Builders margin

I recently owner built. I paid a builder to do most of the work. I paid 10% builders margin on everything even though I paid all tradies directly to them or to the supplier. Brickies, gyprockers etc.He even charged me the 10% on his wages. Is this right? The house was well over budget. Hope someone can help. I haven't been able to get an answer to this.

If you owner build then you pay what you negotiate with the builder.

Standard builders margin is 30% but thats for normal builders contract .. not sure about owner if you do all the SS work yourself.

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Re: builders margin.tjilpi I paid the gst on top of the builders margin

Three issues here:

1 If you are OB, then YOU ARE THE BUILDER in charge, there can only be one builder on the job.

2 It seems that the person you employed you paid 10% margin on his wages + gst and then also 10% of all other expenses (other tradies and materials). It looks like you paid tradie for project management.

3 Your budget is busted, nothing extraordinary about that because this type of arrangement is open chequebook

10% fee is not excessive for project management however only you can be the judge whether it was worth it. The fact that you are bringing up the point suggests it wasn't.

Whenever you are entering this type of agreement you have to be clear about what you are getting for his margin

Thanks building expert. That's the closest to answering the question. In my naïveté I thought that although I was owner builder, when I signed the contract for the builder to do the work (partner was keen till he realised not that easy,so had to get builder) then the builder was responsible pretty much. Found out different when there was a crack in wall and he reminded me very quickly that i was OB. U live an learn. The budget blowout is expected, but not by the amount it was. It is a 20 sq home made of blocks...the bricklayer was here for 49 days...on day rate.+10% to my trusty "project manager"

[quote="Buzzy57" It is a 20 sq home made of blocks...the bricklayer was here for 49 days...on day rate.+10% to my trusty "project manager"[/quote]

49 days? was he making the bricks/block on site? lol

Where are you building and what do you mean made of blocks?

All finished now jb1. In the southern highlands Nsw they are core filled blocks that look like sandstone the size of 4 bricks aprox. People use them a lot for gateways , garden walls etc.Should have gone up pretty quick,I know..well I know now...

Sorry to hear.

I'm near the end of my owner build house.

Fortunately I have had not any issue with tradies not doing the right by me.

Happy to use them again.

That's not to say I didn't have issues with the build process.

Seems your builder ripped you off.

He should have sacked the Brickie if progress was that slow. However The slower the Brickie the more he gets paid

FYI I paid per job so didn't care if they were slow, in fact I would have preferred if they took their time.

Jb1 ta, actually the tradies all did a good job with the exception of the bricklayer, a friend of the builder. I guess the thing that got me the most was that 10% especially as it was cash straight to the tradies from me. My friend with a home 3 times the size of mine was bricked up in 10 days. My chimney alone took 11! Anyway it's all water under the bridge now...I just wanted to know for myself if I'd been ripped. There's nothing I will or could do...hindsight, if only..

If all the tradies did a good job, in 10 years or so, you'll tend to forget what price you paid.

If it was crap, you'll quickly forget how much you saved by cheapening out and always regret you didn't choose the better quality item/tradie/material/option.

At least most of the tradies did a good job.

When you say 49 days, how many brickies were working?

I can't see a 60sq home being bricked in 10 days unless it was a very big crew.

Jb1 ta, my friends house there were 2 brickies and they worked from early in the morning till late...so I get that there is a difference. My one man rarely laid a block till 9am and was washing up at 3 pm. i realise that makes a huge difference...but still. They were the brickies from heaven,mine not so much Slight exaggeration..her house would be 2 and a half bigger..

I bet they were paid per brick.

One going to be more than twice as slow as two, so he has to walk up and down, carrying it up and down, etc.

Don't worry too much about it Buzzy 57 it's all about learning, you will get ripped again.

When I was in my thirties (last century) I was building a shop for an old farmer in a small country town, one day I was fuming because I had been ripped by excavating contractor and I complained to my client that i was doing this for ten years and still got ripped off. He said to me "don't worry son I am doing business for forty years and still get ripped off ".

Might make you feel better.

Yeah I guess so thanks building expert. Enough whinging about it now..believe it or not I've not said anything to anyone about it...just been quietly trying to work out if this lovely builder bloke may have ripped me off...just a bit...or not. Just for my own sake. What jb1 said is of course right...but still...11 days to build a chimney..they were bricks...ok enough, enough! Thing is I trusted completely and really left it in builders capable hands. Dumb! As, dare I say it...a woman..I'm probably a bit hurt to think they saw me coming. Thanks all.