Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 23, 2010 11:30 pm Hi, My sister and I are going to be building on a battleaxe block in Kenwick which we're going to be living in with my daughter. We've pretty much come to the conclusion that we're going to have to do a custom build to be able to get what we want. We're building a 3x2 and have a budget of $200k including earthworks. We've spoken to several people who've estimated our earthworks to be $10k to $30k depending on soil content (it's a bit hit and miss in Kenwick). We've made up a list of things that we'd like in the house and a few rough plans of different ideas on what we want. We're going to take that to several builders who we'd possibly like to build the house and see if they think they're going to be able to do it under our budget. We've done some research on builders and so far we've decided to talk to Redink, Strata Living (Blueprint/Scott Park) and Summit Projects. Does anyone have any other ideas on who we could use or any suggestions on possible builders? We've spoken to a lot of sales reps at display homes (we've been display home looking for 3 months for ideas) but have no idea if our ideas a bigger than our budget Thanks Riss Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 2Apr 24, 2010 9:25 am Hi Riss, sounds like an interesting project, however just not enough info for anyone to be able to actually provide said help Can you post a copy of your floorplan, your list of requirements and wants, etc? At present your query is very much like "how long is a piece of string?" =) Cheers Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 3Apr 24, 2010 7:37 pm Hi, Thanks for your reply. Sorry, I've tried posting this topic about 3 times, but kept getting logged off before I finished, so last night I decided short and sweet would be better We still have to get plans properly drawn up. We have come up with some rough plans however, I can't download them. I have them in excel, xps & pdf format. Do you know how or if I can download them so that they can be seen? Basically, the house is a 3x2 and approximately 250m2 including the garage (6.1x6.1) and alfresco area (6.5x4). It has a good size family dining room (approx 4*7.5m) and a theatre room (4.5x4.5). The bedrooms are all roughly 4.5x4.5 and the minor bedrooms have 4-5 door BIR's with sliders. We have fairly detailed requirements already (such as the kitchen, ceiling heights, GPO's, etc) but without the house plans, I don't think it would mean much Our main problem is finding someone who can get as close to what we want under our budget. We aren't after a builder who would do the flooring, window treatments, etc although one who will let us source our own appliances and install them for us would be good. Most of the custom builders (or project builders interested in custom builds) seem to be quite expensive (i.e, they usually deal with customers wanting to spend upwards of $200-$300k which would be out of our budget). As I said in my original post, we are planning on speaking to some builders such as Strata Living, Summit Projects and Redink. We have spoken to a salesman at Switch (we love their houses) who was really nice but they seem really expensive. We have been approached by a housing broker who said that they'd get the plans drawn up for us and then get quotes from builders on our behalf. Hope this is better info? Riss Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 4Apr 25, 2010 3:21 am What are the dimensions of the block? Is it very hard to work with? So far your house sounds nice and spacious. I can only comment for Summit as we've built with them twice and I know two friends of ours have used Summit Projects on their existing houses. No complaints, only praise. As for building within your budget, I think any one of those builders would be accommodating to you. Best thing to do is to take your rough plan and go to each builder and see what they have to offer. Site costs are your biggest variable here, as knowing how much it will be can determine how much you can allow for the actual build itself. Good luck! Summit/New Gen Homes Slab - 9/4/10 PCI - 13/9/10 Handover - 22/9/10 Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 5Apr 25, 2010 4:33 pm rissnkris We have been approached by a housing broker who said that they'd get the plans drawn up for us and then get quotes from builders on our behalf. Riss rissnkris We still have to get plans properly drawn up. We have come up with some rough plans however, I can't download them. I have them in excel, xps & pdf format. Do you know how or if I can download them so that they can be seen? Good luck! Built with Sw1tch H0mes >Build thread< House status 15/12: Gates and A/C finally installed! Sep 09 Bought block, Dec 09 Engaged builder, Jul '11 Moved in Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 6Apr 26, 2010 11:37 pm Thanks for the replys Phoenixrain & Westy. Our block is 14x31. Quite narrow and very long. We've been told that someone may be interested in the block in front of us and they've had the site costs estimated. They're $30k which is right in the middle of the average for Kenwick and below what we'd estimated. So we've really got $170k for the house which is quite good still. Phoenixrain, I live with my sister so we really need our house to be spacious Thanks for the tip on Summit Planning, they are fairly high on our list. Thanks for the tip on putting the houseplans online Westy. I see your building with Switch. How are you finding them so far? We'd really love to build with them, but I really can't see them coming below our budget Once I set up an account, I'll publish our plans online and post them. Thanks for your help Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 7Apr 27, 2010 12:24 am No worries. Your block is not too small so you should have some choice in what you can do with it. $30K in site works is not good though! Is it clay or rock? Sw1tch have been ok so far. We have been using a building broker ourselves, and he has been dealing direct with the sales manager, so I guess we are not typical clients (and have not had a typical experience). I think you would get more for your money with a smaller builder though, it's worth looking into. Cheers Built with Sw1tch H0mes >Build thread< House status 15/12: Gates and A/C finally installed! Sep 09 Bought block, Dec 09 Engaged builder, Jul '11 Moved in Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 8Apr 27, 2010 12:32 am No worries rissnkris. Switch are good too, have had two friends who built with Pindan (Switch is their residential arm) and they had a pretty smooth build. Your block doesn't sound too bad. It's a bit narrower than usual but not entirely skinny. $30k for siteworks is a fair chunk. I think you'll have to write a whole list of inclusions that you'll need and want and work your way from there. Include things that will be hard/expensive to do later, and leave things that can be done after handover if you happen to exceed your budget. Don't forget to include soakwells and crossover into your budget (cheaper to do yourself). Summit/New Gen Homes Slab - 9/4/10 PCI - 13/9/10 Handover - 22/9/10 Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 9Apr 28, 2010 12:58 am Hi, Yes our site works are high but Kenwick has an average of $20k - $40k so we're pretty much in the middle. We think it is worth it though as it is in a good location for us and not many of the estates near us can get close to what we've paid for the block even with the exorbitant site costs. Pheonixrain, we have started a list of inclusions of things that we'd like We spent hours going through all of the spec sheets from different builders to get a list of everything. Then on top of that, we had to put in all of the things that aren't usually included, such as raised ceiling heights in the entry and living area, overhead cupboards in the kitchen (which we're hoping we won't need with our huge pantry. I'm still quite certain that I've missed something important though We're trying to figure out what we want to get the builder to do and what we want to sort out ourselves after changeover. How hard is it to do your own soakwells? I saw a post from someone a while ago who were on their second build and they said that because of how hard it was with the first build that they weren't going to do them again My Uncle did my cousins for me so I figured that it wouldn't be that hard but that post made me rethink it We've sent an email to Ultimate homes tonight so hopefully we might get a better idea on what we're looking at. We spoke to Clem out at Byford on the weekend and he gave us lots of helpful advice, so hopefully he'll give us some more Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 10Apr 28, 2010 2:43 am Looks like you're well prepared which is very good. With your list of inclusions, it's important not to get too excited and let the builder do everything as quite a few things can be done cheaper yourself after handover, i.e. tapware, door handles, etc. I suggest you get everything quoted by the builder though, as we were surprised at a few items where the builder came out cheaper. Soakwells shouldn't be too hard to do yourself, and by that I mean hiring a contractor to do it for you. The builder usually charges a mini fortune, however, since your block is situated at the rear, I'd ring/email a few soakwell installers and see what they will quote and compare with your builder. Summit/New Gen Homes Slab - 9/4/10 PCI - 13/9/10 Handover - 22/9/10 Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 11Apr 28, 2010 10:24 am If you are wanting to do a custom design home in my opinion you shouldn't be talking to project builders. In fact you shouldn't be talking to any builders yet. You need to get a designer to get some 'preliminary' designs and plans done then you can take these preliminary plans to a number of builders that do one-off builds (many project builders are not really set up for one-off builds) for quoting. If you get a builder to do your design then you are stuck with that builder due to copyright issues and can't get comparative quotes from other builders so you will never really know how good their price is. I've done a lot of work in WA (hundreds of plans in fact) and am very familiar with what project builders can and can't do well and one off designs are not necessarily something they do well. Ie: they can build a one-off design but are not geared to working one on one with a client to get a design that works like an independent designer is. You usually end up dealing with a salesman who is okay at changing existing 'stock' designs but has no clue when it comes to designing something from scratch. Hope this helps. Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 12Apr 28, 2010 11:55 am I agree with Arcadia. If you really want a custom design get your plans drawn independently, then get some prices from builders. A good designer should know roughly what you can get for your money and can help advise if they think you are going to stretch the budget. Just remember though that designers aren't estimators so even they can get it wrong. There are plenty of project builders that will have plans that will fit your block no problems. Blocks seem to be getting smaller and smaller, so you block isn't that bad. Your budget does seem quite modest for some of the inclusions you are looking for, $170k for the building doesn't get you lots now days. High ceilings add alot of $$ as do kitchens over and above standard laminates. If you can get a plan from a project builder that is close to what you want with some of the extras you are after already included then sometimes that is the cheapest option. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 13Apr 28, 2010 12:38 pm Hi Riss $200 000 build for project home yes, but custom for what you want good luck, we HAD!!! the same budget but now has increased to $300 000 we virtually want what you want 3x2 large bedrooms big living areas. the last time we built was 10 years ago so we thought 200 was enough everythings gone up. we have been to heaps of display homes looked at size of rooms and found our room sizes could be reduced , reducing the cost overall. if you are going custom plans need to be drawn up GOOD LUCK Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 14Apr 28, 2010 2:51 pm rissnkris .... so far we've decided to talk to Redink, Strata Living (Blueprint/Scott Park) and Summit Projects. Does anyone have any other ideas on who we could use or any suggestions on possible builders? I would strongly suggest avoiding Summit Projects, as least for the prelimary design and quotation. I have had a very bad experience with them recently and am now preparing documentation to submit to the Department of Consumer Affairs. I signed an agreement with them to prepare drawings, specifications and estimates for a project (2 Two-storey Townhouses) that I was contemplating at the rear of my existing property. I also signed a similar agreement with another builder, so I would have a basis for comparison. Although the other builder came back with plans within a few weeks and worked closely with me to amend it to suit my requirements, it was two months before Summit Projects came back with a drawing and that was an abysmal effort. It left only 1.7m behind my existing house for my rear outdoor area, even though there was adequate space to develop without needing to do that. The sales rep had been to my house twice and he could see how they had done the neighbouring property which had been developed similar to what I wanted. Not only did their plan unnecessarily eliminate the rear open space for the existing house, It included rooms that had never been requested (atrium and theatre). It didn't show room dimensions. The actual drawing they produced was in softcopy. It printed as just one A4 size page which contained four elevations, ground and upper floor plans, proposed strata plan and site specs. Although it said it was to a 1:100 scale, it was clearly a combination of several A3 plans reduced and combined on to one A4 sheet. When you printed it out it was in actuality an indecipherable 1:400 scale. I sent an email, requesting some changes and specifically stated what space I needed at the rear of my existing property. It was 5 1/2 weeks later before they came back with new drawings, again in softcopy at the same indecipherable 1:400 scale. An accompanying note said they couldn't provide the space I needed at the rear as the zoning guidelines allowed only a lesser amount. This I knew to be rubbish. I then noticed on the bottom of the drawing (not visible to most naked eyes) that the zoning was specified as R40, even though I specifically told them it was R60 (R60 allowed the space I wanted, but not R40). There were other errors which I won't go into. I again wrote them an email that insisted on the space I needed and some other changes. They then refused to make further amendments unless I committed to use them as the builder (even though that was not part of the contract that I signed). After several more emails back and forth, they agreed to make the changes and gave me a time frame of 1 week to produce them. I accepted the 1 week timeframe but when after waiting 2 1/2 weeks more had still not heard from them, I wrote them a letter terminating the agreement due to they not performing. It had been over 5 months since I had signed with them and I still had not got proper drawings that I could proceed with. I needed to move forward, so I decided to use a building broker instead. I had lost all confidence in Summit Projects. They certainly failed in relation to what they say their services provide on their website, particularly "Our dynamic Design Team will work with you to create a development that suits your budget and requirements." Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 15Apr 28, 2010 3:11 pm Rear block site costs ( 35 m driveway ) in Rivervale estimate at $17 000 clams. $30 K seems steep to me. Kenwick, Maddington, Thornlie, Beckanham, Queenspark cant be that bad, its not like the foothills and compacted gravel is it ? Good luck with the build, but it may be difficult to stick to budget when talking raised ceilings , overhead cupboard space, all in 250 sqm . All the Best! Timeline Aug 08-Land Mar 09-Demo/Titles Sept 10-Handover No1 Sept 11-Handover No2 April 12-Sold No2 Aug 14-Land/Demo Jan 15-Slabs viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25736 Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 16Apr 28, 2010 3:17 pm Well it seems the unfortunate experience ladybird1 has just described backs up my point about not getting builders to do design projects! Get a proper independant designer/drafty to do the design work then get the plans to several builders and if any builders are not interested enough to get back to you within a reasonable time frame with a well documented quote then steer clear of them! Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 17Apr 29, 2010 12:29 am Phoenixrain I have spoken to Kris about getting a lot of the odds and ends ourselves. I redid parts of my house with my ex a few years back and even then, we found it cheaper getting a lot of stuff on the big "sales", etc. My Stepdad loves the auctions as well, and we picked up huge polished porcelain tiles for less than $20m2 which retailed at about $100-$150, so we'll definitely be looking there I see what you mean now about soakwells. I thought you actually did them yourselves. As I said, my Uncle did my cousins a few years back for her but I think I'd be much happier getting a professional - no offense to my Uncle Arcadia, Some of the sales staff that we've spoken to at display homes claim that even though they do project homes, they cater more to custom builds. Redink was the first to make the claim (more or less) although the rep from Switch basically laughed at that The rep from Ultimate Homes has basically said the same thing and further promised that once they gave us price it wouldn't change, i.e, we give them everything on what we want (including fairly detailed plans drawn by us) and they will give us a price. One problem that we've even had with project builders is that the price changed significantly once we started talking about different things we wanted. We added 8m2 on the house size and a few other minor changes and they added $25k on the price. Also, their specs were one of the lowest we'd seen. Chippy, Having someone draw up the plans and then approach builders was one reason why we were thinking about a broker. We have drawn up some rough plans ourselves of how we'd like the house to be planned out but as we know absolutely nothing about house design, they may not be practical when it comes to cost. Hopefully, we'll find a builder who can give us what we want (more or less) Msbyne, Who have you ended up going through? We aren't going to increase our budget (we can't) but we were fairly certain that we'd have to decrease some of our wants We figured we'd start at our ultimate and work our way down to our budget. Otherwise, we figured we'd start at the bottom and end up over our budget The only things we really don't want to change is the main bathroom layout and the pantry between the kitchen and laundry with a fridge/freezer recess. We have looked at a lot of project homes but most of them are made for normal families (i.e, Mum, Dad, maybe a couple of kids) but our requirements are quite a lot different. It is not an option that we've ruled out, more one that's a last resort. Ladybird, I'm so sorry for your problems with Summit and hope that everything works out for you. One problem that we have with project builders are their excess rooms We literally only want a 3x2 with a meals area big enough for our 6 seater table and maybe enough room between that and the kitchen to put a couch (for guests while they wait for us to cook dinner), the kitchen and laundry (of course ) and a decent alfresco. Echo, Our block looks fairly level, the driveway is 54m from the road to the start of our block, and the soil looks like sand but we've noticed some sections with random bits of concrete (I have no idea where they came from). However, we've been told that some parts of Kenwick have high clay content and that's where our siteworks went up. We haven't had a soil test yet so the quote the prospective buyer of the other block was given may be way off the mark if he hasn't gotten a true one. We're quite happy with lowering ceilings back down if needed (except the garage, we have 4wd's), and we're hoping that we won't need overhead cupboards and really so long as the bedrooms are at least 3x3.5 we can change them too Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 18Apr 29, 2010 7:22 am Quote: Some of the sales staff that we've spoken to at display homes claim that even though they do project homes, they cater more to custom builds. They may claim this but salespeople are not building designers otherwise they wouldn't be in sales. Unless they let you actually deal direct with their in-house designer/drafty (and not the 19yr trainee drafty) I would take such claims with a grain of salt. I have provided sub-contract drafting services to builders for years including for a couple of project builders (not naming names but WA builders) and have seen some of the god-awful designs that the rep has come up with in conjunction with the client. Often by the time it gets to me the deal is done and there is little I can do to rescue it. Still you may get lucky with a particular rep or builder. But like I said even if you do you can't then take that (exact) plan to another builder to quote due to copyright issues. Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 19Apr 29, 2010 8:36 am One of the users on this forum, nathanbudde, does awesome plans at a really reasonable cost. The work he produces is more than adequate to take to a building broker or any builder. He seriously rocks Re: Custom build in Perth. Any help?? 20Apr 29, 2010 9:51 am Just be aware that building brokers will often lock you into their plans as well. I rang around a few WA building brokers when I started planning our build. They all wanted to draw the plans for you (they then own the plans) and if you brought your own plans to them then there were additional costs. From my experience Building brokers weren't the magic answer people expect. Basically they just become the salesperson (and get the commision that the inhouse salesperson would normally get) and the builder still puts their own builders margin on top. I know they say that the builders have to compete for the business but dont expect massive savings. Everyone is in business to make money (and fair enough, so am I) so realistically you the end consumer ends up paying, whether to a builder and it's sales person or a building broker. Some of the building brokers I spoke with came across as real sales people and had me wanting to run a mile, some seemed quite decent. The problem with all of this is if you are on a limited budget or limited time then the last thing you want to do is start wasting resources on something that will not end up giving you what you want. You seem to be quite practical and have a fair idea what it is that you want. Personally I would be finding a well priced designer that has a bit of an idea about costing and work at getting some plans drawn. You could even go as far as getting them costed by an estimator if you wanted a true cost of building. Then go and get some prices from builders both big and small. This has the benefit of giving you exactly what you want. The cheapest way to go would be to find a house from a project builder that is close enough to satisfy your needs and with a spec that means you dont have to apply to many upgrades. The big builders charge good margins but all the ancilliary costs (designing, estimating, schedulling, supervising) can be spread through all the houses rather than being born solely (or largely) by you. It's a real minefield and a big commitment. Good luck. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 It is in lake macquarie area and dimensions are width 14 m and depth 8 m and the slope is 1/5 going down from the road. 1 7088 I'd get the gutters to match your roof and pipes to match the paint - otherwise they become a feature. Nice pick with the paint colours! 1 34269 6 55344 |