Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Mar 19, 2017 9:47 am Hi All, We are embarking on an a project due to my fathers ill health. He is 70 just had 2 hip replacements and fallen over twice in last few months. He has lived on 2.5 acres for the last twenty years so to ask him to sell and move into a house in suburbia would stop the joy he has daily of attending his animals which are his life. Take these away and he would wither and die very quickly. We are selling our home and due to the status of his land, Green Wedge we require to remove his food prep area so council will allows us a planning/ building permit meaning our house would be classified as such and his an outbuilding. We are just about to organise an architect to draw up all plans, we will require an engineer to design the slab and a surveyor whom we have got a hold of to do a land survey. Once all plans are submitted or before plans are submitted do we need to hire a building surveyor? Not sure of the process, and or the cost although I know they take a % of the project costs. My questions are the following and I will thank you in advance, we have a price through the architect for a cost of $1500 to follow the complete process through with council but with meeting council town planners could we do this ourselves and save the money or should we just pay the money to save the headaches? For a 35 square home to be built what is the rough cost per square so I suppose what would and should we be aiming for for a budget of this? 250-350-400K? I believe that the volume builders are making a lot of money some 40% of the total price and some of this is through volume buying power, I understand that but if they can build a 35 sq property for 275K then what can we do it for or better? I will offer all contractors cash as we can so the prices you would normally get from them should lower and we will look to tradies that family have used and recommended. We will require septic and tank water so will this need to be in the plans submitted into council as working drawings? I greatly appreciate your time and look forward to hopefully feedback. Kindest regards Steve Re: First timer 2Mar 26, 2017 9:59 pm Frankly speaking, it really depends on how much you are going to do as owner builder. Also, what is your expecting finish for your house, location, site condition etc.. will have impact on it. The first thing you should stop thinking is offering all contractors cash. This is definitely asking for trouble. You will have more runaway than you can imagine. From your brief info, 35sq with a 275k which is approx. 840 per sqm. Can't say that it is not achievable, but you are looking at doing almost everything yourself. Even with a 400k budget, you are really running on thin ground here.that's approx. 1200 per sqm. For a more realistic estimation, expect a budget of 1500 per sqm for a start and work from there. Remember, you will never achieve the saving of a volume builder. Also, if you need septic and water tanks, both will add to your cost. Go and ask your council what is required for your planning permit. Try to find out more about what it is involved and ask yourself if you are prepared for the high stress. Good luck! Re: First timer 3Mar 27, 2017 12:47 am Vilume builders save a lot because they order products in volume. So they have contracts and special prices from their suppliers because they buy products (eg. windows, bricks, tiles etc etc) in bulk from single companies (for 100s of house they build, they use same product, same tradies etc). Thats how they get special price and save from there. I dont think ordering one / few items for a single house build is not gonna make the savings that volume builders make Re: First timer 4Mar 27, 2017 8:05 pm I'd say if you're after the same quality (or lack of) as a volume builder, you can save a little. Nowhere have I seen 40% profit mentioned unless you are all the tradies rolled into one A lot of ob's usually upgrade the bricks/fittings/kitchen/etc so tend to spend the same as it would cost from a builder but have a better house. There's an awful lot of stuff to learn before you tackle something as big as a house but if you're committed to spend the time, it will be a worthwhile project. You just need to have open eyes and an open mind. 11 40696 Thank you. Do I use timber floorboards for stairs or do people use timber treads? Or is both the same? 6 7257 Can anyone give me any onfo on New Homes WA? Good or bad, hopefully good just need to know if my choice was good or not? Thanks ❤️ 0 8933 |