Builder needed in Adelaide

Discussion in 'Development' started by Posnow, 14th Oct, 2016.

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  1. Posnow

    Posnow Member

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    Wondering if perhaps members who are SA based can help me with some recommendations of builders in Adelaide who are reputable?
    Want to build a couple of townhouses there (have land) but I'm from VIC so don't know which builders there are the right size and have a good reputation and some good examples of their work.
    Any thoughts?
    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. ellejay

    ellejay Well-Known Member

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    I don't know the area but @DT is a local and a developer who is very well regarded on the forum.
     
  3. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    What area is it in? The target audience will determine what spec is required, then find a builder to suit.

    Or if you read Bradys recent development thread, he used a building broker to get builders to bid on it.
     
  4. DaveM

    DaveM Well-Known Member

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    Depending on the target area and demographic, a number of volume builders down here have duplex and townhouse/row house options now, which can make building vs a bespoke builder much cheaper. Just do internal finishes after handover
     
  5. Posnow

    Posnow Member

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    Thanks DT. It's in Port Adelaide. I found Brady's thread, but how do I find a "building broker"?

    DaveM, thank you. Do you know which volume builders these are that do townhouses? Other than me just googling "Adelaide builders" and making a heap of phone calls i'm not sure where to start to find someone.
     
  6. DaveM

    DaveM Well-Known Member

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  7. Posnow

    Posnow Member

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  8. Brady

    Brady Well-Known Member

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    I didn't end up proceeding with the building broker - I was able to achieve better results on my own.
    Rossdale were in the upper end of my costings.

    I used Metro Development - happy to pass on details if you need. Sales guy dealt with was great, he's a developer himself - backend staff wasn't that good. Project Manager I orginally had was terrible during - literally zero communication with me. During the build he left and new project manager came on board, he was excellent.

    Have collegues who have used Eastern Building Group - they were also pretty reasonable on price. Another is dealing with them now.


    What stage are you @Posnow and what are you looking for the builder to assist with. Best result I see are if you have everything done sorted and you're literally just getting builders to quote on apples v apples - if you haven't selected everything, you're expecting the builder to assist with different things like drawings, timber/steele calculation, engineering etc then no point trying to tender might as well just pick one builder.
     
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  9. Simon R

    Simon R Member

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    Thanks, good info. Out of interest, what are the ballpark build costs per/m2 in Adelaide. Is it around $2,000/m2 for single story - medium-finish? I'm trying to work out costs for a 1 to 3 row. I was in Adelaide several months ago, looking at a 1 to 2, but was looking at off the plan designs - hard to compare. cheers
     
  10. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    I'd say a fair bit cheaper than that 1250 - 1500 maybe, depending on a few things. Mine was about 1100 but I diy'd some stuff at the end.
     
  11. Simon R

    Simon R Member

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    thanks @D.T. That is considerably less than I thought / than in other states.
     
  12. Erica

    Erica Well-Known Member

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    I've used Weeks and Macklin a few times (large project home builder) my most recent contract Sep 2016 came in at $217,000 (all I need to after hand over is install letterbox/clothesline/ curtains/garden beds and lawn) for single story 181m sq total build, perfectly flat block, typical soil for Adelaide (600mm deep footings) and medium level specs; stone benchtop in kitchen, 2.7m ceiling height, robes, auto rollerdoor, aircon, concrete footpaths/driveway, plain brick face with portico/alfresco, and used myown design rather than a 'off the shelf one' to fit an odd shaped block.

    For some reason they get you arrange your own soil removal from the trenches after footings are dug, so add $3k to the budget, beats me why they don't just quote it and add it to the contract as standard procedure? Lucky I got a friend with a loader and tipper ;)

    So budget something around $1250 per m square overall and you'll get a nice house out of it.
     
    Last edited: 20th Jan, 2017
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  13. Simon R

    Simon R Member

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    thanks@Erica. Very helpful, plus around what the finish costs were. Did you use a Weeks and Macklin design? If so, do ppl only need an architect if they're using a smaller builder who builds to spec - say on funny/non-standard blocks?
     
  14. Erica

    Erica Well-Known Member

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    No architect needed, I just sketched for them my ideas with rough dimensions, and their sales consultant converted it into useable drawings.
     
  15. Corey Batt

    Corey Batt Well-Known Member

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    Best bet is to get some quotations based on what you actually need - I've generally found when financing clients build/developments that generally Statesman + Fairmont come in towards the most afforable $/sqm, Weeks Macklin mid range, Disctinctive upper end for comparative investment quality single storey stock.

    I like working with Statesman, find their pricing, product and end values in general stack up nicely.
     
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  16. Simon R

    Simon R Member

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    thanks @Erica. Good to know.

    thanks also @Corey Batt, nice little summary there :)
     
  17. doubletoplei

    doubletoplei Well-Known Member

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    Hi @John Graham , thanks for the recommendation. Would you mind elaborate more on the builder? Why do you think they are good? Many thanks!
     
  18. Brady

    Brady Well-Known Member

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    New to the forum first two posts have been recommending the same builder :|
    1st post makes sense.

    Looking at their website they look bit more like 'regional/country'

    The building broker I didn't proceed with was https://www.adelaidebuildassist.com.au/
    They were good, just that I wanted to be more involved and at the time had the time to be hands on.
     

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