Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 13, 2012 3:46 pm Hi, I would like to know if anyone has experience with building with a "mainstream" company such as AV Jennings, Masterton, Clarendon etc, but has used relatives or friends who are licenced tradesmen such as plumbers or electricians to come in and do that particular area of work? Basically I want to build an AV Jennings home, but my brother is an Electrician and can easily save me $10,000 dollars on the electrical work if he does it himself (fully licenced and has his own ABN). I want to know if anyone else has managed to negotiate this with their builder? I'm sure there are ways around it but because we dont have land yet, no one at AV Jennings wants to answer any serious questions for us. I am also in two minds as to if I should use AV Jennings to build the AV Jennings house we want (Piazza 300) and would also like to know if anyone else has shopped around 1 companies design to other large building companies or to other more local builders (from what I understand they only have to change a few minor things on the design and it doesnt breach any copyright on design)? I basically want to do this house in the most financially economic way (dont we all!) and if my brother isn't going to charge me an inflated premium for a supply and fit of goods (or ABC building down the street are going to build the same house for $80,000 less etc etc) why wouldnt I? And how have others gone about this in the past? No Land Yet Building AV Jennings Piazza 300 Should Have Land/Start Construction By End Of 2012 Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 2Mar 13, 2012 4:45 pm Firstly don't fall into the trap that you only have change a few things from builder A's plans for Builder B to build and not be sued. Start with a blank piece of paper and draw a house plan that suits your needs. Try to include rough measurements if possible. Then shop this plan to builders. Builders are very protective of their plans and even mentioning it on a site like this can come back and bite you as a lot of builders view this forum. Secondly - most project builders are averse to letting a tradesman do a major thing like wiring and all things electrical. You will more then likely have more luck with a smaller building firm in your area. I think Coral Homes let some forumers do some trades like kitchen / bathroom but can't recall any electricians being allowed to do anything. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 4Mar 13, 2012 5:45 pm Hi, I have a neighbour that approched numerous builders to see who would let him do his own electrical, and he also wanted a specific kitchen and not what the builder wants. He is building with Nu-era homes. Re: Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 5Mar 13, 2012 9:28 pm Generally the major builders will only allow a specific task to be done if one of the owners are licensed in that trade. Re: Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 6Mar 13, 2012 10:59 pm I would also take into account that the purchasing power of the big builders means they could still be cheaper than a one man band, even with their 20ish% markup. We have shopped around for plenty of things like aircon etc and our builder has been pretty competitive on pricing. Re: Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 7Mar 14, 2012 1:33 pm Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate it. I know the buying power of a large builder can definately be better than what some other smaller companies quote, but it is good to know that I can draw a rough draft and shop it around for ideally what I am looking for. Novice here as you can tell. No Land Yet Building AV Jennings Piazza 300 Should Have Land/Start Construction By End Of 2012 Re: Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 8Mar 14, 2012 10:07 pm You can use the builder just to lockup stage & get the builder to hand the house over to you then do the rest with your own trades. They usually will not let you use your own people due to OH&S. Their contract trades have supplied their companies work method statements & company safety plan which is approved when the builder accepted them as a contractor. Some builders do allow parts of the house being completed by the owner but only after handover. Re: Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 9Mar 15, 2012 6:47 am We are building with a small company and were allowed to supply our own trades. My DH is a plumber however it was not worth it for him to do any plumbing. My brother is an electrician and my son a 2nd year apprentice sparkie, the builder offered us a $15k credit for us to do electricals, this is for a large 52sq home which included alarm, video intercom, two-3 double powerpoints in every room. The cheapest my brother could do it was over 20k( he has major turnover and therefore excellent buying power) and my sons boss was 18k but my son had to do the majority of wiring for love. In the end it was cheaper for the builder to do it. Re: Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 10Mar 15, 2012 8:30 pm the plumbing allowance is so low as the builder puts so much on top of the trades price. Ive seen some of the builders prices they charge the customer over the years & its been double the trade price. Re: Choosing own tradies but using mainstream builder? 11Mar 16, 2012 9:42 pm Be careful. If you are doing any building work "you are the builder". You will have two builders on the same job and give the builder perfect "get out of jail" key if any problems develop or you may void your warranty. In doing so you could be setting yourself up for severe problems. Don't do it. If I was your builder I would not allow it. Instead shop around, do your homework, get the beast deal and make sure that your builder is responsible for everything.That's what builders get paid for. Hope this helps you. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. 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