Hi there, Has anyone dealt with this mob: Duplex Builders | Duplex Australia Does anyone have any recommendations for Duplex designers/builders in Sydney? Thanks Al
I'm in the same boat as you are. Please, if anyone can recommend a Duplex builder at a good price, let us know
We looked at Lily Homes and Metricon, very similar with similar reviews, they were also the two recommended by our real estate agent if we are time poor and not going to Project manage the build ourselves as much as a private builder.
I'd be leaning towards Metricon on room sizes and layout but Lily probably gives more bang for the buck. You can only grill both builders to get a product that you're satisfied with and compare like with like. From a marketing perspective, 4 beds is great but without a second living area + alfresco it becomes a little less desirable. So each has it's own pros and cons.
We use Metricon for our H&L projects. We're exploring their multi-res offering for a larger project that i'm putting together. Will also explore their dualocc options for a site that's just come to us. Thanks to @A.Butler for the details. I'm going to call them.
How involved are you in the projects ? Ie do they do most of the project management ? Have you done any dual occupations with them ?
Our builders project manage the build's however I obviously manage site selection, financing, specifications etc. We've not used Metricon for dualocc's/multi's but we're exploring their offering (along with other builders as well) for sites that we have.
@alexm - from experience the unexpected costs are usually from the site related costs. The construction of the house from slab up are easier to estimate IMHO. Is your land flat, slope to the rear or front? stormwater easement connection? sewage location? Iam currently doing a knock down re-build and spent more than 6 months talking to project builders.
@TML , you're spot on - the unexpected costs (from my experience) are below the surface. Once the slab is on then it's way more predictable. I've got a number of lots that i'm looking at doing dualocc's. The first one in particular is relatively flat (approx 300mm of fall within the building envelope). Stormwater and sewer are all accessible.
I spent the good part of last year and parts of this year, researching project homes, speaking to them, going through their contract etc and ended up working with a private builder for my duplex build. Generally speaking all project home builders (in particular large ones) are well thought through establishments designed to separate people from their money. From their sales dept to legal to site foreman and so on is designed to offer a Mcdonalds service in the home industry. It is not necessarily bad to build with a project home builder but the main reason (or perhaps the only reason) you want to do this is to save money. That money can range from several tens of thousands to sometimes a hundred or so thousand dollars as opposed to small to medium sized builders that do not operate in a project home format. They have a number of designs and their primary target market are those people who are either short on information or time or both and they can then grab one of their own designs and put it on that person's land and charge money for it. If they can't do that, then they are simply not interested.
Hi Alexm, Just wondering if you went ahead with the duplex project? IF so, do you mind sharing the total cost and the experience? Thank you in advance! Cheers, DP
@Dark Phoenix , interesting that you ask. Today we’re turning dirt on this project however despite getting dualocc approval for the site in question, i’ve decided to build a single PPOR dwelling instead. This site is in a beachfront location so a single dwelling fits in better.
