Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 25, 2013 3:59 pm Hi all, We are thinking of buying a block of land in the highton region in Geelong.We have identified a few blocks which suit our budget .We are looking for small blocks in the range 500-650sq.m and planning to build a small house around 22-23sqm (3bed). Considering that most blocks in the highton region are on sloping blocks I am just wondering what site costs should we expect.Some of the blocks are with 3.5m fall. I have budgeted around 50k for the site costs and another 220k for the house.We will be doing the landscaping and alfresco later so the house price will not include these.Do you think it is possible to build a house in that range? Anyone who has recently built or is building on a sloping block can they share their rough site costs expenses. We are planning to meet a 2-3 builders over the weekend and try to find out construction costs before buying the land.We want to be sure that we can afford to build a house. Re: Sloping block site costs 2Aug 02, 2013 9:31 am So finally we have decided on the block which we want to buy.This one has almost 6m fall and it slopes from front to back upwards.We have approached 2-3 builders to discuss with them costs involved in building in sloping blocks. They went and saw the block to see how much is the fall etc .One of them has quoted us a figure of around 340-360k this one is a boutique builder. The other is a midrange volume builder and they have quoted us around 290-320k range. So just wondering if anyone built or building on a similar sloping block does this look like a realistic figure. P.S. we want to build a small 22sq house Re: Sloping block site costs 3Aug 02, 2013 2:12 pm This is what we did: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Eg: No excavation, just a site scrape, & built the house up as the land fell. There was no way we were sacrificing our views! 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 4Aug 02, 2013 2:58 pm We had a block with about a 5m fall. Don't make the mistake we did trying to make a standard design fit the block. Doesn't work. Go to a sloping block specialist and look at a split level design. Alternatively check out a pole home. Just be mindful that with sloping blocks, they may appear cheap but the site and building costs will bite you at the other end. Good luck. Re: Sloping block site costs 5Aug 03, 2013 8:41 am Ya we spoke to a few builders and according to them it is better to build a split level house to fit the block since we are looking at building a single story house. It is just the costs that have me worried so trying to look for some figures here .we are getting the soil tests done now so in 2 weeks time we will get the results and will see how it goes from there .excited but also stressed Re: Sloping block site costs 6Aug 03, 2013 6:13 pm Even with a split design our site costs hit almost 80k. We had rock, imported fill, easements and just about every other issue. From what I have read that seems abiut right for a 32 sq split. Re: Sloping block site costs 7Aug 04, 2013 12:03 pm RenovationsGalore Even with a split design our site costs hit almost 80k. We had rock, imported fill, easements and just about every other issue. From what I have read that seems abiut right for a 32 sq split. But we are looking at building a 22-24sq house not 32sq. We want to stick to the 270k-280k range. Does this even make sense.Also this does not include landscaping,dishwasher, blinds and other internal furnishings. Re: Sloping block site costs 8Aug 04, 2013 3:01 pm mpp RenovationsGalore Even with a split design our site costs hit almost 80k. We had rock, imported fill, easements and just about every other issue. From what I have read that seems abiut right for a 32 sq split. But we are looking at building a 22-24sq house not 32sq. We want to stick to the 270k-280k range. Does this even make sense.Also this does not include landscaping,dishwasher, blinds and other internal furnishings. I understand that you are looking at a 24 sq home. I think you may be pushing it at 280k. Impossible to tell without all the piering costs being known etc. And all those other costs are on top of the building cost. The landscaping cost including driveway and rear deck was 57k. In terms of what makes sense its purely about your budget and expectations. 22sq is small by today's standards but I think with a drive towards sustainable living, mcmansions will be on the way out. I know a lot of pole home builders look at about 1500 per sq metre. That would put it outside your budget level straight away. I think with a budget with limited flexibility, you should look for a simpler plot. Or up the budget. Re: Sloping block site costs 9Aug 04, 2013 3:21 pm RenovationsGalore mpp RenovationsGalore Even with a split design our site costs hit almost 80k. We had rock, imported fill, easements and just about every other issue. From what I have read that seems abiut right for a 32 sq split. But we are looking at building a 22-24sq house not 32sq. We want to stick to the 270k-280k range. Does this even make sense.Also this does not include landscaping,dishwasher, blinds and other internal furnishings. I understand that you are looking at a 24 sq home. I think you may be pushing it at 280k. Impossible to tell without all the piering costs being known etc. And all those other costs are on top of the building cost. The landscaping cost including driveway and rear deck was 57k. In terms of what makes sense its purely about your budget and expectations. 22sq is small by today's standards but I think with a drive towards sustainable living, mcmansions will be on the way out. I know a lot of pole home builders look at about 1500 per sq metre. That would put it outside your budget level straight away. I think with a budget with limited flexibility, you should look for a simpler plot. Or up the budget. Thanks for the information will definitely keep these things in mind. Also since we are in no hurry to build maybe we will just keep the block and build when we are ready. 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 12288 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 18511 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 12982 |