Building with Eden Brae

Hi all.

I am building with Eden Brae homes and I am up in the air whether to get the package deal or the base price. The package deal is 50,000 more and includes things like OH&S, BASIX, Standard site costs, Alarm system, floor coverings, sarking and insulatios and driveway (and concrete in alfresco)

I am wondering is it worth it? Could I do all this for cheaper than 50,000? Or is this where they make their money?

My father in law is a concretor and we could do the driveway and concrete in alfresco. They quoted me on site costs and I have another $10,000 on top of what is offered in the package.

My block has a 2 me drop from back to front. Most of it is at the front so they said I'll need a 400mm retaining wall at the back (which i will do myself) and a bit at the front.

Any comments on the situation?

Thanks,
Adam.

Hi Adam,

This is a decision that I will have to make shortly. $50K sounds a bit expensive for all those things, and I'll bet that $50K turns into a lot more once you start upgrading parts of it.

Let us know what you decide.

Thanks

Hey union - for those of us without friends/family in trades - package prices tend to work out a little easier to handle - in both cost and management.

But knowing a concretor can make a big difference! Perhaps you could ask them to quote on the things that you can't do yourself - e.g. insulation, alarm etc.

OH&S, BASIX, site costs and insulation will have to be done anyway, regardless of whether they are in the package or not. Insulation is part of the BASIX package so don't pay for it twice. Sarking may need to be done as well.

Their floor coverings are nothing to get excited about - basically the cheapest tiles (which will need to be sealed and you will be up for $2000 unless you do them yourself, meaning probably $1000) and the cheapest carpet. The display homes have better tiles.

You might also want to check what they give you with an alarm system.

The driveway is basically brick pavers in a couple of colours. I don't think they do concrete driveways in the package. I personally hate pavers on any sort of slope because they will move.

One other tip, if you want concrete in the alfresco, you will need to ask for it now or take the chance you don't get a council inspector like I had who refused to allow concrete afterwards beneath my deck because it would "breach the termite barrier". These guys like waving the big stick and it is very costly to prove them wrong.

If you can get away with not having to pay $50k then I think you should go for it but not sure how much they'll charge you with the sarking, alarm, ducting for a/c, site costs and Basix...all the other stuff you need done by the builder; I'm building with EB and the allowance for tiles & carpet were about $24psm so not that great plus if you do take the package you have to go with Di Lorenzo; I love Di Lorenzo but I think we could have saved money going somewhere else. The price of the tiles in the display homes are over $100psm (not incl. the bathroom tiles - these were much more expensive). The electrical was very expensive too so maybe you should allow for this in your tender - ask them how much in upgrades the display home has in electricals so you can get an idea and add this to your costs. The downlights costs us about $99 a pop....crazy I know but with a two storey house it's hard to do the electricals later...which house plan are you looking to get.