Process of building

[havinago]

Ok please correct me if I'm wrong but this is my understanding:

Property purchased has dwelling on it currently.
We're doing a knock down rebuild:

1) Employ services of architect to design a house
2) Get DA approval (note already one in place current development application done by previous owners for second story addition)
3) Get quotes from builders to build house (I understand builders cannot quote an exact figure)
4) Build the house.

Did I miss anything?

Thing we're concerned about is employing the builders services to build, we were looking at a custom home by one of the big firms (Rawson, Masterton, Metricon etc)

Just also looking for pros and cons of using big firms to independent builders.

Advice, opinions happily taken on board.

Thanks so much in advance.

 

[beachgurl]

the cons for project home builders - The majority of project home builders will not do custom builds. I found one that does but they are few and far between. A lot of project home builders outsource their design/drawings stage, so there is quite a lag time from signing up with the builder and having the drawings done. When we built, it took nearly as long to get to council approval stage as the full construction timeframe.

The main pro is that the majority of project home builders are significantly cheaper than building the equivalent via a small builder. They generally absorb the cost of drawing up the plans and throw a lot of extras in for not much money.

In terms of build quality, you'd be better off going with an independent builder who does their own quality checks and continuity. Project home builders use contractors who show no real regard for the work done (or not done) by other trades.

You generally get what you pay for.

 

[havinago]

the cons for project home builders - The majority of project home builders will not do custom builds. I found one that does but they are few and far between. A lot of project home builders outsource their design/drawings stage, so there is quite a lag time from signing up with the builder and having the drawings done. When we built, it took nearly as long to get to council approval stage as the full construction timeframe.

The main pro is that the majority of project home builders are significantly cheaper than building the equivalent via a small builder. They generally absorb the cost of drawing up the plans and throw a lot of extras in for not much money.

In terms of build quality, you'd be better off going with an independent builder who does their own quality checks and continuity. Project home builders use contractors who show no real regard for the work done (or not done) by other trades.

You generally get what you pay for.

So you'd go a project builder which is independent over the Custom home builders who subcontract the work anyways?

 

[Scott No Mates]

It depends upon the outcomes that you want. If it is an IP, there is no benefit to you for having a one off designer house as the construction costs will far outweigh the cost of a proven project home.

On the other hand, getting an architect for your own home where you don't want to look like every other house in the street then it may be worthwhile.

Yes builders can prepare a quote to build a house but there will always be contingencies - latent conditions such as what they find when they excavate eg floaters, rock etc are unexpected ground conditions which may result in different footing design being required.

 

[J Martin]

It's best to talk to your preferred builders after plans have been completed but prior to DA approval. This allows the builder to review and estimate if it's within your budget, and any areas in the build that will blow the budget.

Once you have a DA in place, you are really 'locked in' to that plan.

And often architects will build a design to x price, but in reality is x++price when speaking to builders about it. If you can get the architects and builders talking prior to DA submission, in theory you'd get the best compromise between design/functionality and price.