Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Feb 15, 2011 1:42 pm We've been looking at a couple of volume builders. I'd love to do a more environmentally sound house properly but we really don't have the time to learn about all this stuff and manage it ourselves. I just assumed that seeing an architect and independent builder who build more environmentally sound homes (better construction materials, not just energy efficient) would be out of our price range (absolute max $250k after allowing for price rises, delays, unforseen costs, any design work etc and all the inclusions like benches and cupboards) We have a small block in Melb northern suburbs. With this budget could we do something with an ESD architect and builder or do we need to stick to something more mainstream? I've looked at lots of websites and they tend to look like upmarket properties and out of our range, but not cost ranges are given. Re: architect design vs volume builder - budget range? 2Feb 15, 2011 2:07 pm Hey Lastone We paid to Architect 4k to design double sty house (30 sqr) and $600 for soil report and levels in Melbourne. We received quotations from contractors ranging from 335k to 370K. Most of them allowed basic and needed additional 20k to upgrade to current trend. Later we decided to with volume builders. PD gave us a complete quote for 35sq double sty house for 310k. Now we are building single sty 32 sqr house with Places Homes. It is much cheaper than PD double sty house. Still we have bigger living space than both double sty homes. If you have a budget of 250K. go with volume builder. Remember single sty are cheaper than double Good luck Moved in 25/6/11 Re: architect design vs volume builder - budget range? 3Feb 15, 2011 2:36 pm I think you may be able to find what you're after for your budget, so long as you are prepared to put in a fair bit of research and legwork yourself first. I often buy Green Living magazine and occasionally other mags about environmentally sustainable lifestyles/building and I get the perception from those that there are many ways to be green and keep your upfront costs down. If you aren't in too much of a rush you may find recommendations through articles in these sort of magazines. eg. I can remember a recent feature where the owner collected hundreds, perhaps thousands?, of bottles to put underneath their slab for insulation. You may be able to find a smaller builder willing to use environmentally-friendly building materials (provided you do the research and tell them what you want). Smaller builders don't necessarily mean astronomically higher costs. Have a look at Your Home Technical Manual. If you are well versed before you go in you can choose a plan from a volume builder to suit your particular block (from an energy-saving point of view) and change window locations etc for further improvements. Even with a volume build you can still have a say in some of the finishings to decrease your environmental footprint. eg arrange for handover of the house before painting which would allow you to use low VOC paints, choose floor finishes like polished concrete or timber from sustainable forests with hard wax oil finish, bamboo benchtops in your kitchen, etc etc. Hope these points give you some ideas. I wouldn't give up on the idea too quickly. I would expect having an eco-friendly house will be a selling point in the future and help with the energy bills in the meantime. Kylie Re: architect design vs volume builder - budget range? 4Feb 15, 2011 8:24 pm A rough guide is: $800-1200/m2 volume built house $1500-2000/m2 custom built house (using a building designer) > $2500-3500/m2 architect designed and project managed build The reason why volume builders can do it cheaply is partly due to economies of scale. They can significant discounts on materials due to large orders. This could represent as much as 60% in savings. Labour costs are a significant proportion of cost. These can vary up to three fold depending on the quality of the contractor. The average margin for a builder is around 15% (can be higher). The project manager collects 10%. You can try to save money by project managing, co-ordinating your own trades or DIY (if you have the skills). A controllable factor are the quality of the fittings and finishes e.g. timber frame vs alu frame windows, floorings and tiling, benchtops, joinery. Anything done too cheaply will always sacrifice quality. Re: architect design vs volume builder - budget range? 5Feb 15, 2011 8:32 pm Thanks Kylie and 77lk1 Kylie, the thing is we have a while before our land becomes available, but as lay people I don't know that my husband and I could put something together ourselves to take to a builder and ask them to make. I have 2 little kids that run me raggard and my husband works away so we aren't often in the same room to have these discussions and make decisions. It will be bad enough choosing colours let alone something technical like what materials to use. I got a hold of the Your Home Tech manual a few months ago and highlighted bits from it but I'm lost - more so when talking about thermal mass/passive cooling and putting it all together. I have gotten things out of it such as: Living room at the street frontage as North is on the corner of our block Higher ceilings for fans (but that comes at a cost and I wonder could the money be better spent on PVs instead) Std 450mm eaves won't be deep enough to exclude all summer sun We will adjust the windows - smaller on the south (bedrooms). But as to exactly what impact this will make I'm not sure But there a quite a few things I coudln't figure out myself: Suggest polished floor for thermal mass, but apparently this wouldn't suit our area because of excess cracking Dark tiles with cement glue - but cement glue would be noisy and hard to lay (I've had cement on my skin before and it's not nice) I thought Hebel was the way to go but now I see from looking at the manual again I see that it is quite low for TM, so perhaps it's main advantage is embodied energy - see I'm very confused. Thanks for the tips about dealing with a volume builder - if you have any more I'd appreciate it even if they seem obvious. We have been speaking to one in particular and I doubt very much the sales guy would know if the paints were low VOC or not (though he might, he mentioned asthma). The reason I say this is I asked about the details of the heating unit they provided and he had no idea even what model it was, only the brand, and didn't have details available. One other issue is that you pay a vb for a reason - to get everything done, and if they won't deduct for example for not painting then you are really paying for something twice. I didn't know about bamboo benchtops - off to google thanks. One last thing - I'd imagine you get your star rating for a house after contracts have been signed? Could we get this done before hand to help the decision process (I guess I'm thinking if you propose all these changes to a VB and it does nothing to alter your star rating then that's rather informative right?) Thanks to you both again Re: architect design vs volume builder - budget range? 6Feb 16, 2011 8:55 am i don't think you will get alot of info that you are looking from sales person. they just copy whatever in the computer system. even extra items and prices are preset in their system. if you ask something new either they will say no or will get the details during contract or tender. Moved in 25/6/11 Re: architect design vs volume builder - budget range? 8Feb 17, 2011 10:10 pm You don't need cement glue for the tiles. The thin layer of adhesive won't affect its ability to couple with the slab mass. Hebel (autoclaved aerated concrete, AAC) has an intermediate combination of thermal mass AND insulation. The BCA approves its use in a 220mm single skin application for temperate climates. Judging from other systems using similar thermal properties it should work well as a building material. Log cabins, timbercrete and hempcrete are similar to these and anecdotal experience report they work. It may not be necessary to have lots of mass and lots of insulation to achieve a reasonable result. Re: architect design vs volume builder - budget range? 9Feb 17, 2011 10:11 pm How you design eaves depends on your specific climate and insolation. Check BOM for climate data. Work out exactly when you start to want shading based seasonal average outdoor temperatures and then work out eave length from that. i did click it, still couldnt make it out rofl. in any case, doesnt look like too extreme a slope, you may be in luck. Just shoot out some emails to volume builders in… 3 14166 Your build is relatively simple, I believe your job can be easily done by a good building designer, you really do not need to pay for the architect. Remember, architect's… 3 8363 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 98095 |