Tips for saving on construction?

Hi albanga, they didnt care i thought. Its one of the volume builders who build in new estates and pretty standard to exclude tiles/carpets. I did arranged trades after builder handed over.

 

even better - no one around to question why you're loading a HWU onto the trailer at 11am on a Tuesday.

 

Had tenants of existing house catch someone taking building products from my site and loading their ute. Tenant took photos of vehicle, showed building supervisor who new exactly who it was and when and got it all back

Also caught other builders/trades stoping by my site and washing all their tools etc with my water supply.

Crooks.

 

Also some builders will not allow you to do your own works until after hand over so factor in additional holding costs.

And you will be fighting any warranty claim no doubt.

 

On the topic - one of the 'big ticket' items of a development is interest and holding costs. If one of your trades is late completing their job, which holds up other trades, or the builder it delays the whole project.
If the builder completes the shell, their contract is finished, and you are now paying interest on the majority of build cost.
Add in finance. You can usually fund 80% of the build contract. Most banks won't lend against other trades - so you need to fund it yourself. That could be and additional $100k in cash you need - at that level you could probably purchase your next site.

To me the added hassle, time, effort, risk for the small amount of savings likely wouldn't justify the additional work load.

On the topic of theft - I discovered my neighbours who were developing plugging into my power supply, as they didn't have their power dome set up yet. I sent them the bill which they eventually paid. Over the life of the development it came to nearly $1000. Sneaky buggers!

 

good point

 

Items that builders normally offer as by owner after handover include: Fencing, landscaping, floor coverings (excl. wet areas) window treatments, internal wall painting (only if wet wall finish). Air con.

Anything else is ideally left in the builders scope of works.

Unless it's a massive saving I would avoid trying to supply general building materials. You don't supply your own parts to your mechanic, so why should building be any different?

 

I sourced my own render during build. Then did driveway, fencing, landscaping, lighting upgrade (wired in during construction and left as regular bulbs), dishwasher, blinds, air con and solar after Handover. This was for my current PPOR. $$$ saved vs time cost. . . . Comes out about even. But that's just my experience.

Now for Construction IP's I just tick all the boxes (except the $450 letterbox!) and let the builder do it all. It's quicker, less hassle, less stress and easier for your Accountant as it's all on the same Dep Schedule. And it doesn't **** your builder off. But all builders are different. Get a full tilt Quote and watch the demeanour change as you start pulling things out.

 

If your really keen you could be like old mate from SS. Buy 2nd hand bricks from salvage yards or demo houses and chip all the old mortar off and supply these to your builder

 

As others have said, doing those final exclusions yourself can save you money because you will pay a premium through the builder. You have to weigh up your capabilities to manage this vs paying extra. You also may not be able to borrow for the extras since they won't be in the fixed price contract.
For my fist duplex project I chose to organise the floor coverings, cutains, fencing, landscaping and driveways. Being a landscaper helped.
Good luck with the project mate.

 

keep plumbing as close as possible, opt for smaller style windows, or get it build to lock up stage only?

 

......if you're using lead piping and double glazed windows....

 

even getting consent to remove and replace an existing fence at your cost can be tedious.

 

We've just about finished a major renovation with a builder who was willing to work with us on some things. Given we were completely new to the process, we were only comfortable sourcing the fixtures and fittings, tiles and garage door, and leaving the rest to him.

We've also just gone through a quoting/tender process for a new build, and have a builder who has agreed to us sourcing fixtures and fittings, tiles, carpets, landscaping and garage door.

We saved a few dollars doing it this way, but this is a very important point and something I learned a little late in our process:

We locked ourselves into a design without testing it with builders (or even considering the cost implications), and it's now too late in the process to change. Getting it right from the start will be the biggest cost saving.

 

Get your drawings, specifications, finishes schedule, expected time frame, liquidated damages $ and type of contract all organized before you get quotes from other builders, then negotiate like a BOSS.

 

I am glad you said that!!

Can't comment on your design as I haven't seen them..but we do multi dwelling builds and getting right design can save few thousand $$$$.

 

Yes, sometimes it can be difficult, we paid for all the fencing and retaining, and then guess what, the boundary peg was out, which is pretty common I think, so next ..........the neighbours demanded payment for landscaping their front property, WTF...

 

try saving on site works.
recently stung by big perth project builder for 70m cu of fill. Im pretty sure they looked up the price per cubic meter at 'soils aint soils', coz it would have been cheaper to do it myself with a 6 x 4 trailer.
crooks

 

Most builders will love if if you do the outside work, just don't meddle too much with the internal stuff as it will only lead to pain for both parties. The builder needs to make money in a fair and reasonable way too.