3Cube

Just to clarify, I'm also a design & build contractor. But at no point in time did I request the owner for deposit. What I did was as following example: Estimate of Works done in Jan 2013: $10K. Hence $10K will be paid by owner at beginning of that month (ie: owner to finance for job done in Jan 2013) After the $10K worth of progressive job completes, the cycle repeats again. But in every payment, to be fair to the owner, the owner will retain 10% of the current claim progressively, up to a total limit of 5% of the contract. Example: Contract Sum: $100,000.00 Max Retention: $5,000.00 1st Month: Claim: $10,000.00 Less 10%: $1,000.00 Payment: $9,000.00 2nd Month: Claim: $50,000.00 Less 10%: $5,000.00 Less Previous Payment: $9,000.00 Payment: $36,000.00 Final Payment (On Completion): $100,000.00 Less Max 5% $5,000.00 Less Previous Payment: $45,000.00 Payment: $50,000.00 After Maintenance Period (For Landed Residential usually 1 year from date of completion or T O P) Payment: $5,000.00

Contract price are based on 2 components: Fixed & Variable Cost. Generally, Build-in Area will be inversely proportionate to Rate per Square Foot due to the fixed cost factor. For example, one of the fixed cost item in all my project is the Professional Engineer's Fee, Authorities Fess & the likes.These usually are Fixed Cost with little or no fluctuation over time. Hence the Rate per Square Foot will be lower as the build-in Area increase. ie: Assume Cost for Engineers, etc Fixed Cost is $60k For a 3000 Square Foot house, the rate will be $20. For a 4000 Square Foot house, the rate drops to $15. For Landed Residential jobs, labour cost is more or less considered (in my opinion), fixed as it will take similar (not exactly the same / not subjected to high fluctuation) number of workers to carry out a job with no regards to the quantity involve. Also when the worker is allocated for a job, the worker's salary will not be paid from splitting income of 2 projects are different location. It is different from a factory production where the salary of a worker can be split by the quantity of output. Having said that, but when it comes to large project such as condominium, shopping centre, labour cost will be variable as labour rate will be distributed lower to the large quantity involved. ie:: To carry out a concrete pouring job, whether it is 20 or 80 cubic meters, you still need similar numbers of workers with no high fluctuation. Only difference is the time factor for both quantity's scenario. The way I usually present my price is to show the owner a COMPLETE budget of the entire job from estimating the Authorities' fee, Engineer's fees, Services Connection fees, & also the actual construction cost. I also will set aside in the same budget owner's "Shopping" budget (ie: Prime Cost & Provisional Sum) for aesthetic items subject to change according to the different brands in the market (ie: Light Fittings, Sanitary Ware, Air Con, Built-in Furniture, etc). After all this, a certain percentage (usually not more than 10%) of the aforementioned (known as Contingencies Sum) will be added to cater for un-foreseen works & changes which the owner usually have during the construction. This Contingencies will be deducted if there are no changes by the owner or any unforeseen works. When the cost is presented to the owner in this manner, it helps the owner to have a firm grasp on the cost without over-spending & also ensure they are able to apply adequate bank loan funding (if owner choose to apply for bank loan) Usually normal Semi D residential is about $300~$350 per square foot including literally everything. Not just the contractor's cost. I you need help in estimation & space planning using AutoCAD (I will be providing layout plans), please contact me at threecubebuilders@ymail.com

I had complete a design & build contract for a 2 storey semi d with a basement & attic back in 2013. Both the owner & myself agreed on progressive payment with retention (10% each payment up to maximum of 5% of total contract) on each payment. This was proposed by me to the owner to ensure fairness. We did not use the SIA (Singapore Institute of Architects) standard form of contract. but the method adopt was based on that form of contract. From contract confirmation to commencement it took 8 months & the progressive claim for this period was about $53K (payment for Professional Engineer, Soil Investigation, Land Surveyor, Pre-Condition Photo Survey, Electrical & Water Preparation, MOM Factory Permit, & some preliminary site preparations.) As there were not deposit requested by me, the owner agreed that I report progressively the works to be done on the following month & he will pay in advance for me to carry out the reported works. The job was successfully completed in September 2015.

Pre con sewer survey is best done for comparison to post con. It can sometime help to save cost on sewer lining repair (ie: when pre & post con report is same / similar no repair cost to be bear by owner) & help also to protect the owner's interest. Let me try to put it another way: Sewer lines are item own & maintain by authorities. When pre-con is not done for comparison, the authorities can order the owner to reinstate pay for carrying the sewer line repair by sewer repair contractor. This is the same for pre conditional photographic survey to neighboring properties before any major construction of any form (ie: A&A, rebuilding, etc) to prevent unreasonable claims by neighbors on property damages due to construction. Hope all can read between lines what I'm trying to convey.

Maybe I can help with some layout & budget. Kindly email your property's information & requirement to threecubebuilders@ymail.com

Just an additional note on this discussion which affects the costing. You need to carry out 2 CCTV scan. 1 Pre-construction & 1 Post-construction. On top on this, you may need to set aside additional cost to reinstate possible damages during construction. In my personal experience as a main building contractor, works done underground have high probability of damage to surrounding pipes, etc. This is due to years of wear & tear of existing sewer, manhole, etc.

Look at the Architectural Drawings you should have Elevation/s & Sectional drawings showing the height of all floors. For example, in bottom left of my attached Rear elevation, you should see under "Basement Level" a rectangular box with wording "PL 100.94" This means the completed floor level (after complete laying of floor tiles) of the basement. From PL 100.94, you add the dimensions at the left sides of this elevation (ie: basement to 1st = 2480 means 2.48 metres) as follows: 100.94+2.48+3.5+3.5+5=115.42 Hence 115.42 is the highest "Reduced Level" of the property. In the plan, PL means Proposed Level. As for water supply issue in your question, you can check using following steps: 1) Go to highest floor of your house (ie: in my elevation this would be the Attic). 2) Measure from the floor to the highest point of your tap fitting (ie: shower outlet, basin tap, etc, whichever is the highest). 3) In my elevation, the calculation will be 100.94+2.48+3.5+3.5+1 (assume 1 is height of basin tap from attic floor)=111.42 Hence based on 111.42, we know there is no need to install water tanks &/or water pumps. The reason for this is all water pressure supplied by the governing Authority will ensure pressure is enough to "push " the water up to the maximum level of 125 Metres to all property in Singapore. If the pressure is is not enough, you will experience, in worse scenario, water seems to be dripping even when you turn you tap to full. In property such as condo, hdb, high rise building exceeding 4 floors, the supply usually comes in 2 points, 1 direct supply to all floors below to Reduced Level of 125 metres, another will be pumped to storage tank located on roof & distributed downwards by gravity to other floor above the Reduced Level of 125 metres Hope this helps you to understand better.

I had completed a 2.5 storey semi d with a basement, built in area about 4546 sq ft with all in cost $307 per sq ft (ie: Architect, Engineer, Government fees, Home Lift & double roof including the house). I am also the person endorsement for Builder's Completion Certificate. More importantly as the job duration span across 2 years & at the point in time our company's turn over was luckily did not exceed 1 million (company in infancy year), there was no GST involved. Please email your requirement to threecubebuilders@ymail.com

I am a builder & had completed a job with 38 piles with final penetration depth of average 38.278 metres at cost of $121,237.49 including testing fees which works out as follows: Machine/ Rig Mobilization Fee: $24,500.00 (Fixed Amount based on 1 time Incoming Commencement & 1 time Out Going on Completion) Pile Shoe & Head: $2,850.00 (based on Quantity) Pile Dynamic Analysis Test: $2,250.00 (3 Number / Pile Point) 168.3mm Diameter Steel Pile Driving Including Cement Infill: $91,637.49 (Based on Actual Pile Penetration Depth)

I had completed a 2.5 storey semi d with a basement, built in area about 4546 sq ft with all in cost $307 per sq ft (ie: Architect, Engineer, Government fees, Home Lift & double roof including the house). I am also the person endorsement for Builder's Completion Certificate. More importantly as the job duration span across 2 years & at the point in time our company's turn over was luckily did not exceed 1 million (company in infancy year), there was no GST involved. Please email your requirement to threecubebuilders@ymail.com

Hi Answer as follows: 1) Basically there are a lot of coordination & integration with various components. There is a reason that the Authorities (ie: BCA) requires builders to have qualified person. Trust me when I say it will be a nightmare to coordinate. 2) For reconstruction best to engage building contractor for economical reason as qualified builder need to have qualified person to endorse submission to obtain T O P. No point getting a I D to carry out works at low price but when it's time to T O P you run into problems. 3) Look at 1). 4) I had completed with T O P a semi D with basement with built in about 4,500 sq ft. Architect fee is only token for submission. All drafting of plans is done personally by me with no charges. I am also the person to endorse on the builder's completion certificate required for T O P. 5) Refer to 1) I can help with some budgeting. Please email your requirements to threecubebuilders@ymail.com

JimJO I can help with costing. Please email your requirements to threecubebuilders@ymail.com

True & sorry for the confusion. You need Architect only for correspondance & endorsement which cost only less than 1k for the recent project completed last year.

You can save on Architect fee which may cost $30k & above, & use the fee for your furniture, lights, etc... Please email land information as below for me to advice on GFA & cost: 1 Land Area 2 Location (to determine foundation / piling depth estimate) 3 Frontage length threecubebuilders@ymail.com

Hi turnerdhr PC Sum refers to Provisional Cost Sum This is the budgetary costing allocated at the start of construction for un-forseeable items such a light fitting, sanitary wares, lock set, cabinet carpentry, services connection fee, etc. This is usually accompanied by Contingencies Sum which usually budget at 10~15% of Everything else. This is usually added to account for additional works / changes that the owner may request during the construction period. The above are usually added for purpose of complete budget to cater for loan application to the bank to have smooth cash flow. Johnny 3 Cube Builders Pte Ltd threecubebuilders@ymail.com

Hi We had recently completed a reconstruction of a 2storey semi-d with attic & basement at crescent road. The architect & engineer's fee was included in our scope of works & we had given a budget for the owner on authorities fees, fittings, etc Please feel free to contact us at threecubebuilders@ymail.com to discuss.

buiHi We've just completed a 2 storey semi d with an attic & basement in crescent road. The owner did not want to go through with the certification so he was require to send an undertaking letter to IDA to apply for waiver. Please note that under normal circumstance (assume the old house is demolished), the main building contractor is require to get the electrician under him to apply to Netlink for the following: 1) terminate all underground cables (telecom / electrical / water / sewerage / fibre, etc) before commencement of demolition. 2) apply to authorities to re-install / re-lay all terminated services as above. Authorities will charge a fee for the works to be paid separately by the owner. Johnny Chua 3 Cube Builders Pte Ltd threecubebuilders@ymail.com

Hi May be you would like me to meet up or if you could provide some dimensions i would be able to provide an estimated cost. Email at threecubebuilders@ymail.com Johnny

For Semi D reconstruction: Soil test (penetration depth about 50 to 60 metres) about $2,500.00 including GST enough Pre-construction Land Survey about $1,500 should be enough. Existing plan search from BCA about $150. URA submission about $3,210 BCA Submission about $1,500 These are contractor price (not owner price).

8,000 sqft x 0.7 = 5,600 sqft build-in Gross Floor Area Assume basement = 40% of 5,600 sqft = 2,240 sqft Total GFA = 7,840 sqft (Subject to URA Development Charge, if applicable depend on location) Project cost estimate purely based on GFA (without basis of design drawings) as follows: Preliminaries $185,000.00 Piling $100,000.00 (Depend on Soil Investigation Report) Structural $800,000.00 Architectural $940,800.00 External Works$392,000.00 Electrical, Plumbing & Air Con $250,000.00 Pool Equipment $80,000.00 Prime Cost & Provisional Sum $500,000.00 Total Estimate: $3,247,800.00 Please note the estimate is base on assumption on design, material selection, etc Also don't forget there's other cost as follows: Consultant (Architect/ Engineer) Fee Government Submission Fee Services Connection Fee (Water / Electrical / Gas / Telecom / Fibre)

To put it in visual / layman terms, no of storey (ie: 2.5 storey) = floor area not expose to weather. Another words you can have 3 storey building with the top floor half sheltered.

Depends on the extend of your requirement & size of job (ie: residential, commercial, factory, high-rise etc) which determines the extend of the design &/or submission needed. Try the PE, which can handle both Architectural (you save cost on architects) & Structural, which I regularly use. PK Consulting Engineer (Office: 65709716) Mr Kee Kam Onn / Mr Kee Kam Foo

I've been a contractor's qs for the past 12 years. Do you need any advice?

Just to clarify. Your project is renovation of flat, not construction of landed property?

Utilities such as electricity, water, etc should be priced by the builder under sub items in the Preliminaries section of the contract documents. Builders will claim the amount accordingly (ie: if builder price $1,000.00 under Temporary Utilities for a 10 months project, then the builder will only be allow payment of $100 per month).