Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Some add ons, but is the builder taking the p*ss? 2Aug 28, 2014 8:57 am http://www.betterthansheets.com.au - Why use sheets for curtains in your brand new home use Better Than Sheets Temporary Paper blinds instead! Re: Some add ons, but is the builder taking the p*ss? 3Aug 28, 2014 9:20 am IMHO, the general answer to your "am I better of doing these things after build" question is "yes". I'm not sure the tiling, for example, is that overpriced if you consider $100/sqm to be 120% of RRP (so $83/sqm). The tilers who did our house worked pretty hard & were there for about 3 weeks (between 3 & 6 people at a time, 6 days a week). They're making extra money out of you; but probably not as much as you think, the pricing & ordering & checking & paperwork etc involved in individual changes isn't insignificant compared to the markup on a $100 tap fitting. From that point of view, the pricing does effectively discourage you from making changes. Looking at our tender, none of the prices you've paid are any different to what we paid ... eg. we've paid nearly $800 for a complete Grohe Bau Cosmopolitan shower-set (the hand-shower which can also mount on the slidey-bar and also the rain-shower head thingy). I can't remember exactly our power points but I'm fairly sure they were around the $100 mark apiece. Basically have a look at what can be done afterwards; and how much mess it might make. For example, power points are doable; but I don't know how much it'll really cost if they're in one of the external walls which is packed with insulation. Downlights for downstairs in a 2-storey house are another example, of course an electrician can do anything but it'd have to be a lot more work once all the ceiling gyprock & upstairs flooring is in. Re: Some add ons, but is the builder taking the p*ss? 4Aug 28, 2014 1:33 pm Suspct covered them all nicely, but two cents on some items: 1) Expensive even with tiles included. At that cost it would want to be rectified porcelain, if its standard ceramic then get it done after build. 2) Do after build. 3) $132 for a TV point is OK, Clipsal wanted to charge me +$100 on that for a TV point, but for power points it is expensive. I paid $60 per additional double point in my place. 4) You should get a credit, possibly. Or it should break even. Is there more tiling required for this deeper bath or some other structural change? If so, then that's probably where the money is going. 5) Depends on what you had previously. The Grohe is a rail shower. If you had a standard wall-outlet then the extra price is understandable. Rail showers take a bit more to install, and if the rail does not have a built in diverter then new taps are needed with a diverter built in. I paid almost $900 for my Methven Escape double shower rail - expensive, but i believed it was worth it. 6) No idea what was originally included so i can't comment on price. Not too bad though. 7) Do fences after build, cheaper. A little expensive, but not bad. I paid the same amount for my Typhoon stainless steel outdoor rated fan (requirement for 6 star energy rating...) 9) Tapware can be expensive, $220 is ok, but i don't know what originally was going in so cant comment. My Noosa 23 Build - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=72782 Thanks. I called VBA today and they said it was a Consumer Affairs issue, the old handball. Seems like the government organisations don't want to do their job at the moment. 2 7574 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 8715 Can someone please offer some advice? Im DESPERATE. Because I'm completely and utterly exhausted. How long are variations taking with other companies at the moment? We… 0 18476 |