Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 23, 2013 7:30 am Hey All I just wanted to get some thoughts from people who have gone through the building process with a builder but then completed the house themselves. I want to know what sort of things you could do yourself that make financial sense. Things like: BIR Pantry shelving Carpeting/Flooring Lighting(LED) House cabling Any other electrical Is it truly worth the effort and roughly what do you think you have saved doing tasks similar to the above yourself? Any other advice on methods to trim the price of a new house build will be much appreciated! Re: DIY finishings 2Oct 23, 2013 7:44 am We are getting our overhead cardboards from ikea after handover. We are having the builders put in a bulkhead to where they will go so it will look even better. Re: DIY finishings 3Oct 23, 2013 7:50 am we had a cabinet maker come in after handover and build shelves and cabinets for us and this saved quite a bit Re: DIY finishings 4Oct 23, 2013 8:15 am For some people its worth the effort. There are two things I think people need to consider; 1 - Time. After building for 6 to 12 months do you have the time to spend doing these jobs to finish the home or get it to a standard that you are happy with? Can you live with potential mess or trades coming and going for the few weeks after your home is finished or would you rather move in with it all being done and ready to go? 2 - Price Can you afford to do it? Do you have to save for it additionally or will the bank provide you the cash on top of your loan. Do you want to run around getting quotes an picking colours etc again after being finished and paying for it all. I definitely think they're the deciding factor. For us we let our builder do some upgrades and because we let them do that theyve been good enough to let some of our trades (cabler, theatre installer) on site to do work at frame and plaster stage to ensure we get some things done ourselves. Bit of give and take for us was the middle ground we wanted. Assuming the structure of your cabinetry is good then I would DIY everything as follows: - replace your counter tops entirely, - replace all drawer runners with soft close… 1 4782 Re my second point – yes exactly. And often it may take additional time if the manufacturer recommends no more than X meters… 3 5642 |