Quote for raising house and building underneath

minxa67 · Aug 31, 2010 2:45 pm

joeT

Timbo83, you probably live next door to me, I'm on the Lutwyche border of Wooloowin (some maps, such as telstras, even say I am in wooloowin).

Got quotes for the basic house raise now. To give you an idea, I need 21 steel columns and 2 hardwood (100x100) columns. Beams work out to about 23m of 200PFC and 20m of 150PFC.

A few quotes came in around the $20-21k mark, this is just for the raise, beams, columns and some temporary bracing sets. Then last week I got a really sharp quote of around $16k, from a reputable house raiser as well. Went back to the first bloke who I wanted to do the job as he lives local, and he said he'll match it. So I'm booked in for the raise in May.

Now I'm looking to book in a plumber/gasfitter and electrician, to disconnect prior to raise and then re-install after. Also need to get quotes for stairs and concreter. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Hey there JoeT
Very interested in the Company that provided you a quote for $16k to raise your house. Can you send me their details [post or PM]. Thx Kell.

Larry · Sep 01, 2010 11:01 pm

Hi
Just new to all this. So much good information in this thread. I am right at the start of the process and have some sketches that need to be drawn. I am in Coorparoo and will be raising a 3 bedroom Queenslander on a 410sqm block. I am close on one boundary and will probably have to slide the house across to centre on the block an have about 900mm on each side. Any tips for me? Also can anyone provide me with a name of a good draftsman that I might be able to use?

Bruiserlee · Sep 08, 2010 9:08 pm

joeT

Well, the raise is now done, plumbing and electricity re-connected, and I put in some stairs at the back. To cut cost on stairs, I decided to go straight stairs at the back (no one can see it anyway) using pre-fab steel stringers (about $600 pair). Re-cycled the timber treads from the old set of stairs (just happened that the front had 9 and rear had 7, and the new steps need 16 treads!). Put them in myself and just need to build handrails on the weekend. All up less than $1k for the rear stairs. Front stairs will be proper timber stairs that will probably cost me $7k due to 2 landings, but they affect the appearance of the house so can't do anything about that. Concrete slab is booked from next couple weeks.

For those wanting to know how much all this cost, here is my rough breakdown:
- Raise $18k
- Electrician (connect/re-connect) $1200
- Plumber (connect/re-connect including new underslab drains) $3600
- Slab $13k
- Stairs $8k
- Plans $3,300
- Certifier $1,100
- BCC plumbing approval $380
- Excavator and tip truck $2000 (for clearing old stumps and removing concrete/soil, usually not included with house raise quotes)
- Soil test $580

Total about $50k to get the house up in the air with a slab. Lots of negotiation/quoting to get these prices, so if you don't have the time to put in, then you'll definitely pay more. For example, the house raise and concrete I had up to 5+ quotes to get the prices I got, otherwise they were about $4k each more. Getting quotes takes heaps of time and effort. Also, I DIY'ed as much as I could, such as the rear stairs, re-connecting stormwater drains, demolition etc. You'll pay thousands more if you have to get someone to do it for you. You will also get people who try it on for you with quotes, like my $16k plumber, these people think that just because you are house raising you're made of money. They need to get real, I'm only 29, how much money could I possibly have?

Raising is definitely not for the faint hearted when the bills start rolling in. I still have much more to go, painting exterior, new roof on rear deck, repairing gutters, fencing, landscaping, new kitchen, bathroom, polish floors, paint interior, repair old timbers, the list goes on. These things I will do over time and DIY as much as possible. Will try and post pics when I can figure it out.

Hi joeT
I have just found this site
Your info is great and more realistic to some word of mouth third party quotes I have had Great achievement What size concrete slab
We are in the planning stage of doing something similar Would love to see some pics Good luck
Cheers Bruiserlee

joeT · Sep 20, 2010 9:58 pm

minxa67

joeT

Timbo83, you probably live next door to me, I'm on the Lutwyche border of Wooloowin (some maps, such as telstras, even say I am in wooloowin).

Got quotes for the basic house raise now. To give you an idea, I need 21 steel columns and 2 hardwood (100x100) columns. Beams work out to about 23m of 200PFC and 20m of 150PFC.

A few quotes came in around the $20-21k mark, this is just for the raise, beams, columns and some temporary bracing sets. Then last week I got a really sharp quote of around $16k, from a reputable house raiser as well. Went back to the first bloke who I wanted to do the job as he lives local, and he said he'll match it. So I'm booked in for the raise in May.

Now I'm looking to book in a plumber/gasfitter and electrician, to disconnect prior to raise and then re-install after. Also need to get quotes for stairs and concreter. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Hey there JoeT
Very interested in the Company that provided you a quote for $16k to raise your house. Can you send me their details [post or PM]. Thx Kell.

Hi, it really depends on the size of the house, how many beams you need etc. to determine the cost. A larger house with more complex structural work can easily cost double that. As mentioned, try:
Meier House Raising
Ace Restumping
A-Accurate House Raising

joeT · Sep 20, 2010 10:01 pm

Larry

Hi
Just new to all this. So much good information in this thread. I am right at the start of the process and have some sketches that need to be drawn. I am in Coorparoo and will be raising a 3 bedroom Queenslander on a 410sqm block. I am close on one boundary and will probably have to slide the house across to centre on the block an have about 900mm on each side. Any tips for me? Also can anyone provide me with a name of a good draftsman that I might be able to use?

I suggest you look into what approvals you will need, since you are on a 'small lot' and you can't achieve the minimum side boundary setbacks. Speak to a building certifier about it before spending too much money because if you need to get a town planner involved it can be quite expensive and can take months.

Muzlee · Nov 08, 2010 8:05 pm

Hi,

We currently have an investment property in Brisbane. It's currently elevated, but we need to re-stump. We have decided to raise the house a little higher and change the configuration of the rooms i.e having living downstairs (currently garage and laundry) and have bedrooms etc upstairs.

We plan on doing a lot of the renovation work ourselves when we move back to Brisbane (currently live in Darwin). We'd like to get a bit of a jump on the planning process now.

Just a couple of questions:

Do we need an architect or will a designer be sufficient to draw up plans for the renovation?
Is there anyone in the Brisbane area that has undertaken a similar project that can recommend a reliable/good/innovative/cost effective architect or designer?

We have received some conflicting information about how much this design process (including council fees etc) will cost and not living in Brisbane it's hard to decide if we are having the wool pulled with regard to price. Are there any ball-park figures of how much a relatively fuss-free design would cost?

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Cheers!!

mel_mox · Nov 08, 2010 8:58 pm

Funny I saw this post. On grand designs Australia last wk on tv (lifestyle ch foxtel) they lifted this old heritage listed house, moved it forward & built underneath & above. 'm sure it was in qld. Awseome what they achieved! So they had 3 levels. Maybe google grand designs & look at the house!
Mel

timbo83 · Jan 18, 2011 12:08 pm

Time for updates to this thread. Any progress on the various raise & renovates going on?

With all the building activity to follow from the terrible floods, prices might spike for a while.

TimH · Feb 03, 2011 2:52 pm

Ha Muzzel,

We used David Pasuqariello at Empire Design and drafting for our plans and found him good and reasonably priced. Designer, engineer and certifier all seem to be worth about 2 and 1/2 G for there respective jobs.

TimH · Feb 03, 2011 2:54 pm

Does anybody have any tips on Engineers and Certifiers?

K & d colley const · Jun 09, 2011 10:43 pm

If you have any queries or require a quote regarding house raising, extensions and renovations, call our building company k and d colley constructions, we've raised and renovated countless queenslanders around the brisbane area and can manage a job from start to finish, over 30 years experience, 0433 690 915

Larry · Feb 15, 2012 9:42 pm

Are there any updates on this thread? It has been a long journey to get DA approval but I am ready to go. No putting together some contractors to do:
1) Concreting and block work
2) Electrical
3) Tiling

If there are any leads on good and cost effective tradesman in these areas would appreciate a hand.

RenoSmurf · Jun 13, 2012 3:35 pm

Hi All,
Thanks for all the info, a good read.

We have a small (12m x 7m) weatherboard home, built in 1960, from the floor boards down it is approximately 2390mm down to the slab (poured later than the rest) In Carina, How do you go getting approved, is there exemption rules that would allow me to build in approved by council even though its under legal height? I know a little about the utility rooms, but we would like a self contained area built in for the folks when visiting us, plus a double garage.
We would also like it if we could say in 10-20 years time that it was approved to a prospective buyer.

Cheers

Lota · Aug 25, 2012 9:47 am

If you are looking for a carpenter to work on your house, I am a BSA registered carpenter. I have many other tradesman contacts that can assist as well. It is often a lot cheaper to pay tradesmen directly on hourly rate (or ask them for a quoted price) than going through a builder. also allows you to do alot of the "easy" jobs yourself. Let me know if you need any assistance. 0423 521 164

nicho · Sep 09, 2012 7:07 pm

wyld

From a recent owner builders course we were advised...
a new avg home built by a builder can be as low as $650 sq m
owner builder $850.00 sq m
rennovations $1000.00 sq m

have you raised the house already?

owner builder $850.00 sq m
rennovations $1000.00 sq m
is that the market price in au? i am in China.

HomeOwnerz · Sep 23, 2012 5:21 pm

For big jobs like this, its usually cheaper to rebuild. Same goes for no roof/trusses and add-ons.

fordehouse · Aug 30, 2015 8:57 am

I know this thread is super old but hoping to see who else is raising? I'm working with a builder and wanting to see what everyone else has paid for soil testing/energy efficiency/engineer etc ready for BA submission?

StructuralBIMGuy · Aug 30, 2015 10:38 am

alwayscurious

Hi there.......

Anyone want to take a stab at the "order of service" of steps to take? (perhaps I should start a new thread?)

Good idea on the new tread, also photos help
Prelim. stages should include sketch design,Planning approvals, engineering & construction estimates concurrently

Pellehcim · Aug 30, 2015 10:13 pm

Hi fordehouse,

We are raising and building underneath.

Engineering plans were $2640
And the soil test was $440

Not sure what the energy efficiency charge is for or if we paid that one though. We have the building approval - the house is currently up in the air at the moment and will have all the new steel posts and beams in by the end of this week.

let me know if I can help you out with any further info ☺

fordehouse · Aug 30, 2015 10:19 pm

Thanks Pellehcim, how exciting! Are you in Brissy?
I have found a builder who is great and has an architect working with him, so the design phase is plans and all these bits and pieces which I'm not sure about the cost...
He is saying
eng-about $3k
Contour survey $2k
Soil and geotechnical report $1.5k together
Energy $500
Does this all sound reasonable??