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Continuing from “Where to start when building or renovating” you are now armed with boundary set-backs and amenity locations ready to start thinking about your  new house, renovation or extension. To be able to explain your project, get across what you want and why you want it to design professionals and or builders, you need to create a brief and importantly a budget.

Your brief or wish list.

This is where you nut out everything on your wish list from the design features to selections including internal and external aesthetics, fixtures & fittings.

A design needs to be cohesive with your way of life, how many people in the household and the way each occupant lives.  Ask yourself, do you need additional and convenient storage for sporting equipment, do you need a quiet area for study or crafts, do you need a small kitchen or a large family size kitchen. It’s a crucial ingredient for your designer and builder to understand. Putting this down on pen and paper helps you get it clear, prioritise and verbalise it to others.

The budget.

Think about it realistically, when you buy anything you nearly always have a budget in mind. Being upfront with your budget is not guaranteeing the builder will overcharge. What it does do is help the designer, design something for your budget and if working collaboratively, the builder can keep the design within your budget.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • How much do you want to invest? If renovating or extending your home; how much is your home worth and how much can you spend before you over capitalise?
  • Is this your long term home or are you doing this to sell and move on?
  • What do you want to outlay? Will you use cash or finance? How much can you afford to service that loan? Do some sums and work out your weekly or monthly repayments.

So what do things cost and how do you work out a budget? Honestly speaking, until a complete analysis has been done on your site or existing home it’s difficult to apply a one size fits all square metre rate to all building projects. Simply because there are so many variables.

The site conditions & location.

Difficult and sloping sites add to excavation and foundation costs because there is more surveying, engineering and is more technical overall. Steep sloping sites with limited access require more labour and equipment (a crane or booster) to get tools and materials to the site.
West facing sites require more insulation because these homes are prone to over-heating in warmer months. Older houses, in particular, are prone to hiding problems behind nicely plastered and painted walls.

Custom vs project home.

Projects homes if you stick to the plans are cheaper to build because they benefit from economies of scale across 100’s of homes with the same or similar design. If you have a flat building site, can stick to the design and not make any design changes, you probably will get a cheaper home.

Selections & the finish quality.

Do you want high quality vs standard finish for fittings, materials, cabinetry, appliances, heating, and cooling…this can have a big impact on each direct cost in the project. Do you want high ceilings, solid core doors, concrete pathways, systems… anything not standard adds to the cost.

Permits, relaxations & certification.

If your boundary set back doesn’t allow enough space and you require a relaxation there may be other indirect costs from surveying and designing incurred.

The building size & complexity.

Generally, the more complex the shape, the more expensive each square metre will cost. If you have an architectural design they do tend to be more complex and technical – not run of the mill. Hence the reason you choose an architectural design.

It’s fair to say that unless you have a bottomless wallet; building, whether it be a new home, renovation or extension is a happy compromise between what you can afford and what you want.