Advice needed on buying old house

[snoozee 97]

3 hours ago, Topline said:

I saw an SIP of anor property I eyed many years .... i dont recall seeing the depth. Is it a new info stated?

the SIP will show the manhole positions as well as the top level, invert level and length between the manholes.

so from the top level and invert level, you can get the depth of the sewer line

[Topline 1]

There were some numbers like 102.567/ 100.567. Are those the numbers of the top level and invert level? If so, does it mean the depth is 2 metres (the difference)? How many metres deep would it cause A&A costs to be higher than usual?

[snoozee 97]

53 minutes ago, Topline said:

There were some numbers like 102.567/ 100.567. Are those the numbers of the top level and invert level? If so, does it mean the depth is 2 metres (the difference)? How many metres deep would it cause A&A costs to be higher than usual?

yes, the numbers indicate the top level and invert level. by right any excavation more than 1.5m would need ERSS. in certain cases where the excavation is for pile caps, footings, lift pits or trench where the area does not exceed 10sqm, you can dig up to 2m without needing ERSS.

but if your sewer pipe is already at 2m deep, the builder would need to dig deeper as there needs to be a RC base for the trench. so the builder may need to dig up to 2.5m deep in order to cast a cement base, then put in the rebars for the base and side of the trench before putting in the formwork to cast the RC base and side walls of the trench.

[IceEyez 4]

Aside from the ERSS requirements, the depth of the sewer will also determine the size of the trench required.

For sewer whose depth is less than 3m (measured from the proposed floor level), the trench width required is 750mm.

If the sewer is more than 3m depth, than you require something closer to 1.3-1.5m in width. 

More width = more concrete, labour etc.

[Topline 1]

Thanks for all your help. This semi-detached doesn't have a big plot.... and I'm already trying to extend the back walls to 2 m from the boundary wall. Can i place a washing machine in this 2 metre strip of land, perhaps against the back wall? My understanding is I cannot build on this strip of land but if I place a washing machine there (covered by roof eaves and retractable awning), should be ok? I'm also thinking of placing a stainless steel sink (like the attached) within the 2 metre strip.... so I can place a portable cooker to cook outdoors. Can? 

Edited November 2, 2020 by Topline

[snoozee 97]

6 minutes ago, Topline said:

Thanks for all your help. This semi-detached doesn't have a big plot.... and I'm already trying to extend the back walls to 2 m from the boundary wall. Can i place a washing machine in this 2 metre strip of land, perhaps against the back wall? My understanding is I cannot build on this strip of land but if I place a washing machine there (covered by roof eaves and retractable awning), should be ok? I'm also thinking of placing a stainless steel sink within the 2 metre strip.... so I can place a portable cooker to cook outdoors. Can? 

you can place anything within that 2m setback. what is not allowed is to build a permanent structure there to form some kind of permanent roof (though many home owners does so)

unless you are going to have your awning open permanently, putting your washing machine and subjecting it to our Singapore rain is not a good idea. even waterproof IP65 power sockets will fail in time and cause problems with electrical tripping. I would suggest you plan it such that it would be in the part covered with the roof eaves instead.

Edited November 2, 2020 by snoozee

[Topline 1]

Hi

Is it usual to get registered surveyor to check encroachment before buying a house? The house I have in mind has been sitting there like 20+ years... 

[snoozee 97]

26 minutes ago, Topline said:

Hi

Is it usual to get registered surveyor to check encroachment before buying a house? The house I have in mind has been sitting there like 20+ years... 

it's not about checking encroachment though a survey will reveal that if any.

the survey is more of determining where is your actual land boundary so that your building works can be planned based on that. if the existing owner has a certified survey plan from when the house was rebuilt, you could take that as the accurate one since technology had not evolved much since 20 years ago ( I think) to make any major changes from the land survey plan.

of cos, if you wish to in the absence of any plans, you can get your own surveyor to perform a survey for you. this shouldn't cost much (about 1.5k). but you would also need to buy the cadastral plan from SLA to provide to the surveyor to do the survey. the cadastral plan would be free if you already own the land else need to pay a few tens of dollars for it.

[Topline 1]

1 hour ago, snoozee said:

it's not about checking encroachment though a survey will reveal that if any.

the survey is more of determining where is your actual land boundary so that your building works can be planned based on that. if the existing owner has a certified survey plan from when the house was rebuilt, you could take that as the accurate one since technology had not evolved much since 20 years ago ( I think) to make any major changes from the land survey plan.

of cos, if you wish to in the absence of any plans, you can get your own surveyor to perform a survey for you. this shouldn't cost much (about 1.5k). but you would also need to buy the cadastral plan from SLA to provide to the surveyor to do the survey. the cadastral plan would be free if you already own the land else need to pay a few tens of dollars for it.

Are you referring to the certified survey plan on Inlis? Seems like can buy for $11.55.

Separately, I have seen SIP searches where a particular address has two boxes of land joined together, does it mean the owner combined two plots of land? I have also seen one where the two boxes are not exactly joined .... though within the same boundaries of the address... what does that mean? Any implication for the buyer when buying such land?

[snoozee 97]

inlis cadastral map. also same price. free for land owners. this is what surveyors would ask for first before they perform actual site survey to verify. the cadastral map for my house was a hand drawn one many decades ago so the surveyor used it for reference to determine my actual land boundaries.

1 address with on 2 plots of land means the house owner has not requested to amalgamate the 2 pieces of land together as one. I've seen one GCB with a single address but on 2 plots of land. on the other hand, I've also seen a single land lot where there are a few inter-terrace houses sitting on the single plot. Basically the owners of the houses had not applied to subdivide the land into individual plots.

normally land lots are all side by side so there shouldn't be the case where land lots are not joined. even public roads have land lots numbers for them and they are joined next to another land lot for a building or drain, etc.

if a house is sitting on 2 land lots, the buyer can have the option of tearing down the existing house and then building 2 separate houses on the 2 plots of land. However if the land is shared with the neighbours, it becomes a more complicated issue as one can't determine the boundary unless a surveyor is called in to do the subdivision of land. strata landed houses are all under a single land lot and there's other rules and regulations for that.