Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 15, 2015 10:09 am Apologies if this is in the wrong area.... I'm a complete newbie but would love some advice from seasoned builders and renovators We are in Brisbane, have a 860m2ish block which is quite narrow (15m) and has a slope (rising up from the road). It is a not a massive slope but definitely obvious (which would possibly add a bit of cost). We have outgrown our house, but would love to stay in this area, and we prefer not to move. We have had quotes to raise up and build under which we would expect to be at least $250000. So we are now looking at removing the existing house (we would hate to knock it down as we have done a bit of work on it and it has lots of great features such as timber floors throughout, double hung windows etc) and building again as we would love to get the house we want, in the area we want, and are hoping, (maybe naively?) to build for under $320000. I have honestly looked at 100s of house plans (looking for a 4 bed, 2 bath, fairly narrow and of a shortish length to ensure we still keep a lot of yard - I don't want a monstrosity with lots of wasted space) and I am finding it really hard to find anything that ticks enough boxes for me. We have been here for about 10 years so I think I have a fairly good idea of where the rooms should be placed to maximise light/breeze etc. I have roughly designed a house using a house plan software program but my husband is a bit skeptical of building from our own design in case it just doesn't flow, work etc (I would obviously get a designer/drafter to look over it and professionally do up all the plans) So.... just wondering if anyone has drawn up their own plans and how did they go with the building? Were you happy with your finished home? Any advice would be so appreciated! Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 2Sep 15, 2015 10:19 am It's quite common for people to substantially change a builder's standard design, or just start with something completely custom. Once you look at enough plans and seen enough houses it isn't hard to design something that's at least as good as a lot of the standard builder houses. If you post plan ideas on these forums asking for opinions, usually you'll get a few people putting forward ideas and suggestions about it, which should cover you against a lot of the things you may not have thought of. Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 3Sep 15, 2015 1:21 pm I designed my own home back in 1991. . . best house I have lived in. To see how I went about it see this link: http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2012/02/sta ... diagram-1/ The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 4Sep 15, 2015 3:31 pm We designed the current house we are building and the one before it's not fancy but functional and uses the light available (we also had to accomodate a big tree this time). So I think it's definitely ok to design your own house, there are lots of 3-D programs to do a walk through. We are building our own design through a builder that has their own plans also. Post your plans you will get lots of fresh eyes and ideas. Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 5Sep 16, 2015 8:22 am I'm currently designing my own... Best thing you can do is engage a designer having your own plans, and then talk to them about the design and whether it works or not. Ours has been really useful in pointing out little bits and pieces that we'd never have considered, and using him as a sanity check for our room layout, as well as council building requirements / dispensations etc. We're designing the house around the light & backyard, as we currently can't use it at all. Costing me $900 for concepts based on my own drawings, I don't think that's too bad at all. Obviously then there's engineering + permits etc once we get around to engaging a builder, but I'll use the concept plans to gauge cost with 3 - 4 builders. Ours will be 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 living single storey on 660sqm with a 3 metre slope up from the road. Based on the slope, custom design and finishing it'll be a reasonable amount more than your quoted price, however really depends on your slope, soil type and then quality of finishes - if you want hardwood floors etc throughout and tiling to ceilings in the bathrooms, then expect to pay a bit more. Something else to consider is that if you're using your existing land, there'll be added costs such as services, stormwater etc. Cost to disconnect & reconnect and all that sort of thing. Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 6Sep 16, 2015 9:44 am I'm not sure you can build on a slope for 320k but I'm not an expert. I guess it depends what size and finishes you want. We sketched ideas and took them to an architect. It was about 17k alone by the time we got drawings, all the soil testing and engineering, da fees and private inspector. Not saying you couldn't have done it cheaper if you used a building designer however even the testing and engineer was a reasonably high cost. If you are very savvy it might be achievable. Experts can correct me. PV they are charging $900 for the conceptual but who will do the actual working drawings? IE we had concept sketch, working plans for DA and construction and then the engineers drawings. Custom builds can be more expensive but you can also find savings. To build 220sqm for your budget you would need to spend less than $1500 sq/m, close to the average cost of a project home with medium finishes in Brisbane. Building on a slope is usually more depending on how much fall you have. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ http://www.bmtqs.com.au/construction-cost-table Good luck! It's a process working out what why how and most importantly, $$! Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 7Sep 16, 2015 9:51 am ![]() PV they are charging $900 for the conceptual but who will do the actual working drawings? IE we had concept sketch, working plans for DA and construction and then the engineers drawings. Leksie, either the designer we're using OR if we go that way, another builder who has their own in-house designer. I suspect we'll use our designer though. I have full quotes for workings & engineers, all up for drawings + engineers it's 10k. So not too bad, but as you say - an added cost to the build ![]() The point to get to concept and only pay the $900 was to then go to builders and find out ballpark build price - so to figure out if the build was within budget or not. If not, we'll have to revisit the designs & fittings. Has anyone designed their own home? 8Sep 16, 2015 12:04 pm ![]() ![]() PV they are charging $900 for the conceptual but who will do the actual working drawings? IE we had concept sketch, working plans for DA and construction and then the engineers drawings. Leksie, either the designer we're using OR if we go that way, another builder who has their own in-house designer. I suspect we'll use our designer though. I have full quotes for workings & engineers, all up for drawings + engineers it's 10k. So not too bad, but as you say - an added cost to the build ![]() The point to get to concept and only pay the $900 was to then go to builders and find out ballpark build price - so to figure out if the build was within budget or not. If not, we'll have to revisit the designs & fittings. Yeah that makes a lot of sense. We did something similar but the concept was rolled into our architect fee. I'm including in that amount the levy we paid to NSW Gov, all our application fees and the $1500 we wasted with another builder. It's so exciting isn't it!! Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 9Sep 16, 2015 12:16 pm We wasted $6.5k with another builder - bit like a black hole of money, isn't it. Ah well - it was a good lesson to learn, and certainly cheaper than building with them!! ![]() I'm so excited about our plans - first sketch has come back, we've done a bunch of revisions and literally waiting for the revised sketch today or tomorrow. If all looks good then we should be able to get pricing. Eek. Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 10Sep 16, 2015 2:19 pm ![]() We wasted $6.5k with another builder - bit like a black hole of money, isn't it. Ah well - it was a good lesson to learn, and certainly cheaper than building with them!! ![]() I'm so excited about our plans - first sketch has come back, we've done a bunch of revisions and literally waiting for the revised sketch today or tomorrow. If all looks good then we should be able to get pricing. Eek. Oh what a mess!! Yes you need to get it right though I totally understand. Can't wait to see your final concept if you're willing to share. Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 11Sep 16, 2015 3:14 pm I have designed my own houses including drawing up plans and construction details, obtaining all approvals, doing structural calculations, glazing analysis, measuring and ordering all materials and building these houses as an owner builder. If/when there is a mistake, there is only the one person to blame and also to fix it. Hence everything is fully detailed on paper and then checked and rechecked. Re: Has anyone designed their own home? 12Sep 16, 2015 8:20 pm I also think that building on a slope for $320k in Brisbane is unrealistic unless its a tiny house, my sister is considering knock down rebuild on a slope up from street and it's going to be $400k for 2 storey 4 bedroom. Hi All, we are starting to think of building with Masterpiece Builders in Victoria, has anyone had any feedback or experience with them 0 14905 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 22420 ![]() Hi we are looking to talk to people who have built with them recently. We have signed mid range built contract but identified that a lot of things are not included.… 0 2020 |