Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 29, 2013 7:33 pm Hey all, My build through a volume builder has fallen through, so I've recently been talking with a private builder and have a been given a rough price for my build and I'd like some opinions. What I'd like to know is, do these costs look reasonable, I'm in Melbourne? 32sq house custom design = $430K this includes the following - all site costs incl stormwater connection, sewer and raft slab (P with H class) not waffle (and I have a 600mm fall no retaining walls) - 2700 ceilings throughout with 150mm skirts and 2400 doors - 40mm ceaser to kitchen waterfall both sides approx 3000mm island, 2500 cookbench and 2500 side bench with laminate cupboards and overheads above the stove. - 20mm ceaser to ensuite and bath - Terracotta roof tiles - 900mm ss appliances - 2 coats of paint - Tiled floors and carpeted bedrooms - Solar Hot water - shower bases are marbletrend pre cast bases. semi framless shower screens, premium taps and fittings, 1 bath - std ducted heating - No cooling So that works out at approx $13400 per square. I was hoping for around the $11,500 per square. What do you think? I'd appreciate your thought's please. Re: Private Builder Price 2Dec 29, 2013 7:37 pm Why did the build with the volume builder fall through? How does the pricing compare with the volume build pricing? Build thread: here Land Nov 12, Contract 6/07/13, Consent 15/08/13, Start 20/09/13, Slab 25/09/13, Frame 4/10/13, Brick 21/10/13, Roof 2/11/13, Lock-up 17/12/13, Handover 3/3/14 Re: Private Builder Price 3Dec 29, 2013 7:59 pm Hi Maximus, It fell through because in their preliminary site costs nearly all items were provisional and it was already at $62K. Things that annoyed me were that they just used standard clauses. example 1: it was stated that the "legal point of discharge was kerb and channel" in the next sentence they said that if they had to connect to the "stormwater pipe" that they would charge the costs to me. Now why would they say that if the council confirmed a kerb and channel discharge? example 2: Site OHS & traffic management costs (provisional) at 13K. now this really annoyed me because this included things like cranes, tiger tails on power lines, pedestrian management etc...Now they know how many concrete trucks they need, how many crane lifts, how many and what size trucks will be used, and more importantly the house design, so why shouldn't they know the costs for this? Why is it provisional? example 3: they allow up to 1.5m deep connection to sewer and yet the siting says my sewer is 2.5m deep and yet they only had a note in the quote. Why couldn't they do a proper estimate knowing how deep the connection point is, I mean they know how much shoring etc costs. and the list goes on. The priviate guy is about 30-40% more Re: Private Builder Price 4Dec 29, 2013 8:13 pm sounds like you have a difficult and expensive block to build on, but the private costs do seem quite high, considering there doesn't appear to be anything especially out of the ordinary or expensive with the options you have listed... Re: Private Builder Price 5Dec 29, 2013 8:17 pm Yeah, 600mm fall is a bit, and I won't be cutting the block much because my stormwater drains away from the LPOD if I drop the house but that should only be a bit extra concrete for the slab, maybe 10K? so that's fine. Yeah I'm just struggling to understand the costs in that rate. Re: Private Builder Price 6Dec 29, 2013 8:53 pm Comparing volume builder with private builder isn't comparing apples and apples though. Volume builders aren't great with non standard blocks/builds, that's where they'll hit you for the extra costs. Private, well you're guaranteed he's going to do (significantly) less builds than the volume builder, yes it's going to cost more but should also be a better service and build quality. I say should! In saying that, either way it'll end up costing more than what you thought, so don't over stretch yourself as you'll need that extra $ for the things that creep in. Cooling is a big one if you're going refrigerated. My Hamptons build (completed): viewtopic.php?f=31&t=63370 Moved in Wednesday 11th Dec 2013 Front landscaping completed June 2016 Re: Private Builder Price 7Dec 29, 2013 8:57 pm Hi cinder, Yes I'm comfortable that his price won't change and our contract will document everything, I'm a bit anal like that ! I am also willing to pay more understanding the extra quality etc but how much more is the question. Extras I'm going to put in include Hydronic Heating (im in melb) and Refrig Air con. All costs have been allowed for in my total build cost. Things I am not allowing for at this stage are landscaping, I'll do bit by bit no rush, and a front fence...when I can save for it. Re: Private Builder Price 8Dec 29, 2013 9:08 pm Sounds very similar to us, we supplied our own company for heating and cooling. We also got refrigerated air. Landscaping was not included, nor were such things as light fittings, window furnishings, timber floor staining, carpeting, driveway paving, fly screens (door or window), - & you know, the normal stuff. And all of that does add up especially for a big house. Also we added data cabling (our own guy), extra power points (this had to be done through the builder), home security, shower niches, back deck (which required a stair case/railings/balustrade), windows to the garage door, roller door to back of garage to backyard, things like that. It adds up! Oh yes & my husband insisted on Villeroy & Bosch toilets & basins. I have to admit they're pretty awesome. My Hamptons build (completed): viewtopic.php?f=31&t=63370 Moved in Wednesday 11th Dec 2013 Front landscaping completed June 2016 Re: Private Builder Price 9Dec 30, 2013 5:42 pm Yours and cindy's case sound like mine as well. My site is in Melbourne as well and I am going thru custom builder. I would suggest to see if your builder will do a fixed price contract as some do. This will give you peace of mind at least you don't have to worry about any extra cost creeping in, unless you missed that in the first place. Re: Private Builder Price 11Dec 30, 2013 6:29 pm I had the exact same experience with a volume builder and went to a custom builder I have 1.6m of slope front to back on my block, the volume builder wanted to excavate this flat ($42,000) With the volume builder the base price was a tease, once i selected my upgrades, nothing over the top, i was $145,000 extra, not including the site costs. We got to the finer details of the contract with them and things like "oh and thats not standard" kept coming up so we decided to look elsewhere as we were at the end of our tether. Everything was an extra! For an experiment id love to say "I'll take the XXXXXXX 29 how it is standard,the base price" and see what they would build! We had our heart set on this house for 18 months waiting for the land to title so this was a waste of time and energy....but a learning curve I always thought (not doing the research) custom builders were way more expensive but the company we saw are great. We drafted up a sketch of what we wanted in a home and booked a meeting with the sales consultant. When we arrived we had the meeting with the consultant and the architect and he pointed out how we could save on site works, create a solar passive house,best materials for this type of construction,etc. Within 4 weeks we recieved the first draft and it crapped all over the volume builders design (the one we fell in love with for 18 months). To cut a long story short, the custom builder is split levelling the house, with site works looking at $15,000 and gives the place a bit of character and interest. Standard inclusions are double glazed windows, LED lights, brick infills above windows, ducted heating/cooling, solar hot water, 2590mm ceilings, stone benches in kitchen and bathroom and a heap of other stuff. If you have a perfectly flat block and the house is sited correctly, and you don't want to alter too much of the floor plan,maybe a volume builder is the way to go. Im sort of glad the experience with the volume builder went pear shaped, as i think we have a much, much nicer home design. And the price was under the volume builder by around 10% Research and question everything, its your house! Re: Private Builder Price 13Dec 30, 2013 6:55 pm I had my own soil tests and engineering (slope) to take to the builder which was an advantage. Ask the builders what their finishing price is per square. Make a list of what you want (inclusions) and see 4-5 builders see what they can offer you. I had one builder say finishing price per square was $18,000-19,000 and their homes looked average. Would you design/sketch up your house yourself? I don't mean to an architectural standard, just so they have an idea of what you want in terms of size and features? Re: Private Builder Price 14Dec 30, 2013 7:11 pm Yeah I have a bit of a problem because I have them an initial sketch and they have changed it a bit and now call it theirs. I have a backup design though that isn't like theirs so if we can't afford the build with them then I need to look at my options. I've worked out a rough final price of around $14800per square. But this includes good quality construction incl terracotta tiles 2.7 ceilings etc, demolition, hydronic heating, refrigerated air, new crossover, driveway, double glazing shelving in all wardrobes and porcelain tiling and carpet. So I'm not sure how the price stacks up and if I'd be wasting my time getting another quote. Things that I might have extra on are blowouts when digging foundations and unknowns like that but all builders are the same there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Re: Private Builder Price 15Dec 30, 2013 7:16 pm Was it your sketch and they modified it or vice versa? Re: Private Builder Price 16Dec 30, 2013 7:24 pm No it was my sketch which was a hybrid of a volume builder, the only thing that was too similar to the volume builder was the ensuite which they changed so I guess I couldn't use that but the rest of the ideas were mine and are not like other houses they build. I wouldn't want to test them though I think they would be pretty upset. Re: Private Builder Price 17Dec 30, 2013 7:30 pm You can use the design you took to the volume builder, anything past that is their "intellectual" property. $15k a square should be a nice finish, and i think it will really distinguish it from a volume design (no offence). Are you building around Mernda or Epping? Any idea what soil (or rock) youll encounter? Re: Private Builder Price 18Dec 30, 2013 7:41 pm I did think that about the designs, that's the problem when working with people like that is they do it for nothing but in the end you have your heart set on the design and can't take it anywhere so the can name their price to a degree and if you do end up going elsewhere and copying it..bam here comes a lawsuit ! No i'm in the suburbs. The soil tests by the builder said I had rock 600mm down. They only did 2 bore holes and they quoted me to bore piers with M class slab, and to make it worse, one of the boreholes was outside the building envelope...dumb ar*es I spoke to my neighbor who put in a pool and he didn't hit any rock so they may have just hit floaters. Oh, I wouldn't even compare his houses to volume builders, I could feel the difference by just walking in them! they feel solid and quality. Re: Private Builder Price 19Dec 30, 2013 7:50 pm Thats the luck of i guess....you never really know whats under there....but soil tests are a guide. Try and get fixed price on your site works, save you some greys worrying where the rock is going to be Looks like your on the right path... Private Builder Price 20Dec 31, 2013 4:58 pm I was in a similar similar position and it took me almost 4 months to get quotes from different builders. It was a very frustrating process, just to get quotes! I had my own plans, soil reports, site survey etc, and it took them a long time to give me pricing. The prices were all over the place too. For a 35sq house, on a very flat block, with nothing fancy, I got four quotes: $320k, $370k, $410k and $415k. Be so careful when looking at quotes between builders too, as the things they include vary wildly as well. In the end we went to a volume builder who had a plan very similar to what we designed. 33sq for $250k. A huge price difference for what is essentially the same thing as what the cheapest builder could offer. We couldn't justify spending an extra $70k for 2sq and "better build quality". If you already have a contract, is the inspection cost stated in there? If not they would be forced to issue you a variation which you could of course object to. 12 25866 Hi everyone, Looking for some advise. We are about to build an above ground pool in our backyard. There is a private sewer line running under the pool at 1.6m… 0 11758 |