council approval

[flick (Stefan)]

Hi everyone,

I am about to embark on building my own ROR obs and I'm currently in the planning stage. I'm planning an obs room with 1 pier and a warm room with 1 desk and shelving for storage of astronomy gear.

The dream, before looking into council approval, was a 3mx6m concrete slab with the entire roof rolling back over a water tank behind the slab. Half obs, half warm room/storage.

Since looking into it I have discovered that I can only get away with 10m2 structure without council approval. So my questions are:

1/ Does the land directly underneath the posts that will support the roof in the rolled off position count as the structure? I'm hoping if I place a watertank there then they won't count that part as structure if I am unlucky enough to get audited.

2/What does everybody register their structure as? I am awaiting a call back from a private certifier, I was planning on calling it a shed.

3/ For those that got their obs certified, did you need to get plans drawn up?

4/ Does anybody have any links to helpful resources for the build? I have run through most of the threads on this forum (some amazing structures there!) and I also have John Hicks "Building a roll-off roof observatory" book on the way to help.

Thanks for the help! I'll be sure to post some progress pictures once a shovel hits the dirt.

[glend (Glen)]

Do you really need to register a small shed? If under 10m2 does not require council approval, just build that and forget this registration and certification stuff. In NSW that is not required for a garden shed, which would be what most would call it. Usually the Sat image from Google is only going to show the roof. My Obs only shows the roof on Google. The roof rails used to roll off could be anything, including a trellis, or pergola. Don't worry about it in my opinion. Just build it and play dumb if questioned.

[LonelySpoon (Neville)]

"It is far easier to get forgiveness than permission"

You could call it a granny flat... (6o-90 sq m)

Neville
LSO

[leon]

Stefan, as mentioned just do it mate, all will be well, you can go to Bunnings and buy a kit shed which you don't need permission for and plonk it in your back yard they all look the same from above.

I have built two in my time and never bothered with that stuff.

Leon

[flick (Stefan)]

Thanks everyone. I will do that! Does anyone know what the boundary clearances are meant to be? I live in Logan, QLD.

[AndyG (Andy)]

Hi Flick,

As others have said, being that small, just do it. Regarding boundaries, I'd put a guess at 900mm to be safe.

One thing I would suggest though - go to the council website, and find their GIS mapping portal. From there, you can locate sewers, water mains, storm drains, and other business.

Make sure your shed avoids all this. That way, they cannot take a swipe at you for blocking access for future servicing.

Bonus points if you ensure drainage is maintained towards the front of your yard, rather than towards a neighbour. Little things like that help keep your stuff to yourself.

Party on.

[Sunfish (Ray)]

Most important and sensible advice . Do not omit.

The 900 mm is about fire rating requirements. Don’t forget this either.

Council website will have other rules, heights distances.

If it is not enclosed it is not floor space. If it is on the ground , it is not a deck. Some decks may be exempt of approval in any case.

Originally Posted by AndyG

Hi Flick,

As others have said, being that small, just do it. Regarding boundaries, I'd put a guess at 900mm to be safe.

One thing I would suggest though - go to the council website, and find their GIS mapping portal. From there, you can locate sewers, water mains, storm drains, and other business.

Make sure your shed avoids all this. That way, they cannot take a swipe at you for blocking access for future servicing.

Bonus points if you ensure drainage is maintained towards the front of your yard, rather than towards a neighbour. Little things like that help keep your stuff to yourself.

Party on.

[gaseous (Patrick)]

Originally Posted by flick

Hi everyone,

I am about to embark on building my own ROR obs and I'm currently in the planning stage. I'm planning an obs room with 1 pier and a warm room with 1 desk and shelving for storage of astronomy gear.

The dream, before looking into council approval, was a 3mx6m concrete slab with the entire roof rolling back over a water tank behind the slab. Half obs, half warm room/storage.

Since looking into it I have discovered that I can only get away with 10m2 structure without council approval. So my questions are:

1/ Does the land directly underneath the posts that will support the roof in the rolled off position count as the structure? I'm hoping if I place a watertank there then they won't count that part as structure if I am unlucky enough to get audited.

2/What does everybody register their structure as? I am awaiting a call back from a private certifier, I was planning on calling it a shed.

3/ For those that got their obs certified, did you need to get plans drawn up?

4/ Does anybody have any links to helpful resources for the build? I have run through most of the threads on this forum (some amazing structures there!) and I also have John Hicks "Building a roll-off roof observatory" book on the way to help.

Thanks for the help! I'll be sure to post some progress pictures once a shovel hits the dirt.

Probably a bit late to the conversation Stefan, but for what it's worth, you need to maintain 900mm from a side boundary to meet fire separation requirements under the National Construction Code. That being said, local authorities and the Queensland Development Code have additional setback requirements - generally for a normal suburban block, minimum side boundary setbacks are 1.5m for structures up to 4.5m high, and 2m for structure 4.5m and above. Closer than this, and you'd need to apply for a siting variation/relaxation from your local council, which normally involves getting your neighbours to sign off that they're OK with it. As stated by others, anything under 10m is probably do-able without approval, but anything larger than this will require approval through a certifier, who will normally require both architectural plans and structural engineering for the slab/footings/framing. If it is a kit structure, the manufacturer would normally provide the relevant documentation required for approval. A structure like a shed/observatory would be classed as a 10a non-habitable structure (shed, carport, garage, etc). I'm not sure if the certifier needs to call it a specific name, or just a generic "Class 10a Structure" on any approval you may want to get, that way you can use it for whatever non-habitable purpose you want. Good luck!