Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 28, 2008 11:50 pm I just want to get some opinion on the price quoted to us...
We're building a house with a custom builder in the western suburbs on Vic. In summary, here is the house specs: -35sq single storey on M class slab -2 car garge (6 x 6) with sectional door in front and roller door at the back -alfresco (4.5 x 3.5) and porch (2 x 2) with timber decking -awning windows throughout -50% rendered 50% brick facade -4 bedrooms and 2 study -home theater, living, dining, meals, rumpus -kitchen with butler's pantry -ceasrstone in kitchen only -900mm appliances -laminate in pantry, bath, ensuite, powder, laundry and study (built in bench) -2.7m ceiling -2 bath and 1 powder room -tiled flooring except for bedrooms and study which have carpets -downlights on living areas -evap cooling and ducted heating -infinity hot water -rain water tank -double vanity and double shower with semi-frameless in ensuite Price came down to 8k per square. Is this a good price? Price actually went a bit over budget. But because it had everything we needed already I thought it should be ok. What do you guys think? Here's the plan (please comment on the plan as well): http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn317/dembi_2000/floorplansmallwithmarksfinal.jpg \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Re: price of my house 2Jun 29, 2008 12:00 am Sorry but your making my neck hurt.....
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/mikeb1968/floorplansmallwithmarksfinal-1.jpg mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: price of my house 5Jun 29, 2008 12:19 am I'm about to go beddy bye's but my immediate thought was the flow from the entrance to the rest of the house is interrupted by the dogleg in the hallway around the HT.
You've got a wide entry and a wide passageway beyond the HT and WIR corner but there's a "pinch point". Have you thought of chamfering off the corner of the HT and the WIR to maintain the width? Your theatre set up will be throwing to the front of the house - I'm guessing - so acoustically probably OK, and you've got two WIR's so you may be able to afford the space. Nice kitchen and butlers pantry!....and loads of storage...there's never enough flat space in the world. Be worth cutting a template of a standard dining table out and putting it in (dimension it with the chairs out as if people were sitting there) to see whether it hangs into anything you don't want it to. That's enough for tonight.....I'm sure you get heaps of opinions....er....suggestions tomorrow. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: price of my house 6Jun 29, 2008 12:29 am Thanks - my neck was hurting too!
Dembi - is that 35sq total or living? Which way is north? Are driveway/landscaping etc included? I would expect a house this size with those specs to be under 7k per square (based on pricing with several of the major builders). Taking some lessons from our own house .... There looks to be a fair bit of wasted floor area with the hallways at the front and loooong hallway at the rear (unless you have a lot of art, in which case it would be brilliant!). Our rear hallway is 6 metres and I think that is a waste of space - at only 900mm wide can't really do anything with it. Personally I think I would find the entrance a bit odd, with a really wide hallway and then quite a tight space where you turn the corner between the theatre & WIR walls. Is there a display home with a similar plan or have you started from scratch? Will there be doors to close off the living areas for heating? LOVE your walk in pantry!! However, if you are planning to put a fridge in there double check exactly how wide the doorway is and how much room you need to get the fridge in & moved around. I know of one new house where the extra large fridge didn't fit through the butler pantry door ... unlike your plan they only had the one refrigerator spot and couldn't get it in there! My 2c worth. Re: price of my house 7Jun 29, 2008 1:09 am That sounds very cheap to me - almost too cheap. That is about the price per square I'd expect to pay after adding some optional extras on a volume builder home. For a custom builder thats a very cheap price - normally custom builders a quite a bit more expensive.
To give you an idea to build with Porter Davis I'd expect to be paying about the same price for a very similar spec home once you pay for some upgrades. This house looks similar in alot of ways to PD's Hamilton 34. In fact I suggest you check it out just for a comparison. The only comment I'd make is if you are paying that price per square make sure you are confident with the builders reputation and workmanship. If they are good then by all means - if not then I personally think that there are enough volume builders out there offering very similar houses where you tend to be alot more sure of what you are getting in terms of quality and delivery date. Re: price of my house 8Jun 29, 2008 1:35 am Thanks to do for turning that around - pity I devoured it the wrong way first and now I am cross eyed! I agree - seems a lot of wasted space for hallway. I can see why you don't want it in the bedroom but it may be worth speaking to someone about acoustic options. I think it sounds very reasonable pricing. Can I ask who the builder is? Fi has moved in!! Re: price of my house 9Jun 29, 2008 8:13 am Mozzie That sounds very cheap to me - almost too cheap. That is about the price per square I'd expect to pay after adding some optional extras on a volume builder home. For a custom builder thats a very cheap price - normally custom builders a quite a bit more expensive. To give you an idea to build with Porter Davis I'd expect to be paying about the same price for a very similar spec home once you pay for some upgrades. This house looks similar in alot of ways to PD's Hamilton 34. In fact I suggest you check it out just for a comparison. The only comment I'd make is if you are paying that price per square make sure you are confident with the builders reputation and workmanship. If they are good then by all means - if not then I personally think that there are enough volume builders out there offering very similar houses where you tend to be alot more sure of what you are getting in terms of quality and delivery date. I agree with Mozzie. The price you are getting is around the volume builders with a few extras. Most custom home builders are around 10k-14k per sq but we got quotes of 16kplus from others...western suburbs of Melb. Sounds like a fantastic deal BUT make sure the quality is there. At the end of the day if the quality and good workmanship is lacking, it is not a good price. I know a builder who builds around 4k -6k per sq but I would never recommend him unless you want to do a quick cheap development. Mrs B Re: price of my house 10Jun 29, 2008 8:32 am That is a cheap price.
Dont know if you are looking for opinions on the floor plan, but here is mine I agree wiht Lyn, you wont get some fridges in the pantry door (720). I bought a double samsung at the last house and it barely fit through the sliding door into the house! Regarding the entrance - you could do so much with art and things the way it is now or your you could you make the theartre a bit thiner and have your line of chairs behind each other raised up? That would make that corner a bit wider. Or if you measured the screen size, and put a corner cut in the wall in the entrance it would give you more space, and you could match it up on the other side of the screen and make that into a built in cupboard for all the gear? I see there is a not to combine the WC i the bathroom? This had been discussed before and I wouldnt do it - I have two kids and three toilets and still wouldnt do it. It looks like you will have a lovely house when you are done. Paula your house 11Jun 29, 2008 10:29 am I've played with the spaces in the entryway/front passageway and also that area just next to the alfresco. It's very rough but I'm sure you get the idea. Hope you don't mind. I looked at your design and wondered how difficult it might be to maneuver furniture through that narrow dog's leg bend near the main bedroom. so I've narrowed the WIR depth to widen the passageway but then extended it the other way to stop the big squared space outside the internal garage entry. changing the linen orientation and also making it much smaller. You could of course make that 2nd WIR smaller and have a deeper linen cupboard or make the ensuite bigger. You might notice I've also altered that space next to the alfresco to make it an extended storage area coming from the garage. Alternatively it could be one of those "mud rooms" everyone seems keen on with a door into the house at the end. IN version 2 I made the store smaller and widened the alfresco slightly.
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/url] Re: price of my house 12Jun 29, 2008 11:39 am I don't think the intention is for the fridge to be IN the pantry.
Look closer at the alcove at the end of the kitchen bench - that looks like the fridge spot, and with a 'water provision' there, it sounds like an icemaker fridge. Comment boxes are just written where they will fit - in this case, in the blank area in the pantry. I'm a little concerned with the overall room sizes - that could be why the price is so competitive - the overall house may be X size, and look impressive in layout, but the internal room sizes are back down to volume builder's standards. Re: price of my house 14Jun 29, 2008 12:05 pm Well done Kexkez,
But I think you just deleted the study...maybe the store room can be the new study? commodorenut I don't think the intention is for the fridge to be IN the pantry. Look closer at the alcove at the end of the kitchen bench - that looks like the fridge spot, and with a 'water provision' there, it sounds like an icemaker fridge. Comment boxes are just written where they will fit - in this case, in the blank area in the pantry. I think they are having two fridges one in and one out? Paula Re: price of my house 15Jun 29, 2008 12:06 pm ahh I hadn't realised it was a study. i was wondering what it was for. A study needs a door so it can be closed even if just to stop small fingers fiddling with your work space things.
It seemed such a small space. still think the rearrangement of the wir and front passageway works to stop that narrow corner. easily enough to put the study back to what it was. AS i did say it is a rough fiddle with the plan so ignore any measurements for bits I've changed as I didn't want to try and work those out. here you go. if its a study I think I'd be tempted to remove one of the windows for wall shelving. Either the one on the external wall or the one looking out to the alfresco. That would give you one wall of the alfresco you could place a bench chair against and allow for privacy in the study if you were working while the alfresco was being used. The extra space outside the master bedroom could now accommodate a hall stand, or small corner stand of some sort. perhaps with a mirror. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Blog http://wherethehearthis.blogspot.com/ Build https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=6634: Yard https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27687&p=378401#p378401 Re: price of my house 16Jun 29, 2008 12:21 pm I would also move the HT door to around near the proposed linen cupboard, so that you can place all the equipment & screen against the garage wall, and the lounge/couch/chairs along the hallway wall, and still make ood use of the space without a door getting in the way. Re: price of my house 17Jun 29, 2008 12:47 pm kexkez ahh I hadn't realised it was a study. i was wondering what it was for. A study needs a door so it can be closed even if just to stop small fingers fiddling with your work space things. One of my pets hates about the way builders design studies.....doorless.....completely impractical and therefore you pay extra for putting a wall or double door in. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: price of my house 18Jun 29, 2008 3:25 pm first of all, thanks for the suggestions/comments.
Okay, let me clarify some stuff on the design: Quote: You've got a wide entry and a wide passageway beyond the HT and WIR corner but there's a "pinch point". This place will be used as "shoe change" area. There will be a seat/ottoman and some decors to liven the area up. At first, it looked like a waste of space too, but we've decided to keep it as it is. Quote: Dembi - is that 35sq total or living? Which way is north? Are driveway/landscaping etc included? 35sq total. North is where the alfresco is. Driveway included but not the landscaping Quote: Personally I think I would find the entrance a bit odd, with a really wide hallway and then quite a tight space where you turn the corner between the theatre & WIR walls. Is there a display home with a similar plan or have you started from scratch? yep, it sure is a bit odd at first, but we wanted to have a wall for privacy. we designed it from scratch but based the design on a lot of the floorplans we saw. Quote: Will there be doors to close off the living areas for heating There will be no doors to close off the living areas, but the heating will be zoned. Quote: LOVE your walk in pantry!! However, if you are planning to put a fridge in there double check exactly how wide the doorway is and how much room you need to get the fridge in & moved around. I know of one new house where the extra large fridge didn't fit through the butler pantry door ... unlike your plan they only had the one refrigerator spot and couldn't get it in there! Thanks for the tip. I'll reply to some of the other comments later.... \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Re: price of my house 19Jun 29, 2008 5:38 pm Quote: One of my pets hates about the way builders design studies.....doorless.....completely impractical and therefore you pay extra for putting a wall or double door in. I beg to differ. I think there are advantages to NOT haveing a computer area behind closed doors 1. you can be on the computer and still join in other things, conversations, half an eye on the TV etc 2. you can keep an eye on what your kids are doing on the computer- one of the things I read many times about kids and internet safety is NOT to let them be behind closed doors, have the computer in a family room or open space area. Haveing said that we are not 'serious' computer or study users, it is only for personal use, not work purposes, and we do not have little kids (but we used to - just use the "lock" function) Re: price of my house 20Jun 29, 2008 6:06 pm Helyn Quote: One of my pets hates about the way builders design studies.....doorless.....completely impractical and therefore you pay extra for putting a wall or double door in. I beg to differ. I think there are advantages to NOT haveing a computer area behind closed doors 1. you can be on the computer and still join in other things, conversations, half an eye on the TV etc 2. you can keep an eye on what your kids are doing on the computer- one of the things I read many times about kids and internet safety is NOT to let them be behind closed doors, have the computer in a family room or open space area. Haveing said that we are not 'serious' computer or study users, it is only for personal use, not work purposes, and we do not have little kids (but we used to - just use the "lock" function) We also prefer the computer area to be part of the rest of the house. One downside is keeping it tidy. Our computer room opens off the corridor into a long narrow room. Whoever is in the room can feel part of the rest of the goings-on in the house. I'm not a fan of being shut away from everyone when I am on the computer. Hi Kristy Around $1.7-1.8m or around $4,600/sqm. if you PM me your email I will send you a break up in a spreadsheet so you can get an understanding of the costs for… 1 12646 Wow I hadn't realised things had gotten that pricey in just a couple of years since I built, that is crazy with how much land is now costing if you aren't lucky enough to… 3 7445 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 35874 |