Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 01, 2014 2:39 pm So we can work backwards from our end budget, can anyone please give me an idea of what the cost could be per square meter to build a custom house? For a general guide, we are looking at a 4/5 bedroom, 2/3 bathroom 2/3 toilet, single story house, very open plan, high ceilings, good quality finishes. Our FIL is a registered electrician so we hope to save a bit there, but the rest will be all done by a builder. I know its a very broad questions, but any guide would help. Thanks! Re: General price guide? 2Jul 01, 2014 2:54 pm Sorry I only know in squares not square metres. It starts at an absolute minimum at 10,000 but realistically would be in the range of 12-16k per square. Hope that helps. Re: General price guide? 3Jul 01, 2014 3:19 pm Personal opinion only but I think you may be going about this the long way. Look at plans that you like for the baseline build cost. Once you have that as a starting point then look at the spec list and see what you can live with versus what you would upgrade. Start a list and assume very little is credit back when swapping over. Ask the builder what can be owner supplied eg kitchen appliances etc. Look at the retail prices of everything as a guide as bigger companies should not charge more than retail. Installation, unless specialized should cost approx the same. Be as detailed as possible, extra courses of brick, solid core doors, wood sliders as oposed to vinyl etc. Certain items you can cost out like floor coverings and driveways on a sq meter basis fully installed. Electrical for single storey will save as well. Consider items that are cost prohibitive post build such as double glazing. I think the above approach will give you a better idea than ball parking it. Plus you will be more informed as a result. Be aware that some higher end finishes are much better value ie swapping standard basins and taps versus vaulted ceilings or roof windows. The latter two being crazy upgrade prices. Create a spreadsheet and board the train. It's an interesting ride. Cheers Mark Re: General price guide? 4Jul 01, 2014 3:43 pm ^^ Thanks Mark. We haven't been able to find a plan/builder yet that we like and have decided to go custom - since there are no specifications for us to work through to start with, we are trying to figure out a budget to work to? So, if we like a certain level of quality, we could expect to pay $XX per sqm. Or a custom house in generally in the range of XX per sqm meter. I think my first question was a bit unclear - sorry! We are thinking about the 300sqm under roof. Re: General price guide? 5Jul 01, 2014 4:50 pm Heyzy ^^ Thanks Mark. We haven't been able to find a plan/builder yet that we like and have decided to go custom - since there are no specifications for us to work through to start with, we are trying to figure out a budget to work to? So, if we like a certain level of quality, we could expect to pay $XX per sqm. Or a custom house in generally in the range of XX per sqm meter. I think my first question was a bit unclear - sorry! We are thinking about the 300sqm under roof. i was under the impression that if you want a price on custom builds, you would need to first get a design prepared so that the builder could cost it sans finishes. Unfortunately your broad ball park query comes up with a very broad ball park figure of anywhere between 1.5k to 2.5k per sqm (possibly even more depending on what you actually want in way of materials etc). I expect that doesnt really help. Im also very surprised you cant find anything you like in the massive choice of designs for the massive number of builders out there. You must be looking for an architectural master piece although if i could give you a piece of advice (if you havent done so already) is go walk through some display homes - Houses feel different when yu walk through them compared to looking at the plans. Ive ended up liking houses where ive hated the plans and vice versa. Creator of superduperonium, expert at expert things, nobel laureate, can hold my breath for 10 minutes. Re: General price guide? 6Jul 01, 2014 5:07 pm Ponzu Heyzy ^^ Thanks Mark. We haven't been able to find a plan/builder yet that we like and have decided to go custom - since there are no specifications for us to work through to start with, we are trying to figure out a budget to work to? So, if we like a certain level of quality, we could expect to pay $XX per sqm. Or a custom house in generally in the range of XX per sqm meter. I think my first question was a bit unclear - sorry! We are thinking about the 300sqm under roof. Im also very surprised you cant find anything you like in the massive choice of designs for the massive number of builders out there. You must be looking for an architectural master piece although if i could give you a piece of advice (if you havent done so already) is go walk through some display homes - Houses feel different when yu walk through them compared to looking at the plans. Ive ended up liking houses where ive hated the plans and vice versa. Whilst we like elements of some designs, we don't like everything, there are certain elements we want and there hasn't been one plan that covers them all (and I'm not a big fan of the majority of the project plans), W are also going to be on acreage, so we'd like something a little different to really make use of the land. We don't mind using a project builder, but have had a number of local builders recommended to us that we are interested in pursuing. We'd love to visit some display homes, unfortunately we live a good 1600kms from the nearest one and only visit our block every six months or so. We thought we'd try and get ahead with the planning now, hence all the questions. That's okay, I think if I apply the $2000 per sqm meter that budget is do-able. Thanks! Re: General price guide? 7Jul 01, 2014 5:41 pm If youre building that far out you may want to ad some more. Round trips for materials are going to need to b3 factored in by suppliers Creator of superduperonium, expert at expert things, nobel laureate, can hold my breath for 10 minutes. Re: General price guide? 8Jul 01, 2014 6:07 pm Ponzu If youre building that far out you may want to ad some more. Round trips for materials are going to need to b3 factored in by suppliers Our block is in Pinjarra WA, which is only 40 minutes from the city, but we live in remote WA at the moment. You should check your detail drawings, it may show downpipe within brick pier. 14 14691 Hi, you've probably already resolved this, however, Commbank will probably pay the funds to you after you send evidence the work is done regardless the change in the quotes. 1 36616 Just to makea point about this, an approach that some people have found sucessful in negotiating these rises down, Is to provide some workings to the builder, specifying… 4 82870 |