Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 21, 2013 12:32 am Please tell me anything & everything you can about the tender process of getting the builders to quote for a custom build. I have done our concept design myself (no I'm not an architect) and have lined up 3 builders who have each given a reasonable estimate to build. They have asked me to get an architect/draftsman to draw it up 'properly' before doing the full tender. My plan is to get an architect to advise on my design, but thinking then to get an draftsman to actually draw it up to save on fees. Will that work? Anybody know what a draftsman charges per hour? I thought once the drawings were done, the next step was getting the quotes from builders, but a couple of architect 'brochures' said you get your DA approval before tendering. Does it have to be in that order? Will the builders refuse to tender without council approval? What if the quotes are too high & we have to make changes to the plan - then we'd have to resubmit to council. Is that what normally happens? Or does it normally happen at the same time, so they are tendering while you're waiting for approval? Just before we bought the property the council approved the previous owners knock-down rebuild for a fairly similar sized house, so does that mean we can get tenders before approval for the new plan? Another thread mentioned having to pay builders for tenders - for the soil test & contour plans I think. So, if one builder gets this done for you, should/do they give you a copy to give to other builders? For a custom built house, how much detail should we give to the builder? I think I read that more detail = more accurate quote, but do they really want to know what light fittings, or bathroom taps etc I want? If we had to choose everything first, it would delay start by months, but how else can they cost it? What are the most important parts/items to specify at tender stage? I also read the architect can submit the plans to council for you (for $3000-$5000). Apart from actually doing the drawings, is there alot involved in submitting to council? Can the builder do it & would that be cheaper? Can we do it ourselves? Thank you, I know I'm asking allot! Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 2Jan 21, 2013 5:29 am when we were looking at building our house .it is a custom design. a couple of builders told us to go to a architect. we were told once we did that the plans belonged to us and that any builder would then be able to give us quotes very quickly. we were also told it would cost around two thousand for plans. in the end we found a builder that designed and is building our custom home for us. i think it worked out much better for us and we did not have the extra running around driving etc. the other builders told us that they could quote straight from architect plans, one builder was going to quote us on the plans at a basic price and then add all the upgrades separate. this is my personal opinion but with the regulations that some councils have i would just let the builder put the plans through council. with our house our builder put it through full Da approval before building and with the pool we had a certifier. at tender stage look at site costs, fixtures fitting etc what is the builder offering you compared to the volume builders(some of these builders like coral offer air conditioner upgrade prices like eclipse etc. sometimes these builders an even adjust one of their plans to suit you sorry am not much help all the best Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 3Jan 21, 2013 7:29 am Like 1rocky we have ended up choosing a builder that could design our home for us ie. we used their architect to draw up our design. When I initially gave our plans/sketch to the builder to quote he gave is a price based on the inclusions they provide as standard, unless we choose to upgrade. We had to get the soil test and land survey done before the house could be drawn by the architect (as he needs the land contour and soil report for the engineering) but these can be photocopied and sent to numerous builders if need be. We haven't applied for council approval yet. We are doing that once we get the final ok from the finance company (should be soon). With your final finishes the builder should either have a list of items they in lid as standard or provide you with a list of allowances for those items. If you spend more than the allowance you'll need to pay the difference. If you spend less then you should get a credit Custom downslope build Build thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61873 Blog http://www.buildingroyalmanor.blogspot.com.au Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 4Jan 21, 2013 3:43 pm Hi Kylie Ok we did it a bit different from HA and Rocky. We are doing a Demo Rebuild with a custom home. We ran into a little trouble because we were in a Heritage precint. So we could'nt get the demolition licence until we could show the council/heritage our plans and they okayed them (not approved just yep thats suitable). Therefore we alot like you drew up our ideas, an architect was out of our budget so we engaged a draftsman/designer to give us some ideas and draw up the plans. - Once this was done we went to the council to get a Development Approval that would allow us to demolish. Once we had the DA in writing we had the drafty complete full working drawings so we could put it out to tender. - We also did up a full specifiction with all our selections so our price was as accurate as possible. However we are supplying our own appliances, tiles and lights, so these got organised along the way. - Also we did the demo retained the saite bought in clean fill and once that was done organised a site repeg and contour survey, plus compaction certificate and geotech tests (ie soil tests) ourselves. - Then when they were done our working drawings went to the Engineer so footing etc could be established and also the plan had to go off to the Energy Efficient board to confirm our Energy Star Rating. - Once we had all this information and drawings, engineering and energy was done it went out to tender and we got prices back from 4 builders, none of them asked for a fee to quote on it. We picked the builder and from there the builder took on the responsibility of getting the actual building approval and licence to commence construction through council. This was quicker than normal for us because we already had the DA. However this said every council s different with ever chaning regulations. Hope this helps. Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 5Jan 21, 2013 4:38 pm We are at a similiar stage to yourself. We have the land, and we had our own sketches of what we wanted (we also had plans approved, but we wanted these changed). Many builders wanted us to go get an architect, engineer and also soil testes ourselves. The builder we are 'most likely' going thru has told us to go back to the original architect and have the plans amended to what we want, they also put us in contact with a building consultant who helped us get the plans approved by council. This was done with a $1000 (refundable) deposit from our builder, we haven't paid the architect the builder covered that as plans are part of their 'package'. Having the planning permit recently approved, we are now at the point of having soil tests completed and then on to tender stage. I had a friend who was a architetc who looked at our original plans and was able to greatly improve them within an hour, we then took them back to the original architect who wasn't too happy with us ... For a customer build the best $5000 we have spent has been on a building consultant, our council (Whitehorse) is known to be difficult to deal with, the consultant did everything and got the permits approved within a month. My BIL spent over $20K going back and forth to council, not to mention 13 months, just to get plans approved. Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 6Jan 22, 2013 3:22 pm Hello! We're at a similar stage! Firstly, shop, shop, shop around. If you see a draftsman office advertised, go up and have a chat. Same goes for builders etc. If they work hard from the start to help you and are interested in what you propose then that is a good sign. I've developed a rule up thumb where I will only be interested in those interested in my project. We spoke to a draftsman the other day who we just dropped in to see who said that it would cost $1500 (doesn't charge 'per hour' like architects) to draw our plans and another 100 to package it for a CDC or 3-400 for a DA. Have you looked at those two options? If you make sure your house is within the specs for a complying development cert then you can save oodles of money before the build even starts. It's something like 1000 cheaper in council fees if our building is a complying development instead of requiring a full da. Where are you? NSW? VIC? Your state gov should have housing guidelines. The best way to get info on all of this is to actually go to your council and chat to them. Some are really helpful and I've spoken to the planning guys a couple of times and they're mostly happy to chat before you go submitting things because problems with planning waste their time too. For the costs I would go as detailed as you can. I've spent the last 6 months (we only got conditional approval on our loan today so it shows you how long i have bee working on this before money was even a thing) going to showrooms and bunnings and tile shops to figure out exactly what I want (pinterest is good too). I would put forward a maximum you would want to spend for each item in your house down to doorknobs and light fittings. You don't have to actually spend that much but it gives you an idea of the most it will cost you and maybe you will find some savings along the way but if you stick to your budget for those items they shouldn't blow out the cost. This involves a lot of research but you don't have to make definite choices now. More along the lines of 'I want this style of tap, what is the most this will cost me' and then decide on the details when you need to. Especially for things like HWS or tanks which can vary by thousands of dollars which not only changes your expectations but if you're working with the bank on a loan it can really screw things up. Try to be as accurate as possible with how much you want things to cost. It's your choice so make what you want clear from the start. Get as much information for yourself as possible and don't rely on hearsay if you can avoid it. Go and speak to some draftsman and the council. As for the order of things as far as I'm aware it goes plans, council builder but obviously if you've chosen a builder most will be happy to work with you on the plans or have their own architect who can do them for you. It also depends on how much research you've done to know whether a draftsman or an architect is needed. If you have a chat to a builder and they really think you need an architect because your plans just aren't quite right then it may be worth paying extra. Personally I'm confident enough in my own planning and design to just get them drawn up but I will be asking the builder to advise me on roof design and the kind of windows and anything that really takes building experience to choose. Make sure you know where your boundaries on the block are going to be and go over all the legislation to make sure you don't miss anything and you'll be fine. Sorry if I'm rambling! I've discovered a lot of this info in the last week and I'm hoping it will help someone else who is using a custom builder. I stil have yet to find out exactly what our builder is happy to do, maybe he wants to submit to council himself? But this is why it's important to ask these questions of the people who are going to be involved. Good luck! Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 7Jan 22, 2013 5:14 pm Hi, we had basic plans drawn up by a draftsman first. We took this to the builder to quote. The builder we chose, then wanted to have their own draftsman to draw up all engineers plans from there. My only advise would be: when taking your plans to builders to be quoted, add in everything you possibly can. If they are trying to win your job and know they are up against other builders they will give a good price. We got a good price to start with, so signed with the builder. We ended up with $70,000 worth of extras. Wish now I had given them every little extra to quote at the start, as they make their money by overcharging on extras. Cost us $1000 for house plans to start with, we supplied the draftsman with contour survey plans and soil tests. Good luck. Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 8Jan 30, 2013 3:02 pm Thank you all! Quote: If you make sure your house is within the specs for a complying development cert then you can save oodles of money before the build even starts. Unfortunately we can't get the complying DC as we are in a flame zone, so have to do full DA. But thanks for the tip anyway. I was initially planning to get a draftsman to do my sketch plan because I'd done my own plan, but there were a few things I couldn't determine myself (eg. whether it's cheaper to make the 2nd story external wall sit directly above the ground floor wall or make the 2nd story smaller; and how to maximize cross-ventilation to all rooms), so we have found an architect who specializes in cost-effective sustainable design & is someone other architects go to for thermal comfort star ratings etc. So, although we'll be paying $2500 more for a sketch/concept design, it could save us even more in building costs and running costs. He can also advise us on products & tell us how hot each room would get - so we can determine whether or not we need air-con upstairs (which has been in debate b/n my hubby & I). Each of the 3 builders we will ask to tender has their own preferred draftsman (1 in-house), so we'll probably go with the chosen builder's draftsman to do the working drawings. I've started to shop around to choose tiles, lights, taps etc, but 2 of the builders we are considering are project builders who also do custom designs so they'll have a selection of fittings etc for us to choose from, so maybe I'm wasting my time? Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 9Jan 30, 2013 5:03 pm i do not think it would be a waste of you time. i have picked all our own lights light switches even the vanity benchtop (stone) and floor wastes. i even asked the builder to quote in the initial tender a freestanding bath and butler sink. keep researching as you may find something that you would like more the then builders range in my build thread you can see some of the extras that i am putting in. i am also supplying all the tiles myself including the wet areas and the builder s tiler will install the wet area tiles and i have a tiler installing the rest. the taps i am even supplying some of those as well just keeping the ones i asked the builder to quote for and also the ones that was included in a special package with the builder Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 10Apr 19, 2013 4:17 pm How are you guys getting on with you Flame Zone build? I am also building custom flame zone so let me know if i can help. Although I am in Vic. Not sure where you are but I know NSW is a little different. Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 11Oct 18, 2017 7:52 am Agape We are at a similiar stage to yourself. We have the land, and we had our own sketches of what we wanted (we also had plans approved, but we wanted these changed). Many builders wanted us to go get an architect, engineer and also soil testes ourselves. The builder we are 'most likely' going thru has told us to go back to the original architect and have the plans amended to what we want, they also put us in contact with a building consultant who helped us get the plans approved by council. This was done with a $1000 (refundable) deposit from our builder, we haven't paid the architect the builder covered that as plans are part of their 'package'. Having the planning permit recently approved, we are now at the point of having soil tests completed and then on to tender stage. I had a friend who was a architetc who looked at our original plans and was able to greatly improve them within an hour, we then took them back to the original architect who wasn't too happy with us ... For a customer build the best $5000 we have spent has been on a building consultant, our council (Whitehorse) is known to be difficult to deal with, the consultant did everything and got the permits approved within a month. My BIL spent over $20K going back and forth to council, not to mention 13 months, just to get plans approved. Hi Agape We are also in Whitehorse - wondering which building consultant you used? Thank you very much. Re: Custom build - what's my next step? So many questions! 12Oct 18, 2017 9:37 am treedance Welcome to the forum The problem is some salesman on large commissions promise you everything, make mistakes and can't be trusted, etc,etc Builder skipped certifications, didn't build to plan and what is the salesman going to do...in this case he works for the builder? The battlers & Punters use to go down to the corner shop/Display village and pick one from the shelf..so as to speak... now all that's changing and they prefer to be more informed Here Building a House WA They don't get sucked in that easy and prefer to trust metadata and proofs (long story) Get your own plans,Engineering,Data, approximate costs & Proofs to start with, get 3 quotes and compare builders, make them $harpen their pencil.... goodluck Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs the step up is 30mm and wanting it to be flat . how much does the concrete have to be lowered .we plan on removing bath and lenghten shower and adding seat. the old bath… 0 8156 Do I need to concern about this pattern of crack? Is this crack showing some signs of bigger problems? Thanks for any suggestions! 1 834 Take a pick with a level sittingo n the slab and a pick with a level sitting on the sill please. This will help us diagnose the issue and therefore a solution. RE,… 8 1240 |