Renovating or Building Drafting Services

Thinking of:

  • Renovating or extending any style of period home
  • Creating a reproduction of any style of period home
  • Building a fresh new contemporary home or multi- unit development
  • Renovating or adding to your existing modern home
  • Building or renovating any commercial building Project
  • Building a period or modern conservatory, domestic or commercial

Or any other sort of building project you may have, e.g., DBU’s

We do it all, any building project as required to suit your needs. Here is how you can begin to create your building showplace.

Olive Moulton is a restoration specialist and a custom – building designer for her company, Omrank P/L, with 40 years’ experience in the Build Industry. A member of The Housing Industry of Australia. H.I.A. No. 506067 and an Unlimited Build. Practitioner with the Victorian Building Practitioner Board: DB-U 6429 & CDB-U63352

Olive Moulton personally consults and custom designs all the project styles : Additions and Renovations of all Period or Modern style homes and all The Reproductions. Olive also designs Fresh Modern New homes, Multi – unit developments, Dual Occupancies, Conservatories, Atriums and Commercial.

Olive explains how to achieve a successful result for any building project, new or otherwise:

The most important part of any project is the Plan of the works (Working Drawings). This requires detailed communication between the client and the designer. If you have Comprehensive Working Drawings and Specifications prepared for your building project, it will run smoothly and therefore not incur Extras and Delays that cost you extra money and causes great anxiety.
This is often a result of property owners choosing to only pay for pour quality Permit Plans, not full working drawings, owners just think that they are getting a bargain, unfortunately, we all know“you get what you pay for”.

These sorts of plans only cover the structural detail required by the Building
Surveyor, Contract details will not be included. This obviously takes far less time to produce which is reflected in the fees charged, however the result is predictable and inferior. Generally, the builder must interpret these plans and he does so, to the best of his/her ability and with the information given. Equally the owner’s expectations were something else due to lack of detail. The money saved will no doubt be swallowed up during the building project by disputes and extras which does cause delays in the building process and cost you Extra money.

Custom designed plans include existing drawings, proposed drawings, proposed elevations and site plan of your project to suit. Framing plans, slab details, sub-floor and roof layouts, electrical, joinery, cabinet work and tiling. Drainage plans and Contour Surveying is also included when necessary, according to the complexity of the work. We also produce a very detailed building process and Contract Specifications for the entire project.

A poorly prepared specification which does not cover the entire scope of the work is often where some plans fall short, and this often leads to disputes between the builder and the client. Items such as cornices, architraves, windows, tiles, cabinetry form and layout, whitegoods and electrical works are often the course of dispute due to lack of clarity from the outset.

You also require a Building Permit from a Building Surveyor and maybe a Town Planning Permit from your local Council. Most sites also require a Geotechnical Engineer Report, (a Soil Test) for all works unless very minor. Sometimes a Land Survey of the site is also required to establish your boundaries and a contour plan for the levels of your land. You may also require a drainage drawing for your site. You most likely also require Structural Engineering for your site which shows all the structures detail and drawings of your project required.

Town Planning Permits are also often required and usually required where Council overlays are in place and for most new builds.

There are many overlays that can be on your land such as, to name a few; a General Residential, a Heritage, a Bushfire Prone Area and a Bushfire Overlay management, an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Sensitivity or a Environmental Significance and/or a Vegetation Overlay.

Many conditions for permits vary from Council to Council and therefore we negotiate and sort out all these requirements for you and steer your submission through the various authorities negotiating a successful outcome for your building project.

We also negotiate your plans through a Building Surveyor to obtain your Building Permit to build with all the authorities together.

The BS may also request Report and Consents to be obtained for varying a Building regulation for approval on your site from Council, or other items to be demonstrated for your site. These are mandatory issues to be resolved in order to obtain your building Permit.

When building there needs to be a properly prepared Building Contract and
Documentation for your project, usually drawn up by your builder.

Discuss thoroughly the Contract details, the Drawings and the Specifications so all parties fully understand and agree with the Contract before signing it. If you wish you can have your Building Contract checked by your advisers before signing it, to avoid any disputes during your building project.

These steps will ensure the property improvements, or your building project, are carried out successfully in a professional manner, running smoothly with as little stress as possible.

Authentically restored or new period homes require great attention to detail while cleverly updating with all modern living conveniences and light so often lacking in the past. Properties vary from simple cottages to the most elegant and grand of its period. Sympathetic and fastidious attention to detail and proportions are the keys to authentic restorations and additions. At the conclusion of the works if you can walk through a property and not be able to tell where it all began, or if it is a reproduction, you have achieved your designing goal.

Most new homes, unit developments or commercial building projects also require this level of detail as there are so many things you can choose from to include today, particularly as you have a blank canvas to work with. There are many different ways to create effects of space, drama and ambience for your new build. You are really only limited by your imagination and your project budget.

This brings you to the Interior and Exterior Decoration and landscaping, which also has to be approached with the same attention to detail.

The colour schemes of period houses are the making or breaking of a project. The colours must be just right to create the right ambiance for the era. The modern colours of today are not correct for period houses. Interior decorating is the final finishing touch to a total restoration project or reproduction and should be chosen to suit the period. Traditional colours can be lightened by mixing in lesser strengths maintaining the right family of colour, while providing a lighter, more modern look if preferred.

If your project is a new build, you can let your hair down as you again have this blank canvas and colour is used in many different ways to create many
different effects. There is an abundance of finishing and painting treatments available today to enhance any new building project style.

Soft Furnishings are also part of the final picture. There are many period and reproduction fabrics, wall-papers, freezes and boarders available to suit these houses but they must be chosen with care and knowledge.

For example, drapery in formal areas should be in the style of the era,
otherwise, ambiance and atmosphere are lost, unless of course you prefer a more modern interior of furnishings and colour scheme.

Contemporary Projects also require a suitable colour scheme of vibrant colour or a neutral pallet depending on your taste. These colour schemes need to be thought out depending on the look you are wishing to create.

Landscaping, Paving and Fencing should also be addressed to finish the picture, framing the house and emphasising the era of your home or project, whether new, old or commercial, it all plays a part of the picture.

We are so fortunate today, that there is an abundance of all materials and finishes now readily available, all sympathetically reproduced for the consumer for any period house design. This is not like it was when I first started out when the only source of materials was to look through wrecking yards. You can still do this today for that extra special piece for a new or period project which is a wonderful surprise when you find it and creates lasting conversations at dinner parties.”