        Okay. Yeah, it's good to give people a timeline of how long these things take, because a lot of people think, "Okay, I've got my DA approval, next day, we've got the builder on site, the house will be build really quick." So, there's actually another couple of months in terms of getting these construction documents ready. Luke:    Right, and that happens all the time. [inaudible 00:04:25] we got the DA, we want to start building next week and that's good and that's not what happens. Speaker 1:        I can see why you'd have the architect working on your construction documents while you haven't been approved yet, but you submitted it. Because that way, when you finally do get it approved, especially if it's going to be like 100 days for some councils, like you're primed and you're ready to move as quick as possible. Luke:    That's right. And, that's also why people, when they're deciding to buy property in the first place. If they know that they bought it, they would develop it, they try and set up arrangements with the existing owners that they could start documenting their DA prior to having the sale in the bag, so to speak, so that there's no lag in time. But, there are obviously risks involved. So, in the case of the DA, if you start this construction documentation stage before the DA approval, council may object it, or they may say, "You have to take that top level off," And, you've already started moving ahead with that documentation stage and so [crosstalk 00:05:39] Speaker 1:        So, it can lead to extra costs, because there's extra work involved. But, it can also speed up the process. So, it really depends how likely you think you are to get it through approval as to whether or not you want to take that risk. Luke:    That's right. So- Speaker 1:        Or, how much money you have. Luke:    Yeah, yeah. Well, that is the case. So, after your DA, you're doing this extra level of documentation that involves getting your consultants involved again. So, you're structurally engineer then can do more detailed design about how this building's gonna stand up and coordinate it with your design. At some point along the line these drawings also become your CC, or Construction Certificate drawings. So, they're basically an approval. They're also drawings that allow you to start building. They're generally in accordance with the approval and the different building codes. So [crosstalk 00:06:51]- Speaker 1:        So, is there another approval process you have to go through? So, you go through DA, you get those approved, then you draw up the construction documents. Do those construction documents then have to be approved by council or by someone before you can start building? Luke:    That's right. So, there's really another stage in there. So, you're doing your documentation drawings, after your approval, and then there's something called your construction certificate. So, yes there is another approval that basically says, "What we have drawn is what we got approval for from council." Speaker 1:        Yup. Luke:    Yup. What's to say you get an approval with one balcony and the architects come and your client says, "Just put another balcony on there." Speaker 1:        "Yeah, just do it ... Be fine." Luke:    Yeah, and it does happen all the time. And, there's someone there from council or private certified that looks at those drawings and goes, "I'm looking at your DA drawings, I'm looking at your construction drawings and they're generally the same." Speaker 1:        Yup. Luke:    "There's more detail, but they're the same." And, that document approval's called your CC. [crosstalk 00:08:00] Speaker 1:        Okay. Construction certificate. Luke:    Allows you to start building. Speaker 1:        'Cause the DA approval sounds quite difficult, and like you could get setbacks and things like that. Is the construction certificate as laborious as that? Or is it kind of easier to get through? Luke:    It's more a question of just satisfying the level of detail that you need to supply. It's less about ... are there going to be any hidden surprises that you'd get thrown at you in the last minute. You're just going to make sure your stairs comply with building code, that you don't have more stuff on your drawings than what was in the approval. That's right. It's a bit of ticking the boxes. Little bit of ticking the boxes. Speaker 1:        And, is there a timeframe on construction certificates passing at all? Luke:    Well, it's a pretty straightforward process. Once you've got the drawings you supply them to your certifier and they look at them, and it just depends on their workload really, might only take a week or two to do that. Speaker 1:        Okay. So, we've done our construction documents, we've got our construction certificate, we're now onto selecting our builder. Luke:    Yeah. So, those construction documents that you've worked up, along with your consultant drawings, your geo-technical engineer, your structural engineer, and so forth. They are there to be a package that a builder can then price on or tender on. Speaker 1:        Yup. Luke:    The stage an architect can be involved in can be what we call the "Full Service," so they can go from sketch design all the way through to construction on-site. Or, clients may decide they only want the architect to be involved from sketch design through the DA. But, an architect can be involved in this tender stage. So, that would be; they've drawn up the documents, they've called on a number of builders to look at those documents, and say, "We think we can do it for this price." It's part of the architect service to review those prices and see where each of the bills are, comparing oranges to oranges and whether there's any discrepancies, and so forth. Speaker 1:        Well, that's one of the things, when I was talking to people in the past, that can be really tricky with builders, is that you get a certain price, but it doesn't include certain things like; flooring, or landscaping, or driveways, or all that. There's all these hidden costs that come after this seemingly low quote. So, you're saying that,