Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

Has anyone any experience of living in and/or building houses on poles (stumps/posts etc). Presumably this means non brick houses eg wood, colourbond etc plus any other options there might be

We're in QLD and seriously considering this as a design choice for the climate/termites and cos we like the look of it. BUT we've no experience of it. Is it really any different? What practical/cost differences are there both for building and living?

Can find anything on the house build threads for this style of housing.

Ta

Safin

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

Try searching for 'queenslanders'....that is what those houses are called.

G

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

Already tried that and get millions of hits on anything with the word Queensland in it

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

Just to clarify we are looking at a lowish house - kinda ranch style i guess is what you'd call it or maybe modern queenslander rather than true old fashioned high queenslander - theres a lot of those in a town nearby (Maryborough) nice but they're not what we are looking for.

However I guess the advantages and disadvantages would be similar. One reason we are thinking of it is because we hate aircon and prefer to use it as little as possible if at all. And we are told that termites are a major problem round here and that inspection/prevention is far easier on a raised house. And as I said we like the look.

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

There are types of houses called "Pole Houses" which are built with large poles in the frame. There is one down the road from us, its double story and wood with a steel roof.

There are steel houses now though around here in the country and they are not new.

I remember seeing a house on a programme here several years ago which as built of steel and off the ground and the walls acted like louvres when it was hot and let the breeze through.

Have a look at owner builder sites and architect sites.

It might cost more for an architect the but the savings are in the materials etc that they use.

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

There are companies around who's expertise in Queenslanders, whether low or high set and loads of different designs. Just found one - http://www.djbuilders.com.au/index.p...e=queenslander Is that the sort of thing you mean?

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

Only taken a very quick look but yes that's the sort of thing...Thanks very much

Err looked abit more and they seem to do mostly the slab type - although they do make mention of queenslanders its the very traditional ones.

I'll try and find some pics to put on to show what I mean

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

I think Colonial are another of the big ones. May have different designs.

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

This might be a useful place to start:

http://www.prebuilt.com.au/

Prefabricated homes, but don't let the name put you off. Probably much better quality control applied to factory fnished houses, than those constructed on site nowadays.

Differences? They're just different building techniques that's all, more suitable for different contexts. Pole homes, being raised, are better suited to sloping sites, warmer, damper climates, so the further north in QLD you go the better. Also good for the prevention of termite attack etc. Generally clad in lightweight panel / weatherboard materials: fibre cement, compressed fibre cement, colourbond etc. Also allows you to minimise the use of timber. As far as architects go, if it were me I'd be going down 'off the shelf' prefab / kit home route before looking for a bespoke design solution, just based on costs.

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

Here are some site which might help, personally I think these type of homes look much nicer than the normal brick and slab type.

http://www.kithomes.com.au/

http://www.qldcolonialhomes.com.au/

http://www.cbco.com.au/

http://www.traditionalqueenslanders.com.au/

http://www.kit-homes-queensland.peebo.com.au/

http://www.clivekennedyhomes.com.au/queenslanders.php

http://www.stonekithomes.com.au/

http://www.timberlinehomes.com.au/

http://www.ozkithomes.com.au/

http://www.valleykithomes.com.au/

http://www.paal.com.au/

http://www.kithomes.net.au/

http://www.askhomes.com.au/

http://www.prebuilt.com.au/

http://www.ezyhomes.com.au/

That should keep you busy. Good luck.

Mikey

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

Blimey you have been busy on my behalf - thankyou. I'll start working my way through them tonight. Glad someone else likes them too. I think part of it is wanting something very different to the uk, I want to keep on feeling the differences and not take them for granted, at the same time feel part of the country and settled. Make any sense?

Had a look - no problem witht he prefab idea but not so keen on these particular designs - most too small as we want 300m2 ideally. Still given me another avenue to go down. Ta very much

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

How much do these prebuilt homes cost?

Re: Alternative Houses - no slab no brick
 

Just as an example:

http://www.prebuilt.com.au/index.php...sectionID=6485

So not cheap, but not expensive either. Potential savings on rent, as assembled in weeks, not built in months.