Browse Forums Building A New House Architect vs Custom Home Builder 7Apr 02, 2021 10:23 am Just to put it in perspective, I’m also a health professional and also not very creative. Maybe due to my age and this being our 5th house and 4th build, I am able to look at a plan and know what works and doesn’t work (for us). The examples by wolf architects are definitely beautiful but may end up pushing the budget (I would assume most of those are in the 3 million + range (if that’s in your budget then maybe go down that track, because you want to get it right). Other option is a building designer, more qualifications than a draftsmen but not as expensive as an architect, may be able to give you the sparkle you want. Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 8Apr 02, 2021 10:32 am Our house is different, has some beautiful features, a different facade (for an acreage home), has been designed to take advantage of the northerly aspect and contours but isn’t over the top cost wise. I think there is definitely a balance between design, function and budget. This is the facade we built, I gave our draftsmen some pictures of homes I liked and he came up with this, it’s not cookie cutter but not cost prohibitive. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 9May 14, 2021 10:53 am Hi All, Am in the same journey and is debating to choose between a volume builder like [CLARENDON [Fan of their BOSTON 36 design] and WISDOM Homes [their AMBASSADOR 36 design] or some small custom builders [who are having their own designers] and are specifying that they will give better value in terms of quality than the volume builders. On the other hand there is option of going for an independent architect who will take care of designs, DA approvals, drawing construction plans etc.,] I wanted to design 36 Squares house with void, courtyard and make it high energy efficient. I got inspired by one article where one volume builder in Melbourne had slightly modified their construction methodology to achieve 7.5 star rating.https://renew.org.au/sanctuary-magazine/house-profiles/project-home-powerhouse/. Am currently discussing with CLARENDON and WISDOM, whether they can slightly modify the above designs and make it more energy efficient, Am doubtful but checking. I assume if they can incorporate these changes, looks like I can rely upon their brands to build the house with no risks, but as per above comments, looks like the actual build will be done by sub contractors Next option, is I spoke with few small custom builders and they got good reviews and they are open to incorporate these options and build, but there is this lingering doubt in my mind as their own draftsmen, designers design the plans, slightly doubtful about whether they do compromise on some internals like the construction strength, piering etc Third and final option, which some people strongly advised me go for a completely independent architect and get the plans, da approvals, construction plans from them and armed with that do the shopping for builders, so in this way am assured that any custom builder that I choose have to follow the Constuction plan that the architect gives. At this stage I assume this would be the better option. Any suggestions on my thinking please. Also my budget is very limited, so I am planing to inform the architect that when they design, they need to keep the typical cost of say CLARENDON or WISDOM's top range and design. A typical CLARENDON and WISDOM home with their premium inclusions is coming roughly to 500K to 525K and am thinking to give this to the architect as the guidelines and design and then use any good custom designer to build. However, one small doubt, typically any custom builder includes in their cost estimate the cost of design, approvals etc., am curious if I approach them with my architect plans, do they really give any discount, as they need not incur these costs? I got quotes from different architects and liked so far one specific architect's quote, Wanted to seek your views on this; This architect quoted; Design - $7400 3D Visualisation of front elevation - $950 Landscape Design $2370 Survey - $980 BASIX Certificate - $680 Hydraulic Engineering - $1170 Development Application Fees - $3700 Construction Certificate Fees - $3700 Total $20950 Plus GST Your honest feedback and suggestions would be helpful to me. As referred above my budget is strictly limited as quoted above. I do not want to go to custom builders who charge say $2000 and above. I want to go with custom builders who are close to project builders but with slightly higher cost. Thx Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 10May 14, 2021 11:25 am Here's the problem as I see it Architects and builders conveniently leave out the engineering upfront, once you have paid a deposit and you're locked in... then be prepared for the $ticker $hock price increases . ie geotech, footings, upgrade structurals, basic engineering costs , material compliances checks, alternate solutions certification, etc. OT The 3D AEC Bim process includes engineering, Data and proofs, etc... LOL, but all you are given/or offered is 3D visualisation of the front Elevation $950? go back and ask for 3D Engineering visualisation and data to be included and be prepared for the unknow/additional costs. Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 11May 14, 2021 11:40 am StructuralBIMGuy Here's the problem as I see it Architects and builders conveniently leave out the engineering upfront, once you have paid a deposit and you're locked in... then be prepared for the $ticker $hock price increases . ie geotech, footings, upgrade structurals, basic engineering costs , material compliances checks, alternate solutions certification, etc. OT The 3D AEC Bim process includes engineering, Data and proofs, etc... LOL, but all you are given/or offered is 3D visualisation of the front Elevation $950? go back and ask for 3D Engineering visualisation and data to be included and be prepared for the unknow/additional costs. Cheers Chris Yes their quote for 3D visualisation is purely for front elevation only. Also apologies not understood fully your sentence Architects and builders conveniently leave out the engineering upfront, once you have paid a deposit and you're locked in... then be prepared for the $ticker $hock price increases . ie geotech, footings, upgrade structurals, basic engineering costs , material compliances checks, alternate solutions certification, etc." Whether when the architect gives me the construction plan, does it not cover these? Once I take these to any custom builder, they should give a quote to me right. I am going to ask them to give a fixed quote based on the construction plans, if yes are there still chances of price increase? am curious. Thx Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 12May 14, 2021 12:17 pm Venkata ." Whether when the architect gives me the construction plan, does it not cover these? Architects can't certify construction/engineering details.. they should tell you that? Venkata Once I take these to any custom builder, they should give a quote to me right. They will quote you roughly on what they have minus the engineering... you haven't paid for any structural? Venkata if yes are there still chances of price increase? am curious. Thx It's not fixed until all the drawings and contract documentation is provided Venkata I am going to ask them to give a fixed quote based on the construction plans, if yes are there still chances of price increase? am curious. Thx How do they fix unforeseen items/problems... they are estimates at best, money grabbing opportunities at worse. Clients always pay for increases/variations ..read and understand the process & contract Goodluck Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 13May 14, 2021 12:18 pm Sorry Venkata, but your budget is unrealistic for a custom build that is also energy efficient. Stick with a project home, try and get a block that has good orientation and then pick a design that makes use of the orientation. Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 14May 14, 2021 12:30 pm Hi gogo65, Thanks for the reply, but still am curious how the particular customer in Melbourne could able to achieve a high energy efficient house of 7.5 star at 1600 per SQM. https://renew.org.au/sanctuary-magazine/house-profiles/project-home-powerhouse/ I know they convinced a volume builder and somehow achieved this, While I continue this with CLARENDON and WISDOM, not yet raised energy efficiency stuff with them though, I think somehow I can find a small entry level custom builder who takes; a. the architect plans that I give b. uses the same grade of inclusions that a typical volume builder uses c. adds his/her builder's margin and so I should be in a position to achieve under $2000 rate Well, am not sure, but am trying to find answers, before I resign to the fact that only for my budget I need to go to cookie house builds by volume builders. https://renew.org.au/sanctuary-magazine/house-profiles/project-home-powerhouse/ Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 15May 14, 2021 1:14 pm Venkata Hi gogo65, Thanks for the reply, but still am curious how the particular customer in Melbourne could able to achieve a high energy efficient house of 7.5 star at 1600 per SQM. https://renew.org.au/sanctuary-magazine/house-profiles/project-home-powerhouse/ I know they convinced a volume builder and somehow achieved this, While I continue this with CLARENDON and WISDOM, not yet raised energy efficiency stuff with them though, I think somehow I can find a small entry level custom builder who takes; a. the architect plans that I give b. uses the same grade of inclusions that a typical volume builder uses c. adds his/her builder's margin and so I should be in a position to achieve under $2000 rate Well, am not sure, but am trying to find answers, before I resign to the fact that only for my budget I need to go to cookie house builds by volume builders. https://renew.org.au/sanctuary-magazine/house-profiles/project-home-powerhouse/ Hi Venkata I have been reading this thread wondering whether or not I should add my 2 cents. I couldn't help myself Gogo has been spot on with his comments. It's a really interesting article and reading between the lines I am wondering how long ago did they actually build this house. The reason I ask is that I know you could build a home in Victoria for the $1600/sqm mark around 4-5 years ago. Completely impossible now given the massive price increases in building materials. The other thing that stands out is the Nathers process as I have been going through the Nathers process for years and I actually achieved the first 5 star Nathers rating for an office park many years ago. But a lot of the things you need to do are complete rubbish from a thermal perspective such as recycled materials etc. In a house if you want thermal efficiency without selling a kidney you mainly need to focus on keeping the dwelling as airtight as possible. Forget all the rubbish about reverse brick veneer, it's all theoretical rubbish and not practical in the real world. These latest BASIX models were developed by a weekend engineer who lives on a yacht at Palm Beach who seems to think that concrete floors are warmer to walk on than carpet floors on a cold winter's morning. We all know from common sense that that isn't true. We have actually developed a really cost effective real world method of building energy efficient homes that maintain a 10 degree difference between internal and external temperatures. It really doesn't add much to the build costs but there is no way you could do this for anywhere near $1,600/sqm. I don't even think Clarendon or Wisdom could build a basic home for that. Their advertised prices for a 340sqm home are close to that but when you add site costs and some basic upgrades you are going to be closer to $700,000. There is a great thread I think called Boston 36 where a gentlemen gives the full breakdown of his build with clarendon that started in the $500's and finished in at $732,000. Anyway, I hope you manage to find a solution to your dilemma. Have a great weeked Simeon Simeon McGovern Affordable Custom Homes, We design and build to your budget Ashington Homes www.ashingtonhomes.com.au Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 16May 14, 2021 1:14 pm Venkata Hi gogo65, Thanks for the reply, but still am curious how the particular customer in Melbourne could able to achieve a high energy efficient house of 7.5 star at 1600 per SQM. https://renew.org.au/sanctuary-magazine/house-profiles/project-home-powerhouse/ I know they convinced a volume builder and somehow achieved this, While I continue this with CLARENDON and WISDOM, not yet raised energy efficiency stuff with them though, I think somehow I can find a small entry level custom builder who takes; a. the architect plans that I give b. uses the same grade of inclusions that a typical volume builder uses c. adds his/her builder's margin and so I should be in a position to achieve under $2000 rate Well, am not sure, but am trying to find answers, before I resign to the fact that only for my budget I need to go to cookie house builds by volume builders. https://renew.org.au/sanctuary-magazine/house-profiles/project-home-powerhouse/ Hi Venkata I have been reading this thread wondering whether or not I should add my 2 cents. I couldn't help myself Gogo has been spot on with his comments. It's a really interesting article and reading between the lines I am wondering how long ago did they actually build this house. The reason I ask is that I know you could build a home in Victoria for the $1600/sqm mark around 4-5 years ago. Completely impossible now given the massive price increases in building materials. The other thing that stands out is the Nathers process as I have been going through the Nathers process for years and I actually achieved the first 5 star Nathers rating for an office park many years ago. But a lot of the things you need to do are complete rubbish from a thermal perspective such as recycled materials etc. In a house if you want thermal efficiency without selling a kidney you mainly need to focus on keeping the dwelling as airtight as possible. Forget all the rubbish about reverse brick veneer, it's all theoretical rubbish and not practical in the real world. These latest BASIX models were developed by a weekend engineer who lives on a yacht at Palm Beach who seems to think that concrete floors are warmer to walk on than carpet floors on a cold winter's morning. We all know from common sense that that isn't true. We have actually developed a really cost effective real world method of building energy efficient homes that maintain a 10 degree difference between internal and external temperatures. It really doesn't add much to the build costs but there is no way you could do this for anywhere near $1,600/sqm. I don't even think Clarendon or Wisdom could build a basic home for that. Their advertised prices for a 340sqm home are close to that but when you add site costs and some basic upgrades you are going to be closer to $700,000. There is a great thread I think called Boston 36 where a gentlemen gives the full breakdown of his build with clarendon that started in the $500's and finished in at $732,000. Anyway, I hope you manage to find a solution to your dilemma. Have a great weeked Simeon Simeon McGovern Affordable Custom Homes, We design and build to your budget Ashington Homes www.ashingtonhomes.com.au Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 17May 14, 2021 1:26 pm Hi Simeon, Very much appreciate your reply. Of course, am in very early part of the journey and hence your inputs clearly had brought me down to earth. Just if for the time being , I keep aside my desire to have energy efficient house aside [looks like this is definitely beyond my budget], Could you please share your thoughts on my initial dilemma of going with CLARENDON/WISDOM sort of builder vs customer builders with their own in house drawn designs or a completely outside architect and then engage custom bulilder. From costing perspective and from the other doubts on each and every option, could you please suggest which option is feasible. I will also search and understand the other thread that you referred about a persons's actual journey on BOSTON 36 with CLARENDON. Thx Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 18May 14, 2021 1:42 pm Venkata Hi Simeon, Very much appreciate your reply. Of course, am in very early part of the journey and hence your inputs clearly had brought me down to earth. Just if for the time being , I keep aside my desire to have energy efficient house aside [looks like this is definitely beyond my budget], Could you please share your thoughts on my initial dilemma of going with CLARENDON/WISDOM sort of builder vs customer builders with their own in house drawn designs or a completely outside architect and then engage custom bulilder. From costing perspective and from the other doubts on each and every option, could you please suggest which option is feasible. I will also search and understand the other thread that you referred about a persons's actual journey on BOSTON 36 with CLARENDON. Venkata I wish I could put my actual thoughts/advice on here but I don't really want to get into a war with the project home builders so I will be polite: 1. Don't give up on your dream for an energy efficient home. Its achievable for a very small cost, Your builder just needs to know how to make your dwelling airtight, and off course you need to think about window sizes and placement and orientation during the design phase. 2. I would forget about the rate/sqm discussion and work out what your maximum budget is and the key things that are important to you, such as bedrooms, study, living areas kitchen, style of the home. 3. I would then go to either a small builder who does custom designs ( when I say custom I mean 100% custom, not just a modified version of their plans) and get them to design you a home that fits your budget. It may not be a 350sqm home, it may be a 275sqm home, but if they are clever at designing it you wont mind, it's all about efficient use of space. 4. The other alternative to point 4 would be to go to a good drafting company ( you don't want to pay more than$11-$12,000 for a whole approval including engineering) and get them to design to your budget and then tender your build out to 3 or 4 builders. I'd be happy to pass on some building tips to either you or you builder ( assuming they would speak to me ) as to what they would need to do to get your home airtight without sending you broke. On this note having worked in the project home world, I guarantee that you will have a zero% chance of getting one of those companies to modify their process for you. If you want to take this off line and chat in more detail just PM me. Cheers Simeon Simeon McGovern Affordable Custom Homes, We design and build to your budget Ashington Homes www.ashingtonhomes.com.au Re: Architect vs Custom Home Builder 20May 14, 2021 11:05 pm What exactly do people usually mean when they say 'custom home'? Any home that's not one of the builder's standard plans, or those fancy designer homes? For example we are starting to build another house to fix up all the mistakes from the previous one, and this time I spent about 3 months drawing up the floor plan that suits us (hopefully), before we even got to picking the builder. So it is sorta custom, but at the end of the day there is a finite number of layouts that you can fit on a small lot, so plenty of builders would have something conceptually similar. Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 60462 Hello Team, I'm a new builder and I would like to apologise upfront if this question has already been asked and answered. We are 3 friends and each of us are looking to… 0 18405 Thanks for the info. We decided to go a similar route through a design/drafting company as architect fees were just out of our budget. Glad your happy all the best for… 2 12764 |