inner west construction cost

[GimmeProperty]

Hi all

I'm looking to do a substantial renovation on my 2bd semi, involving knocking down the back half of the house and rebuilding kitchen, bathroom, living with an additional master bedroom on top.

I've been surprised at the budgets that architects think I need, one has said assume $5000 per sqm.

Anyone have any views or experience as to what it should cost per Sq m? Assuming average fittings

Thanks!

 

[kennyboi]

What will the construction of the walls, floors and roof be?

What's the level of finish?

 

[LeoT]

$5000/sqm? What are the walls made of? Gold and diamonds? ?

Leo

 

[Perp]

Renovations are always more expensive than new-builds per square metre. Only custom builders will do renovations, and you'd struggle to get a custom builder under $2-3K per square metre. You might scrape in for $4K per square metre, but I would think $5K was in the ballpark.

 

[vaughan]

Also with a semi, there will be issues of damage to the adjoining property due to the building works, plus additional expense in fire rating walls due to building on the boundary.

Also, check VERY carefully where the boundary is. Get it surveyed, properly. I'm doing a reno on a semi and discovered that a party wall is some 200 mm on THEIR side of the boundary, and I cannot use the extra space myself, I have to basically make a closed cavity. Allowing for double brick and timber framing, I ended up "losing" over 500mm of width that I thought I had in the bathroom.

 

[Marty McDonald]

Whatever a knock down rebuild costs I would think about double per m2 for major renos on a terrace.

 

[monalisa]

Hi all

I'm looking to do a substantial renovation on my 2bd semi, involving knocking down the back half of the house and rebuilding kitchen, bathroom, living with an additional master bedroom on top.

I've been surprised at the budgets that architects think I need, one has said assume $5000 per sqm.

Anyone have any views or experience as to what it should cost per Sq m? Assuming average fittings

Thanks!

Not sure about costs. You may want to check with SS member Television, he works in the building industry - servicing the inner west.

http://somersoft.com/forums/member.php?u=20544

 

[GimmeProperty]

Thanks guys

I stumbled upon this thread which seems to back up the 5000 figure (still seems high to me) ..

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2333774


I guess with inner west there's tight access points and smaller floorspace (ie my renovation area will only be around 60-70sqm) so on a per sq basis it is higher than other areas

The most important thing is the property value add > reno cost and at 5000 the margins are definitely tight

 

[depreciator]

It's good that your architect is being realistic. Too often they put a design together and when a QS does a cost plan it ends up being twice what everybody expected and then it's back to the drawing board.
You could presumably do it for less than $5,000 per sqm by compromising the design, but it's the inner west and the investment can probably be justified (and expected by prospective buyers).