Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 09, 2010 1:15 pm Hi all, We are looking to extend the lowset brick family home which is on 2.5 acres and are at the stage of trying to come up with a design that will fit our budget but hope to get the process rolling very soon. We are considering the owner-builder route as the builder quotes we have so far are very expensive (partly because of the size of the extension) but haven't totally ruled out going with a builder if the price is right. I was hoping to get some info/advice from people who have gone through the process of building an extension in Brisbane as from what we've heard so far the whole process (including dealing with the council) can be a minefield. If anyone can recommend builders that do extensions, things to keep in mind when owner-building...stuff like that it would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance for you help. SF. Re: House extension in Brisbane 2Jun 09, 2010 8:13 pm Hi SF. I know what you mean about expensive and hard to start with the extensions. We're in Brissie and we've been working on our plans for the past 6 months and will be signing the HIA agreeement tomorrow. There's a huge difference in prices for renovation specialists but we've found a builder that we're comfortable with and is certainly on the money. Our process went something like: Mock up our own designs on www.floorplanner.com. We spent a good few months playing around with the plans, getting ideas of other people (including freinds that are builders). We were really confident we knew what we wanted and this has been our house for > 10 years so we dont need an architect telling us what we need. We contacted a few builders and got some rough prices based on our prelim drawings. We found a builder that worked with a home designer and they drew up our plans into detailed drawings for only $1000. The designer gave us some great ideas that finished off the details of our plans. We paid for the plans directly, so we weren'y tied to the builder. The last month or so has been detailing the build with the same builer. They have put in a lot of time despite us not signing with them yet and not paying them for anything. They put us onto great cabinet makers for the kitchen and they have also been great. Anytime we ask for a change, the prices are reasonable and if we simplify things, they have no problems in dropping the prices. I'd be happy to put you in touch with them if you like. Best of luck for the plans. Re: House extension in Brisbane 3Jun 16, 2010 8:23 pm Hi there, Thanks for your response. Its comforting to know there's others out there in the same boat who can share their experiences! Yes it would be great if you could let us know the details of your builder. Hope to hear back from you soon. Regards. SF. Hello Josh, This is Irving from PRIMA, we are a manufacturer of the staircase, railings, kitchen cabinets, windows, doors from China. If you have requirement to purchase… 0 5457 Hi, We have a single story MacDonald Jones house, on a waffle pod slab with steel frame. Are we able to build a second story extension? Other info is we are 900mm from… 0 8471 Title: Expert Tips for Painting Your Own House: Insights from Brisbane Painting… 0 273 |