Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 21Oct 19, 2010 11:28 am Will definitely take a look at how we can make the information clearer to you, obviously it gets difficult to track everything as people can change their minds a lot of times. I was rereading through the instance of the price on the toilets and the upgrades - just trying to get my head around it. As a group we purchase a lot from suppliers and on certain items, are able to get great deals on certain products. So if a product was $300RRP, we may be able to purchase it at $200 as we may purchase say 600 of that item per year. From that, if someone wishes to upgrade to an item that costs $400RRP, the difference in cost to us will not be $100 but in fact $200 as we may not be able to get the same sort of deal on that item? This is why a lot of builders will try restrict your choices as to what you can and can't do because to fall out of those parameters means costly upgrades. Over the last few years this has become very difficult as the market has become more competitive and builders are doing a lot more to accommodate buyers. The downside is that it has become more expensive. Does that make sense? Now confusing myself Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 22Oct 19, 2010 12:13 pm Ji Jay, I think what others have said is when they charge not just the $200 upgrade cost from your example but they charge say $450 as an upgrade which is above the $300 RRP of the upgrade toilet without even taking into account the $100 you get back as a credit. This is where all those who build don't understand how a builder could possible charge so much more for an upgrade. If the number was less than the RRP of the upgrade I think we could all understand it. Hope that helps. Building a Plantation Emperor Q1 at Spring Mountain Estate, Greenbank SE QLD Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 23Oct 19, 2010 2:58 pm Okay - well i'm looking into our costs as RBC at the moment with upgrades etc as I don't want to be over charging nor charging people unnecessarily. I also take on board the comments regarding querying costs - unfortunately WACB are separate to us as a division but i'll be sure to voice my concerns throughout the group as i don't believe this is how things should be done. Fingers crossed all turns out okay!! Jay Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 24Oct 19, 2010 3:08 pm Good on you Jay,the public has spoken. Everyone loves your homes Jay,no 2 ways about it! Its just a shame more people cannot afford to build them, Block bought 1st RBC X! 2nd Ventrua,Keeper! Pstart 18/7/11 Ethwks jan 2012 Slab Bricks- finished 7/6 Roof Trusses 15/6-cbond 21/7 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=41185 Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 25Oct 19, 2010 3:10 pm Could you please look into mine then Jay cos some of them just dont seem right and there were mistakes in the first lot. We are in this process with you at the moment. Thanks Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 26Oct 19, 2010 3:14 pm Hi Thirsty, Will chase them up no worries - i've got another estimator with us this week as we're run off our feet at the moment (what GFC?) so have a bit of extra time up the sleeve for costs. Will take a look and see what we can do. Kerry - i've sent an email to Daniel to chase up the SIR so hopefully you'll have something back soon. Also saw in the other thread mention of decking - you would have been thinking of 'modwood' which is a composite plastic decking. More pricey but you save in the long run for maintenance costs. I personally wouldn't go near the stuff after seeing it at my parents place in Donnybrook - if you don't have a good trade working on it the finish won't be too neat, and because it's plastic, no wood filler will save it. When done to a high quality looks good though, but gets very hot in summer if in direct sun. Personal preference really - i've just done a lot of timber decking myself at my place, we absolutely love it but we both know the maintenance will annoy us in the long run. Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 27Oct 19, 2010 3:19 pm Thank you very much. I wont send another email until I hear back. and thanks for the tips about the decking. I dont think my DH would like the fake stuff anyhow.....we've got plenty of time to change our minds about it anyhow Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 28Jan 21, 2011 11:43 pm Hi Jayw another question for you, have no idea if u know the answer, but just throwing it out there.. we need septics done for where we are building, and i'm confused as to when we need to get them organised by. do we need them in b4 the build starts? how late in the stage (if it all gets too hard) can we ask if the builder will do them? got the impression from the sales guy that they didn't really want to do the septics, that we were better off organising it ourselves, but is it better if the one company organises everything?? does it matter? thanks viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43238 building with kerdels in gabbadah, wa block purchased april 2010 signed with builder oct 2010 papers signed jan 2011 prestart done 17/01/2011 Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 29Jan 22, 2011 12:02 am gabbybuild10 can I just say putting in the septics and leech drains was part of our build. Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 30Jan 22, 2011 12:33 pm thanks kexkez that would be a load off if that was the case. my OH is going to talk to the council, when he is on leave in a week and find out what their requirments are, and is looking at doing some of it himself, i think mainly the digging of the drains, but.... i would love if it was something we didn't have to worry about. but i know if the builder does it, it will be more $$$ and we are cutting a fine line atm viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43238 building with kerdels in gabbadah, wa block purchased april 2010 signed with builder oct 2010 papers signed jan 2011 prestart done 17/01/2011 Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 31Jan 24, 2011 12:15 pm gabbybuild10 Hi Jayw another question for you, have no idea if u know the answer, but just throwing it out there.. we need septics done for where we are building, and i'm confused as to when we need to get them organised by. do we need them in b4 the build starts? how late in the stage (if it all gets too hard) can we ask if the builder will do them? got the impression from the sales guy that they didn't really want to do the septics, that we were better off organising it ourselves, but is it better if the one company organises everything?? does it matter? thanks Hi gabbybuild10, We tend to do ours at siteworks stage as there's usually a mini excavator which can dig the holes and trenches required for the septics. If you plan to save some money and do them yourself, make sure you find out exactly what the plumber and builder requires. We've had people do it in the past where they told us they knew what to do, dug them and when we arrived on site found they were not deep enough, wide enough etc so we had to get an excavator back to redo them. The cost will then get passed on to the client. What point are you at with contracts etc? Pretty much once the builder has a building licence etc they'll book in for the earthworker which is the best time. Plenty of space on site and they can do it quickly. This is often an area people look to save money. For what it's worth - unless you have access to a digger, can get a better price than the builder or are great with a shovel, I tend to ask the question of what the opportunity cost is. You might be able to save yourself a few hundred, but that time you spend doing it could you have been doing something more worthwhile? I think it's sometimes worth spending that little bit extra and using that time to head to the beach, do a bit of shopping or something so you're relaxing. It also means you don't have to worry about it getting done properly and the onus is all on the builder to make sure its done correct. Not sure why the sales guy would be hesitant - if the builder has experience with septics it won't phase them. Hopefully without too much bias, there's certain jobs which i think you're better off putting on to the builder as they know how they want things done, it's their problem and you don't need to stress about getting it done. Works by owner can be very frustrating for the builder at times as sometimes the client isn't as proactive in getting things done like the builder. For example, the builder is building houses 5-7 days a weeks, all year round. They want the job finished, and want to keep progressing to the next stage. A site sitting still or moving slowly means stages aren't being reached, so the money isn't really coming in (keep in mind that money pays contractors, overheads, materials etc). When a client does the works, the mentality for them can be to do it on the weekend. So after a busy week of work, they might not have the energy for it on the weekend, will do it slowly, it might be all new to them etc. Their heart is in the right place, but sometimes its better to leave it to the person who does it day in day out. Hope this helps! Jay W Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 32Jan 24, 2011 8:59 pm thanks jay i really would feel better if the builder did it for us, so i still hope we can get them to do it for us, they just didn't seem that keen on doing it. we have done prestart, but are still finalising what we want to include and what we don't, so unsure if we can get them to add it in at this stage. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43238 building with kerdels in gabbadah, wa block purchased april 2010 signed with builder oct 2010 papers signed jan 2011 prestart done 17/01/2011 Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 33Jan 25, 2011 10:05 am All I can say...after just discovering this thread...is way to go everyone...instead of just praising or complaining we actually have a very informative and well thought of group of postings...I've definately learned something. Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 34Jan 25, 2011 11:51 am gabbybuild10 thanks jay i really would feel better if the builder did it for us, so i still hope we can get them to do it for us, they just didn't seem that keen on doing it. we have done prestart, but are still finalising what we want to include and what we don't, so unsure if we can get them to add it in at this stage. No worries - can't hurt to ask. The worst answer they can give you is no. If that's the case and you need to do it by owner, let me know as we have some contractors we use who may be able to help you out so i can forward you their details. If you've done Prestart but haven't got your building licence etc it shouldn't be a problem. Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 35Jan 25, 2011 2:13 pm thanks again jay (what would we do without you?! ) have emailed my prestart person and will see what she says. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43238 building with kerdels in gabbadah, wa block purchased april 2010 signed with builder oct 2010 papers signed jan 2011 prestart done 17/01/2011 Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 36Jan 25, 2011 3:12 pm Gabbybuild10, just be careful with the septics whether the builder does it or you do. Ask lots of questions, make sure they have allowed for rock breaking if needed for everything, site, septics and plumbing. I would not recommend the people who installed our system, they weren't the slightest bit professional. I know people who have built with other builders and used the same company who all had troubles with them, too. Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 37Jan 25, 2011 4:08 pm zircon Gabbybuild10, just be careful with the septics whether the builder does it or you do. Ask lots of questions, make sure they have allowed for rock breaking if needed for everything, site, septics and plumbing. I would not recommend the people who installed our system, they weren't the slightest bit professional. I know people who have built with other builders and used the same company who all had troubles with them, too. Hi Zircon, Any chance you could PM me who the company is? We just got rid of one company we used. They were absolutely shocking, didn't provide any maintenance support afterward, and when we approached the company to discuss problems they just shrugged us off. We were giving them around 100 septic jobs a year and were one of their biggest clients - couldn't believe it. You definitely want to feel comfortable with who you use, but if your builder uses a particular person chances are they know what they are doing and are comfortable with them. That's a very good point about rockbreaking etc. I'm not sure how familiar with siteworks etc your builder is, but if you are building in a rural area, clay site etc you want to make sure the allowances are there. We mostly build on rural blocks so have a good feel for cost, and more often than not give clients back a credit as we won't use up all the allowances, so it's almost like being father Christmas for us Re: Works by owner and what the builder thought 38Feb 03, 2011 10:53 pm Thanks Jayw u r truly awesome. thanks for the name of the septics guy. my OH rang him thismorning and we got a quote on the same day and he's willing to do it for us!!! didn't think getting septics in would have been such a pain, but the people we did ring before and our builders didn't really want to do it . so thank you soooooo much, have saved me a lot of grief. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43238 building with kerdels in gabbadah, wa block purchased april 2010 signed with builder oct 2010 papers signed jan 2011 prestart done 17/01/2011 Fair Trading can issue orders to rectify and complete but once the matter goes to NCAT these orders are automatically vacated. You will have to terminate contract and sue… 21 29709 Hi All, I just wanted to close this topic out with an update. So we ended up agreeing to a number with the insurance company, and after an extensive amount of hand… 8 23401 |