How old is my house?

Having bought a character house in one of the oldest parts of Brisbane, I've become curious about the house and street. In particular, when was my house built? And who lived in it?

This is not an easy question to answer, and I'm still not 100% sure. But here are some tips and links to assist you if you're on a similar mission.

Firstly, the Brisbane City Council provides an excellent guide:

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/heritage_house_history.pdf

This is based around 10 'keys', or stages, to slowly crack the history of your house. I must admit I haven't been following it to the letter, but it has been a great starting point to begin thinking about how to tackle the mystery. I would definitely recommend starting with 'Key 1' - identifying the features of your house and comparing them to those in the area, and the info supplied in the council document. Another excellent resource has been this book by Judy Rechner, available from the city council library:

The Department of Natural Resources and Mines is responsible for land titles and can also perform a historical title search. At the time of writing, their website was malfunctioning and effectively useless, but for when it gets fixed, it's here:

https://www.dnrm.qld.gov.au

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/titles-property-construction/titles-property/searches-documents

Obtaining some of the historical titles for your house is an excellent way to start tracking the owners via some other resources. The museum at at the DNRM were exceptionally helpful via email. I provided them with the current title document including the current RP number, and they emailed me back with a comprehensive list of title numbers (they change substantially over the years), links to several historical maps of Brisbane and a contact for the Brisbane City Archives. You can email them at:

Museum@dnrm.qld.gov.au

I then contacted the business centre for the DNRM who (for a fee) provided me with the historical title documents (using the RP numbers provided by the museum), scanned in and emailed.

The Brisbane City Council Archives (based at Moorooka) provided me with this document to aid in searching:

https://library.brisbane.qld.gov.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/41815/0

Of the most use in my case were the 'detailed plans' for Brisbane, dating from 1911 when sewering was being planned for Brisbane. Each house is drawn in detail, including water tanks, boundaries etc. Some of them are accessible online, others you will have to go and visit the archives at Moorooka (see the visiting hours here - https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/libraries/library-facilities-services/brisbane-city-archives - you can just turn up and they are very helpful).

Check them out here:

https://library.brisbane.qld.gov.au/client/en_AU/BrisbaneImages/?rm=DETAIL+PLANS1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7Ctrue

On this page is a link to the indexes. You can locate which index you need (northern, eastern etc.) and then see which number overlies your street. You can then go back and find the detailed plan number which corresponds with your house location! You may end up with something like this...

You can see the incredible level of detail that went into these plans. Unfortunately they are not all available online, but once again the archives staff should be able to access the hand-drawn notebooks for you, which is pretty awesome.

The city council also has a huge collection of maps, images and building registers available here:

https://library.brisbane.qld.gov.au/client/en_AU/BrisbaneImages/?rm=BRISBANE+IMAGE0%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7Ctrue

The building registers are useful pre-1925 if your house is in a limited area, and post-1925 for a wider area of Brisbane. Unfortunately our house is pre-1925 (according to the detailed plans above), outside the area for which records were kept.

Other maps of Brisbane can be found here:

https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/historical-cadastral-map-seriesqueensland

The State Library of Queensland also holds historical photos and maps which you can find by searching here:

http://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do


Finally, using what you've found:

- details of your house and area giving an approximate time of construction
- historic title documents with previous owners' names and dates on there
- detailed maps
- building registers

... you can have a look on Trove! This is the National Library of Australia's online search tool. Probably of the most use is searching newspapers, you can try your street and suburb (keep in mind the current street number has not been like that forever), the names of previous owners plus street/suburb, and all sorts of combos. It does take a fair bit of playing around to generate the best search strategies.

http://trove.nla.gov.au

You will find all sorts of interesting stuff. The most detailed events used to be published - such as someone who lived on your street being hit by a tram, or falling off a horse; records of house sales/rentals; births, deaths and marriages etc.

There's way too much more for me to put here but please get in touch if you want any more information or assistance, I've discovered heaps about researching house histories over the last month.

As for our house? Well, it was probably constructed around the early 1920s. Unfortunately I've hit a dead end in terms of research, but it's been really interesting to find out how long our street has existed, who owned the land, when it was subdivided, who lived in our street, and some of the things they got up to.

I encourage you to start your own search - it really is fascinating. Enjoy! :-) And please leave a comment below!
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What you are (and aren't) allowed to do with your house...

Why are building codes so important? Why was it that I started reading them way before we even bought our house? (I can assure you it most certainly isn't because I love building codes and would prefer reading them over watching 'The Bachelor'...)

It turns out that the Brisbane City Council has a multitude of building codes. Wordy, full of tables and hard-to-decipher pictures, it can be confusing for the prospective house buyer. But it's essential to understand these before purchasing your own block of land or renovator's dream if you're planning to make any modifications.

I discovered this while looking around West End and Highgate Hill for property over the last year. Initially Michael and I were looking quite seriously at a property on Granville Street. The property was a full upper level, with the lower level probably around half the floor space of the upper, due to a slope on the block. We thought it would be a great idea to lift the house and build in a full storey underneath. Then we discovered the restriction on building height and realised we wouldn't be able to lift it enough to fit in a full floor underneath... and subsequently didn't bid on the house.

So where to find this information? Start here:

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-building/do-i-need-approval/residential-projects/dwellings

Once you have a house or block in mind, PD online is your best friend!

https://pdonline.brisbane.qld.gov.au/masterplan/default.aspx

To the 'property enquiry' tab and go to 'new property enquiry', where you will find this screen:

You can use this screen to search for your property of interest. Once you search for the property, click on the magnifying glass symbol that says 'more details', and you will come up with this (I'm using the Granville St property that we'd initially checked out in this example):

Here, you will find the zoning, which will affect what kind of building you can construct on the site, or what restrictions apply to your property. In addition, the Brisbane City Council overlays can be found here. Keep in mind that not all the overlays will affect your property - you will need to get onto the BCC overlay map to see this. For example, this property shows a flood overlay, but on the flood map, it is a tiny portion of overland flow at the back of the block.

Even more confusingly, not all the applicable codes will come up here (this a list of overlays - there are also building and fire codes which would apply to this property).

Many of the codes are found in the Brisbane City Plan 2014, such as the small lot code:

http://eplan.brisbane.qld.gov.au/?doc=DwellingHseSmallLotCode

Or the traditional building character overlay code (demolition):

http://eplan.brisbane.qld.gov.au/?doc=NeighbourhoodCharDesignOC

But don't forget there is also a traditional building character overlay code for design (!):

http://eplan.brisbane.qld.gov.au/?doc=NeighbourhoodCharDesignOC

Despite careful reading, these codes are sometimes contradictory, confusing and difficult to interpret. So who to turn to for help? Your draftsperson, building designer or architect can be of very much help to you. In addition, town planners can be very helpful. The Brisbane City Council also has a phone line you can call to speak directly with a town planner. This page is an excellent resource:

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-building/applying-post-approval/how-get-advice

Good luck! And feel free to comment if you have any questions or additional advice :-)

Architect versus building designer

Michael and I have spent the last couple of months since we purchased the property meeting up with close to 10 different architects and building designers. Having googled the phrase above several times in the last couple of months, hopefully what we've learnt can be of some help!

When I first looked into the differences, the Google results were overwhelming. Seemingly biased articles towards both professions appeared and made it even more confusing. And everyone has a story to tell about an architect who designed something un-buildable, or a building designer whose design went way over budget due to unanticipated variations during construction.

The internet is full of articles saying who has what qualifications. But what most of us want to know is - what is the difference in cost, and what is the difference in service? Roughly, and with varying terminology, the phases of design are:

1) concept/schematic design (rough sketches according to brief)
2) design development up to drawings suitable for development application to council (if required)
3) construction documentation (detailed drawings including elevations - for the builder!)
4) tendering (basically - getting quotes from builders)
5) contract administration/project management (helping during construction to make it happen)

So firstly, know how far the services you are being offered extend. Is it just for concept drawings through to a development application? Or does it include full construction drawings? Does it include contract administration and project management? And what extra services will be required? (ie. town planning, engineering, surveying etc...). In addition, do you get any help with choosing hard finishes? And how many elevations will you get drawn up?

In general, most architects will offer a 'full service' including construction drawings, contract administration and project management. Usually this will be a percentage of the build estimate (for us, it consistently came in around 12% but may vary from 10-19% depending on your budget; the lower percentage for a higher build cost). Some may be happy to only proceed to a certain stage (eg. development application). Many building designers will offer drawings up to a development application stage, but may do more or less according to your brief, and can offer additional services on a 'per hour' fee basis. In addition, what you get WITHIN these phases may vary (to make it even more confusing). For example, some building designers may not draw up your electrical schedule for you, preferring you to just place your own lights etc. on a blank plan.

Secondly, all the architects and building designers we have spoken to have been very generous with their time, free of charge. They have been overwhelmingly happy to meet us at the house and spend anywhere from half an hour to over an hour discussing our brief and the scope of their services. So don't be afraid to shop around and examine fee proposals from multiple architects/designers. You are looking at spending a minimum of a couple of thousand dollars on a design so it's wise to know what you are getting for your money!

Thirdly, have a list of questions to ask. Ours included - how familiar are you with the building codes in this area? (more on this to come!) How often do your projects stay on budget? When can you start work on the project? And as above, make sure you get emailed a detailed fee proposal before commencing work.

Lastly, there is no 'right answer'. Choose someone you get along with, whose vision aligns with yours, and whose cost suits your project. We start work with our designer tomorrow!

Please feel free to comment if I've missed anything or you would like to add anything! We would love this to become a resource for people like us, going through their renovation stages.

It begins...

My partner Michael and I have recently purchased a small 1920s worker's cottage in the Brisbane suburb of West End. Here we will share our tips, tricks and advice so that others can learn from our mistakes! Stay tuned...