Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 24, 2014 10:31 pm Hi all, We have bought a block of land (Harrington Grove) and are looking at finding a builder to build our home. Something that is important to me and my wife (and our daughter as she has to live in the world we pass on) is designing a house that is energy efficient and makes use of the wonderful weather we have in this country. We are trying to find a builder or architect that will share some of these values in the sydney area. We don't have a fortune to spend, so would like to find someone who's designs have this focus rather than paying someone to change their building philosophy for us. Any suggestions for builders or Architects in the south west sydney area would be much appreciated or even some comments on your experience if you have been through this process already would be great. Thanks in advance. Re: Eco/Energy Efficient Builders Sydney 2Aug 25, 2014 8:07 am We tried this path ... and failed, we just couldn't afford it. Ended up spending 3/4 of a million with a project builder instead because it was less of a risk & cheaper than anything bespoke was looking to be. However ... if I was less risk averse, and willing to wait longer than I was (now I know how long everything takes), I think I'd be approaching a few architects and spending-up on getting something designed at least to the 95% mark. Then approach a half-dozen custom builders to get prices. It's putting a lot of eggs in an up-front basket, which can be scary because you don't know whether it's even possible to build to your budget, but I'm now more comfortable that it would've been possible to do this for close to what we've spent. Another alternative is to do a lot of research yourself, and then find a builder who'll do the whole lot for you once you've spec'd it. We were recommended Jandson Homes for this about 24 months ago, and in a "if I knew then what I know now" way, I would've been really serious about getting them to do us a custom design (they claim on average about a 10% premium for custom over a cookie-cutter build through them - however I don't remember if they allow carte blanche with respect to building products, the biggest problem you have with project builders is that they won't go outside of their suppliers for some things & our window bill is quite large as a result). If you spend a while you can come up with a design which works for your block & has the verandas or eaves in the right places, catches prevailing breezes, flooring that catches the sun in winter & gets no sun in summer ... and if the budget stretches to it (and the builder allows) you can even consider stuff like hydronic solar heating (eg. maybe it's cheaper to have elements mounted to the wall like an old cold-climate central-heating system). There's a thread with a name that eludes me, which has a heap of ideas if you don't have them already, and it also points to a gumbyment published set of web pages which are useful too. *edit* Oh, one other thought; when we went looking, we loved the display-home that this mob called Home Team had. It didn't have aircon, and yet was quite comfy inside despite it being one of those dryish high 30's Sydney summer days. However, when we were ready to build ~3 years ago they'd shut-up shop. I see that the website is up again & has extra "stuff" added to it (and builders are happier building than doing websites), so I'm guessing they may have started trading again - so it might be worth at least talking to them. Although you do have to wonder what actually happened that they stopped trading a few years ago (but hey it might be something very explainable - business partners arguing, one of the main partners passing away - it can't always be someone going broke & taking all the customer's money with them ). Re: Eco/Energy Efficient Builders Sydney 3Aug 25, 2014 9:05 am All good advice from Forg and I'd like to add a bit too. If you don't have a fortune to spend you are better looking at a project builder then adding in the bits you want as long as they get the orientation correct to start with and a few other things. This is the thread I think Forg is talking about... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55057 There is also some good advice from Brian Ashworths excellent site too http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/index.html A standard brick veneer home that has good wall ( R 2.0 ) and ceiling ( R 4.0 ) insulation is a good start. A decent size water tank for laundry toilets & garden, correct orientation, decent sized eaves or shades for E, N & W facing windows and doors, passive solar heating etc and you are well on the way to having an eco/energy efficient house. A project home with the above would most likely cost you $1500-1800 per sq m. The same as a one off build designed by an architect and built by a smaller builder wold cost you closer to $3000 per sq m. There are lots of other good threads on these forums especially in the Heating, Cooling & Insulation section. viewforum.php?f=20 Arm yourself with as much info as you can. Stewie Hi all, We are looking to build a new two storey house in western Sydney. Can anyone recommend a smallish builder to go with? We are trying to stay away from the big… 0 12139 Thanks again Simeon for being so elaborate. Appreciate it. Its gives us a very idea. Kind Regards 4 3665 go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110560 |