Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Oct 24, 2016 9:24 am Hi all we were about to commence renovating our home when we did a final project costing based on quotes & final scope of works. To renovate an existing condition 60's 3 br 17sq house, inside and out, was going to come in over $100k Basically, everything needs to be touched as part of the reno. Hence, we are now investigating a knockdown rebuild - aim is to get something that is at least 50% bigger i.e. 25sq, but ideally would want 30sq. Single level is our preference. We have a big block, 730sqm, with a front to back slope of 1.5m over the 25m envelope that a building would cover. Also a left to right slope of about 400mm over the width of around 15m We are not overly fussy re luxury finishes and high end stuff - we just want a comfortable house that has reduced hassle, is safe for kids and will last us 15+ years. Our budget is around $330k-$350k, but the aim is to not spend more than $11k-$12k a square. Looked at a few volume builder displays on the weekend, Bentley homes was probably on spec for price, inclusions and size. Dennis family was more expensive but bigger Looked at Boutique homes as well which had some great inclusions. Our research though has showed us some horror reviews of these builders and are very concerned given the amount of money we would be spending! Can anyone recommend builders who will do knockdown rebuild and are honest, reputable, good quality builders that work in the eastern suburbs, we are in manningham area. I also have concerns with our soil & concrete slabs - not sure if the standard builders waffle slab will be good for 15+ years. Finally, our area is prone to termites and i've heard that slabs are worse for termites... Any help would be great Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 3Oct 25, 2016 6:43 pm Try Fairhaven homes, few threads on here & good reviews. I have found them to be a lot more transparent than the other volume builders. I was able to get a detailed sales quote before deposit($750) and no more to pay until you get final tender pricing. Good Luck!! This design may suit http://www.fairhavenhomes.com.au/homes/Franklin-329 Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 5Oct 26, 2016 4:56 am We have just been through this process with Fairhaven and our costs came in under $11k per square and they have been great to deal with. Our build thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=82369&p=1525857&hilit=fairhaven#p1525857 Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 7Oct 26, 2016 6:59 pm Hi Random111,
We aren't far from you...I live in Banyule area. We have just started our knockdown/rebuild. We are building with Homes. So far they have been really good. As i said we are at early stages of the build, so hopefully things will continue as they have been. We did a lot of research - we've spent yrs weighing up selling/buying, renovating or knockdown/rebuild. We decided on knockdown rebuild as we are in an ideal location, close to schools, train, shops.....and we get a brand new house based on our needs at the end of the day. Yes, we are spending more than a reno but we are happy with our decision. we know a few people who have built with Homes and they all recommended them. There was a house built around the corner from us, so when they moved we went and spoke to them about the build and this sealed it for us. They have standard floorplans which we decided on and made a few minor changes. We have been very happy with their services so far. Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 8Oct 26, 2016 7:12 pm Cheers manning1 Do you mind if I ask if you are budgeted to come in at <$12k per sq...that is our limit for a ~30sq house Like you, we think knockdown rebuild is the better option for all the reasons you listed Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 9Nov 01, 2016 11:58 am random111 Cheers manning1 Do you mind if I ask if you are budgeted to come in at <$12k per sq...that is our limit for a ~30sq house Like you, we think knockdown rebuild is the better option for all the reasons you listed We never budgeted that way re: per sq. we know what our overall budget was which included everything from demo of existing house, rent for 12mths, utility expenses (such as power pit), building costs. We did consider having our driveway and alfresco area done after handover but decided to get it all done at the same time. Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 10Nov 17, 2016 4:29 pm So tried dealing with orbit House priced from $250k Based on some upgrades and our 'site costs' that are incremental to those included in the $250k, landed cost with window furnishings, landscaping, demo etc. is $420k thats for a 35sq single storey - $12k / sq A lot higher than expected when building that size. Was hoping to not exceed that for a 28sq house, assumed that as sq's increase the per sq rate decreases! Any others that people can recommend? L37 plans are quite what we are looking for. Fairhaven aren't responding to our calls. Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 11Nov 17, 2016 4:57 pm We are currently building in the Eastern suburbs of Melb on a sloping block. Our place is roughly 25 sq. We also did a knockdown rebuild. Knockdown was organised by us prior to engaging builder and we also had our own geotechnical reports done so we had an idea of what we were up against. Due to our sloping block and we have a lot of rock in the ground we went down the custom builder road and couldn't be happier. Our build is around the $350K mark and then knockdown was around $13K Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 12Nov 17, 2016 5:06 pm We are also building on stumps not slab Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 14Nov 24, 2016 11:06 am So a brief update on the situation Approached L37 re a custom plan, have started talks there. Waiting on fairhaven to call back and speaking to long island atm. Have had another option presented to me. A good mate of mine, his father and his brother are in the industry. One is a draftsmen and one is an architect. Both have long experience on commercial gigs but limited on residential. They have offered to be the registered builders on our project and give us access to their trades, albeit they only have a limited number they rely on e.g. a plumber, cooling / heating, plasterer, roofer, carpenter and that's about it! Sparky is hit and miss and they are looking to dump him. Painter on the last job was shambles but they have a new one they are working with. Tiler his hit and miss. What they do have though is excellent contacts in the joinery & benchtops worlds through their commercial ties. They do stress however that this is not their main line of work and will not be on site at all times, they will however make site visits 2-3 times a week. But likely to be first up / last thing i.e. won't be there to ensure trades are sticking to plans, not wasting resources and time etc. Another family member who is very experienced at big renovations - having completed 3 in excess of $250k over the past 5 years has recently sold his businesses and offered to project manage for us from now to June to make up for the lack of site prescence - he can't guarantee he will be free post june as he is looking to buy another business. They both deliver excellent commercial projects no doubt, however I have seen a residential job they did and I wasn't impressed. That may be the customer's influence though as they rely on the customer to decide on 100% of the finish, they offer in advice but pitch themselves as fully custom builders so what customer wants is what they do. If I was to go with them, my concern is the level of involvement required from me to ensure the finish is up to my standard and to make up for the lack of presence from their part. What I am unsure of is how much more involved I will need to me and how much more work will be required of me if I went with them vs. going wit a volume or semi-volume builder. Any thoughts? They also offered to price in a very moderate margin - something closer to 5% vs. 20% that volume builders are working on. So we stand to get better bang for buck with them as their tradie prices will not be aligned to that of the volume builders, but we will get a better level of finish for maybe a little less $ e.g. house on stumps with deep footings, double brick retaining walls under house acting as extra footings through middle of house (that was the laymans explanation to me) etc. vs. waffle slab with volume builders - for same price. Re: Knockdown rebuild builder recommendations 15Dec 13, 2016 12:04 pm With limited involvement your 15 percent saving will quickly turn into many costly mistakes, I would look at a project manager with 10 percent margin locked in at expected cost of total build, warning dont go with commercial friend builders. Project manager will have trades he can recommend, and you can keep getting quotes yourself to ensure project managers on the ball, but compare apples with apples and go with known better trades. if the original house is in good condition most of what you listed could be added in stages without the need for KDR and costs and disruption of having to live elsewhere… 1 13633 Hi We have finally decided to complete a KDR on our corner plot in NE Melbourne suburbs. Given its a corner plot approx. 400 sqm just a standard design may not fit the… 0 8445 multiple occ properties are always billed by trades at a premium, rarely per sqm for the lot. You either have trades you know whoe will do by sqm or youre going to get… 1 2165 |