Thinking of building a house of your own? Build it yourself. There is an
excitement in building your own house and saving money at the same time.
If you are eager to build your own house then the basic requirement is
to qualify an owner builder course. So, hurry and apply for the most
suitable course.Things you should know before applying
You should first decide what you want to build - a renovation job,
some ancillary erection such as garage or deck, or a complete house. You
should get approval for work before getting the owner-builder license.
However after getting the license you should wait till you get the
commencement notice.
Building restrictions
There are restrictions for owner builders. They can build a residence
of their own or renovate it, build additional buildings around the
residential house but they cannot work commercially or on any commercial
building.
Qualifications needed
There are some compulsory areas, where you need to qualify before
becoming eligible as an owner builder. If you are to build a Class 1
building you have to complete successfully an owner-builder course or
examination within the last 5 years provided the course is undertaken
before 1 September 2004, or you should be holding a builder license
(Class A, B, C or interstate equivalent). The rules are less stringent
when it comes to building a Class 10 structure such as garage or deck,
where you need to only prove your ability in doing so.
Choosing the right institution
There are a number of institutions offering these courses among
which, not all are good enough. When it’s a question of building your
own home you should be choosy. You should not opt for a course, which
offers you the material over the net and claims it as a matter of two
hours. Any course below 20 hours is not worth trying. Do not take up
cheap substitutes, because they provide nothing at all. Some courses
many get you the license without delivering much knowledge but that is
harmful in the end, as far as your safety is concerned.
What you should look for in a course
When you search for a good owner builder course, you should find out
such subjects like owner builder obligations and responsibilities, basic
workplace health and safety, insurance requirements, dispute resolution,
contract requirements, scheduling and a little bit of budget estimating
in the syllabus. A good owner builder course should be providing you a
basic overview of these subjects, which builders spent years studying in
colleges.
Some top institutes in Australia where owner builder courses are
delivered:
New South Wales
- ABE Education
- Absolute Owner Builder Courses
- Home Ideas Centre
- Asset Building Consultants Pty Ltd
- Owner-Builder Alliance
Queensland
- The Peach Institute
- Satellite College
- Boss Institute
Victoria
- Owner Building Solutions
- Building Centre
Western Australia
Australian Capital Territory
South Australia
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