Tips on building houses...

[sipidan]

As a 1st time home buyer & builder I was wondering about things that you've picked up & learnt.

Things that you'd wish you'd done, done later or would do next time!

I'm an absolute novice, but looking into doing a land & house package around Baldivis , Singleton or Secret Harbour in WA.

I've been asking people lots of questions & now I'd like to ask you

Better quality lawn next time?

Fully tiled in all wet areas?

Spa instead of pool?

Granite kitchen top?

Bigger cooker & oven?

Walk in wardrobe in 2nd bedroom?

Concrete drive?

I'd deffinately want low maintainents!

More lights in kitchen?

More sockets in cinema room?

His & hers sinks?

No corner plot as your expected to maintain!

Just wondering

Thanks

[newjez]

You will always have some regrets. It's always a compromise. You just have to work out what is important to you. It is a hard thing to do when you constantly have to make decisions. Just make sure it doesn't overwhelm you. You may only do it once, so enjoy it.

[Eera]

Budget at least 30% more than you think it will cost, and don't believe them when they give a guaranteed build time. Make sure you're on hand to see stages of the building, especially if it's a chain builder rather than a sole trader, and if they talk about waffle rafts put your foot down and insist on a proper slab with edge beams. Also check if the quote is based on a Class S site (not very reactive), unless you're on sand the site won't be, and it can cost up to $20k more for the slab if you're on a Class H soil.

[boganbear]

We are building at the moment and I would agree with Eeera, add 30% to what they say it will cost and have a good 20k extra for extras such as plugs, landscaping, outdoor tiling, solar and aircon. We have gone for top quality finishes/tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms and a double garage for resale value, not because we like really want them

[NicF]

My tip - don't do it. I've found the whole process very stressful and will not be in any hurry to do it again. Be prepared for it to take over your life. Make sure you check your plans down to the finest detail and don't sign anything until you are sure it is exactly what you want. Get a landscaper in while you are still talking to the builder, especially if access to the rear of the block will be restricted once the house is built.

 

Definitely budget at least 30% more than you think - I'd actually say 50% more. Our slab cost over $30k more than what was allowed of in the base price of the house. We are still in the process of building so haven't got the house yet to see if there is anything we wished we had done different inside.

[flybyknight]

why are waffle slabs bad?

 

i'm new to this too, and will be building soon

 

many thanks

[sipidan]

Thanks for your comments :-D

The house design we like is called The Southport and is - $216,990 to build.

So what you guys are saying is to budget for $285,000 to build similar to say there display home?

[buzzy--bee]

Thanks for your comments :-D

The house design we like is called The Southport and is - $216,990 to build.

So what you guys are saying is to budget for $285,000 to build similar to say there display home?

 

I lecture on owner-building among many strings to my bow.

 

Mass-producing builders employ a large marketing department to suck you in and buy a lifestyle that you do not actually get when you move into the finished product. The display homes have expensive contemporary pictures, furniture, curtains, landscaping, even swimming pools. These are all designed to get you to sign up for what eventually becomes a very cheaply built empty shell, with no furniture, no pictures, no landscaping....

 

The builders have found very clever ways of cutting costs. I was amazed recently to discover that some project builders have no allowance for any plaster finishing! They just hang the plaster, tape and sand.

 

A lady on the last owner-builder course I spoke on had lived in a Metricon home for a few years. She told me when her kids got finger marks on the walls, she wiped the wall, and the paint came off back to the plasterboard! The builders had only used one coat of paint it seemed.

 

By all means buy one of these types of houses, but do bear in mind that you will never get the display home, you will get a mass-produced product built down to a budget, and after you move in, you may well have to spend a lot more money bringing them up to where you want them.

 

BB

[sipidan]

I lecture on owner-building among many strings to my bow.

 

Mass-producing builders employ a large marketing department to suck you in and buy a lifestyle that you do not actually get when you move into the finished product. The display homes have expensive contemporary pictures, furniture, curtains, landscaping, even swimming pools. These are all designed to get you to sign up for what eventually becomes a very cheaply built empty shell, with no furniture, no pictures, no landscaping....

 

The builders have found very clever ways of cutting costs. I was amazed recently to discover that some project builders have no allowance for any plaster finishing! They just hang the plaster, tape and sand.

 

A lady on the last owner-builder course I spoke on had lived in a Metricon home for a few years. She told me when her kids got finger marks on the walls, she wiped the wall, and the paint came off back to the plasterboard! The builders had only used one coat of paint it seemed.

 

By all means buy one of these types of houses, but do bear in mind that you will never get the display home, you will get a mass-produced product built down to a budget, and after you move in, you may well have to spend a lot more money bringing them up to where you want them.

 

BB

 

Bloody good read BB

Very good to know, are these turn key ready homes or the special packages

Good marketing ploys / farces too?

[buzzy--bee]

Here's what I recommend you do. See if you can find on the internet a newly built home which is available to rent or buy from the owner (not the builder). There should be quite a few of these available. Go to the open home. You will get a better idea of what you are likely to end up with.

 

BB

[Petals]

I did the legal work for a few builders and they were good builders however they did not build spec homes so they were a lot more expensive than the large builders. Its a good idea to visit some forums for building houses http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1413226 Whirlpool is usually a good forum to look at for anything from building pools, houses, technical and non technical subjects. Usually find out the good word on there about problems that people face with builders.

 

We built our own home, why because we wanted a well built house. I last looked at display home last year and was amazed at how builders are cutting the walls out no doors etc. Open plan is fine if you all like the same music, the same TV, have oodles of money to heat and cool the house, but for me the only winner is the builder who does not have to supply the materials for walls and doors and still can charge film star prices.

 

I agree with BB have a look around, you may get a stamp duty reduction on a new home but that is soon eaten up by the fences, the driveway, flooring and all the things that make a home established.

 

Also the guarantee provided is not as good as it is meant to be and you need to be very aware of what the guarantee covers.

 

Good luck, lots of homework to do.

[gpo1971]

We started down the build route but quickly became frustrated and a little wary as well. Ended up buying established.

Obviously, most people get there in the end but for us, it wasn't right.

[sipidan]

Here's what I recommend you do. See if you can find on the internet a newly built home which is available to rent or buy from the owner (not the builder). There should be quite a few of these available. Go to the open home. You will get a better idea of what you are likely to end up with.

 

BB

 

Sounds like a good plan, amigo

[sipidan]

We started down the build route but quickly became frustrated and a little wary as well. Ended up buying established.

Obviously, most people get there in the end but for us, it wasn't right.

 

We've been looking at established but can't seen to find one we like under $600,000 most we do like are $700,000+ which is ridiculous!

Building one for under $500,000 would be great but it could be too frustrating like you say!

I'm rarely in Town too as I work FIFO so would be difficult to keep an eye on them!

[buzzy--bee]

I'm rarely in Town too as I work FIFO so would be difficult to keep an eye on them!

 

It's hard to keep an eye on builders even if you are in town as they lock you out of the site and only permit access at a very few arranged, escorted inspections. They cite the reason for this as insurance, really they don't want you asking questions and noticing how things are done.

 

There's nothing wrong with employing a builder, just go in with your eyes open and know that you will not receive a show home when you move in.

 

BB

[Rallyman]

As a builder of 30 plus years I pride myself on delivering a quality job and getting work by recommendations ,we are not all bad and comments like above are not totally true " you will not receive a show home when you move in " you will from one of our jobs and more

[chubbs75]

As a builder of 30 plus years I pride myself on delivering a quality job and getting work by recommendations ,we are not all bad and comments like above are not totally true " you will not receive a show home when you move in " you will from one of our jobs and more

 

What sort of foundation would you put in for a 5 bedroom house?

[Rallyman]

Depends on local site conditions, type of construction and roof loads

[buzzy--bee]

As a builder of 30 plus years I pride myself on delivering a quality job and getting work by recommendations ,we are not all bad and comments like above are not totally true " you will not receive a show home when you move in " you will from one of our jobs and more

 

My comments were specifically about mass-produced project homes. Smaller builders are likely to produce better results, however I suspect that your prices justifiably reflect this and you will not be able to get down to the $600 per square metre charged by many of the larger builders as you don't skimp on quality.

 

Having said that, you also probably don't have a marketing department to pay for!

 

BB

[NicF]

It's hard to keep an eye on builders even if you are in town as they lock you out of the site and only permit access at a very few arranged, escorted inspections. They cite the reason for this as insurance, really they don't want you asking questions and noticing how things are done.

 

There's nothing wrong with employing a builder, just go in with your eyes open and know that you will not receive a show home when you move in.

 

BB

 

i suspect this is very much the case. Our builder didn't want to give us access to the site either but my OH persuaded them to give us the code to the lock on the security fence so we were able to visit regularly on weekends. We live just a few blocks away from where we are building so my OH also regularly drops by on his way to or from work to talk to whoever is there about whatever they are doing. We have known far more about what is going on than our contact person at the builders. We also have the phone number of the site supervisor and contact him directly with questions about when things are due to happen, which we have found to be far better than going through the official channels. We've found the trades on site to be mostly really happy to talk to us about the build. Unfortunately we know nothing about building so have no idea if things are being done right are not, but I don't think we would have been happy if we couldn't be as informed and involved as we have been.

[pablo]

I was talking to a house builder in Adelaide,asked was it possible to build my own house,he said no problem,they would just deduct the costs of the brickwork from the property,not exactly a self build,but maybe a compromise for any trades out there?

[Eera]

What sort of foundation would you put in for a 5 bedroom house?

 

As Rallyman says. Your site classification (soil test) will tell you the reactivity of the ground, and there's a table in AS2870 that basically tells the builder how thick the footing has to be for different build types, on a Class M soil (20-40mm reactivity), from memory you need about 400mm for a lightly loaded fibro-type building, up to 1200mm for a double brick type construction. Fill, sloping ground, highly reactive soils will require customed designed footings, even piles, so you can't really give a recommendation. I will though, highly recommend waffles are avoided; they are deisnged to be used in very specific circumstances and because there's not much embedment vermin can burrow under them and they are more prove to being affected by ground movement. They are cheap, which is why they are used more often than not.

 

There's also the bearing capacity of the ground to be considered; the majority of footings are designed on the premise that you have 100kPa allowable bearing capacity: wet, waterlogged or some sandy sites don't, so ground improvement has to be done first. I also say don't skimp on the site classification; if you have a flat, virgin site then any old idiot can knock one off, but if there's fill, slopes or any other adverse circumstance, a geotech really should be visiting the site and making the call and that costs significantly more; I'm involved with a case at the moment where an owner got a cheap and cheerful site class done, the unqualified person who wrote it failed to recognise the recent fill on the site and since his house has been built it has differentially settled by 20cm.

[Rallyman]

We welcome the owners to come to site to have a look and go through any concerns but only when we are on site,we have ohs for a reason !

to a certain extent you get what you pay for ,at the end of the day the basics cost the same , concrete, bricks ,roof, like anything else if you are prepared to do a lot of the ground work yourself you can get deals on windows, doors,kitchens, some builders are happy to along with this others are not. But if you are supplying items direct and they are faulty don't blame the builder and expect him to sort things out at his cost this has happened to me !

 

i would say that one of the biggest costs is in the ground ,best to go over spec slightly in the end if you can't get the foundations right. What hope have you got.

[gpo1971]

I was talking to a house builder in Adelaide,asked was it possible to build my own house,he said no problem,they would just deduct the costs of the brickwork from the property,not exactly a self build,but maybe a compromise for any trades out there?

Brother-in-law brickie has done that on his last couple of houses. He used other tradies he knows for other jobs as well, saves a lot of money.

[Melbpom]

I've recently built with one of the larger builders and my advice would be to use an independent build check service to monitor the quality. It will cost you a couple of thousand but you might avoid some of the problems I've had with shoddy work.

 

If you do go ahead with a larger builder consider putting your money into higher ceilings and doors. I'd also avoid putting too much money into finishes because they'll date and can be upgraded to suit the current style when you are looking to sell.