Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Things you can do Yourself 2May 12, 2015 9:26 pm You might like to check this thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=73825 In my opinion you are unlikely to be able to buy materials and engage trades at a lower cost than the builder. So the only way to save is things you can do yourself. Generally the base price for houses is fairly competative so if you are after saving money don't spend so much on upgrades as this is where the builder makes their profit. For myself I would rather the house is internally finished at handover as the area that I save is in doing the hard and soft landscaping myself. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Things you can do Yourself 4May 13, 2015 11:07 pm We are doing the following after handover to avoid builders markup. - soak wells - exposed agh outside - lLED lighting install - main area flooring - bedroom and theatre Croats - aircon - window treatments - washing line, letterbox - alarm Re: Things you can do Yourself 5May 13, 2015 11:33 pm We are supplying(builder to install) 1) Kitchen appliances (sink, stove, rangehood, oven, kitchen tap, dishwasher) 2) Bathroom/Toilet accessories (taps, shower rails, sinks, toilet, freestanding bath) Our builder allows us to get our own contractors in during the build. So we are installing/supplying our own 1) Ducted air cond 2) Fireplace 3) Cladding internally and externally 4) Smart wiring 5) Alarm 6) Letterbox Most of the items above has to be done before handover as it is a double storey. After handover, we will be installing: 1) Rainwater tanks (builder has provisions for it). 2) We also got the builder to put junction boxes instead of light points so that we can install LEDs after handover. However, the builder will be installing the LEDs that we supply for the first floor since there is slab above. 3) Window treatments 4) Flooring 5) Landscaping Re: Things you can do Yourself 7May 14, 2015 12:25 pm May i ask, if you know, how does the insurance work when you are supplying items for your build? Will the builder cover damages or loss from site or do you have to take out your own insurance??? Re: Things you can do Yourself 8May 15, 2015 5:50 pm I did a ton of ringing around about this recently. Generally, the builder won't cover damages or loss of owner supplied material from site. You should ask them though, never hurts and you might get lucky. Ours have flat out said no. However, you can get your contents insurance to start from lockup, and it will cover items that have been installed but it won't cover loose appliances that are waiting installation. Not all companies will do this, you might have to ring your insurer to find out. AAMI will cover this, haven't bothered ringing any others to get quotes at the moment. Re: Things you can do Yourself 9May 15, 2015 7:48 pm We did a bit ourselves: 1. Aircon/heating - saved 20k here!! Plus received over $3000 in credit back for deleting their standard inclusion 2. Splash back tiles 3. Downstairs flooring 4. Supplied most plumbing fixtures (bought the fixtures for less than what the builder was going to charge us to upgrade!) 5. Kitchen panels. Cost me only $1800 out of pocket to upgrade to crystal gloss. Builder quoted us $7000 for the upgrade. 6. Alarm 7. Data points 8. Soundproof wall insulation between ensuite and master bedroom and also around the theatre room. 9. Feature wall paint 10. Glass balustrades 11. Floor and wall tiles. Supplied these ourselves as we bought them for less than the builders price to upgrade. Builders tiler installed them. 12. TV & phone points 13. Paid the electrician direct for upgrades. Again, this worked out cheaper than the builders upgrade price. 14. Driveway 15. Retaining walls 16. Supplied other small things like magnetic door stops, microwave, pull out kitchen bins etc I'm sure there's more but they're the things that first come to mind Custom downslope build Build thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61873 Blog http://www.buildingroyalmanor.blogspot.com.au Re: Things you can do Yourself 10May 15, 2015 8:08 pm Seems like there's quite a lot of things we can do to save, I guess that if you have money you would get the builder to do it all and save the hassles, but if you are on a tight budget it's better to do it yourself and save money. Or if you are just like my hubby, "you don't pay money for nothing". He worked hard to get his money so why waste it . Cheers Re: Things you can do Yourself 11May 15, 2015 10:29 pm trixee I did a ton of ringing around about this recently. Generally, the builder won't cover damages or loss of owner supplied material from site. You should ask them though, never hurts and you might get lucky. Ours have flat out said no. However, you can get your contents insurance to start from lockup, and it will cover items that have been installed but it won't cover loose appliances that are waiting installation. Not all companies will do this, you might have to ring your insurer to find out. AAMI will cover this, haven't bothered ringing any others to get quotes at the moment. I' m owner building so we have our own insurance. It was more just a thought for anyone thinking they might save money providing their own building supplies during the build and to let them be aware it will most likely not be covered by the builders insurance should it go pear shaped. The DIY project can be broken into two major steps. Planning and Design and Construction. Both of these steps are as important as one another to ensure you give… 0 5308 Depends what you're current inclusions are, but we're not including wardrobes and will just use second hand ones until we can save later on to get them built. Also have a… 3 12171 2 11285 |