Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 21, 2023 1:49 pm So we have been hit with almost additional $50k for building a house. It is on a 700sqm block with slight slope (all less than 1m). I’m just wondering if these costs are reasonable and if we have other options as extra $50k is a log of money So far for the footing it is an additional $25k which includes: “Provide modifications to the project footing systems due to the P Class soil conditions in lieu of the included design slab where required, including: • Additional founding depth to the ground beams • Removal of spoil from the foundations • Stepping the levels of the slab • Additional reinforcement to the ground beams • Upgrade the standard reinforcement to the slab (and ground beams) As per the preliminary soil report requirements. Note: Founding depth of all footings has been based on the recommendations of the preliminary soil report and in this case an average depth of 800mm below natural ground level has been estimated. Additional costs may apply if the site classification differs from the preliminary report, previously unforeseen below ground difficulties become apparent and/or final engineering is significantly changed or upgraded from the original estimate” And for foundations it is an additional $12k which includes: Provide site works to the project with a concrete slab on ground where required, including: • A cut and batter to the site required for the building envelope (2 metres clear for scaffolding) • Removal of spoil from the cut • Additional stormwater connection points for future landscaping by client (2 points, one to the rear off the back of the Living, second outside the And additional sewer line costs us $2k Stormwater is $2k Temporary fencing $3.5k Energy rating $8k So all up we will have to pay an additional of $50k on top of an expensive build. Are they reasonable? Anything that we can negotiate to minimise cost? Thanks Re: Additional site work cost 2Mar 21, 2023 2:56 pm It's gone up $50K and it still says preliminary? They'll want more money to further firm the site works and engineering up. BTW the more you put in, the less likely you are to pull out and the higher the price goes up. I hope you are seeing the correlation.. there's still scope for prices to increase and rarely do they come down once you've signed Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Additional site work cost 3Mar 22, 2023 8:07 am what was your original site works cost amount? the only thing I can suggest is you may be able to do the temp fencing yourself. I assume you are building in an established area and therefore only need temp fencing at the front of the property. You can buy panels and install yourself for about $500. This is what I did and then I sold them 2nd hand afterwards. Don't forget to get additional panels for any trees in front of your property on the nature strip too. As an example, building in the monash council area a couple of years ago, my site costs were $39k. I didn't have P class soil, however had additional requirements due to a pool in close proximity of the house. Everything else is somewhat similar. Who are you building with? Those costs and your 4k / sqm from a different thread seem to suggest custom with someone like Mazzei Re: Additional site work cost 4Mar 24, 2023 10:59 am What do you mean by 'Energy rating $8k'? Is that just the NatHERS energy report? An energy report shouldn't cost much more than $1k. Re: Additional site work cost 5Mar 27, 2023 11:01 am LOL, green washing is turning out to be quite a money maker for some builders Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Additional site work cost 6Mar 27, 2023 11:29 am StructuralBIMGuy LOL, green washing is turning out to be quite a money maker for some builders Absolutely. We got hit with an additional 3k to glaze the alfresco doors. This was never presented in the tender but added at the last minute at the contract stage. Now the builder claims its necessary to get the 6-star energy rating Re: Additional site work cost 7Mar 27, 2023 12:06 pm josh12 StructuralBIMGuy LOL, green washing is turning out to be quite a money maker for some builders Absolutely. We got hit with an additional 3k to glaze the alfresco doors. This was never presented in the tender but added at the last minute at the contract stage. Now the builder claims its necessary to get the 6-star energy rating Could well be true though. Re: Additional site work cost 8Mar 27, 2023 12:10 pm stonesthrow What do you mean by 'Energy rating $8k'? Is that just the NatHERS energy report? An energy report shouldn't cost much more than $1k. Sorry it wasn’t the energy rating report. It was the upgrade we required to do to achieve 6-star energy rating. In Vic if your house is built later this year you’re required to meet the 7-star requirement. For us we only need 6-star; still we will have to pay an additional $8k for Lightbridge low E coat in order to achieve the 6-star we needed. The temporary fencing we also can’t do it cheaply ourselves. We are told that we need a 1.8m high galvanised steel mesh fence to the boundary with our next door neighbour as we will need to remove the existing fence for the construction of our “proposed” garage that is still awaiting approval from the council. That cost also includes fence for the nature strip tree. I don’t even know if we are allowed to do this ourselves as it wasn’t given to us as an optional cost. Just part of the total “additional site works cost”. We are building with InForm Re: Additional site work cost 9Mar 28, 2023 9:04 am stonesthrow josh12 StructuralBIMGuy LOL, green washing is turning out to be quite a money maker for some builders Absolutely. We got hit with an additional 3k to glaze the alfresco doors. This was never presented in the tender but added at the last minute at the contract stage. Now the builder claims its necessary to get the 6-star energy rating Could well be true though. It's true that they stick the contract variations under your nose at contract signing, with an option to pay up or pull out and loose your deposit. yet other builders can get away with Wall wrap not installed go figure So much for energy Bull$h!t Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Additional site work cost 10Mar 28, 2023 11:29 am StructuralBIMGuy stonesthrow josh12 Absolutely. We got hit with an additional 3k to glaze the alfresco doors. This was never presented in the tender but added at the last minute at the contract stage. Now the builder claims its necessary to get the 6-star energy rating Could well be true though. It's true that they stick the contract variations under your nose at contract signing, with an option to pay up or pull out and loose your deposit. yet other builders can get away with Wall wrap not installed go figure So much for energy Bull$h!t What could I do to prevent my build doesn’t miss out on the basic things? It’s our first time building and we don’t know much about building a house. I could only read so much on this forums and other resources but some of them weren’t very helpful (sorry to say). I have heard about hiring a private building inspector - is this helpful? Re: Additional site work cost 11Mar 28, 2023 12:27 pm Ostrich36 What could I do to prevent my build doesn’t miss out on the basic things? It’s our first time building and we don’t know much about building a house. I could only read so much on this forums and other resources but some of them weren’t very helpful (sorry to say). I have heard about hiring a private building inspector - is this helpful? yes, hire an inspector at a minimum and dont skimp on stages. Get them all done. It will ad probably ~2.5-3k to your spend. Secondly do as much reading as you can. See if youcan learn and understand as much about each part of the building process, materials and methods. Some people find it boring, and thus tend to rely on their inspector or, worse, trust the builder. Those that get their head around whats going on, why and when, tend to get better outcomes in the end. Its a journey and how successful it is is ultimately between you and your builder. If you exclude yourself from this journey, you could be driven down a less desirable path. And before our friend up top jumps in with his usual " get 3 quotes, data, BIM" BS, just know that path doesn't guarantee you anything more as a layperson, and is debatable if it delivers value even if you know what it all means. Expect your first home to be a learning experience. Good or bad is up to you. Re: Additional site work cost 12Apr 03, 2023 11:57 am I have seen many people that have signed building contracts thinking less than buying shoes. If you sail blindfolded you could end up on the rocks Your most important inspection is a pre-contract review, then followed up with stage inspections. If you sign up for a bad deal it is difficult to help you Are you building in Victoria? Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Additional site work cost 13Jun 01, 2023 6:00 pm I wouldn't stress out too much - inform is a fantastic builder that knows what they're doing. If you're extra cautious hire an independent inspector but just be careful with who you select. Not all of them are as experienced with high end homes. Re: Additional site work cost 14Jun 14, 2023 3:29 pm Ostrich36 So we have been hit with almost additional $50k for building a house. It is on a 700sqm block with slight slope (all less than 1m). I’m just wondering if these costs are reasonable and if we have other options as extra $50k is a log of money So far for the footing it is an additional $25k which includes: “Provide modifications to the project footing systems due to the P Class soil conditions in lieu of the included design slab where required, including: • Additional founding depth to the ground beams • Removal of spoil from the foundations • Stepping the levels of the slab • Additional reinforcement to the ground beams • Upgrade the standard reinforcement to the slab (and ground beams) As per the preliminary soil report requirements. Note: Founding depth of all footings has been based on the recommendations of the preliminary soil report and in this case an average depth of 800mm below natural ground level has been estimated. Additional costs may apply if the site classification differs from the preliminary report, previously unforeseen below ground difficulties become apparent and/or final engineering is significantly changed or upgraded from the original estimate” And for foundations it is an additional $12k which includes: Provide site works to the project with a concrete slab on ground where required, including: • A cut and batter to the site required for the building envelope (2 metres clear for scaffolding) • Removal of spoil from the cut • Additional stormwater connection points for future landscaping by client (2 points, one to the rear off the back of the Living, second outside the And additional sewer line costs us $2k Stormwater is $2k Temporary fencing $3.5k Energy rating $8k So all up we will have to pay an additional of $50k on top of an expensive build. Are they reasonable? Anything that we can negotiate to minimise cost? Thanks Where are you building? I recently went through something similar with my builder when my site costs went up enormously and ended up arguing that the HIA contract was on my side.. Re: Additional site work cost 15Jun 19, 2023 12:31 pm Geelong10 Ostrich36 So we have been hit with almost additional $50k for building a house. It is on a 700sqm block with slight slope (all less than 1m). I’m just wondering if these costs are reasonable and if we have other options as extra $50k is a log of money So far for the footing it is an additional $25k which includes: “Provide modifications to the project footing systems due to the P Class soil conditions in lieu of the included design slab where required, including: • Additional founding depth to the ground beams • Removal of spoil from the foundations • Stepping the levels of the slab • Additional reinforcement to the ground beams • Upgrade the standard reinforcement to the slab (and ground beams) As per the preliminary soil report requirements. Note: Founding depth of all footings has been based on the recommendations of the preliminary soil report and in this case an average depth of 800mm below natural ground level has been estimated. Additional costs may apply if the site classification differs from the preliminary report, previously unforeseen below ground difficulties become apparent and/or final engineering is significantly changed or upgraded from the original estimate” And for foundations it is an additional $12k which includes: Provide site works to the project with a concrete slab on ground where required, including: • A cut and batter to the site required for the building envelope (2 metres clear for scaffolding) • Removal of spoil from the cut • Additional stormwater connection points for future landscaping by client (2 points, one to the rear off the back of the Living, second outside the And additional sewer line costs us $2k Stormwater is $2k Temporary fencing $3.5k Energy rating $8k So all up we will have to pay an additional of $50k on top of an expensive build. Are they reasonable? Anything that we can negotiate to minimise cost? Thanks Where are you building? I recently went through something similar with my builder when my site costs went up enormously and ended up arguing that the HIA contract was on my side.. I’m building at inner south east Melb. Where are you building ? Re: Additional site work cost 16Jun 19, 2023 2:19 pm Ostrich36 Geelong10 Ostrich36 So we have been hit with almost additional $50k for building a house. It is on a 700sqm block with slight slope (all less than 1m). I’m just wondering if these costs are reasonable and if we have other options as extra $50k is a log of money So far for the footing it is an additional $25k which includes: “Provide modifications to the project footing systems due to the P Class soil conditions in lieu of the included design slab where required, including: • Additional founding depth to the ground beams • Removal of spoil from the foundations • Stepping the levels of the slab • Additional reinforcement to the ground beams • Upgrade the standard reinforcement to the slab (and ground beams) As per the preliminary soil report requirements. Note: Founding depth of all footings has been based on the recommendations of the preliminary soil report and in this case an average depth of 800mm below natural ground level has been estimated. Additional costs may apply if the site classification differs from the preliminary report, previously unforeseen below ground difficulties become apparent and/or final engineering is significantly changed or upgraded from the original estimate” And for foundations it is an additional $12k which includes: Provide site works to the project with a concrete slab on ground where required, including: • A cut and batter to the site required for the building envelope (2 metres clear for scaffolding) • Removal of spoil from the cut • Additional stormwater connection points for future landscaping by client (2 points, one to the rear off the back of the Living, second outside the And additional sewer line costs us $2k Stormwater is $2k Temporary fencing $3.5k Energy rating $8k So all up we will have to pay an additional of $50k on top of an expensive build. Are they reasonable? Anything that we can negotiate to minimise cost? Thanks Where are you building? I recently went through something similar with my builder when my site costs went up enormously and ended up arguing that the HIA contract was on my side.. I’m building at inner south east Melb. Where are you building ? We are building in Fyansford, Geelong Our standard double-glazed window is tested to achieve, Rw 34, and can be glazed to suit Rw 39. The price is good too... 3 11615 We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 38551 Thanks for the insight! My plot is a new development so hopefully I won't have too much problem during build as everyone should be roughly building together. I also… 2 3613 |