I built a house back in 2002 in NSW. It was a small two bed kit home that came in bits and pieces in a shipping container just like you'd ordered materials from the hardware supplier. Armed with a DVD and manual I tackled it .....
The purchase cost was $43,000 for the shell only, ... no internals ..... On completion the final cost was $81,000 (used recycled windows) for a totally finished product. The final figure includes all costs associated with the DA process, surveyors, soil testing, council fee's etc
I did 80% of the work myself to save cost. I didn't do any electrical or plumbing as I got the experts in for that and I worked with a roofer to put the colourbond sheets on. The rest I did on my own.
I suppose the bottom line for me is that I wouldn't do it again, ...... I'd get a project home built. We really didn't save that much when I sat down and worked it out and it's bloody hard work. I saved labour costs, but if I'd worked and earned wages for the build period and hired a builder to build it then it would have been a better use of my time.
We are having a new house built up in SE Qld as part of a dual occupancy development build .... 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 garage with auto doors, carpets, tiles, blinds, landscaping, driveways/paths, fences ... a total turnkey package ... everything for $200,000.
I will renovate the existing house next door while it's being built to add value and rent return to the original property .... a much better use of my time and the end value of the completed house will be around the $330,000 to $340,000 mark plus around $50,000 added equity to the existing property.
Do we really save by doing it ourselves or are we sometimes better off thinking of a smarter option? Depends on the project I suppose.
All the best
Mystery ...
