Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jan 05, 2013 8:21 pm We are looking at doing an extension on the side of our existing house, the extension will include a new garage, and a 8m x 10m ground level "shell", with a second story on top of that extension, the same size (8m x 10m) - the second story will not go on top of the existing house, but it will share the existing wall where it joins. Luckily it has easy access, and we had some underpinning done so that should help with the footings on one of the existing walls that will be carrying load. Anyhow, I have a rough plan of what we want in terms of layout. How much information do I actually need to start getting quotes though? I want to see how much it would cost to get built, and will decide whether or not I want to owner-build based on that. Is it enough to have rough plans with dimensions, including elevation plans? Do I need to choose all of the materials I want before I see the builders? (second storey cladding, roof type etc)? I don't want to go and spend money on things like engineers before we get quotes, because I may change the design a bit if we find the cost is it out of our range. Also do builders do obligation free quotes? I don't want to waste their time, but I also need to know costs before I decide how to proceed. Lastly.. can anyone recommend anyone for this sort of job in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne? Re: How much information do I need to get quotes? 2Jan 05, 2013 9:06 pm Hi House OB Yes builders will do a free quote but nothing is for free and there has to be a genuine prospect of getting a job, that is exactly what you are not offering because you are still thinking OB or even if you can afford it. If you do that knowingly you will not be acting in good faith. The second problem is that your ideas are not crystallised into a completed design from which a builder can quote reliably. If builder has to start guessing then he will start padding your price to allow for the worst case scenario. Who pays premium for builder's comfort? You. I would never look at pricing a job if there was no building permit (unless it is design and construct) and ready to go including proof of owner's finance, otherwise it's a waste of time. There are a lot of tyre kickers and time wasters around. After estimating and tendering for over three decades I can tell you estimating a job is time intensive and before you ask builder for his time make sure you have spent your time and money to get building permit and your finance approval. That's when you can shop around with builders with confidence and that's when you will get genuinely best prices. I hope that has been helpful to you . 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: How much information do I need to get quotes? 3Jan 05, 2013 9:43 pm Maybe you could just calculate your worst case by the number of sqms you want to add. Eg. $3000 x 200sqm = $600,000. I wouldn't of thought a builder would want to do any quotes until you have designs, engineering, soil tests because until they know what they are working with costs could totally blow out. For our renovation we were given an indication of costs $1800-$2000 low/mid spec per sqm $2500 mid/high spec per sqm. $3000+ high spec per sqm. Re: How much information do I need to get quotes? 4Jan 05, 2013 11:43 pm building-expert before you ask builder for his time make sure you have spent your time and money to get building permit and your finance approval. That's when you can shop around with builders with confidence and that's when you will get genuinely best prices. Hmm, wouldn't I need to finalize the design before I get buliding permits? I have talked to the council and they have at least said there should be no issues. This is kind of the problem I have, if the builders prices are okay, then they definitely have a chance of doing the work. We know how much we can finance, we just don't know how much the builders will quote, and people seem to get quite varying quotes which makes it difficult. In the Archicenter cost guide for extensions of shell only they list the minimum price for brick veneer at $989/sqm - $1,693/sqm, but it's a big difference so difficult to work out what builders will quote. The design is pretty much locked in how we want it, what I mean is we may make some rooms smaller if we find the quotes are too high, but overall the same design/layout will be kept. Pellana Maybe you could just calculate your worst case by the number of sqms you want to add. Eg. $3000 x 200sqm = $600,000. We could, but what if the real quotes are half that? It's a bit tricky! Maybe I'll contact some builders and explain the situation, see if anyone is willing to give a quote, even if it's a range so we know the minimum/maximum likely costs. Re: How much information do I need to get quotes? 5Jan 10, 2013 8:08 am Fact of the matter, the more info you give to your builder, the move accurate the quote. Also, budget for providing this info. People tend to look at their budget as the magic figure that they'll spend on the actual construction. The documentation is equally as important and should be considered. Your surveyor can slap you/your builder with a defect notice and the only way out is to call in an engineer to certify it (delaying a job and costing dollars). As a general rule, I allow at least 5-10% of your budget for non construction items including plans, permits, engineering plus a contingency in case someone stuffs up. Re: How much information do I need to get quotes? 6Jan 10, 2013 6:14 pm No worries, that's why I haven't talked to any builders yet, I want to at least get it as close to possible, also including the spans that need to be engineered and the viable spans. Re: How much information do I need to get quotes? 7Jan 15, 2013 10:16 pm Invest in a competant estimator or quantitiy surveyor. Usually around the $300 to $500 mark. This will get you ball park figure. Enough to make a decision in which direction you would like to go. However, be sure to discuss with your local council planning department first. Not the building department. To at least understand the design parameters they would place on you. Getting approvals can be a very frustrating thing and a nightmare if you have invested so much time and money jumping to working drawings for the sake of getting a realistic price. 0 4982 We are at the stage on our build in Kilcoy, Queensland where we need to get our fencing installed but we cant get any contact details for our neighbours to give them… 0 6158 7 11992 |