Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 25, 2021 6:04 am Our contract allowed for a waffle pod M class with up to 300 mm fall. Our soil test came back at an M but they are charging us $17000 above our contract price (wasn't fixed as we didn't have soil tests yet). See picture of soil test summary, email from builder to where the costs are going to and the builders plans for site. Honestly it sounds like too much on top for a M waffle slab? N3 rating only adds $2500. Can someone please help? Does this price sound right? Should we be paying council fee etc? I thought that would be in contract? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 3Mar 07, 2021 5:25 pm Yes. Due to fill and I think trees. Nobody is explaining the cost to me. And I was told to allow 15k for H1 class which they said should be plenty. But now its needing screw piers but still a m waffle slab. I expected to pay that much for a better slab. Not a basic one then needing screw piers. I'm just very confused by the cost and the builder won't explain it to me or break it down more. Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 5Mar 07, 2021 6:17 pm We signed prior to fixing price. Many reasons such as needing finance with build and land contract and living situation so we are stuck with builder. I was hoping someone could give me some idea if we are getting overcharged or not. We need 28 piers to the slab Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 6Mar 07, 2021 6:22 pm So if you signed the build contract prior to them confirming the final prices are you now expected to do a variation to finance the additional cost? My build contract had my site classification and slab report documentation in it at the time I signed it for our current home. Edit: So you allowed 15K for site costs and now they saying they want another 2k = 17k or are they saying they want another 17K on top of the 15K in your contact? Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 8Mar 07, 2021 6:32 pm We allowed an additional 15k in their words (its likely to cover a h1 slab which is what is needed in that area (development). But seeing as its a m waffle slab not sure why ifs costing us so much especially as they won't do a break down costing for us. Surely the piers wouldn't be so much of that? Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 12Mar 07, 2021 10:06 pm This is my view. I am just about to get quotes from builders and just realized that most builders quote for M Waffle Slab. Waffle M slab is standard for all builders. However, most estates are P classified like yours and need a H2 slab with screw pliers or concrete piers. Usually it may cost $8000 or max. $10,000 more for the H2 upgrade. If you have got more than 300mm fall then it may add up another $10,000 for a levelling up a meter. Hence could be $17,000. He may not be ripping you off at this stage, just speak to him. Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 13Mar 08, 2021 5:36 am Our fall is only 200 mm. So that doesn't make sense. and the fill is apparently quite deep some areas i think from memory 700mm. So that's why they need screw piles to get to the good soil. The total just doesn't make sense to me. And I don't get why they won't send me a break down cost.... Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 14Mar 08, 2021 9:30 am Lamamu Our fall is only 200 mm. So that doesn't make sense. and the fill is apparently quite deep some areas i think from memory 700mm. So that's why they need screw piles to get to the good soil. 100% I agree with what you are saying, but it might be too late now, after you have signed a Preparation of Plans Agreement form (PPA). You are locked in to whatever the builder wants to charge or you walk away loose your deposit, time spent and plan copyright...your call? Lamamu The total just doesn't make sense to me. And I don't get why they won't send me a break down cost.... If You knew the screw piles and engineering cost before you signed the PPA you would have got 3 Builders to quote and sharpen their pencils. BTW, Shallow screw piles are a couple hundred on every 3rd Rib on a waffle slab (rough guide) and I believe you have every right to ask for a quote and compare costs. Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 15Mar 08, 2021 6:47 pm StructuralBIMGuy Lamamu Our fall is only 200 mm. So that doesn't make sense. and the fill is apparently quite deep some areas i think from memory 700mm. So that's why they need screw piles to get to the good soil. 100% I agree with what you are saying, but it might be too late now, after you have signed a Preparation of Plans Agreement form (PPA). You are locked in to whatever the builder wants to charge or you walk away loose your deposit, time spent and plan copyright...your call? Lamamu The total just doesn't make sense to me. And I don't get why they won't send me a break down cost.... If You knew the screw piles and engineering cost before you signed the PPA you would have got 3 Builders to quote and sharpen their pencils. BTW, Shallow screw piles are a couple hundred on every 3rd Rib on a waffle slab (rough guide) and I believe you have every right to ask for a quote and compare costs. Cheers Chris I'm so frustrated I wish I could prove their ripping us off. I guess I was hoping to see if anyone had something similar and what it cost them. Ill ask for a break down. Is there any laws saying we have a right to a break down cost? Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 16Mar 08, 2021 8:10 pm Lamamu I was hoping to see if anyone had something similar and what it cost them Would it make you feel better if others were ripped off and posted high prices? maybe that's why others refrain from posting site work costs? Lamamu Is there any laws saying we have a right to a break down cost? The builder knows he doesn't have to give you a price breakdown. BTW, you should have done your homework before hand.. once you sign...the bargaining process ceases OT, preparation of plans agreement is just that, where you pay to establish and firm up site cost, engineering and variations. Those big ticket items can make big buck$ for the builder and you can't pull them out of the build like, eg, Upgrades door handles.. which is chicken feed compared to site costs upgrades. hth Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 17Mar 08, 2021 8:18 pm Don’t feel ripped off, money spent on footings is well spent provided you get something for it, $2k is nothing in the big scheme of things. If the site is P classification you should expect to pay a bit more. Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 18Mar 08, 2021 8:21 pm Pulse Don’t feel ripped off, money spent on footings is well spent provided you get something for it, $2k is nothing in the big scheme of things. If the site is P classification you should expect to pay a bit more. Thanks. I know many people must got through this. But its very unfair builders don't give a cost break down of a variable invoice price. Its little other things that have been disappointing with the builder that compounds this. Unfortunately to get finance we had to have a building contract as well to submit to the bank. So its easy for those blessed with money to just say why didn't you wait when we couldn't. Especially in this very hard market. Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 19Mar 08, 2021 8:53 pm Lamamu Our contract allowed for a waffle pod M class with up to 300 mm fall. Our soil test came back at an M but they are charging us $17000 above our contract price (wasn't fixed as we didn't have soil tests yet). See picture of soil test summary, email from builder to where the costs are going to and the builders plans for site. Honestly it sounds like too much on top for a M waffle slab? N3 rating only adds $2500. Can someone please help? Does this price sound right? Should we be paying council fee etc? I thought that would be in contract? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ As a guide our slabs with concrete piers cost us around $250/sqm, screw piles are a lot cheaper at around $70/ lineal meter, so assuming each pile is 3m piling would be circa $6000 plus GST and builders margin.so a 200 sqm slab would cost us around $40-50k. Not sure if this info will help The N3 rating mainly relates to the bracing and tie downs of your frame to your slab. I would be happy to send you the relevant tables from AS1684 if you like so you can see what is needed. Its hard to tell if you are being overcharged or not without knowing what they had allowed for in the original quote for the slab. Simeon McGovern Affordable Custom Homes, We design and build to your budget Ashington Homes www.ashingtonhomes.com.au Re: Site costs simonds homes! Help 20Mar 08, 2021 8:59 pm SejaeD Lamamu Our contract allowed for a waffle pod M class with up to 300 mm fall. Our soil test came back at an M but they are charging us $17000 above our contract price (wasn't fixed as we didn't have soil tests yet). See picture of soil test summary, email from builder to where the costs are going to and the builders plans for site. Honestly it sounds like too much on top for a M waffle slab? N3 rating only adds $2500. Can someone please help? Does this price sound right? Should we be paying council fee etc? I thought that would be in contract? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ As a guide our slabs with concrete piers cost us around $250/sqm, screw piles are a lot cheaper at around $70/ lineal meter, so assuming each pile is 3m piling would be circa $6000 plus GST and builders margin.so a 200 sqm slab would cost us around $40-50k. Not sure if this info will help The N3 rating mainly relates to the bracing and tie downs of your frame to your slab. I would be happy to send you the relevant tables from AS1684 if you like so you can see what is needed. Its hard to tell if you are being overcharged or not without knowing what they had allowed for in the original quote for the slab. I know they didn't allow for screw piles which we need 28. The contract has allowed for a "base" being $39,343.50. The 15k extra was to cover us if we needed a h1etc. Would I as a lay person be able to understand the table? Is anyone building with Mojo and have a recent site cost tender 0 15954 I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13104 Henley should give you some indication of site costs. Too many variable to give you any reasonable accuracy 1 1891 |