Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 May 03, 2011 5:25 pm ok so ive been stuck with doing the research... we are looking into extending our existing single storey, weatherboard. (adding second storey master-ens-wir plus a study/guestroom then possibly renovations to the kitchen) i have called a few builders and waiting on some quotes. however, since i dont know anyone who has had an extension done before i havent been recommended to anyone. and we arent sure how much this is going to cost - although we are aware its not going to be cheap. so my questions are... how do i know which builder to go with? is there a builder that anyone can recommend to me that do free quotes? also are we being realistic by saying we want the work completed by the end of 2011? help would be appreciated cheers Re: please help! Builders in melbourne??? 2May 04, 2011 11:31 am I know exactly what you're going through! It's hard when no one you know has been through it and can recommend someone. Even our architect was unable to suggest anyone, which surprised me. My big piece of luck: a few friends recommended a joiner for the kitchen, he recommended a great local builder. Turned out to be far more suited to the size of job we're doing than the big building company recommended by a friend of a friend. So that would be my suggestion - speak to a few local tradespeople who deal with builders regularly, tap into their network. There's also a magazine called Melbourne Home Design and Living ($6.95) which has ads by heaps of Melbourne building companies. Though it's probably the bigger companies who can afford to advertise in something like this so you might miss out on a great local person who can do the job for a lot less. Another option could be to walk around your local area, find places where work is being done, note the signs out the front and even knock on the door and ask the people living there if they'd recommend the builder they're using. I have no idea how quickly most people get started on these sort of projects. We've had plans since late last year and it's looking like August before the builder can start. The big building company who quoted said they could start a month later, but their quote was almost $100k more than the smaller guy so we'd rather wait for someone we don't feel is inflating the price of everything. Having the extra time has actually been great - given me time to think about the details, change my mind about things, find my own suppliers. Good luck finding someone! Re: please help! Builders in melbourne??? 3May 04, 2011 11:49 am If you could provide your local area / council, forum members then may be able to assist with recommending builders. The reason I ask this is because not all builders will travel, especially since there is so much extension/renovation activity going on that they can pick and choose their jobs. In regard to your question about time frames, i think by the time you get plans drawn up, adjust them more to your liking, get quotes from builders, submit for town planning approval (?), get a building permit and fit into the builders schedule to start work (as they probably aren't sitting around waiting for work). You will have easily blown your end of 2011 time frame. Just my humble opinion anyway. Re: please help! Builders in melbourne??? 4May 04, 2011 3:17 pm Nothin happens in less than 6 months so you need to get cracking if you are going to hit that timeline you have set. You can ask your lawyer to check the builder out, is he solvant, ask the builder for someone he has recently worked for. If you can see the type of work he has done, and the people still have a good relationship with him, then thats the builder I would go for. You need to be upfront, ask him when he can do the work, whats his schedule like? Good builders often have over 4-6 months work ahead of them. Thats reality, because we all have to pay our bills Re: please help! Builders in melbourne??? 5May 04, 2011 3:32 pm If you set your deadline by December, it did sound a bit rush. Given that you still haven't found the right builder and the renovation sounds a little on the big side, maybe be a bit patient and allow for a longer timeframe. If you rush, you may find the wrong builder and lots of problems may come down the track. Do you know if your neighbours have done any renovations recently? Talk to them and you may get the angel! You can read your local leaders to check the extensions/ renovations ads. Those builders would be more willing to work for your area and they may even be able to show you their works nearby. Re: please help! Builders in melbourne??? 6May 04, 2011 4:44 pm wow!!!! this has been a massive help thanks everyone... already we have thought about maybe slowing things down and giving ourselves more time to get things done, since it is our home..we want it to be perfect in the end! thanks again Re: please help! Builders in melbourne??? 7May 04, 2011 5:41 pm Builders will give you rough estimates for quotes without fees, but they'll want you to put down $$ to show you're serious. You (IMO) won't get it done by End of this year. Plan for 18months after you have chosen your builder. Good LUck Make sure you go over all of the plans with a fine tooth comb and be sure to ask about the things they DON'T include as well as what they do. Re: please help! Builders in melbourne??? 8May 06, 2011 1:54 pm Hello there - first time poster - long time lurker.... I just thought that I would put my two cents worth in. We are reaching the end of a rather major extension, which doubled the size of our single story two bedroom house. The extension was pretty tidy, in that it was just tacking onto the back of the house, and extending one room at the front of the house, but quite large campared to the existing house. We added a garage, a master bedroom, ensuite, large family/dining, small 4th bedroom and an alfresco area under the main roof. The whole process from approaching a builder, to the point we are at now (floors have just been polished this week, and the ensuite and other bits and pieces still need to be completed) has taken 13 months. If you are asking for estimates, you will meet resistance, and don't even bother unless you have plans at least drafted - and by drafted, I mean a proper draft - not your sketches on a piece of paper. Most builders we spoke to had a 4-6 month wait, and it took around 6 weeks for quotes to come in (that was from three different builders). All up we approached 6 builders, with three of those either not interested (various reasons - including not wanting to do it while we were living there) or out of our budget by a long way, or simply not ever getting back to us. We chose the builders from ones we had seen building locally and ones from the Master Builders website that were based around our area. If you go on the Master Builders website you can find ones in your area. We ended up going with the builder that our next door neighbours used for their extension. I am not sure if this was a good thing, but we thought that he had seemed to do a pretty good job on their place, which was a complex extension, and that was a bonus as opposed to somebody we didn't have a clue about! I hope that helps - I guess I am trying to say that it is never as straight forward as you imagine, and every part of the process takes time - more time than you expect it to. However having the expectation of it taking more rather than less time means you don't get as stressed or dissapointed when things are delayed. I would plan for 12-18 months depending on your builder. ps - sorry for the long post.... Re: please help! Builders in melbourne??? 9May 12, 2011 3:55 pm you should look for testimonials! and this forum is a great place to start! im guessing you are looking for a company to do the work? majority of them would have testimonials and case studies on their website, make sure you read them! try and find the stories that sound similar to yours.. its reassuring to know they have dealt with it before and been successfull! GOOD LUCK!! Hi All, We have recently purchased a sloping block (3.5m fall building envelope, 6m overall). Just wondering if you know of any good builders that you would recommend for… 0 1733 Thankyou so much 😀 I've decided on White on white for doors and trims, White on white 50% on ceiling and Mt buller for walls. 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