Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 01, 2019 12:13 pm Hi All. Just wondering if I can get some advice and thoughts. Just received back site survey and site costs have come in 11k more than proposed (total is 26k). Major changes from the survey is: - initially thought land is flat. Now they are saying there is a 30cm drop from left to right of the land and will need a retaining wall. - crossover is longer than excepted (6m) so will need allowance for excess paving - construction fencing due to next door being vacant land as well And additional charges that weren't included in our proposal: - allowance for 3c brick build up to boundary wall of garage - allowance for 3c drop footing along boundary rear - allowance to relocate water meter below the ground - provide channel drain with galvanised grate to front of garage, connected to stormwater First time building with so we are nervous and stressed about the costs. Any advice is much appreciated! Building in WA in established block. Re: Increased site costs 3Mar 01, 2019 4:54 pm That sounds similar to us. We initially thought our land was flat but after the survey we discovered we were wrong.... Had to retain down both sides and at the rear of the block due to a 40cm fall from front to rear (was circa $10k extra). In the end due to our narrow side access we ended up spending extra again to change the fence and put in a plinth, rather than doing the retaining wall and losing some of our side access width. Re: Increased site costs 4Mar 01, 2019 5:46 pm thme That sounds similar to us. We initially thought our land was flat but after the survey we discovered we were wrong.... Had to retain down both sides and at the rear of the block due to a 40cm fall from front to rear (was circa $10k extra). In the end due to our narrow side access we ended up spending extra again to change the fence and put in a plinth, rather than doing the retaining wall and losing some of our side access width. What did you site costs end up costing if you don't mind me asking and where did you build? It's a pain but just want to know I'm getting ripped off if we were to pay the extra. Re: Increased site costs 5Mar 01, 2019 6:38 pm Initial estimate was $13k. Once they had done the survey and adjusted estimates for the water run-in, etc it came back at $24k, because of the additional earthworks and retaining to be done due to the fall of the land. That was doing the retaining with the concrete panel and post, which was to be built inside our existing Super 6 fence (we wanted to try and retain the existing fence because it was in good condition). The problem with the concrete retaining is that you lose some of your side access and I think it's pretty ugly too. In the end we ended up agreeing to replacing one side and the rear fence, because we wanted to try and keep as much of the side access as possible and because some of the fencing sheets had cracks/holes in them anyway. The fencing plus an allowance to fix our neighbours paving when we changed the fence over came to $4,600 for roughly 43 metres of colorbond fence with a plinth at the bottom. Our builder offered for us to organise it all ourselves if we wanted, but it was just easier for us to get them to organise it (I know we probably paid a premium for this). We did a site visit, the construction manager setup his laser level and showed us the FFL on the existing fences etc and it made sense to raise the site, rather than build the house in a hole. Re: Increased site costs 6Mar 01, 2019 6:42 pm thme Initial estimate was $13k. Once they had done the survey and adjusted estimates for the water run-in, etc it came back at $24k, because of the additional earthworks and retaining to be done due to the fall of the land. That was doing the retaining with the concrete panel and post, which was to be built inside our existing Super 6 fence (we wanted to try and retain the existing fence because it was in good condition). The problem with the concrete retaining is that you lose some of your side access and I think it's pretty ugly too. In the end we ended up agreeing to replacing one side and the rear fence, because we wanted to try and keep as much of the side access as possible and because some of the fencing sheets had cracks/holes in them anyway. The fencing plus an allowance to fix our neighbours paving when we changed the fence over came to $4,600 for roughly 43 metres of colorbond fence with a plinth at the bottom. Our builder offered for us to organise it all ourselves if we wanted, but it was just easier for us to get them to organise it (I know we probably paid a premium for this). We did a site visit, the construction manager setup his laser level and showed us the FFL on the existing fences etc and it made sense to raise the site, rather than build the house in a hole. Thanks for your reply. Seams quite similar to us in terms of pricing too. They also mentioned we could organise it ourselves however wouldn't know where to start and would be time consuming. Re: Increased site costs 7Mar 02, 2019 9:28 am chekii First time building with so we are nervous and stressed about the costs. Any advice is much appreciated! Building in WA in established block. Increased site costs is a major concern and here's why 1. Some builders go in cheap on the initial price only to gouge back increased pricing on variations 2.Site works & Engineering are a big "ticket item$", nail down the Engineering Details & Costs Upfront before you hand over a deposit....Never trust Salesman that are on huge commissions when they say, " I'll sort that out after you have paid a deposit for the preparation of plans?" 3.Salesman aren't Qualified to give Engineering Advice, always have you siteworks and engineering properly assessed by an Engineer 4. As a Trusted Professional Engineer i get tired of being blamed when really Battlers & Punters have been suck-in, Salesman would do best to lift their rankings (Personal view based on my 30 Years experience & Knowledge) More info if you require accurate engineering, costs data and proofs Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Increased site costs 8Mar 29, 2019 8:30 am We had the same issue but was a $17000 increase (after a fixed price on initial sign up after we had paid for a engineer to give us our initial quote) we were quite shocked and simply told them we cant afford it and we were no longer going to build with them so then they organised a meeting with their head manager and pretty much instantly wiped close to 12k off that and he also discounted a whole bunch of other stuff so it worked out good. At the end of the day they need us more than we need them so put your foot down whats the worst that could happen Re: Increased site costs 9Jul 11, 2019 5:44 pm StructuralBIMGuy chekii First time building with so we are nervous and stressed about the costs. Any advice is much appreciated! Building in WA in established block. Increased site costs is a major concern and here's why 1. Some builders go in cheap on the initial price only to gouge back increased pricing on variations 2.Site works & Engineering are a big "ticket item$", nail down the Engineering Details & Costs Upfront before you hand over a deposit....Never trust Salesman that are on huge commissions when they say, " I'll sort that out after you have paid a deposit for the preparation of plans?" 3.Salesman aren't Qualified to give Engineering Advice, always have you siteworks and engineering properly assessed by an Engineer 4. As a Trusted Professional Engineer i get tired of being blamed when really Battlers & Punters have been suck-in, Salesman would do best to lift their rankings (Personal view based on my 30 Years experience & Knowledge) More info if you require accurate engineering, costs data and proofs Cheers Chris I just get a quotation from a builder this week. Building a single storey house in Melton south Melbourne. And fixed site cost is only $7190 plus local council & oh& s fee $2450. The land is not big 334m2. It this quote too low? I have the same concern .I also have the detailed site cost calculator provided by the builder.(The sales person). Tradie may sit at home but will need to get house plastered as well or will you sit it out? 6 7729 I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 8280 Is anyone building with Mojo and have a recent site cost tender 0 12270 |