Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 2Jul 19, 2014 8:47 pm The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 4Jul 20, 2014 8:49 am http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 13Jul 22, 2014 9:41 am Well.. honestly I have talked with quite a few builders before I decided on mine as well. Not all of them replied and some replies are so "formal" like from a robot. If you tell them that you have a block already, chances are that you will receive a reply is higher. If you don't even have a block and not looking for house and land package, builders/developers will evaluate you as well and in your case they will just think "you are not ready for my business", or "you are not my cup of tea", or even "are you serious?!" The old term "time is money" speaks true here. If they don't see chances of your money coming, they won't waste their time. If you see them in person, yes. They will answer you. But sadly, with emails unless you give enough information, how are they going to give you back what you want?! I did tell my ex potential builders that I have my block and where about in the first place. From what I learn, you can take it two ways. You have a design in mind and try to look for a block that might be suitable for it. Then you approach the builders. If you can state the block you intended to buy, some builders will look at it and tell if you they can work with it or not. But if you don't have any in mind, chances are that they will simply ignore you. The other way is look for a block you like and design a house for that block. If the block is flat and square, that's easy. You can fit anything to it as long as it fits. If not, design one and pay the premium. That is what I am doing now. For your case, it is very hard for builders to even promise on anything.. You have a concept in mind which is unique which may require specific care but without any info on the location or block of land. No one can tell you how to build it or if even it is possible to build. My suggestion to you is given that you have a concept, you can either work with a draftsman to work your plan out first. Builders won't touch you at this stage unfortunately as you are definitely not ready for it. Then you can look for you block and approach builders with both things and see how it goes. Or if you have specific location you are looking at, you can try to contact local builders in person and ask for advises on blocks that might suit you in the area. This was how I got my block in first place. Good luck! Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 14Jul 22, 2014 9:50 am Personally I think you should go to a draftsman or building designer and get them to do a quick mock-up of what you are intending to build - floorplan and some elevations. They would also be able to give you an estimate of how much they expect it would cost to build. I'd also make sure you retain copyright to these plans viewtopic.php?f=1&t=71740&hilit=+copyright&p=1189243#p1189243 Another reason why you should employ the designer first. The you can hawk the plans around to a few builders. If you go to a builder and get them to employ the designer then the subsequent plans are the builders property. If you don't go ahead with the builder but like the plans you would have to pay the builder a release fee for those plans which could be $3 - 4 - 5,000 or more. Being a smaller house also gives you more options to buying a block of land and siting it exactly how you want on that land. Normally people buy the land first then design the house to suit the block. Once you have a set of plans - even simple pre-DA ones, a lot more builders would be interested. There would be some who would regard you as a tyre kicker at the moment - no block, no plans. A set of drawings would show them you are serious. Stewie Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 15Jul 22, 2014 10:22 am Okay. Thanks for the insight into how builders work. I know the location I want to build in and there is one potential block, but it's not a good potential because it has a 50m driveway to the street and the potential cost to get the electricity that far back could make the block unviable. I've been warned by the local council there that many blocks that are sold in that area, while having building entitlements, are so difficult to satisfy all the council requirements that they are virtually impossible to build upon. So you can see my hesitation in rushing out to purchase a block. On top of that they are all sloping (some cliff-like) and very expensive to buy. I only have a total budget of $480k, if the build tops $200k it's very likely I simply cannot afford this project. I am giving serious thought to building interstate within commuting distance of a major city (Melbourne) and just moving there once it's complete. The cost of land here is unbelievable, considering it's an uncrowded city. Anything within a 45mins of Adelaide (25mins gets you out of the metro zone) and you are looking at paying around $300k for a 500-1000sqm block, yes even outside the metro area. Ridiculous, especially when you consider that $350-$400k will get you a 500sqm block with a 3 bed house on it. I find SA in general to be quite crazy in this way. The fashion here is for a house with a driveway and 6sqm of paving under a clothesline. I've not seen tighter housing anywhere, including Sydney, which I lived in for the past decade. Considering this isn't a big city I just don't understand the rationale behind building in such density. And none of it is cheap. A very tight 2 bed villa with no backyard, a second bedroom that looks like a pantry and very pokey spaces still costs $300k here. I looked at regular houses in the outer suburbs but the layouts are so poor, and the use of block space equally so. Most of these houses sit close to the rear fenceline with all the yard out the front done up as a lawn or rockery. There is just no usable garden space. Sydney is poorly planned but even in the tightest suburbs (I lived in the inner west) the use of space was much better than here. Adelaide as a city, doesn't have a lot to recommend it either (sorry to anyone this might offend). There isn't much here so living metro, even though metro houses are nominally cheaper than say Sydney or Melbourne, doesn't net you any of the benefits that metro living in a major city does. My impression of Adelaide is it's just a rural centre that spread out, but someone forgot to put in the services and vibrancy that towns of this size would normally have. I've tried my best to get along with it but have decided I'd either have to live rural in SA and leave city life behind or I'd have to leave the state. Immediately before moving here I was based in a town, pop 5,000 in NSW and it was more alive and easier to live in than Adelaide. Had a very strong farmers market culture, lots of outdoor activities and a good arts & music scene. I've found none of that here. Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 16Jul 22, 2014 2:08 pm Okay, so it looks like I'm getting somewhere here. I called Royal Wolf about a container conversion involving two side by side 40' containers, which should give me the building envelope I'm after. Their indicative pricing is about $50k for the complete cabin fitout of a single 40" container. And they are asking me to sketch out my floorplan so they can have a look at what I want and can give me a rough costing for such a thing. They line the container with coolroom lining basically to give it the insulative properties it needs. They would be able to paint the exterior to whatever colour I choose and wire it as well as providing plumbing outlets and what not. So kind of like a prefab home that is then assembled onsite and finished with tradies. The advantage would then we that it would be modified and done here in SA with minimal transport costs. I would have to pay a designer to come up the final plan, council plans, make sure it works for passive solar, cross ventilation etc. But I could use Royal Wolf as a factory more or less to be the bones of the house done. Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 17Jul 22, 2014 6:06 pm One of the prefab guys did get back to me, with bad news. It would basically cost the cost of the house again just to have it delivered to SA from VIC. So unless you happen to live near a prefab builder, it isn't really an option. Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 18Jul 22, 2014 6:24 pm Stewie D Personally I think you should go to a draftsman or building designer and get them to do a quick mock-up of what you are intending to build - floorplan and some elevations. They would also be able to give you an estimate of how much they expect it would cost to build. I'd also make sure you retain copyright to these plans viewtopic.php?f=1&t=71740&hilit=+copyright&p=1189243#p1189243 Another reason why you should employ the designer first. The you can hawk the plans around to a few builders. If you go to a builder and get them to employ the designer then the subsequent plans are the builders property. If you don't go ahead with the builder but like the plans you would have to pay the builder a release fee for those plans which could be $3 - 4 - 5,000 or more. Being a smaller house also gives you more options to buying a block of land and siting it exactly how you want on that land. Normally people buy the land first then design the house to suit the block. Once you have a set of plans - even simple pre-DA ones, a lot more builders would be interested. There would be some who would regard you as a tyre kicker at the moment - no block, no plans. A set of drawings would show them you are serious. Stewie Hi Stewie, I was just thinking about doing what you have suggested. I went with a project builder and up to pre-contract the pricing seemed not - competitive. Up to date, we have already paid the project builder 8k. The house is lowset custom design of approx. 50 squares and coming up to low $500k for the build. It is only right now that I am trying to search for information about going down the avenue of getting a designer to draw up my plans (with a few amendments) and get builders to tender. Someone at work have mentioned to me that it would come cheaper than a project builder due to the fact we have flexibility of picking different builders quotes. While my intention is not to go the cheapest but more of picking a reliable builder with a practical price. What is the best way to go down this path .... Should I engage a building broker at all? Would a designer be able to prepare all tender documentation? Should I engage a project management individual to oversee the contractor? Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 19Jul 23, 2014 10:05 am Quote: Someone at work have mentioned to me that it would come cheaper than a project builder due to the fact we have flexibility of picking different builders quotes. Wrong advice. You won't beat a project home builder on price. They build for $1300-$1600 per sq m whereas a smaller builder doing a one-off design won't be able to do it for less than $2,000 minimum ( depending a lot on where you live, competition in the local building industry etc ) and frequently $2,500 and up. Quote: Should I engage a building broker at all? Hmmm unsure on that one. References and personal experiences from friends, work colleagues etc regarding the builder are good. Checking their history with VCAT or the Dept of Fair Trading is also a good idea. Quote: Would a designer be able to prepare all tender documentation? Yep, thats what I do. Everything from initial sketches through to final plans for the DA then CC and construction documents. Quote: Should I engage a project management individual to oversee the contractor? That's up to you but personally a good builder won't need any managing , but maybe an independent building inspector who is local may be a wise investment. Check their history as well. Stewie Re: Custom Build, best way to go about this 20Jul 23, 2014 1:03 pm Just for some inspiration, did you see the Dream Build episode House for a Car? Even though it isn't exactly what you are after, it was fundamentally a house for a single person. Loved the idea and execution. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/dreambuild/episodes/ep02.htm 4 9185 I have stone pavement (?) in my backyard around the pool. I have not tended to them and so there is moss growing on them. I intend to clean them but was wondering what the… 0 1938 I'd get the gutters to match your roof and pipes to match the paint - otherwise they become a feature. Nice pick with the paint colours! 1 34607 |