Home

Hard work ahead in the Year of the Ox

John GelavisSponsored
Master Builders Executive Director John Gelavis.
Camera IconMaster Builders Executive Director John Gelavis. Credit: The West Australian.

Homebuilders are facing a busy year, and the stars have aligned perfectly too, as 2021 is the Year of the Ox.

In the Chinese zodiac, the ox is hard-working and methodical, which is exactly what we need from builders.

The residential building sector has been spurred by government grants which will propel us through 2021.

Work is expected to start on 18,500 homes in 2020-21, which is a big increase on the disastrously low 13,454 in 2019-20.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Since the high point of 32,000 commencements in 2014-15, the housing industry has gone through a five-year slump, with home starts as much as 60 per cent below the average.

The Year of the Ox is said to mean prosperity but also obstacles to overcome with strength and determination.

In the building sector, one of the difficulties will be putting up 5000 more homes than last year while travel restrictions get in the way of hiring additional workers.

Few apprentices have been trained in recent years due to the slump and new incentives for builders to take on beginners won’t fix the immediate problem.

We are expecting shortages in some trades, with concrete workers especially in high demand. Concreters are among the first on a building site, pouring the slab.

The next challenge will be bricklaying and carpentry. These trades spend more time onsite than others, which is likely to affect wait times.

Tiling, wall and ceiling fixing, plumbing, plastering, electrical and painting trades are all likely to be busy for the next year, as the new houses which have been signed up go into construction.

Patience and good communication will be important. The best advice for homebuyers is to keep in touch with the builder and stay informed about the progress.

It’s exciting to see walls go up and a roof go on, but there will be times when it looks like things are slow to move forward.

There is probably still a lot going on behind the scenes but internal details like the electrics are not so visible.

Keep in mind some builders will build more homes this year than ever before. It’s in the best interests of everyone for them to apply those ox-like qualities of tenacity, diligence and caution to get the job done well.

This is exactly the right year for reliable homebuilders.

Q&A with MBA Technical Building Services Manager Jason Robertson

The Question

I have a corner block that I am going to be building on soon. Talking with my friend, they said I could have my house facing onto one street but have my letterbox and driveway on the other. Is this true?

The Answer

The positioning of your house on the block is influenced by many factors, but primarily planning requirements.

With some exceptions, the Residential Design Codes form the basis of most development standards, including setbacks (distances to boundaries), privacy and security to name a few.

With letterboxes, these are required to be located on the same frontage as the entrance to the house. This is often referred to and is defined as the primary street. The importance of having the letterbox on the primary street is for numbering.

If your house has two or more street frontages, such as a corner block, the primary street is determined by the street which the front door faces onto. So, by default, the entry point is facing the primary street.

There are certainly opportunities and options available having a corner block – talk to your builder about planning requirements and what suits your needs.

CONTACT Master Builders WA, 9476 9800 www.mbawa.com

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails