Hi,
We are looking to extend our house with a considerable extension. At this stage we want to get plans drawn up and obtain some accurate costs. I have not been through this before and have 2 key questions.
1. Should we be requesting for a fix price quote?
2. What costs (and information) are expected to get a builder to be able to provide a fixed price quote (e.g. design plans, structure engineering work etc)
Many thanks
S
not 100% but i didn't think they'd give you a fixed price quote as renovations often attract hidden costs and unforeseen problems.
for the quote they'd probably want to have in order the house plans, engineering details, what work (if any) to be done by yourself and them, selections already done on certain items etc.
hi there,
yes you can get a fixed price and lock in a contract with timelines etc. However it is best to use a local designer or architect and work with them to acheive your ideal renovation then get a set of plans and scope of works drawn up for builders to quote from, you can then compare the quotes and amend as necessary. They can also find a good engineer and coordinate your Council approvals.
Hope that helps?
Richard
If you go through a designer/architect - you can give them a brief of how much you want to spend, they can get the plans costed up ... then you can send out the plans to a couple of builders to get a couple of quotes (hopefully) and then choose a builder from there.
After my experience I wouldn't trust the architect to cost it ... there are companies that do that - a service which you pay for (I didn't, I probably should have!).
Here's my experience - I hope it helps.
Find a building company that uses their own internal or preferred contract architects and can project manage the build from start to end.
They will take your ideas (with a budget in mind) and once you sign the go-ahead they will settle on a design with you - that's kind of stage 1 and it will cost you some money.
They may call in some structural engineers to assess any aspects of the design.
You should end up with plans and elevation diagrams from this.
The builders will be able to give you a fixed price at this point. It will include a set of "standard inclusions" and possibly some "prime cost" items.
TIP: Before starting this, you should check who owns those plans - because you may want to walk away at this point and change builder for a alternate quote or project manage it yourself etc...
They will then take this one step further and have the engineering drawings added to be able to take this to council for approval.
This will cost you another lump of money.
TIP: There's no guarantee that the plans will be approved even after you have paid for things so far - so you should make sure that the builder has done this type of reno before and has all bases covered before going to council. Any delays through council may cost you money for re-drawings and lots of time delays.
You should audition a few companies until you find one that is right for you. Many will also have display homes that you can see OR they will provide you with details of recent work that they have completed so that you can do a drive-by or view some sort of portfolio.
Hi all,
Many thanks for your comments
I have contacted a builder who does both the design and build components and he pretty much said word for word what JilaMint has! I am also from Adelaide... maybe the same builder??
For others going through this process, the prices the builder we have chatted to roughly equate to = $2200 ($1500 for design drawings including elevations + $700 for engineering drawings). This will enable us to get a fixed quote from him and allow us to go to other builders as well. No council fees are included in this.
Once we have selected fittings, flooring, electrical etc, he will use this, combined with the design and engineering plans to provide a fixed quote for us.
I am a little worried with what he will come back with
Hi all,
Many thanks for your comments
I have contacted a builder who does both the design and build components and he pretty much said word for word what JilaMint has! I am also from Adelaide... maybe the same builder??
For others going through this process, the prices the builder we have chatted to roughly equate to = $2200 ($1500 for design drawings including elevations + $700 for engineering drawings). This will enable us to get a fixed quote from him and allow us to go to other builders as well. No council fees are included in this.
Once we have selected fittings, flooring, electrical etc, he will use this, combined with the design and engineering plans to provide a fixed quote for us.
I am a little worried with what he will come back with
Great to hear you are on your way.
With the selections - ask the builder for their preferred suppliers, you will generally get better service and possibly better prices.