Renovation costs and assurance

Hi all,

So I'm in a bit of a predicament, and would appreciate any kind of feedback and/or suggestions. I understand there are a number of threads on this topic, but I am starting a new one because obviously these kind of queries can be quite personalised.

My kitchen in an investment property burnt down. The fire damage itself is contained to within the kitchen (and more specifically, just one corner of the kitchen). For example there is no damage to the sink/plumbing which is just a metre away from the corner. The fire damage involves the ceiling being burnt through (gyprock only, no structural damage of roof), gyprock burnt through the walls (again, no structural damage), some cabinets destroyed, stove, rangehood etc destroyed, and that's about it.

The smoke and soot damage however, goes around the whole house. The kitchen was unfortunately open plan with the living and dining, so that whole area is almost entirely black (but no physical damage). The rest of the house has signs of smoke and soot damage, but not extensive (I could clean it myself, so to speak).

Now, in terms of the renovations required, here is an almost-exhaustive list of the things that need to be done in order to bring the property back to rentable condition:

1. Kitchen fully gutted
2. New kitchen installed, including bench top, cabinets, cooktop, oven, range hood, dishwasher, island bench, splash back and pantry
3. Ceiling in the ~7m x 5m open plan area to be stripped and replaced
4. Electrical re-wiring of that area
5. Plumbing around the kitchen to be checked for melting damage
6. Nine new downlights for that area
7. Windows and sliding door repaired
8. Every other window in the house repaired (poor condition, some rotting wood, needs to be repaired, repainted and ensured that they can properly open and close – currently they can barely be moved)
9. Four internal doors replaced
10. New vanity, water closet and light+fan for the second toilet and new vanity and light+fan+heat lamps for the primary toilet
11. Re-paint the whole house interior (4 bedrooms, one kitchen, one bathroom, one toilet, open plan living room
12. Replace a missing tile and fix some stuctural damage of the patio in the front of the house

For all of that (basically a turn key project), a builder has quoted me $32,500 for a job to be done by 5 February, at the end of which he will hand me the keys to a property that is like new.

My first question is this: do you think that is a reasonable price for all of that work?

My second question is more broad, and is to do with quality assurance. Other than checking for this builder's licence (which I have done, but that in itself doesn't assure quality), is there anything I can do to assure that he will be quality? Any kind of checks I can do? Anything I can request from him etc? I'm conscious of not hassling him too much , otherwise I might tick him off. Fair enough, you could argue that if someone doesn't like having his credentials and reputation questioned, he's probably not right for the job – but he just comes across as quite genuine and some of the initial work he has done has been quite good. Just an FYI, he isn't a big time builder/renovator, so I can't exactly go on websites and look at reviews etc. But yeah, just to find someone that can (a) take this job (it's a bit of a headache!), (b) do it so quickly, and © seems like he is treating the property as his own, seems to be quite rare.

Also, what options do I have if the renovations aren't going well? If I'm not happy with the end product etc? The best thing I can and will do to at least pick out problems early, is do my bit and visit the property every single day to make sure that I pick out any problems early (90km round trip!!). But other than that, it's not exactly a product that I can just ask to be returned at the end of it, so what options do I have here?

I'm relatively switched on in general, but this is my first big renovation job and as you can see, I'm quite new to this and hence wanted some guidance and assistance.

Many thanks in advance for each and every reply

AI

 

Sorry to hear... Do you have landlord insurance?

What's the breakdown like for the items above?

 

I actually don't - and that is my biggest mistake in all this. Silly young me cancelled the insurance TWO months prior to the fire.

It's an expensive exercise, but a strong lesson.

I don't know the exact breakdown for each one, but I understand a new kitchen gutting + installation + product itself you're looking at around $10,000 (not the cheapest kitchen, but a decent one) and the paint job you're looking at about $5,000.

Electrical rewiring could be around $2,000-$3,000, plumbing could be around $1,000, ceiling job probably around $3,000, windows repaired around $2,000 etc etc.

All in all, job-by-job total seems likely to be around the $22,000-$25,000 mark. In which case I'd be happy to pay $32,000 for a person's expertise in managing all this.

 

The builder license? Surely he will need to request subcontractors. Electricians and plumbers are special tradespersons. A builder has quoted it, yes, but you need to consider materials, specialists, labour hire etc. If I were you, I would check the minimums that certified builders can do and maximums. Perhaps he can do the initial stages of structural rebuilding - but please do not pay him upfront for all of it haha

 

Do they know what caused the fire?

 

Yeah, he said that is all included in the cost.

The only specialist people here are the electricians, plumbers and painters. The rest he said he is doing himself. The cost includes all the materials.

I won't pay him up front. He made it very clear that he will be asking for payment in stages. 8-10k, then 8-10k, then 8-10k, etc.

 

Make sure it is on a HIA (or relevant depending which state) building contract. It is mandatory for jobs over 12k I believe. Call Master Builders assoc in your state to confirm what the min requirements are for contract, and look up his license

 

In Vic ( i think same in other states), max deposit a builder can take is 10% initial deposit, then progress payments. Never pay more than 10% as it is illegal for him to accept it (thats in vic but I think same for most states). So many builders and trades ask for more and people just don't know their rights.