Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building Costs 9Feb 05, 2007 11:03 am Holy canolli - are we really going to be slugged that much extra? $100K!
We have a base price of $162K with M and are planning on an additional $30K in extras (including floor coverings, extra lights/points, better surfaces, etc)... are we dreaming? What are the additional costs that we won't have been quoted on? The only things I can think of that we may have to pay extra for are termite protection, temporary fencing, and drives, paths, garden, fencing, window furnishings, etc that don't come with any house. HELP! Second Time 'Round Re: Building Costs 10Feb 05, 2007 1:32 pm Bud977 The other thing you need to add in for a custom built house is all the costs before you even start building. Your are looking at $30-50,000 before you even turn a sod. This is for the architect, environmental survey, Basix report, NATHERS certificate, hydraulic consultant, landscape designer, soil test, structural engineer, council fees etc. This wouldn't be included in a custom builders price. Many of these items are included in the price of a project home. Bud, we are building a custom built house, the price we were given before we started included all the above you mentioned so if we don't decide to change something half-way through there should not be any change to the quote. This was checked by myself with past clients of the builder. We are not building with one of the "big" builders though. Re: Building Costs 11Feb 05, 2007 6:57 pm I was about to post the same question but since this thread is already here I'll add to this one.
I am in the process of building a duplex with a smaller builder and it will be a custom designed one. We've already gone to the architect to draw up a plan according to our specs, the entire duplex is around 400m2 so 200m2 per unit. Base price has totalled to about $340,000 for the duplex itself, then theres the site costs which includes scaffolding, drainage, BASIX etc. I was going to ask how much these costs normally are? Im sure theres some amount of variation from builder to builder but the site costs have totalled to around $75,000. On top of that theres the inclusion upgrades which we haven't yet factored, demoltion, tree removal, driveways, landscaping and subdivision. My main concern was that BASIX was estimated to be $25,000, is this normal? It sounds awfully expensive and is 1/4 of the site costs alone. Looking at all the estimates, by the time we finish it would cost approx $500k+ Another thing was that one of our options was to have the duplex cement rendered, they've given us an approximate cost of $40,000. That sounds crazy!? I've read that other people have been paying around $25,000 so is this a rip off? Re: Building Costs 12Feb 05, 2007 8:00 pm The Basix Certificate can be done on-line at no cost, if you want to learn how to drive the programme. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it.
The benefit of learning how to do it yourself is that you can avoid over-specifying, as happened to me with a "Basix Consultant" who had no idea what he was doing and would have cost me an extra $25,000 to build the house. However, you can overspecify yourself if you don't know the full implications of your selections. http://sustainability.nsw.gov.au/inform ... nsw.gov.au If you want to use a consultant, they will charge about $2000-$3000. Perhaps the $25,000 is the cost to comply with Basix, eg. fit water tanks, low E glazing, high efficiency equipment etc. Site costs vary greatly, depending on which costs are built into the house price and which are classified as site costs. Re: Building Costs 15Feb 05, 2007 8:41 pm sublyme, yes the $25,000 would be to cover the cost of complying to Basix. I was given an estimate of $10,000 by Clarendon Homes for compliance to Basix. This is for such things as rain water tanks, electricity saving and improved thermal comfort. As others have mentioned you can do the Basix certificate yourself on line and it costs nothing. I like the concept of Basix. It measns that builders have to gear up to supply energy and water saving solutions at economical prices. I'm likely to go beyond the minimum Basix requirments on the grounds that this is not just another cost, but rather spending somethng now to gain every year. And I think enegry prices will rise much faster than inflation in the years to come.
Clarendon only add $3000 to $4000 to supple rendered verisons of their houses. The cost is not as high as you would initially expect since you recover three-quarters of the cost by changing from face bricks to common bricks. On a more general note, from what I've researched and found in this thread, it looks like your typical $200,000 project home actually costs $300,000 to have. I don't know any other inducsty where you walk into a store to buy an item for X, but have to pay 1.5X!!!! Re: Building Costs 16Feb 05, 2007 8:43 pm Thanks for that, makes things much clearer!
Now my next Q would be that after looking at the BASIX website, there is a cost benefit summary example which basically lists out the parts such as shower heads, toilets, rainwater tank, ceiling fans, insulation, clothes lines etc. If a builder has a standard set of inclusions, would I be wrong in assuming that these are all going to be BASIX compliant hence if I was going to go with the standard inclusions then wouldn't that be a part of the base price rather than an added cost to making it BASIX compliant? eg. if the base price cost $340,000 (with standard inclusions) where it lists shower heads, taps, insulation, clothes line etc. and the only thing missing is a rain water tank then wouldnt I just need to be paying for that + labour? Otherwise im finding it abit strange that if the standard inclusions are BASIX complaint such as taps etc and you had to upgrade them then the standard inclusions would be worthless. Re: Building Costs 18Feb 08, 2007 6:46 am We are buidling with Adenbrook Homes and the base price for the Lakewood home is $176,000 roughly. Adding the necessary extras like site costs, rainwater tanks, tiling, carpets, pavers, driveway, letterbox, clothesline etc and some not so necessary like tinted windows/doors and solar hot water system (and a few other extras ), we are looking at $212,000.
Not so shabby, eh? Find a good builder and you will not be out of pocket $100,000. Re: Building Costs 19Feb 08, 2007 9:05 am Just a quick question, is BASIX a NSW 5 star thing, or is it something I should be aware of here in Melbourne?
I belive that all builders in Vic have to build to 5 star energy efficiency - which includes insulations, fittings, and either a 2000L tank or a solar assisted hot water system. These are listed in the inclusions of our builder, however they do state that they individual house will be evaluated (depending on the way it faces) and there may be additional costs if you need to upgrade what they class as the standard insulation, or even some windows are affected. In response to my earlier shock - I can understand a designer home costing a lot more than the "base" price, but I didn't see that a major builder with good standard inclusions could charge that much extra on top... but then I have never built a home before, so was thinking maybe I was kidding myself! I suppose time will tell. Ray. Second Time 'Round Re: Building Costs 20Feb 08, 2007 11:16 am Hi Ray,
Re the 5 star rating in Vic .. when you start upgrading features, just be very aware that a lot of things do effect the star rating. We got caught out big time on this and had a nasty shock in the mail with a post contract variation hitting us with additional charges due to our upgrades. Perhaps when you do make a change to the standard, check with your administrator. And it's all kinds of things like doors, raising roof, wider windows etc. Good luck!! Amber http://ourdreamhouse.blogspot.com Looking to tile the facade pillars rather than rendering. Builder is quoting 2500$ laying cost for upto 10msq. The 2 pillars come to be 16msq. So laying costs are 5000$… 0 8525 10 16271 Ha all, I am now about half way (maybe a bit more) through my build with Carlisle Homes - double-storey knockdown/rebuild project. So I am now doing my due diligence and… 0 4115 |