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300706 BUILDING 1
MODULE 3
Surveying, titles and civil works
https://www.coursehero.com/file/16204067/Module-03b/
 Introduction

Surveying concerns the measurement of the relative position of natural and man-made features on the earth’s surface.
These measurements are transferred at a suitable scale onto a map or plan which displays three dimensional information
in a two dimensional format. Surveyors locate and mark the boundaries of a building site as defined in the title document
for that piece of land. They also note any encroachments made on or by the fences and other structures on the block. It
is important to have a surveyor do this work at the start of any building project. Land titles or deeds are the legal
documents that specify the exact area of land delineated for a particular block. Titles may include restrictions in the form
of covenants or easements which limit what can legally be done with the property. The Torrens title system covers most
detached residential blocks in Australia and is designed to ensure reliability of transfer of properties from one owner to the
next. Civil works involve the construction of access roads, drainage systems, service mains, excavation and site
preparation. In a new subdivision the majority of this work may be done in the development phase prior to the blocks
being sold to individuals. The cost of such civil works will be included in the land purchase price. Each of these will be
discussed in more detail below.

Surveying

Various instruments and pieces of equipment are used in surveying to accurately locate any point on the ground with
respect to a known surveyed point or datum point. Both horizontal and vertical location are specified. A series of spot
levels taken in a grid pattern on a piece of land can be used to produce a contour map which will give an accurate
representation of the natural landform, slope and floor levels of any existing buildings on site. Contour lines connect

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points of equal height above a chosen datum point. When contour lines are closely spaced steeply sloping ground is
indicated. Features such as hillcrests, cliffs, gullies and ridges can be identified from a contour plan.

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The automatic level (formerly known as a builder’s level or dumpy level) and the E pattern staff are commonly used for
simple site surveys. Some builders, architects and engineers use an automatic level to do their own preliminary surveys

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of blocks of land in the early stages of a project, then get a registered surveyor to do an official survey once it is decided

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that the project will definitely go ahead. The theodolite is an instrument for measuring both horizontal and vertical
angles. The theodolite has several advantages over the automatic level and can be used to do more tasks in a quicker
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time frame. Professional surveyors use the appropriate piece of equipment for the task and increasingly these days
satellite technology is employed in surveying property.
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Land Titles
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Torrens title is a system of land title where the right of title is guaranteed by means of a register of land maintained by a
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government authority. It provides for security of land tenure and expedites the transfer of land. The system was
developed to combat the problems of uncertainty, complexity and cost associated with the former system of ‘old system
title’, which depended on proof of an unbroken chain of title back to the original grant or deed for the land. The Torrens
title system was originally introduced in South Australia in the 1850s. It was formulated by the Premier of South Australia
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Sir Robert Torrens. Since then, it has become pervasive around the nations that make up the Commonwealth of Nations
(former member states of the British Empire) and very common around the globe generally. While some old systems
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titles still exist in Australia there is a mechanism for conversion to Torrens title and consequently old systems titles are
gradually disappearing.

Strata title is the land title system commonly used in Australia for residential flats or home units. It is intended to give the
owners of flats an equivalent security of tenure to that of owners of individual detached houses through Torrens title.
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Strata titles specify individual ownership of the flats or units in a block along with joint or communal ownership of the parts
of the exterior of the building and those parts in common use. Any disputes about these matters are administered by a
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body corporate for each building under strata title.

Covenants and easements are often found on land titles. A covenant is a clause registered on the deed of a block of
land that imposes conditions on the owner of that land. In the past it was common for housing blocks to have a ’brick and
tile’ covenant meaning that the house was required to be built for the most part of these materials. In more recent
subdivisions such covenants have become less popular as they can unnecessarily restrict options such as the use of
metal deck roofs or wall materials such as AAC (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) blocks and panels. An easement is a
right of use over a piece of land owned by another. An example would be an easement for a water or sewer main which
crosses a property. The owner cannot build over the easement or obstruct the easement holder’s rights. It is important
that any easements or covenants and their full implications are understood at the beginning of any development process.
Otherwise significant unexpected costs may result.

https://www.coursehero.com/file/16204067/Module-03b/
 Civil Works

The development of land for housing and associated facilities usually involves the removal of existing vegetation,
remaking of the land surface, establishment of roads, alteration to the natural drainage patterns of the land and the
building of new structures to manage access, stormwater run-off and to minimise soil erosion. All these matters come
under the heading of civil works. Civil works often amount to a significant proportion of the cost of land for housing.
Increasingly the environmental impact of land development is managed by means of civil works that attempt to retain
some of the features of the natural landscape and ecosystems from the undeveloped land.

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Stormwater management at Hornsby NSW WSUD

When bush or farmland is converted into residential estates there is a great increase in the percentage of hard impervious
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surface area. This can lead to flooding and erosion if counter measures are not taken. An example of these counter
measures can be seen in the use of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) in the establishment of new subdivisions.
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Instead of collecting run-off into an extensive piped network that eventually discharges rapidly flowing water into a river or
stream, systems that encourage the slow passage of a storm surge through the built landscape are used. Natural creek
systems are retained as far as possible and retention basins established so that infiltration of stormwater into the soil
occurs and the water table is replenished. Erosion is reduced by slowing down the water speed with landscaping
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elements and natural habitat for the native wildlife is retained and enhanced. Nuisance flooding in the newly established
areas is minimised by reserving low lying areas for stormwater management. Trash racks are used to prevent rubbish
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getting into creek systems. Regular maintenance is needed to ensure that these remain effective. Landscaping is
regarded as an integral part of the establishment of a new subdivision rather than something that will be added later as
commonly happened in the past. The spread of weeds is minimised through the early establishment of new vegetative
cover on disturbed ground.

A relatively flat site is easier to build on than a sloping site. Commonly a flat site is achieved by using earth moving
equipment to cut and fill the natural slope of the block. This is effective if the slope is not too great but may require
structures such as retaining walls and drainage works if the slope is significant. Cut and fill is required in most cases for
concrete slabs on ground and this is easily the most common flooring system for houses built these days. Some form of
sediment control is necessary on cut and fill sites. This can take the form of straw bale barriers or geotextile filters on
the down slope side of the excavated site. Typically on a residential building site the topsoil is removed and stored for
use in the landscaping works once the construction is complete. Many Councils require builders to do a certain amount
of site regeneration at the completion of building work. This may involve the planting of indigenous native species or the
protection during the construction phase of certain large established trees.

It should be noted that it is possible to build a house on a sloping site without using the cut and fill method. On
environmentally sensitive sites or steeply sloping ones it may be more appropriate to use a framed floor structure where

https://www.coursehero.com/file/16204067/Module-03b/
 excavation is limited to the footings and natural ground levels and drainage patterns are maintained. This was in fact the
main way of building houses before heavy earth moving equipment became readily available.

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Stormwater management and landscaping at Greens Square, Sydney WSUD
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Native plant regeneration at Warriewood, Sydney WSUD

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 Retaining Walls

Due to the prevalence of slab on ground construction for houses these days, there is an increasing need for retaining
walls to allow site levelling and hold back soil especially at site boundaries. Increasingly more steeply sloping land is
being converted for house sites in major cities and consequently the need for retaining walls escalates. Retaining walls
prevent soil slippage and resulting damage to adjacent buildings so they need to be properly designed by a qualified
engineer or according to acceptable construction standards. Retaining walls need to have adequate drainage systems
behind them to avoid build-up of water pressure and they need to resist overturning under load from the soil retained. The
most common types are gravity retaining walls and cantilevered retaining walls. Gravity retaining walls are thick at the
base and taper towards the top where the load is less. Cantilevered retaining walls are designed in reinforced concrete
shapes that resist overturning.

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Brick retaining walls ArchiCad

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Conclusion

A high proportion of the cost of land for housing is in the land subdivision costs and the civil works to establish usable
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building sites. This initial expense insures better designed and more established suburbs earlier than was previously the
case but it also raises the initial outlay to buy a house make housing less affordable.
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