Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Sep 21, 2017 9:50 am Hi All, I've recently started owner-building a family home in Kellyville, Sydney. I have a background in construction, and am doing my best to manage the work and control costs. I've got 5 quotes for the concrete slab and piers (details below), and they've all been around the $50,000 mark. This price range seems very high, based on my calculation of the actual cost of works. Has anyone had a similar experience? What is a reasonable price for this kind of work, in your experience? Thanks in advance! (223m2 waffle pod slab on ground, 60 linear meters of piering, N20 concrete, class M site) Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 2Sep 21, 2017 11:00 am If you have had 5 quotes and they are all around 50K then you have a pretty good picture of the going market price for this type of work. Perhaps your expectatrions are unrealistic. What is to stop you from doing the piers, prepare slab and then just get a concrete crew to place and finish the concrete? Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 3Sep 21, 2017 11:15 am Hi Arnie1989 Unfortunately trades have a habit of charging more for owner builders..here's why 1.They can usually get away with it. 2.They try to peg back a bit more profit 3.Owner builders can't offer following work to allow discounting 4. Owner builders are often poorly organised and waste a lot of the trades time 5. Supply and Demand forces will dictate At a quick guess I would say it's about $20K too high (perth) Slab & Formwork Costs Try breaking down the components further and look for savings hth Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 4Sep 21, 2017 1:30 pm Yes unless you have lots more future work, you won't get a builders price, that's why I hired a good project manager to get most my quotes for me ended up cheaper, but more importantly, I got good trades. Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 5Sep 21, 2017 4:07 pm Why don't you just build timber floor on strip footings and stumps. I have written before on this forum that slabs are a scam of the century. At 50 K timber floor would have to be cheaper. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 6Sep 21, 2017 9:59 pm Thanks for the replies, Lot to think about. I think it's going to be challenging to negotiate a better price for the following reasons - 1) I am owner-building, and do not have a huge quantity of work to use as a bargaining chip. ie. no buying power 2) The market is hot, so subbies can cherry pick jobs... why work for a smaller margin, when he's got 10 other job offers that he can charge a higher rate on? I'll keep trying, and see where it lands me. Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 8Sep 22, 2017 8:52 am Do the maths, if you pay 10% for a project manager, you would save at least that on all quotes, maybe more if paying with the folded stuff, examples are, quotes for earth works, my best 24,000, Project manager 17,000. Painting my best 23,000 Pm 15500. ,i could go on and on with many many more examples, It can be false economy and cost more to not have a pm. Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 9Nov 29, 2017 1:22 am Joker Do the maths, if you pay 10% for a project manager, you would save at least that on all quotes, maybe more if paying with the folded stuff, examples are, quotes for earth works, my best 24,000, Project manager 17,000. Painting my best 23,000 Pm 15500. ,i could go on and on with many many more examples, It can be false economy and cost more to not have a pm. So where do you get one from? Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 10Dec 01, 2017 12:21 pm At a rough guess from what I have been quoted: $80 a m2 for 400mm waffle pod (cheap) and 50l/m for 450mm piers. A shed slab around these parts is close to 100 m2, Looks like your quote is pretty close. Screw piers and bearers and joists work out to be 2/3 the cost, but your house will be off the ground which may not suit your design and also loss of thermal mass which needs to be considered. Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 11Dec 01, 2017 7:44 pm The builder doesn't give you a cost breakdown for the slab that's included in the base price The critical elements ie footing/slab, walls, roofing,etc are included in the display or Base price The builder gives you the upgrade PS price for extra engineering, material and labour,etc ie upgrade slab from A to M waffle .How can an upgrade price be $80m2? Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 12Dec 03, 2017 1:09 pm As an owner builder I sourced my own pricing when I was deciding between bearer and joist and a slab. The pricing was based on a cleared level block ready for dusting and form. I have had a soil test done and discussion with an engineer about what was required with each design. His job is to design the foundation, and I was obviously trying to design a house with consideration to the foundation and how it will effect other parts of the house. When entering into a contract to build with a builder as far as I am aware, the cost of the slab is quoted in full, and a guestimate or allowance, is made on the depth/cost of piering, The issue being is that a soil test is not done directly in the location of each pier, and subsequently the depth of the piering may change to suit. The problem with piering is that because the contractor is can't be 100% sure of the foundation of the pier, mistakes are made. Too deep, waste of concrete, too shallow and no support for slab. I have think that screw piers should be considered. Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 13Jan 03, 2018 8:38 am Arnie1989 I think it's going to be challenging to negotiate a better price for the following reasons - 1) I am owner-building, and do not have a huge quantity of work to use as a bargaining chip. ie. no buying power 2) The market is hot, so subbies can cherry pick jobs... why work for a smaller margin, when he's got 10 other job offers that he can charge a higher rate on? I'll keep trying, and see where it lands me. Here is my2c worth 1.Now what it's worth & have a fair price in mind say $30K 2. Pick a large contracting team 3. Plan your project properly 4. Develop a relationship with those quoting, prove you are not a Time waster costing them money 5. Make sure the site is ready to go anytime.. 6. Chances are he can fit you in between delayed jobs 7. Get your engineer to certify screw piles,organise pile installation yourself & Wait Here's a % COST breakdown Class M Waffle hth Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 14Jan 04, 2018 2:18 pm You might also want to check those guys here: https://www.libertyonesteel.com/media/1 ... es_qld.pdf My understanding that you can get a customised slab formwork, mesh, etc. supplied by them and then the only thing which needs to be added is the concrete itself. Probably worth giving them a call. Hope it helps Re: Owner Building - What's a reasonable cost for the slab? 15Jan 05, 2018 8:35 am Look for bigger savings, steelwork is a small component in reinforcement concrete Class, M Screw Piles & Waffle $45K Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Seems good to me. I've been told $4-5k/sqm is reasonable in Perth. 2 11178 Hi VK, Think it's worth investing time in an Owner Builder course to equip you with basic knowledge on Australian Building Industry and its regulations. Also, I suggest… 11 23012 |