Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 26, 2012 12:19 pm Hi everyone!!! Not close to pre start yet but i guess its always good to be prepared way ahead Making a list of what we will be upgrading and need help with the prices... Im building with homestart but if you built with someone else im sure the price wont be all that much different... Wonder how much it is for each powerpoint and light added as well as dimmers, tv points and phone points And what other upgraged should i think about? Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 2Mar 26, 2012 12:25 pm FirstHomeForMe+ Hi everyone!!! Not close to pre start yet but i guess its always good to be prepared way ahead Making a list of what we will be upgrading and need help with the prices... Im building with homestart but if you built with someone else im sure the price wont be all that much different... Wonder how much it is for each powerpoint and light added as well as dimmers, tv points and phone points And what other upgraged should i think about? Hi First, Electrical Upgrades as follows Upgrades Single to Double GPO $10.00 Additions Single GPO $55.00 Double GPO $65.00 TV Point (Digital only) $100.00 Conduit to light switch/power point $15.00 Conduit with blank face plate $40.00 Telephone point (same line) $90.00 Additional Ceiling Point / wall light point $65.00 Additional watherproof wall light point $80.00 I hope this helps a little Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 3Mar 26, 2012 1:57 pm Thanks for that... Hubby wanting conduit instead and maybe can diy afterwards... Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 4Mar 26, 2012 11:17 pm FirstHomeForMe+ Thanks for that... Hubby wanting conduit instead and maybe can diy afterwards... That would be illegal if you are in Australia unless your husband is a licensed electrician. You may also have problems getting a certificate of occupancy if none of your power outlets/light switches are wired up. Some people apparently have nothing better to do than comment on other people's sigs. Pre Start Upgrade Prices 5Mar 26, 2012 11:34 pm Hi FirstHomeForMe+ I believe that different builder's upgrade costs can vary quite a bit. I can list a few of my electrical upgrades too, but I think they are similar to the previous poster's upgrade costs. Oh, maybe they were listing the upgrade costs for your builder, in which case, it would be pointless going any further! If I could go back to pre-pre-start, I'd want to know how much it would cost me to upgrade my kitchen to pot draws. Apparently they're roomier and more user friendly than cupboards, but I didn't even consider them until I started reading about them after my pre-start! I would also try and find out the base price of the house and then ask how much EVERYTHING is on top of that. When I was in discussions with my sales rep, he used language that made me think things were included when, what he meant was, they COULD include those things, but they'd cost extra. So, he never * to me, he just left off half of the sentence! Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 8Mar 27, 2012 12:03 am I am at the pre pre start stage now and I am questioning everything. I realise that builders will add a margin but sometimes it is unreasonable and they will have to be challenged. There should be a happy medium that sees you paying the builder so that you have the convenience. It should not be 100% to 150% mark-up though. Being an accountant I am quite naturally inquisitive to see how things are costed. I think if it is more than retail then that is unreasonable as the builder should be getting it for trade price. If it is more difficult to install over standard then I can see some additional margin being added. I am almost over waiting and waiting to get cost feedback so I can make decisions. I absolutely do not want to go into the pre-start and be put on the spot with cost decisions that have not been researched. Rant over..... Thanks for the tips on the pot draws... I am thinking shallow on top then medium sized and then pot draws at the bottom. Have to search for CEK's post. Ciao Mark Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 9Mar 27, 2012 1:37 am Thanks for the Comments... I always take both positive and negative And will look into pot draws as well Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 10Mar 27, 2012 6:16 am The cost of the undermount sink my wife wants is the only thing that shocked me. $1350 or so which includes cutting the stone benchtop and fitting the $550 or so priced sink. Everything else has been very reasonable from our builder. Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 11Apr 08, 2012 11:22 am Hi, I started with Homestart in last 4 weeks, and I am at a similar stage. I asked about adding extra data points and tv points and was quoted $165, pretty damn high considering how easy it is to do, yet I am moving into Trinity estate in Alkimos which is a Telstra Velocity Smart Community, so not sure if it's different at other estates. After working for Telstra for many years I know they jack up the prices. Downlight upgrades are $40 per light that was another thing I picked up yesterday We asked about painting, they quoted $6500 while painters quoted $4000 Tiles to all rooms that are meant to be carpeted $6500 extra, yet Trevours carpets quoted the whole house in another flooring for under $10000 and they said they guarantee they would be cheaper than the builders, and we get the floor we want. We saw the 900mm stove and oven upgrade yesterday and questioned whether or not they had it right, as it looked like a 600mm. We went to Harvey Norman factory seconds on Osbourne Park WA, and a brand new overstocked 900mm freestanding stove/oven was $1895, considering they wanted $1600 to upgrade to a 900mm stove and oven, I will ask why and try and get the freestanding one installed We got the quote for an upgraded 900mm rangehood that was $1200 (choke) found awesome nicer looking ones at harvey norman FS for $1300 and even a lot less I was told by the saleman that we can bring other people in to paint, flooring, blinds, lighting etc. So I am going out this week to gets quotes on all these things and take them to prestart and finance meeting to make sure it is all covered by the bank. I consider when you are spending close to 1/2 million dollars, I should have some say on the floor, paint lights etc and if they don't I'll tell them to get stuffed and take my business elsewhere. I think if they allow this and we weren't told what we wanted to hear to sign us up, I can get the floor I want, upgrades I want for the same quoted price Homestart gave to us and if I'm lucky some change in the pocket. I have Scott Park Homes coming over this week to look at our block and see what they can offer, their latest deal seems to have all of what we wanted and had to pay for with an upgrade in the standard price and saving us around $30000. Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 12Apr 08, 2012 2:06 pm basham75 Hi, I started with Homestart in last 4 weeks, and I am at a similar stage. I asked about adding extra data points and tv points and was quoted $165, pretty damn high considering how easy it is to do, yet I am moving into Trinity estate in Alkimos which is a Telstra Velocity Smart Community, so not sure if it's different at other estates. After working for Telstra for many years I know they jack up the prices. Downlight upgrades are $40 per light that was another thing I picked up yesterday We asked about painting, they quoted $6500 while painters quoted $4000 Tiles to all rooms that are meant to be carpeted $6500 extra, yet Trevours carpets quoted the whole house in another flooring for under $10000 and they said they guarantee they would be cheaper than the builders, and we get the floor we want. We saw the 900mm stove and oven upgrade yesterday and questioned whether or not they had it right, as it looked like a 600mm. We went to Harvey Norman factory seconds on Osbourne Park WA, and a brand new overstocked 900mm freestanding stove/oven was $1895, considering they wanted $1600 to upgrade to a 900mm stove and oven, I will ask why and try and get the freestanding one installed We got the quote for an upgraded 900mm rangehood that was $1200 (choke) found awesome nicer looking ones at harvey norman FS for $1300 and even a lot less I was told by the saleman that we can bring other people in to paint, flooring, blinds, lighting etc. So I am going out this week to gets quotes on all these things and take them to prestart and finance meeting to make sure it is all covered by the bank. I consider when you are spending close to 1/2 million dollars, I should have some say on the floor, paint lights etc and if they don't I'll tell them to get stuffed and take my business elsewhere. I think if they allow this and we weren't told what we wanted to hear to sign us up, I can get the floor I want, upgrades I want for the same quoted price Homestart gave to us and if I'm lucky some change in the pocket. I have Scott Park Homes coming over this week to look at our block and see what they can offer, their latest deal seems to have all of what we wanted and had to pay for with an upgrade in the standard price and saving us around $30000. We're in the similar situation (building in WA)... however our sales consultant isn't giving us any prices, just telling us to wait till pre-start to get all prices. It's starting to p... us off more and more as we're getting closer to that stage. We really like the design of the house we chose, but not sure if we need to look at other builders... It's very hard to budget if we have no idea about prices... I see some people quoting $100 per TV point for cheaper builder, while our builder is apparently charging $200 per TV point (thanks for the info to some forum members). Don't know what to do in this situation. Spending over 1/4 mil and don't get any answers. Pre Start Upgrade Prices 13Apr 08, 2012 2:44 pm AubinGroveFan We're in the similar situation (building in WA)... however our sales consultant isn't giving us any prices, just telling us to wait till pre-start to get all prices. It's starting to p... us off more and more as we're getting closer to that stage. We really like the design of the house we chose, but not sure if we need to look at other builders... It's very hard to budget if we have no idea about prices... I see some people quoting $100 per TV point for cheaper builder, while our builder is apparently charging $200 per TV point (thanks for the info to some forum members). Don't know what to do in this situation. Spending over 1/4 mil and don't get any answers. I'd start looking at other builders, see if they give you any more info. If they do, let your builder know. If they get defensive, it could be for many reasons. I personally wouldn't want to be a sales consultant. Commission based work in a sluggish industry cannot be fun. And they can't know all the ins and outs and costings for everything, but I think they should try and find out for you, at least give you an indication of what it would cost you, even if the info is prefaced with a "costs may go up between now and your pre-start....." My pre-construction phase (or the "sales phase") was very stressful because I kept asking questions and being given a "politician's answer" meaning, I initially felt like they'd answered my question and all was ok, then later realised they'd avoided the question altogether! It was frustrating and while my sales consultant never * to me, he was never totally clear and upfront either. He was frustrating to deal with, but once I'd signed up I came around and realised that he was just doing his job. I'm really happy with the builder I've chosen. Since those initial stages, communication has been upfront, informative and honest and mostly in writing! Everything that I wanted it to be. They're delivering in spades, while my bank gives me hassles instead. It's all part of the ups and downs of the home building process I guess! Re: Pre Start Upgrade Prices 14Apr 08, 2012 3:09 pm our builder wrote in $2000 worth of upgrade into our pwc, so when pre start arrived, we paid out of pocket for the difference. Our lighting and electrical outlet expenditure took most of our 2000 "credit". We didn't put many downlights ($110 each) in but we added some extra light batten which came at a cost of $45. We upgraded to a glass splash back to the kitchen which was around $800. Upgraded toilet, $200 each Double towel rack $30 each Paint (2 colours) $350 (we were given a choice of one colour for the entire house meaning walls, skirtboards, doors and architraves would be the same colour. Paid extra for all skirtboards, doors and architraves to be WHITE) shower organizer $112 each All up total, we paid around $3k out of pocket. As for our structured cabling, we bought a package valued at $2040: -clipsal comms cabinet installed in garage -1x1 in 6 out tv amplified splitter -1x data module -1x8 port data switch -8x cat6 patch leads -1xRG6 tv point -1Xcat 6 data point -1x cat 6 phone point -1 RG6 cable from roof space to cabinet for future antenna by owner after handover -1x25mm conduit with draw string from cabinet to meter box lead in location -1x DGPO to garage We had a pretty good idea what we wanted to upgrade but I suggest that you sit down and have a good good think about your lighting and electrical. Lighting especially. Don't get fooled by having every room serviced by downlights. They're expensive and could cost your home to not be the 6 start energy it started out to be. Tradie may sit at home but will need to get house plastered as well or will you sit it out? 6 9970 We've had the offer of a short term tenant whilst waiting for CDC/DA home approval and demolition for our knock down rebuild. It would achieve a pretty low rent as it's… 0 13752 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 8706 |