Attn Builders and Developers

Hi all,
Just wondering what builders and developers on here use to price their houses for a new build. Do you have a program that have the prices for every aspect of the build.

I recently purchased the rawlinsons construction cost guide which gives the prices for every state in Australia.

I am in the process of doing my builders licence and I should have my builders licence by the end of the year. I will be starting another business next year building granny flats, houses, duplexes etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

For budgets and RAG pricing I have used Rawlinsons and Cordells.

For construction, I tender each trade.

 

Thanks for your reply Scott.

Which would you prefer from rawlinsons and cordells.

I was just wondering if there was a quicker way of pricing each aspect?

Do you just send each trade a copy of the plans and get them to quote the job?

 

If you're head honcho you should know the price of everything before calling trades, or close to. Do your estimate then get quotes.

Are you wanting to know if there's fancy software out there that will do the calcs for you and spits out a build cost?

 

yes something like that software. I have the book with all the costs but just want to speed things up.

 

Databuild is one of the better ones.

 

I work with one of WAs largest builders and if we are pricing a set plans from scratch (custom design) then we use an excel spreadsheet. It's very advanced, but it's somethings we've built and is linked to all of our pricing so it gets updated easily.

 

That sounds like a good system and something I will have to look into doing.

 

I have used Buildsoft in the past, otherwise there are many options out there. Cordells have an online system which populates your take off, Cheops is a combined accounts/contracts/estimating/programme/project management system. The Master Builders Assoc has done several reviews of the software available over the years.

You need to work out what you want your software to do ie leave less guesswork and carry forward everything from the estimate, marked up bill, programme etc into the contract when awarded. Then it becomes a contract admin tool with your estimate/contract value, when you let the contract, it becomes a committed cost, variations are added to the committed cost for an adjusted contract value. Progress claims go off against the committed cost to provide the balance to claim & cost to date. These costs are pulled into the accounts system, also provide feedback with regards to budget (contract) vs actual costs vs programme. I used to have to do all of that by hand/via spreadsheets.

 

What do you use now? Or are you not in that line of work anymore. I think there is a software program where you just click on a item like bricks for example and you put in your m2 and it gives you a price but I cant remember the name of it. Maybe it was the cordells program.

 

I just work on specification for what area/suburb dictates and keep it simple anywhere from $1200-1500 per sqm for Melb market. This is how I calculate costing build sqm/size x cost

 

I'm talking about being the builder and getting costs for every aspect of building a house to quote for a client so I can draw up a contract for them when it comes time.

 

• Each has its own advantages/disadvantages. If doing elemental estimating, I prefer Rawlinsons. Cordells uploads it rates into its estimating system (and others as well)

• Software is the quickest way of estimating - many are able to upload the plans to allow quicker take off of quantities eg: Cheops, Workbench, Tenderfield, Buildsoft

• You need to be in control of your tender, not your subbies. So first you need to break down the specification (trade breakup), then select the items that you want the subby to include, special conditions, prelims (eg. removal of waste/progressive & final cleaning, shop drawings, approvals, substitution of materials etc), WHS requirements, form of sub-contract to be used and the plans (relevant to the scope of work). This way you know what they have excluded as well as included in their quotes. The rest, you will need to estimate from first principles.

 

Don't forget the"greedy developer mark up" don't let them take the cream work back from their targets (I'm a keen fisherman )

Let me know when you get your licence i might have some work for it. Just send me the details you don't need to know anything else

 

@bob shovel - you only require @Brian84's name, then look him up on Fair Trading, white pages etc

 

Why would you do the course then? ? You can copy and paste everything these days

 

You would want to have a big brown paper bag

 

@Brian84 - make a tread up when you get licensed
should have work for you

 

I use an excel sheet, quantify this as m2 for a lot of materials/finishes, then explode into Databuild. For side projects, just an excel sheet which I reprice based on rate rises/falls each month.

Have also used BEAMS (excellent for smaller businesses) and Oracle.

No offence, but if you are going to be a registered builder by the end of the year, why have you not learnt estimating yet? A dangerous game using Rawlinsons to price developments. Can't rely on quoting every item when a client wants a price asap. Need to have reliable rates and a sound knowledge on what things cost. Unless of course the licence you are referring to in NSW is different to what we have here in WA (though I don't think so?).

 

Yep i was thinking that to

If they don't cover estimating enrol in a cert 4 (or something) to learn it. You need to know how a job is priced and how to do it yourself.

Also get some planning experience, tafe would do it. Ms project is a good start if you teach yourself with you tube videos