Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 23, 2013 2:15 pm We are looking to buy acreage land in Sydney’s North West and build. Obviously before we buy the land we need to figure out how much it will cost us afterwards to prepare, build on and finish the property. So for those of you who have been there or are in the process can you answer a few questions: We currently like designs from Mcdonald jones, Metrcon and Kurmond. Are there any other project builders we should be considering? How much above the list price would you allow? Is 150K on top fair for air con, alarm, quality finishes, alfresco etc? How much did it cost you to run the power/water/driveway further? (over what distance?) If you installed an envirocycle or septic system how much did this add up to? If you had to clear some of your land to build what did that set you back? Some of the blocks we like will need a few acres cleared. Do you need to get this approved by council before the building approval or does your builder do this for you? We want to build a shed also, the frame will be 15k. how much per sq/m does a slab usually cost? If you needed to use rain water tanks (with no town water) how big did you go and how much did that cost to install? What expenses came up you didn’t expect and wished you’d budgeted for? What else am I missing (other than the sewerage system, longer power/water, driveway, landscaping, rain water tanks, shed) Re: Acreage Build 2Jan 23, 2013 8:44 pm Hey Spring Chicken.... Looks like you're in for some adventure.. I can't really help answer many of your Q's. We're building on 1.2acres in Sydney's South West with Kurmond Homes. We were pretty nieve as to what building costs and struggled for a while to afford the home we designed, but finally Kurmond came to the party and being so competitive allowed us to build. What's your frontage? Most of ours is back yard so our frontage is only 15m. Kurmond had 9m for connections as standard, we needed 15m and they included this at no additional charge. Main items we didn't think about was part of site costs - for Piering they charge $90 per l/m above your allowance and we had 100l/m included in our tender originally. (standard builds are 50). After speaking with our neighbour they used 150l/m so we asked the Director if they could include an additional 50, which they kindly did, again at no additional cost - thank goodness as this would have been a blind side of $4,500. Also bushfire zoning, we are minimal at only 12.5BAL, but still added about $6,500 on our build, some of which we did not proceed with and will do ourselves (metal fly screens etc). Any kind of bushfire, which by the sounds of it you will have, you need to insure your costs include everthying required for that rating. We had quite a comprehensive list of inclusions that we provided upfront rather than just going off their range and then trying to upgrade a load of stuff. All in writing and this worked great - a few times the consultants told us we would have to pay extra for a few things, however I had everything in writing as being included in our tender price, so they had to include it. So I am not sure how much these things would cost individually so we didn't pay a lot over list price. Things like 3m ceilings, gold level brick, concrete though single tiles, waterfall edges, alfresco etc we had included upfront. they also include aircon etc, but we actually pulled this out along with our flooring and appliances as we are doing this cheaper post hand over - we got healthy rebates on the aircon and floors too so kept our initial costs down. Then due to time during the build we have managed to save this money up. Also only went with silver range in taps, spouts etc, as these are things we can change when we want. We only spent $15,000 above our list of minimums - this included upgrade to door heights 2340mm (didn't think about that in the beginning as we have 3m ceilings and standard would have looked weird), upgrade alarm to full perimeter including windows and also included the front door camera with auto record, upgrade kitchen tops to 50mm (mitred edges), upgrade kitchen cupboards and pot draws to 45degree finger pull edges and soft close draws, upgraded electricals to glass door switches additional lighting etc, 3step decorative cornice throughout, then we had about $8k in additional site costs - we were flood and fire effected. most costly items for us next will be our retaining walls and driveway - this is going to be a good $30k and then window furnishings at least another $11k (shutters). At least you're doing it the right way around - finding out the build costs before you buy the land but my advice would be, write your own list email it to the directors of each company and get them to quote on what you want - then you know exactly where you stand. Best of luck Blog: http://cbcbuild.blogspot.com.au/ Building Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62155 Re: Acreage Build 3Jan 24, 2013 7:36 pm Thanks so much, You've given me a few ideas (e.g. getting a larger piering allowance). Hubby is a landscaper/earthworks operator so at least that side of things will be looked after. What design did you go with and have Kurmond Homes been good so far? When you say 11k for shutter do you mean the plantation style ones? Was that for the whole home? Re: Acreage Build 4Jan 24, 2013 9:27 pm Hi, We designed our own home and Kurmond are building it. Even though we have a big block all Kurmonds designs are wide and our frontage wasn't big enough to fit them and keep our minimum boundary clearances our estate requires. We have been happy. Take off was slow, but most people have said that with various builders. We had massive delays with Council, so if we take that time out they have not done too bad. They grew a lot in a short period of time, but I think they have come through that and learned by it and have some great staff. Everyone we have dealt with has been just great. We broke ground in August and should reach hand over mid-Feb. I have lots of photo's on my thread if you want to see their work. We couldn't afford anyone else, they were so much cheaper and the inclusions were far superior to others that we just went for it. Personally - I would build with them again, my only advice with whoever you go with, just makes sure you have everything in writing... all correspondence I stuck to email and you need to make sure that your tender includes everything as this is what the colour consultants go by. Yes - plantation Basswood shutters on windows but not the stacker doors. I am looking at the transparent roller blinds for these - it's going to be at least $11k - perhaps a bit more... Just waiting for the quotes to come through as I have emailed about 4 companies from recommendations off the forum, plus a friend's neighbour who is an interior designer and her shutter man is supposed to be very cheap - we have a lot of windows but may stagger them rather than doing them all in one go. It's good that your hubby is a landscaper.... it helps so much. My hubby owns a wholesale nuresy in Glenorie and also does landscaping but more horticulture and it is just going to save us so much with the garden... very lucky. Have you found any designs that you like yet? it just doesn't stop. Blog: http://cbcbuild.blogspot.com.au/ Building Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62155 Re: Acreage Build 5Jan 25, 2013 11:43 am Hi We built on acreage near Lithgow. Some of our additional costs: • Envirocycle - $13k • 125,000l water tank - $10.5k • water pump $1300 (you can get cheaper but we have a large dual occupancy and I wanted to make sure there was plenty of pressure) • Power pole at boundary and 100m underground power run - $8k • Telstra ran the phone line in the power trench at the same time. There was no additional charge for this (normal $299 installation charge from Telstra applies) Paul Re: Acreage Build 6Jan 25, 2013 12:52 pm Lilac It's good that your hubby is a landscaper.... it helps so much. My hubby owns a wholesale nuresy in Glenorie and also does landscaping but more horticulture and it is just going to save us so much with the garden... very lucky. Have you found any designs that you like yet? it just doesn't stop. We are looking to buy in Glenorie! Small world. We currently live in the residential area. The designs I currently like are the McDonald Jones Bronte, Met ri con Denver and the Kurmond Mirage or Riverview. Whichever we choose we'll make changes and upgrades to. I may get back in touch when we reach shutters stage to find out who you went with Re: Acreage Build 7Jan 25, 2013 12:53 pm paulw11 Hi We built on acreage near Lithgow. Some of our additional costs: • Envirocycle - $13k • 125,000l water tank - $10.5k • water pump $1300 (you can get cheaper but we have a large dual occupancy and I wanted to make sure there was plenty of pressure) • Power pole at boundary and 100m underground power run - $8k • Telstra ran the phone line in the power trench at the same time. There was no additional charge for this (normal $299 installation charge from Telstra applies) Paul Thanks Paul- Great info! Re: Acreage Build 8Jan 25, 2013 8:22 pm paulw11 Some of our additional costs: 125,000l water tank - $10.5k That covers the tank but what about plumbing, filters, connections, cost of base, labour etc? paulw11 • water pump $1300 (you can get cheaper but we have a large dual occupancy and I wanted to make sure there was plenty of pressure) A large pump will use a lot more start up and run energy than a small pump, even if only one tap is in use. Showers have flow restrictors and cisterns fill slowly plus the cistern flow path can be freed up when connected to a pump to allow the pump to operate more efficiently. Most other taps are also flow restricted and have aerators these days. Plumbing larger diameter cold water pipework to reduce friction losses may have been an option. Having two smaller pumps with one dedicated to outdoor use is usually better. That way, you won't have a large pump using lots of power a couple of hundred times a week when low inflow cisterns are flushed. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Acreage Build 9Jan 26, 2013 6:56 am SaveH2O That covers the tank but what about plumbing, filters, connections, cost of base, labour etc? That was all included in the quote from the builder, it wasn't itemised separately SaveH2O paulw11 • water pump $1300 (you can get cheaper but we have a large dual occupancy and I wanted to make sure there was plenty of pressure) A large pump will use a lot more start up and run energy than a small pump, even if only one tap is in use. Showers have flow restrictors and cisterns fill slowly plus the cistern flow path can be freed up when connected to a pump to allow the pump to operate more efficiently. Most other taps are also flow restricted and have aerators these days. Plumbing larger diameter cold water pipework to reduce friction losses may have been an option. Having two smaller pumps with one dedicated to outdoor use is usually better. That way, you won't have a large pump using lots of power a couple of hundred times a week when low inflow cisterns are flushed. The other reason the pump was expensive is that it uses a VFD and pressure sensor to control speed and reduce energy consumption Re: Acreage Build 10Jan 31, 2013 7:02 pm I didnt realise the builder could provide th enviirocycle.....good to know! 1 4569 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17518 thank you! do we need to get this or our builder before we commence new build on the block? 2 10404 |