Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 30, 2008 10:35 pm Hi All,
Been reading for about a month now and am currently looking for a nice house to build I'm aiming to keep costs sub 200k and would just like information from all you people building out there atm about what will be incurred. This will be the cost above what is quoted for the house itself. From what i've gathered when you pay for the house you get *structure *kitchen *possibly alfresco *garage So on top of the costs advertised we would also need to fork out for(?): *Carpets? *Wall paints? *Extra on Slab? *Extra on site costs(cleanup?)? *Driveway? *Fence? Can anyone correct me if these are true and if you're able to provide an average cost? I've been told to provide around 20k for additionals, does this sound reasonable? Re: Costs of building a house? 2Dec 30, 2008 10:48 pm probably 30-50% on top of base prices for additional. My house was just under 190k and that included everything (but I'm only building 23 sqaure home... carpets, tiles, driveway, paving, alfresco, letterbox, clothesline, fencing, ducted evap, ducted heating.. only thing extra I will have to do is blinds/curtains and landscaping...
Re: Costs of building a house? 3Dec 30, 2008 11:36 pm Yep, this is where the building industry wins hands down as being the most deceptive industry with their prices and marketing! Even worse than car yards with their on road costs!
Our house was advertised at $233,000 base cost for the basic house. With a few extra options from the builder including compulsory water tank and upgraded slab the base cost rose to $284,000. Then I have to allow for - Floorings, Lighting, Driveway, Window Shutters, Alfresco and Porch Decking, Basic Landscaping, Fencing, Ducted Aircon and any additional electrical work. Oh and full rendering as the builder is charging 3x the price we can organise it for ourselves. The total cost is now well over $360k just for the house So very frustrating lol - but also very very exciting! Re: Costs of building a house? 4Dec 30, 2008 11:40 pm That must be a huge house though I assume for 360k? Re: Costs of building a house? 6Dec 31, 2008 7:50 am General Room of thumb for a finished house is between $800-$1000 per square meter...
It depends on the design of the house, the finishes you choose, the builders markup, and what you want/can do yourself.... Owner building generally saves some money, but it's not an easy road... And some say not worth it... It really depends on how passionate about building and having control of the project you want to be... Electrical Engineer... Don't hold that against me... And keen owner builder... Mainly the building part!! Re: Costs of building a house? 7Dec 31, 2008 8:27 am It also depends on where you are!
Canberra seems to work a little differently - the base cost of the house is higher but includes more - ie most builders will quote including site costs, which I have read here can blow out extensively in other states... Canberra is around $1200 per square metre for basic inclusions...(yes, more expensive!). $20K in additionals may also be a bit low? Painting would be included, unless you want feature walls (normally additional cost) Driveways and fences are also *usually* included. However, make sure you are comparing apples with apples! Some builders have a basic package which doesn't include driveways & fences (which is silly coz they are mandatory!) Where are you building in Canberra? Most of the project home builders have displays in Harrison and/or Forde and can give you rough prices depending on size... Good luck! Re: Costs of building a house? 8Dec 31, 2008 8:29 am My duplexes (in Adelaide metro) are turning out similar to Gester. The base price was $140k each (each house including garage is approx 160 sq m, so not big house). Variations (including one big one for H-class soil footings) is $18.5k each. Other items will add $35k for each house.
Other items include: - driveway/paving - RWT&pump ($3k) - fencing - stormwater ($2.5k, sealed flexible system) - R/C A/C ($8-10k) - flooring ($6-8k) - curtains - wardrobe internals, etc Chris co$t$ 9Dec 31, 2008 8:39 am Congratulations on your choice to build a new home. How wonderful.
You already have a list of extras there. We have had a few more being, possible storm water absorption pit (for a 6mm slope!!!!!!!! to the back) and a possible bill of $5-$15,000!!! not too mention site fencing (and possibly ADDITIONAL site fencing), traffic control (provisional), inspection fees, driveway inspection fees, services conx and disconx (provisional sewer etc), surveyors reports, soil contour reports, possible additional piering of slab, possible cut and fill of block, we had to add a wall break every 10m along the house $$ (council requirements- aesthetics), power pole, insulation, geotech survey re storm water, upgrades to appliances and bathroom sinks etc, site costs, additional site costs, zone allowance (depending on who and where you build), external taps, any changes to the plans you may choose, spoil removal, drop edge beam for us, council requirements for environmental effects, landscape plans, sewer pegout, Basix (provisional) shall I go on??? Our 38sq two storey house has at this point (and at this stage plans not even approved yet) gone from the base price of $215K to $352K. We have not included carpet or tiling yet.... Gee I have shocked myself I had better stop. Good Luck, but at the end you will have new house that you will love!! Re: Costs of building a house? 11Dec 31, 2008 11:30 am What's included does vary a lot between builders, and some are more upfront about extras and inclusions than others. And with the bigger builders you often get a promotional "special" deal that includes numerous upgrades for a nominal cost.
The base price of our 35sq house was $200,900, but the builder made no secret about the fact that site costs and upgrades weren't included in that amount. They also provided a list of all upgrades included in their displays and a breakdown of the cost of each one. The sales quote we got, including the upgrades we selected plus an estimate for site costs up to $10,000 came in at $272,000. We added and changed a few things, which bumped the cost up a bit, our start was delayed (not the builder's fault), which meant we copped a price rise of $1000, and the site costs actually came out to $12000, thanks to some unexpected factors. The end price was $275,000. We have no complaints at all about the transparency of the pricing. Extras we needed to allow for (we could have had the builder do the flooring and light fittings at extra cost, but opted to organise it ourselves because it was more cost-effective): Driveway Floating floorboards Carpet Blinds TV antenna (wiring to 3 points was included by the builder) Feature light fittings Towel rails, toilet roll holders etc Clothesline Decking of portico and al fresco room Rear landscaping Fencing and front landscaping were included in our land deal. By the time we're finished, we'll probably have spent around $25,000 on the extras. Lucky we budgeted for most of them. The rear landscaping will be a work in progress.... Re: Costs of building a house? 13Dec 31, 2008 12:41 pm Well heres my breakdown for a 29 square house (I'm fine with people knowing).
189500 - base price 3000 - upgrade package 16000 - site costs 18727 - Upgrades including aircon 11500 - Flooring 3124 - blinds 2600 - fences 500 - entry deck 4500 - driveway & additonal concreting (estimated) 900 - bobcat hire + toppings 1600 - retaining wall 180 - letter box 600 - shed 264 - TV Antenna 252,990 - Grand Total I'd say it will probably be more like 260,000 once the backyard is landscaped and all the plants are in. So I guess going by that I've added an extra 35% to the cost of the house. I think to keep the house cost down to 200k you'd need a very flat piece of land with minimal site costs and a house starting at around 150k which would be maybe a 23 squares. Hope this helps. Re: Costs of building a house? 14Dec 31, 2008 4:52 pm We built a 23 square house on very flat land as part of a house/land package and it cost $226,248. (for the house itself, obviously not including the land cost)
We didn't upgrade a lot, the most expensive upgrade would be taking the ceilings to 9ft, a bullnose verandah, upgrading carpet, various minor changes. $14750 of changes at selections, ie this is not counting the verandah, the higher walls and some structural kitchen changes, which had already been factored in. Aside from the structural house, included were floor coverings, fencing, concrete driveway and perimeter paths, TV antenna, clotheslines, tank. NOT included: airconditioning - reverse cycle ducting cost $11,500, window furnishings, cost several thousand, letterbox cost $175, light fittings cost $670, pergola - yet to be done, and shed - yet to be done, and landscaping - front done at cost of several hundred, own labour, back yet to be done. Re: Costs of building a house? 15Dec 31, 2008 8:41 pm So far we are up to $400k for our home. But that is a custom built 50sqm home however does not include kitchen, flooring, blinds, our bath for the main ensuite amongst others.
It does include ducted a/c, ducted vacuuming, water tanks but that is about it. We always said that whatever the base price is add at least another $60-80k to complete the home to absolute finishing. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Costs of building a house? 16Jan 01, 2009 1:02 pm It can be done on a reasonable budget, it helps if you get lucky with your slab. You can go as far as the imagination takes you when it comes to various upgrades of your home, I would say add an extra $30k to the base cost to upgrade to some nice things to make your place a home, but its hard to say no to some things so restraint is needed!!
We started at $180k for a 31 square house (URL) and are going to be around the $220k by the end of it and we are getting everything we want I say shop around, you should be able to find someone to do a great house under $200k. ICK So glad the building is over, never again. Loooove our house, but still not quite sure it was worth all of the stress they put us through! Re: Costs of building a house? 17Jan 01, 2009 1:18 pm yes if you get a good price for the slab you can keep your budget under some sort of restraint. Our earthworks came in very high. so far it's over 40k and if I do the maths I suspect well over 45k including leech drains and additional earth costs It's blown out of the water any hope of having all our flooring done before we move in. Re: Costs of building a house? 18Jan 01, 2009 3:03 pm Mozzie Well heres my breakdown for a 29 square house (I'm fine with people knowing). 189500 - base price 3000 - upgrade package 16000 - site costs 18727 - Upgrades including aircon 11500 - Flooring 3124 - blinds 2600 - fences 500 - entry deck 4500 - driveway & additonal concreting (estimated) 900 - bobcat hire + toppings 1600 - retaining wall 180 - letter box 600 - shed 264 - TV Antenna 252,990 - Grand Total I'd say it will probably be more like 260,000 once the backyard is landscaped and all the plants are in. So I guess going by that I've added an extra 35% to the cost of the house. I think to keep the house cost down to 200k you'd need a very flat piece of land with minimal site costs and a house starting at around 150k which would be maybe a 23 squares. Hope this helps. Thanks for that Mozzie! We're building a Hayman 29 - almost exactly the same as the Hamilton your building costs look remarkably close to my estimates and quotes so far Helps a little to know that I am reasonably close to someones actuals. Re: Costs of building a house? 19Jan 01, 2009 10:16 pm WOW
i'm shocked, i didn't think it'll come out to be so much. Thanks for all the responses....has all been very informative. @havingfun - Was planning to build in Melbourne as you are right, canberra is crazy prices. Had a look around the display homes and its extremely pricy even for a small house. I'd love to build a place in Canberra but everything about it is just overpriced(ie land + build). A piece of land in Bonython that is around 400 sqm is roughly 240K already which is just outrageous. Didn't know paint was included in houses, so thats good to know. Are the site costs that you're all referring to made up of slab/fencing/clearing rocks? Sounds like a 150k house will turn into a 200k house =[ Re: Costs of building a house? 20Jan 01, 2009 11:18 pm Site costs don't include fencing - some builders might offer that as an option, or include it as a promotional special though.
Your site costs cover the cost of excavation, the slab or other foundations and any associated costs (such as piering, or retaining walls, for example). The type of soil will have an effect on site costs, so will any fill on site, the slope of the land and so on. You can do your best to minimise the cost by choosing a nice flat block, but you'll still have no idea what's underground. Some house & land packages offer fixed site costs - maybe that's an option if you're really concerned? Looking to tile the facade pillars rather than rendering. Builder is quoting 2500$ laying cost for upto 10msq. The 2 pillars come to be 16msq. So laying costs are 5000$… 0 7713 10 15837 Ha all, I am now about half way (maybe a bit more) through my build with Carlisle Homes - double-storey knockdown/rebuild project. So I am now doing my due diligence and… 0 3821 |