We have a place in Sydney Inner West.
We have DA plans approved to knock down the back half of the house and build a 2 storey house that attaches to it. It's about 154sqm in area of the new build. Will have 2 bedrooms and 2 new bathrooms and kitchen and laundry.
Has anyone had anything similar done recently? We've been quoted 730k to do this, just wanted to see if anyone has anything comparable so we can see if the pricing is similar.
Wow, back in the day (2002) I got a whole house built for $110k. 270m2. Single story though, and no need to knock down anything except a few weeds on the empty block.
Still: your quote sounds very high. Marble floors and solid gold door knobs?
Unfortunately not unusual at the moment for knock down and extension costs to be in the range $3000 to $5000 per square metre depending on design, access, fitout, slope etc.
We've been quoted 730k to do this,
You can get a decent volume builder house for that!!
Builders and tradies charge what they want nowadays. Pretty much every quote I've seen recently works out to about $5k per week just for labour (1 person). Wish I got paid that.
That's a lot of guys working for a lot of days then ;)
Extension building costs are invariably higher than a total new build
Extension building costs are invariably higher than a total new build
Which was my point… Still an old 'front' part of the house. Might be better return on the OPs dollars by doing a KDR vs tarting up the back.
Can't do knock down, heritage conserved area, need to preserve the front… =\
You’re talking about something that’s bespoke. No way you can compare properly unless you get other quotes
Im in the middle of one and in Adelaide, so keep in mind local differences. Also, I am running a cost plus contract, semi self managing and the builder is family.
All that being said. Budget for a 3 bed reno plus extension of approx 45sqm plus double garage - $250k with, I reckon, another $50k for contingency (read: me splurging)
Kitchen/laundry (cabinetry) $60k - laminate, marble, appliances
Plumbing - easily $20k
Tiles - $2k
Tiler - $4-5k
Electrician - $15k so far but full existing house done inc data
Flooring (old) $4k
Windows (old) $10k
Doors (old) $8k
Paint $1500 (painting ourselves)
Obviously there's miscellaneous stuff but this is a rough ballpark for the existing house. Doesn't include wardrobes for example (another $15k)
New extension is around $120k. Windows and glass doors, for example, $20k. Timber for frames, $9k. Foundation and flooring just set me back around $28k
All of this I add my builder's margin to. Most are at 20-25%. Also doesn't include labour costs (currently at around $8k)
As you can see, it can rapidly hit $300k. $700k seems excessive but $500k, with top end finish, wouldn't be unreasonable.
and the builder is family
So totally not the same as everyone else then.
In so far as his margin isnt 20%. The prices above are pre builders margin. OP can add 20-25% and math.
Often, people get a quote from a builder and have no real idea of where that money is going. When they see some kind of cost breakdown, rationalising $500k for a 2 storey extension after 2-3 quotes becomes easier as they are more educated on where that money is actually going.
For example, OP may not be aware that 2 storeys requires different foundations and engineering. That different joists and flooring will be needed. Insulation will have to vary. Then staircase and allowances plus safety. If bathrooms upstairs, plumbing costs will increase. Hip roof vs skillion will change costs and engineering also.
If none of this is explained, it's hard to swallow a quote like $730k
For example, OP may not be aware that 2 storeys requires different foundations and engineering
That should be part of any decent builder quoting, explaining the costs and anything extra like this. But to be fair, if the OP is getting 2 storey building quotes, then they all will have these 'costs'.
In so far as his margin isnt 20%. The prices above are pre builders margin
You're on 'true' cost of goods plus margin as you're family. Most people are on, the builders price to them aka already marked up, plus margin ;)
Had friends building, the builders 'cost' to upgrade an oven from a mid range one to a high end one, was more than them buying the high end oven themselves post handover. But somehow this was only meant to be the difference between the two models the builder was passing on. Sure sure.
it's hard to swallow a quote like $730k
$700k+ is a hard pill to swallow for a reno indeed that only adds 2 bedrooms and 2 new bathrooms and kitchen and laundry
I paid $60k to the builder for 16sq metres (new roof, ceiling & 4 walls. Premium price because it was 3 stories up (scaffolding), difficult access, medium density fire rating (a 1.5sq m glass brick window was $5k). It was a medium quality build. Nothing fancy.
Paid another $40k for carpet, paint, 2 glass awnings and a balustrade and a dual head AC system
Ouch. Whats site access like? Are you going for premium fittings? I would have spat my coffee out with that price.
The road's on a cul-de-sac, flat surface, however there's one obstacle, sydney water large sewer asset that runs on my driverway to the back, so we had to get a lot of reports that finally got approved by sydney water.
Has he done a formal quote off the drawings?
Some details that might impact price -
Single brick? Double brick?
Any bushfire hazard? (might require fire resistant boards instead of standard plasterboard/cladding)
any asbestos?
Plumbing scope of work?
external finish - brick? render? cladding?
flooring - tiles? timber floor? carpet?
wet area walls - tiles to ceiling? skirting and paint?
electrical scope of work?
internal doors - solid? hollow?
mdf timber stairs? metal stringer stairs?
painting scope of work?
ceiling cornice? square set?
how many windows, sliding doors? how big? fly screen? aluminium or timber frame?
how many lineal metres of joinery in total? base and overhead cabinets? stone thickness and range?
how many of the new bathrooms have a bath tub? do they both have showers or is one just a powder/wc?
height of GF and FF?
how much work to existing property in terms of structure?
is there any landscaping and if so is it included in the price?
are there any provisional sum items in the quoted price?
is builder supplying all the pc items - tiles, appliances, door hardware etc or is he doing the install part only and supply is by you?
Yep, they did the drawings and worked with us with approvals along the way so they are well aware
Hmm, surprised items like tiles, appliances are supplied by them. One catch with that is if you have any issues with the tapware or appliances within the warranty period you might need to go through the builder to get it sorted and calling a builder anytime after the keys have been handed over is always frustrating. Usually the clients supply it so if anything goes wrong you can sort it directly. (also reduces margin costs that they may charge for ordering and organising the stuff) It puts a little bit more stress on you for now but will save you more down the road. Otherwise put the order in your name but give your builders authority to order and deliver on your behalf.
Pretty standard finishes, also surprised electrical is a PS but plumbing is not. I thought it would've been the other way round if there's sewer involved.
I'd say $300-400k and that's being generous. Anything more is a take it or leave it price. $400k can build you a brand new 2 storey house these days. (Albeit project homes). Whatever they quote you, allow an extra $50k (on your end, to be safe and a peace of mind) for provisional sums, variations, delays, etc.
So even if accounting for the hassle of protecting and working around existing property - they're asking for an awful lot at $750k. I haven't seen the drawings and don't know what the da conditions are, but seems a lot for what you're putting in it and the size of the property.
To be honest for that size and scope a very good, licenced carpenter who has a few friends in the industry can build that for you during his spare time/weekends for a lot less than $750k xD
We just had a couple of rooms added on and a little interior work to our old house.
The build cost worked out to be 25sqm x $2,800 = $70,000, but depending on level of finish could be up to $8,000/sqm.
That's excluding things like designer/architect, engineering, surveys, planning/building permits, levies.
Building, like everything is expensive at the moment. I’m considering a knock down rebuild that will leave me with a 370sm two storey mansion (6bed, 2bath) with a pool for around the 1 million mark. The same thing 3-4 years ago would have likely been 750k, that’s just how things go.
If I can convince the wife to wait a couple of years, maybe the price of building will drop, then again, maybe it won’t and I’ll be living in a cramped house with a very angry woman…
Don't count on that happening — many builders are quitting the residential building industry if they don't go bankrupt first. There's already a shortage of qualified tradies, so in the short term you will definately see a growth in prices. The state and federal governments inevitably make prices worse by dumping billions into affordable/public housing schemes and other related building works, because they are mandated to ensure more housing is being built no matter what.
I predict the lower end of the market will switch to prefab/kit homes, the middle >$1.5M will be forced to scale back their aspirations (many KRBs + new builds switched to renovations in the last 4 years due to escalating prices), for some custom modular or 3d-printed homes will sufice as that becomes more widely available, the higher end $5M+ will continue to grow in price edging closer to $10M but shrinking in sector size because only the 1% can afford that crazinss!
Get a second or third quote. If your want to compare apples with apples.