Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 27, 2022 10:47 pm Sorry, I'm a newbie here, so a newbie question: Is it possible to build cheaper than large builder catalogue homes, with: - an off-the-shelf simple design, - a smaller builder - saving by going with recycled materials like floors, and a flatpack kitchen. Anyone has any experience and can share details, and costs? Thanks, Peter Re: Is it possible to build cheaper than catalogue homes 2Mar 28, 2022 12:08 am Simple answer, No it's not! We are Expert Consultant's, and we are here to help. Re: Is it possible to build cheaper than catalogue homes 3Mar 30, 2022 8:48 pm I think this is a very realistic task. If you use cheaper materials Re: Is it possible to build cheaper than catalogue homes 5Mar 31, 2022 7:55 am likemyhome I think this is a very realistic task. If you use cheaper materials you mean the materials which even builders with direct supplier contracts and relationships cant get or have to pay a 30% premium on? Or do you mean building from cardboard boxes? peterpeter Building a house costs money. A lot of money. the only realistic way to save further on from a volume/project builder is to do an owner build, And even then youre really only looking at saving a theoretical 20%(ish). However other factors can impact the outcome anyway. i.e. you as an owner builder currently have zero knowledge of building. How will you know whether the materials you're ordering are good value? How will you know that trades are doing thier jobs correctly? How will you know if their rate is good value? How will you manage if a surveyor fails a critical inspection and you cant get the trade back to fix the job? DO you have enought money to hire another? will the build take twice as long to complete because you dont have trade contacts that you can schedule efficiently, increasing holding costs so much that you erode your potential savings? You will be liable to provide warranties to anyone you sell the property to for a number of years if you do, do you have the capital to support that? Even building with alternate materials like containers, rammed earth, tires, mudbrick all come with their own challenges and costs. Many of these homes end up costing the same if not more unless you literally do all the work yourself. Alternately you could have a slab poured, have someone erect a steel shed and you could live in that for much less than a house. But i suspect that is not what you are trying to achieve. Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Is it possible to build cheaper than catalogue homes 6Mar 31, 2022 8:24 am having built new, renovated and extended using owner builder, subcontracting all labour or a full builders service while attempting to earn a living and look after a family i've learned that the easiest option is to employ a builder and allow them to take responsibility for the whole job ...you will still be overwhelmed by all the decisions that need to be made but at least the builder can ensure that the multiple trades required all arrive in the correct sequence and time saved is stress and money saved ... tradespeople and suppliers are more reliable with a professional because they have an expectation of future business that they don't have with a one off owner builder ....our builder is also able to attract very generous discounts and delivery committments that we couldn't achieve as one off customers... imo a good builder earns all of their fees for overall control of the job and their technical advice and suggestions learned by their own training and experience but we've only learned this after having done all the work ourselves...owner builder is very challenging and time consuming and second hand building materials can often cost more in labour and compromises to install and some recycled building materials can't be covered by building insurance...if a cost effective first home is your goal then i would choose a volume builder with careful choice of block of land and adjustments to the floor plan to maximise passive solar design (see yourhome.gov.au) and when renovating or building a forever home i would choose a custom builder and economise on any replaceable fixtures and fitting and build a smaller house to save money Re: Is it possible to build cheaper than catalogue homes 7Mar 31, 2022 9:44 am Thank you @Noname and @oklouise for your elaborate responses. I guess you are both right. So probably the only 2 options left for me are either 1) buy an "easy" block and go with a volume builder or 2) buy an existing house. I definitely would prefer a new build, but some of those older houses come with a good location and a substantial block of land, whereas building new would be a choice between remote locations or tiny blocks. I know there is a whole Renovation thread here, but do you have any tips on what to pay attention to when buying an older house and how to go about trying to add some extra insulation, replacing windows with double glaze etc? Or at least where to start reading Thanks Re: Is it possible to build cheaper than catalogue homes 8Mar 31, 2022 11:28 am peterpeter Thank you @Noname and @oklouise for your elaborate responses. I guess you are both right. So probably the only 2 options left for me are either 1) buy an "easy" block and go with a volume builder or 2) buy an existing house. I definitely would prefer a new build, but some of those older houses come with a good location and a substantial block of land, whereas building new would be a choice between remote locations or tiny blocks. I know there is a whole Renovation thread here, but do you have any tips on what to pay attention to when buying an older house and how to go about trying to add some extra insulation, replacing windows with double glaze etc? Or at least where to start reading Thanks yep buying an established older home is a good way to go too, but your original question was about building a home cheaper. There are older homes in the suburb i am building on blocks twice the size (1000sqm) that are going for less than my new build on a 512sqm block. While largely livable, many require work to update. Arguably the better long term investment is the older home with a view to demolish/subdivide in the future. But that is not everyone's goal or intent. And depending on the timeframe and goal changes might end up being more of a money pit. Hard to tell. Each older homes history is different. So ultimately you want to think about your goals, budget, future plans and earning potential etc and make a choice that reflects those. dont forget that there are aditional costs when buying established like stamp duty. Not insignificant. Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: Is it possible to build cheaper than catalogue homes 9Apr 01, 2022 9:11 pm peterpeter Thank you @Noname and @oklouise for your elaborate responses. I guess you are both right. So probably the only 2 options left for me are either 1) buy an "easy" block and go with a volume builder or 2) buy an existing house. I definitely would prefer a new build, but some of those older houses come with a good location and a substantial block of land, whereas building new would be a choice between remote locations or tiny blocks. I know there is a whole Renovation thread here, but do you have any tips on what to pay attention to when buying an older house and how to go about trying to add some extra insulation, replacing windows with double glaze etc? Or at least where to start reading Thanks we've done both new build and renovated old houses and by far the renovations are the most challenging and expensive but older houses had better locations and once completed have appreciated in value much more than the new builds and often have bigger blocks and established trees, driveways, fences, and outbuildings that can be useful while you save and plan but are you prepared to live in the house during renovations especially with long delays waiting for materials and professionals?.. if/when buying an old house always look for best location, then condition of structure of roof, walls and floors that are usually more difficult to change (standard building inspections can help but worth the cost of a more thorough inspections if in doubt) windows and doors and decorative finishes, taps, lighting, etc can be replaced over time and kitchen cabinets can be replaced by an enthusiastic handyman but aim for a bathroom in good working order and save bathroom reno till you have lots of time and money to employ professionals ...check Yourhome.gov for advice for choosing blocks of land for new builds and renovating existing house to gain best passive solar design and check with local council and NSW govt website to learn about zoning, building and reno regulations and costs...enrol in the on line owner builder courses that are also a great help to understand the process even if you employ others to do the labour...obviously from the numbers of participants on HOMEONE and similar websites there are many others at various stages of the process and we all continue to learn "on the job" In Qld it is a requirement that a builder must have a cost breakdown, for building a home to the same specification, with the same inclusions and the same finish. 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