Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 07, 2013 8:11 pm First Post! Loving everyones build blogs and also learning a lot! Still feels like walking into a minefield though. We are considering building a new home in Sanctuary (Newcastle Area) and are overwhelemed by the choices we have to make. Not only that but the immense price differences between what look to be very similiar looking homes Having worked for a major home building supplier I know of the markups (both materials and labour) passed onto the buyer and wish to try and avoid some of this. I'm all for having a bare bones but functional home to move into.. in fact, having the ability to choose and customise exactly what goes into it, and without being in a rush, is one of the things that some people really look forward to. So, what are some of the things could possibly be done.. diy/supply/contracted out after the keys are handed over? From a lot reading here, a few of the more obvious ones... Internal Priming/Painting. Floating Flooring/Tiling of Dry Areas. Light Fittings. Showerscreens/Mirrors. Perhaps even Wardrobes and Inbuilts? And what things are best left to the builder (because of trade discounts/inclusive labour charges etc) ? And how easy was it to negotiate with your builder/planner/designer? Ideas, opinions, success & failure stories, and even how much you saved... all appreciated! Re: New House Build... Money Saving Ideas ? 2Jan 07, 2013 8:34 pm Window coverings, landscaping, fences, driveway etc Our first home... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60460 Land Dep paid 26/2/12 Site cleared7/12/12 Slab 20/12/12 Frame 25/1/13 Bricks 19/2/13 Re: New House Build... Money Saving Ideas ? 3Jan 07, 2013 8:39 pm I am not a big fan of doing lots f things myself. Once the house is handed over i want to move in straight away. Doing the paths and garden is more than enough to keep me busy for the first year. For that reason I have usually gone for the builders standard for most things to keep the price down. The marks ups on the base fittings are much smaller than the upgrades The one area where I have gone for upgrades in the electrical fit out, mainly power points as the builder only provides about half of what I think is required. There is some more info here(http://www.anewhouse.com.au/?p=1133) The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: New House Build... Money Saving Ideas ? 4Jan 08, 2013 5:03 am these 2 threads might help you viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60219&view=previous viewtopic.php?f=31&t=57762&view=previous good luck. i cant help, as we built with a local builder, using my plan Re: New House Build... Money Saving Ideas ? 5Jan 08, 2013 6:17 am You can save a lot of money without even needing to do things yourself. Obviously it depends what your choice of product is, but NEVER get timber flooring or downlights done by the big builders. People paying up to $150 per LED downlight is obscene, but they are! They can be had for $40 + install cost, half price at worst. I'm saving 7k by having the exact same timber floor my builder quoted installed myself after handover. The other advantage here is you'll get to choose your installer, the big builders are known for going as cheap as possible. Re: New House Build... Money Saving Ideas ? 6Jan 08, 2013 7:27 am Great ideas and help so far...thanks for the info and links! Did anyone experience any difficulties asking for things to be left off the quote? For example I work with qualified electricians and can simply have the wiring left in position and have the points/fittings etc supplied/installed myself for almost nothing. That is a potential saving of 1k. From past experience builders tend to become less accommodating if they feel you are depriving them of simple work or easy $$$, and in worse case situations other things suddenly become more expensive to make up it Is there a way to achieve this? Re: New House Build... Money Saving Ideas ? 7Jan 08, 2013 8:16 am our builder has been great and even said for us to source different things as it would be cheaper for us Re: New House Build... Money Saving Ideas ? 8Jan 12, 2013 9:01 am So, what are some of the things could possibly be done.. diy/supply/contracted out after the keys are handed over? From a lot reading here, a few of the more obvious ones... Internal Priming/Painting. Floating Flooring/Tiling of Dry Areas. Light Fittings. Showerscreens/Mirrors. Perhaps even Wardrobes and Inbuilts? And what things are best left to the builder (because of trade discounts/inclusive labour charges etc) ? And how easy was it to negotiate with your builder/planner/designer? Ideas, opinions, success & failure stories, and even how much you saved... all appreciated![/quote] Hi! Just my 2 cents worth: We checked out 5 major builders and got tenders from 3. The nature of project builders is that you will pay extra somewhere because they are (after all) in business to make money. We asked to have the Driveway removed from the tender and got a credit of $5500 for that. We could have had the electrical wiring done only and then got an electrician in after handover. We could have done flooring after handover. We will be doing some wardrobe built-ins fitouts with drawers etc after handover...... The things to consider are: -Whatever you get done after handover won't be covered by the builder's warranty. -Will you be ok with chasing/negotiating with a whole heap of suppliers after handover? -What will be the timing in moving from A to B (into the new home) because the time factor of how long it will take to finish the basics after handover will be important (unless you can 'hold' both properties simultaneously for a few months) -How much money will you save on each item and what will the builder allow you to do yourself? It varies from builder to builder. We found Rawson Homes very flexible and we picked them because they guaranteed the price signed at tender stage would not change and they had really good build quality reviews. PM me if you want to know more. Good Luck with it all. Building The Benham 29 in The Ponds With Rawson Homes http://buildingwithrawson.blogspot.com.au/ Site Start 13/2/13 Handover 7/8/13 brokers will also be in a position to get you a better rate than the advertised rate most times. 6 7586 As a tradesmen get a private inspector although I don't think there worth it in their profession themselves the reminder they serve to the tradesmen doing the work is… 3 27376 I've just had a look at the website. The company are just building broker's. There are plenty of similar companies that basically draw your plans (they own them so you… 8 10947 |