Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 13, 2009 1:32 pm Hi All, We're just in the process of deciding which way to leap (OB or not) and a very quick search on www.realestate.com.au of new homes for sale shows multiple builders advertising from $170K to $200K for complete homes around 24 sq with what appears to be a fairly complete list of inclusions. Big question is what are they missing on this price? I'm guessing there are missing items or quality implications? Cheers Iain Re: House cost as advertised, what's missing? 2Jun 13, 2009 1:35 pm I'd imagine that everything in the house is standard.. that would definately save on cost. A LOT of our things we upgraded.. so different colored tiles, carpet, different lights, different windows in different places.. different sinks, benchtops, extra doors.. ect. If the builder bought off the plan and didn't change anything or upgrade any of the standard inclusions.. they could keep the cost low I'm assuming?? Building with PD - Regent 23 Cascades on Clyde Estate HomeOne Building Thread - PCI Completed - 28th August. Handover - 11th September. Re: House cost as advertised, what's missing? 3Jun 13, 2009 2:11 pm Another thing to be aware of is that footing and site costs are often not included in the quoted price - or they include a very basic amount for a perfect soil, dead flat block etc and this can be add a lot to the original price ( unless you have fixed footing costs but this is usually only on house/land packages where builder owns the land) Re: House cost as advertised, what's missing? 4Jun 13, 2009 2:23 pm Costs on top of our base price were: Site costs (anywhere from $5000-20000) Council fees ($2000) Water tank (mandatory in qld.. but not included in base price! ($6300) Stormwater drainage ($2000) Temporary power for build ($1600) Turf Clothesline Solar hot water system Tinted windows Increase ceiling height Extra insulation Cupboards in laundry Double vanity Shelves in robes Treated timber frames (our neighour has termites) Upgrade front door Ducted Air/con And they had an upgrade pack approx $4500 which give caesar stone benchtops, bigger cooker etc etc.. All up our extras are coming in around $60 000. You can really add as much or as little as you want! We could be spending a lot more. (we are doing flooring ourselves ($10 000) driveway and alfresco ($5000) light fitting upgrades and ceiling fans ($4000) fencing?? etc etc) Good luck! Love Kristi Living the dream. 4 horsey acres in the country. What's the next project??? Re: House cost as advertised, what's missing? 5Jun 13, 2009 4:27 pm Some things that might be missing: - eaves: although they used to be standard on houses, many volume builders now leave them off in order to cut costs. You will have to pay thousands extra if you want them. - storage: many volume builder house plans have minimal storage options - often 1 robe per bedroom and 1 linen cupboard somewhere. This is OK, but if you want any more, you will have to pay to have cupboards added somewhere - insulation: most volume builders include the minimum to get the house to a 5 star standard. If you want your house to be more comfortable, you will probably have to pay more to upgrade to R2 wall insulation and R4 ceiling insulation (which is what is recommended for the melbourne area if that's where you are) - drawers in your kitchen: many volume builders include only 1 set of drawers. If you want any pot drawers or other drawers, you may have to upgrade. Also some builders don't include overhead cupboards in the kitchen (though some do) - doors! volume builders lately are trying to tell us that it's oh so fashionable to have no doors on the ensuite. But many people end up adding them - at extra cost. Also, even when the garage is adjacent to a hallway in the house, some plans do not include an internal door from the garage into the house - you may have to pay more if you want one. - walls! the open plan house looks fine in displays, but think about living in it. Do you really want that extra living area totally open to the hall and all the noise from the TV in that room spreading all through the house? Many volume builder house plans minimise walls. - power points: many volume builders include only a minimal number of power points - 1 per bedroom, none in the garage, no external power points. If you don't want to forever be stepping over extension cords, or have multiple power strips all over the place, you will probably end up paying to have more. To my understanding early saw cuts are to control shrinkage cracks, so doing them now would be pointless. Control joints may reduce ugly cracking during periods of soil… 3 7409 Hey guys building a new place through a volume builder and just wondering if i should complain to the site supervisor as we just had plasterboard installed. Looks like… 0 8919 Yes, the builder is required to finish the wall. What else have you missed? 1 2785 |