Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Sloping block site costs 3Aug 02, 2013 2:12 pm My Hamptons build (completed): viewtopic.php?f=31&t=63370 Moved in Wednesday 11th Dec 2013 Front landscaping completed June 2016 Re: Sloping block site costs 10Aug 13, 2013 1:58 pm If you are looking at a sloping block and you need to know what the potential costs are, find a builder who has experience in that area, and with that terrain. They will be able to give you the most realistic answers about these costs, which can vary enormously depending on the individual characteristics of the block. Talk to the builders and see if they seem like good communicators, can they show you some of their work-in-progress, can they meet you on site and talk through the possibilities of the block with you. Talk to their references. When you are looking at a sloping block, or any block that is challenging (or any block at all for that matter) finding a builder with integrity and good communication skills as well as expertise in building on that kind of land will make the difference between good decisions and bad decisions, a good experience or a nightmare. Re: Sloping block site costs 11Aug 23, 2013 12:28 pm Matergabiae If you are looking at a sloping block and you need to know what the potential costs are, find a builder who has experience in that area, and with that terrain. They will be able to give you the most realistic answers about these costs, which can vary enormously depending on the individual characteristics of the block. Talk to the builders and see if they seem like good communicators, can they show you some of their work-in-progress, can they meet you on site and talk through the possibilities of the block with you. Talk to their references. When you are looking at a sloping block, or any block that is challenging (or any block at all for that matter) finding a builder with integrity and good communication skills as well as expertise in building on that kind of land will make the difference between good decisions and bad decisions, a good experience or a nightmare. So after heaps of discussions & to and fro of floor plans with one builder who specializes in building on sloping blocks we finally agreed on a floor plan which we liked.It is around 208sq.m and the builder has come back with the first quote.It is roughly 270k and this includes site costs around 23k considering we have around 3m fall along build area. This also includes driveway, floor coverings and an alfresco. Does this figure sounds right. One of the things to consider is that the house is going to be on a split level with 4 steps going down to the living/meals/kitchen area.As the house is on 2 different levels the garage will be at a higher level than the front door which according to the builder may be a problem. Does anyone have suggestions to work around this. Also the other thing bothering me is that the builder said there will be a clause for provisional sum for rock removal in the contract and he won't know the costs till they actually hit the rock so he can't provide any figures.As long as this amount is within 10k we are okay.Anything above that we are screwed. Does the builder have to provide the provisional amount in the contract ? or can they just quote any amount later and we have to pay it up. Anyone has any experience or suggestions on this Re: Sloping block site costs 12Aug 23, 2013 1:54 pm My understanding is that the initial quotes rarely include rock, as this is something that can't be seen for sure without x-ray vision. If you're on a sloping block, hills mean rock, so there will undoubtedly be some rock. Possibly you can find out what the outcome has been for neighbouring blocks; not a sure indicator, but the more information the better. Most importantly, have you talked to your builder about your budget? If you have a good builder, with integrity, who specialises in solutions for sloping blocks, they will want to work with you and your budget as this helps them steer you to a good outcome. Re: Sloping block site costs 13Aug 23, 2013 2:40 pm We hit rock and unfortunatly over 500 tonnes worth We had no allowance for it in our contract but we knew we could run into trouble and boy did we ever! Our footing took two weeks to dig out. All up was 25k. Most of that cost was sending it away in a truck. Next door had a little trouble, not a whole lot and two houses down had none! Site Works 9/5/13 Slab 4/6/13 Frame 4/7/13 Fascia/Gutters 10/7/13 Windows 11/7/13 Roof 24/7/13 Gyprock 13/8/13 Lock up 26/8/13 Bricks 2/9/13 Kitchen 11/9/13 Tiling 28/9/13 Re: Sloping block site costs 14Aug 23, 2013 4:47 pm AmyMumma23 We hit rock and unfortunatly over 500 tonnes worth We had no allowance for it in our contract but we knew we could run into trouble and boy did we ever! Our footing took two weeks to dig out. All up was 25k. Most of that cost was sending it away in a truck. Next door had a little trouble, not a whole lot and two houses down had none! Yes this is exactly the kind of thing we are worried about. According to the builder we will have a clause for a provisional Sum for rock removal in the contract but I am not sure if they are going to put any figure in the contract .For a First home buyer having extra 30-40k around is difficult.We are budgeting for around 10-15k for this hopefully it should come within that budget. With the little discussion that we had with them they have hit rock only twice in that estate in one case its was 3k for rock removal and another case 7k so we think we should be within that range +- 5k. Re: Sloping block site costs 15Aug 23, 2013 5:09 pm I have $24k allowed for site costs in my contract and my block is flat as a tack (one of the reasons why we bought it). Unless they fix your site costs, I would be quite restless on that $23k figure they've given you. Not trying to sound negative, but on a budget where you have next to no wiggle room, you may want to consider some further opinion with some more builders (or get an independent report on site costs before signing) you'll save yourselves a tonne of stress as any PC Sums are just estimates and can really quickly double or even triple. In my first build the estimates were so far off it wasn't funny, I thought that because it was on the contract thats what it was - nope! Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66299 Slab: 16/6/14 Frame: 4/7/14 Roof: 22/7/14 Lock Up: 20/8/14 Fixing: 26/8/14 PCI: 9/10/14 Handover: 20/10/14 Re: Sloping block site costs 16Aug 23, 2013 5:58 pm Maybe say what figure you feel is right to be included in your contract for rock removal. I'm in Adelaide, we've managed to build a 300 sqm home including carpet, tiles (after handover) alfresco all site works, split level for under 250k Site Works 9/5/13 Slab 4/6/13 Frame 4/7/13 Fascia/Gutters 10/7/13 Windows 11/7/13 Roof 24/7/13 Gyprock 13/8/13 Lock up 26/8/13 Bricks 2/9/13 Kitchen 11/9/13 Tiling 28/9/13 Re: Sloping block site costs 17Aug 23, 2013 7:19 pm [quote="deluxes"]I have $24k allowed for site costs in my contract and my block is flat as a tack (one of the reasons why we bought it). Unless they fix your site costs, I would be quite restless on that $23k figure they've given you. Not trying to sound negative, but on a budget where you have next to no wiggle room, you may want to consider some further opinion with some more builders (or get an independent report on site costs before signing) you'll save yourselves a tonne of stress as any PC Sums are just estimates and can really quickly double or even triple. In my first build the estimates were so far off it wasn't funny, I thought that because it was on the contract thats what it was - nope! /quote] As far as I know the site costs they give will all be fixed site costs. According to them they will lock in the price of the build with no further costs. Only thing will be the provisional Sum for rock removals.As I said we will be keeping 20k aside for this,hope it is within this range. Re: Sloping block site costs 18Aug 23, 2013 7:23 pm AmyMumma23 Maybe say what figure you feel is right to be included in your contract for rock removal. I'm in Adelaide, we've managed to build a 300 sqm home including carpet, tiles (after handover) alfresco all site works, split level for under 250k Oh wow that sounds a really good bargain.Considering we are on a sloping blockwe expected that the build would be expensive.We are Planning on meeting another builder tomorrow with our soil report & contour drawings and see what they have to offer.Just wondering when they ask for the budget for a 22sq house how much should we quote.We don't want to quote something like 200-220k and be laughed off at.Any suggestions. Re: Sloping block site costs 19Aug 27, 2013 11:03 am There are so many factors that can come into a house design, that can effect the budget. Some of these you can strip away in the short term, if your budget is tight: such as stone bench tops, light fixtures, even the facade, because they can all be added later. The most important thing is that you consider what are the un-changeable factors that will influence the live-ability of your home, including size of rooms, orientation, ceiling height. Please don't be scared of your builder! If you are approaching sloping block builders, you are clearly going with custom builders (good choice!) and their ability to communicate with you and work out the design together is going to be a very clear indicator of what your building journey will be like. Best that you look at your real budget, and what you feel your needs are in a home, and discuss this with potential builders until you feel as though you are getting some confidence in a realistic meeting point between the two. Also, someone who is familiar with solutions for sloping blocks will be able to discuss the various foundation possibilities with you, and how those might effect your site costs in an area where hitting rock is likely. Re: Sloping block site costs 20Aug 28, 2013 6:57 am We had all sorts of issues with a sloping block we bought. One project builder quoted about 320k including site costs and after we had paid for yet another survey (they would not use the existing) their estimators quoted almost 450k for a house with a base price of 260k. We then went to a smaller builder who came in at 305k. We got plans through complying development after 13 months only to have the builder rescind his tender. We later found out that other builders were quoting about 450-500k to build the home. Never been fired by a builder before! Westminster homes then went broke just as our plans were to be lodged in council and now the home is just about finished with Montgomery Homes who have, on the whole, been pretty good. They took over a year from signing just to get through council. You may not have these issues and I sincerely hope you don't. However if your budget is tight (whose isn't) then you need to not only consider the building cost but also the variables like rock etc. Also consider the delays....... they get very expensive when paying rent plus a mortgage. Good luck. Give Jonathan a call. Tell him you know me. He is in my opinion the best surveyor I have ever worked with. His number is 0425 285 622 All the best Simeon 3 12423 i did click it, still couldnt make it out rofl. in any case, doesnt look like too extreme a slope, you may be in luck. Just shoot out some emails to volume builders in… 3 18573 I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13104 |