Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Apr 28, 2020 4:14 pm Guys, could I seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc?
I paid 1.5% (over 6000) signed preliminary contract (PPA) with a builder at the end of last year. Some background - Custom build; 365 square meters single story; - Last month the demolition was done, and builder arranged contour survey again - Note this is West Australia The builder did so far (After signing the preliminary contract) - Submitted DA and get approved last month - Work drawing completed - Contour survey (before and after demolition) - Soil test (they didn`t tell me whether they have done this; but upon ask, they told me the soil classification is A) Now, I was given the price schedule and work drawing to sign and require making another 1.5% payment (over 6000). The payment schedules are 1. Preliminary works contract 1.5% $6284 (Paid last year) 2. Contract sign 1.5% $6284 3. Balance of deposit 3.5% $15001 4. Slab laid 9% $38573 5. Brickwork plate height 21% $90004 6. Roof cover 20% $85718 7. Lock up 18% $77147 8. Wet area ceramic tiling completed 15% $64289 9. Practical completion 10.5% $45292 Total contract price inclusive of GST $428592 My question is whether the engineering should be done before contract sign (1.5%)? And what should a preliminary contractor include? The contract I received ( actually I was only given the price schedule, specification, and work drawing) still includes quite few uncertainties, such as 2. Site conditions The contract says “ ***full engineering drawings / documentation of this home has not been received. Cost below are based on assumptions made from previous work and may be subject to change***” -concrete thickening no allowance has been made for in the contract $0.00 -Brick Reinforcement no allowance has been made for in the contract $0.00 -concrete piles no allowance has been made for in the contract $0.00 - Traffic management Provide traffic management during earthworks, brick delivery, roof timber delivery & roof steel crane stages, due to site condition PS $4000 -Street parking restrictor no allowance has been made ( note to be assessed upon application of building permit $0.00 3. Siteworks - Siteworks PS $7854 ( I only listed some of the cost which they put PS or under certain condition) Any advice welcome! Could you share what is your process? Could I reasonably ask a fixed price contract? do they need to complete the engineering prior to contract sign? ( what is an usual process which a builder should do). etc. etc. Thanks in advance! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 2Apr 28, 2020 8:24 pm Hi JW001 Single storey or double storey? Coastal or non coastal? You will need the engineering & geotech report ie siteworks for the footings and wind classification How high are your ceilings? has the builder specified verticore or fastwall bricks Type A is sand and there should be no extra site costs Do your require retaining walls..? have you checked the sewerage line These are things you can check Brick reinforcement... is Not Applicable N/A I suggest you query why they leave it open ended with No Allowance? As they have opened your contract up to endless charges? Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 3Apr 28, 2020 10:29 pm StructuralBIMGuy Hi JW001 Single storey or double storey? Coastal or non coastal? You will need the engineering & geotech report ie siteworks for the footings and wind classification How high are your ceilings? has the builder specified verticore or fastwall bricks Type A is sand and there should be no extra site costs Do your require retaining walls..? have you checked the sewerage line These are things you can check Brick reinforcement... is Not Applicable N/A I suggest you query why they leave it open ended with No Allowance? As they have opened your contract up to endless charges? Cheers Chris Thanks Chris. It is single story, bedroom 31c, all the rest 34c ceiling. Non coastal. Sewer line close to my rear fence (should be about 2.5meter - 3meter from the new build). Is that preliminary engineering site report (not necessary engineering drawings) can assist in providing fixed site cost? For bricks, the specification says " verticlay or similar with verti 76 as required" Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 4Apr 29, 2020 9:01 am I can see any addition charges, But I'm not looking at your drawings ie Contour survey Preliminary soil report specifications etc. try, Dial before you Dig->water corp maps -> sewer invert levels/depths-> its free As you will need to firm up all the costs before your Build OT, you are paying top dollar $430K in a recessed market in perth How may m2? Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 5Apr 29, 2020 6:00 pm StructuralBIMGuy I can see any addition charges, But I'm not looking at your drawings ie Contour survey Preliminary soil report specifications etc. try, Dial before you Dig->water corp maps -> sewer invert levels/depths-> its free As you will need to firm up all the costs before your Build OT, you are paying top dollar $430K in a recessed market in perth How may m2? Cheers Chris I upload the contour survey, floor plan, elevation, and footprint in my first post. 365 square meters I also received the site classification report (it shows site classification A, footing detail D10; Sand pad - no sand pad required structurally; Corrosion classificaiton R3, wind Classification N1 ) Water corp said " there is a 150mm VC sewer main running on an unconfirmed alignment along the inside of the rear boundary (approx. 1.0m) and is approx. 2.60m deep. The minimum distance a building can be to the centre of this sewer main is 0.6m with piling and2.5m without piling. ( There is 4.4 meter between my house to the rear fencing; Theoretically it shouldn't require piling.) My Block is H3. The red line represents the sewer at the back yard ( close to rear boundary) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 6Apr 29, 2020 10:35 pm Hi JW001, I work for a builder in Perth, there is no reason I can see that you would to have concrete thickening, brick reinforcing etc. Pretty straight forward plan by the looks of it, the siteworks costs wouldn't include stormwater disposal at that price. Engineering is basically the last thing that is completed before submitting to council, it is never done before contracts, you want to spend the least amount before contracts encase the deal falls over. If you have to go through planning the design may change & also at pre-start you may change openings, doorways, Windows, etc. And this has an effect on engineering. Quotes aren't normally sent out until it is submitted to council Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 7Apr 29, 2020 10:40 pm Sorry just had a further look at your plans, you are going to require a Brick build up to the store and also retaining to the right hand side boundary, these will be Additional costs Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 8Apr 29, 2020 10:49 pm I think it's also BS that they do 3 claims before slab, thats ridiculous. We do initial deposit $3,000 Single and $5,000 double, the next payment is once we have a building license and that is the balance of 6.5% of contract value minus the deposit Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 9Apr 29, 2020 11:49 pm Doozer1905 Sorry just had a further look at your plans, you are going to require a Brick build up to the store and also retaining to the right hand side boundary, these will be Additional costs Hi Doozer1905 The slab heights are only 40mm different between the OP's house and the one on the right. Will it need a brick up or retaining? It's the left hand side that will need retaining as the neighbours house is 470mm higher, is that the way you see it. There's already quite a difference of soil height at the fence line. I'd also imagine they will need to bring in fill as the front of the block drops away a lot. In your experience is there going to be any cut from the back of the block? Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 10Apr 29, 2020 11:52 pm Will a PS of $7854 cover that in your experience. I've got a rough idea of real cost, interested to know what a builder's price would be. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 11Apr 30, 2020 12:10 am Doozer1905 Sorry just had a further look at your plans, you are going to require a Brick build up to the store and also retaining to the right hand side boundary, these will be Additional costs The builder quoted provisional sum $4334 for my left and right side retaining wall (panel and post). To my neighbour at left side, the level difference is about 320mm (due to they got 300mm high garden bed). To my right neighbour, the level difference is about 0-100 (except store and driving way side, it is about 300mm). I wanted remove the retaining wall cost; I want to install colour bond fencing with allywall plinth (up to 300mm high; serve as retaining wall). Does it work? Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 12Apr 30, 2020 12:12 am The spot level on the right hand boundary near the 10.5 contour line is 10.6, that's near where the store boundary is at a FFL of 10.957 so approx. 350mm difference, looking at the plan further they have dropped the garage to -4 courses as well so I would assume that has been priced? In regards to the $7894 as a provisional sum that would only cover the following IMO Earthworks Power Run Water Run Sewer Run Maybe a builders Kerb Repair fee as well but I couldn't see anything else for that price. Is a concrete pump included in the house price? We won't use a D10 engineering detail, a 200mm deep footing in our opinion just isn't right, we think it's to thin, I'm not sure if a D10 is a 75mm slab or 85mm, if it's a 75mm slab I would be asking for it to be upgraded to at least 85mm's Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 13Apr 30, 2020 12:13 am chippy Will a PS of $7854 cover that in your experience. I've got a rough idea of real cost, interested to know what a builder's price would be. Builder has separate cost for stormwater disposal which is $4250 Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 14Apr 30, 2020 12:30 am Just curious did you get quotes from other builders? Is the builder the one with black and gold in there sign? Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 15Apr 30, 2020 8:09 am Hi JW001 Thanks for the additional information and that's a large house and the engineering requires upgrading As a structural engineer I would recommend that the slab and footings be upgraded as per AS2870 Residential slabs and footings There's one thing worse that being slugged with high build costs and that's having to X-ray your slab and then finding out the cracks can't be repaired. It's your choice, Please have your proposed build properly scrutinise before you proceed further Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 16Apr 30, 2020 12:54 pm StructuralBIMGuy Hi JW001 Thanks for the additional information and that's a large house and the engineering requires upgrading As a structural engineer I would recommend that the slab and footings be upgraded as per AS2870 Residential slabs and footings There's one thing worse that being slugged with high build costs and that's having to X-ray your slab and then finding out the cracks can't be repaired. It's your choice, Please have your proposed build properly scrutinise before you proceed further Cheers Chris Thanks for your advice. I was told (by other builder) soil class A will be 85mm slab. Is this the AS2870 recommendation? Or I need to upgrade from A85? ( to 100mm slab for example). Also, is the X - ray a compulsory requirement to this size of slab? Could you please share some info. regarding on footing, there are -3C to -7C ( drop footing was allocated $5368 in the builder quotation) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 17Apr 30, 2020 12:57 pm Doozer1905 Just curious did you get quotes from other builders? Is the builder the one with black and gold in there sign? Yes, I got quote from other builder. they are different and list the item in different way Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 18Apr 30, 2020 1:11 pm Doozer1905 The spot level on the right hand boundary near the 10.5 contour line is 10.6, that's near where the store boundary is at a FFL of 10.957 so approx. 350mm difference, looking at the plan further they have dropped the garage to -4 courses as well so I would assume that has been priced? In regards to the $7894 as a provisional sum that would only cover the following IMO Earthworks Power Run Water Run Sewer Run Maybe a builders Kerb Repair fee as well but I couldn't see anything else for that price. Is a concrete pump included in the house price? We won't use a D10 engineering detail, a 200mm deep footing in our opinion just isn't right, we think it's to thin, I'm not sure if a D10 is a 75mm slab or 85mm, if it's a 75mm slab I would be asking for it to be upgraded to at least 85mm's Here is my cost (preliminary- about 5000 including planning, survey, energy efficiency,etc; electrical included; Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Nothing mention about concrete pump! I will take out the whole boundary walls and fencing section as I will arrange by myself. I will also take out retaining wall ( I will do colorbond fencing with PLINTH, so I can save the retaining cost) Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 19Apr 30, 2020 1:26 pm Really appreciated you guys giving me so many valuable advice. Thanks all. I got a question whether the zero lot wall there ( store boundary) need any retaining wall or something else? ( only the right side of the store boundary wall) The drawing shows it got -7C footing. floor level - my garage 10.957; the neighbour could be around 10.6, 10.7. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Seek advice on fixed cost contract, payment term, etc. 20Apr 30, 2020 8:04 pm You should be asking these questions of your builders once you receive the engineering You will also need to upgrade your mesh reinforcement to SL62 for what its worth ( Approx $250) Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs There is no reason why building contract reconciliation cannot be done prior to handover, if the builder won't do it get someone to do it for you. Why would you pay for… 3 6680 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17507 So AFAIk the outcomes of the BAL ratings form part of a clause that allows them to pass these costs on to you. However the more relevant detail is how did it go from 19… 1 9142 |