What was the cost of finishing off your house aftr the build

I think there are two types of costs (or three depending on how you urgent you need things). I think it helps the budget a little if you can sort things based on how soon you need them

1. Need it now -
Fencing (don't forget a gate!),
Curtains/Blinds
Driveway
Deck
Letter box
Removals
Insurance
Furniture (if yours isn't suitable)
Dishwasher
Decorative downlights
Ceiling fan for alfresco
The big Saturday arvo BBQ to show of your new house!

2. To be done in 3 months
Front garden
BBQ Courtyard paving
All the electricals/phone points/tv points/lights that you realise you need after you move in
All the garden tools that you didn't already have (if you're like us and had lived in an apartment)

3. To be done later
Back garden
Bedroom courtyard garden
Theatre room projector

I think you put projector there by mistake.. For me that is more important than a driveway!!!!

hahahah I was going to say the same thing

We are required to pay for drainage pipes, soakage pit and sealed downpipes. Pump for rainwater tank plus installation.

Extra coat of paint in most rooms.

Gas connection.

Sure there are lots more items.



regards
sean

Just my 2c..

If budget is tight, don't forget that some of the items (such as landscaping) can wait for a while...

Furnitures and lighting can wait, I have a friend already moved in their new house for at least 3 years, they still have some bedroom/laundry/bathroom and garden lights missing.

In our council, you have 5 years to finish your landscaping, then council will issue the occupation certification. The catch is, without the OC you can't sell the house...

Hope this helps...

security system if needed.
external security lights etc.

Refrigerator. Who builds a new house and doesn't get (or at least want) a nice new (large) shiny refrigerator.

It depends how you do it!! We built our second home with M#tricon and didn't have alot of money!!

Tiling and carpet done for $10,000 - Tiles we got on sale and carpet we got from an Auction group. It was left over from a hotel.

Landscaping - Hard Work in Summer and My Dad owns a Wholesale Nursery. On that note he sells wholesale so he actually does all the display homes and the plants are often 50% cheaper. If you spend more than $50 you are classed as wholesale and he can sell to you - point is go to a wholesale nursery!!

Curtains - Freedom Furniture pre-made curtains. They actually looked pretty good!! $100 per window

Light Fittings - we went to town with lights!! I think lighting makes a house so we budgeted about $5000 for it.

Towel Rails and toilet Roll Holders etc... maybe $200 tops!! Bunnings has nice ones that don't blow the budget.

On the other hand for this hosue we are going crazy so it depend what you want!! There are great ways to keep costs down and still get a great finish!!

Driveway - $2000

Air-Conditioner - we got a single split-system for the family ($2000) and my husband installed $200 box conditioner in our room and our sons.

Paths at side of house - Lilydale Toppings $200

TV Point - It was only $130 from memory. Don't remember it breaking the bank!!

We have recently been getting quotes and pricing all the extras and here's our list;

Concrete Driveway and paths $12,000.00
Deck $3,000.00
Fencing $4,000.00
Pergola $8,000.00
Gardens - Plants & Lawn $1,500.00
Shed $1,000.00
Cat Run $1,000.00
Water Tank $1,000.00
Bistro Blinds $3,500.00
Window Blinds $5,500.00
Plantation Shutters $2,000.00
Light Fittings and fans $1,000.00
Reverse Cycle Air Conditioners x2 $3,500.00
BBQ & Cover $1,500.00
TV Antenna TBA
Clothes Line $300
Toilet Roll Holders & Towel Rails $400

Wish List;

Roller Shutter - Master Bed $1,000.00
Skylight x1 (bathroom) $500.00
Outdoor Spa $10,000.00

Floor coverings are included in our house price and we will have timber venetians at the windows which I will buy from blindsonline.com.au as they are far cheaper.

Here's what we've cobbled together so far for our 35sq house.

Three phase aircon & add-on cooling: $17k.
Landscaping and plants for front yard: approx $10k (yes, unusual).
Window furnishings: quote in contract is for $12k.
Rainwater tank (preferably at least 10kL): ~$8k.
Furniture (mainly bookcases, a bed, perhaps a couch or two): ~$10-12k.
Decking: ~$4k
Solar electricity: ~$20k

That's off the top of my head.

--Mike

You should also be aware of any covenants on the estate!

One that we were almost got that fell through said you had to have the block fenced, and front turfing and landscaping done within three months of moving in.

Agree with Muzzman, it's important to know what the covenants are, so you can factor in any extra costs. Ours were mostly things that had to be included in the build, but we're subject to fencing, driveway and landscaping deadlines. Luckily for us, we got fencing and front landscaping organised by the developer at no extra cost.

The cost of a lot of things depends whether you pay a professional or do it yourself. These are a few of our post-handover costs:

Driveway: $3,400 (varies a lot depending on type and size)
Fencing: $0 - supplied by developer
Side gate, made to measure and installed: $330
Letterbox: $310, plus numbers, about $40
Floor coverings - carpet 130 sq m and floorboards 100 sq m: $10,400
Blinds - $3,800 (plus temporary blinds, about $160)
TV antenna, installed: $280 (wiring and 3 points supplied by builder)
Clothesline: $180 (retail, about $280, but we have a friend... ) We'll install it ourselves.
Feature lights (battens provided by builder): about $600, installed free by an electrician friend. Still one to go.
Heated towel rails and toilet roll holders: $300 (Grays Online)
Very small shed: $650 including materials for slab and hire of mixer
Decking to portico, about 5 sq m(?): $800 (DIY job)
Front landscaping: $0, supplied by developer. There will be some extra cost for pavers/toppings and additional plants, but we haven't got there yet...hopefully we can do it for around $800.
Alarm system - about $2000, including monitoring

Service connections, although that's mostly Telstra *mutter, grumble* - $299 for doing very little, since our trenching and wiring was all done.... That made the first month's phone bill a nasty one!

There's more to come, mostly rear landscaping (pergolas, more decking, building in our bbq, feature wall, screens, planting, paving, etc, etc). We also want to install an attic ladder to make use of our nice big roof space for storage. New furniture will be waaaay down the list. Nice, but hardly essential.

We made lists of things that we needed, things that we wanted straight away, and things that could be done progressively after we moved in. If it was cheaper for the builder to do it (especially if we could get it as a heavily discounted promotional item) or it was just easier to do during construction, then we got it included in our contract. That took care of a lot of items on the first two lists - evap cooling, flyscreens, rainwater tank, exterior floodlights among them.

Trouble is, we keep finding new things to add to our lists.

Having built 7 years ago, it feels to me like the cost never ends. If I were ever to do it again (and I would like to), I would try to incorporate as much of the 'extras as possible.

We went for the bare minimum approach - the land, the house and most of the essential fittings. On top of that we still had to do:

- a driveway
- landscape a 1/2 acre block (VERY expensive - soil, plants, mulch, watering systems, rocks, stakes, hire of equipment)
- build an outdoor area (pergola, concrete, deck)
- clothesline
- sheds
- water tanks
- window furnishings
- letterbox
- fencing
- garden tools
- lawn mower
- whipper snipper

No wonder I have no money!!!

And on top of this we needed to buy most of our furniture

Hi Cascre,

You were saying the driveway costs $2000? Can I know what type of concrete is your driveway? Is it the plain natural concrete or the exposed aggregate or something else?

It looks pretty affordable to me. Would you mind letting me know the contact details of the concreter as well? Thanks heaps in advance

Stephen

We're looking at the following:

High Priority
- Retaining Wall (front or house) - $3,000
- Driveway and path (exposed agg) - $2,500
- Carpet $3,000
- Fencing - Neighbour is building our fence for me. Other side is done by the estate, rear fence is my expense.
- Blinds / Timber Venetians - $2,500

Medium Priority
- Alfresco Decking/Tiling - $2,300
- Front Landscaping - $?
- Rear Decking/Tiling - $2,300
- Rear Landscaping - $?
- Clothesline - $?
- Clothes Dryer - $400
- Microwave - $100

Nice to have
- Plasma for Theatre Room - $2,000
- PS3! - $660
- Theatre Room couches - $3000
- New Ducati for me
- New car for the wife

We are also getting Foxtel to two rooms, wireless broadband throughout the house.

going to need
back yard fill
front retaining wall & small retaining wall on side in front of garage
driveway
letterbox
clothesline
blinds
fridge
fencing and screening (our backyard is now as high as existing rear fence)
new couch

will do also if budget permits
completely concrete front yard for parking
home theatre couch
new table and chairs
tv stands x 2
paths
decking for alfresco
lawn
new bed for us

I don't think the costs after building will ever end

I agree with lisanne cost will never end even in an established home.

You just need to work out what your happy with now and continue to improve over time.

I bought a 5 year old house about 8 years ago and there has never been a time where you just sit down and say 'Ah done'. there is always things to do.

The thread lists almost everything that I can think of.

The thing is, as much as it can get frustrating as you wonder when you will ever be able to stop and focus your money and energy elsewhere, there is an amazing sense of satisfaction and achievement always with you becase you know you have been responsible for every decision on that block of land. I think anyone who has built and landscaped their place feels something like this.

My husband and I have probably shovelled and wheel-barrowed a few hundred metres of soil, pushed large rocks into place, hand-painted our massive pergola and so on. If I ever leave this I will almost definitely shed some tears.

Everyone's forgotten about the phsychiatrists' fees to get you over the trauma of having to deal with the various people in the building industry!!!