Selection of builders

[shhh201 0]

Hi, 

Can I just check before the builder is engaged to rebuild, will there be some pictures/rendering/floor plan that they will give to you prior to engagement?

Any idea what is the industry norm in terms of what I should expect from the builder? Thank you so much in advance!

 

[snoozee 97]

On 1/22/2021 at 3:16 PM, shhh201 said:

Hi, 

Can I just check before the builder is engaged to rebuild, will there be some pictures/rendering/floor plan that they will give to you prior to engagement?

Any idea what is the industry norm in terms of what I should expect from the builder? Thank you so much in advance!

 

Of cos you need to see floor plans before rebuild. Else how you know what you are paying for?

normally there should be some 3D renderings so you can see how the facade of the house looks like cos it’s not easy to visualise the overall look from 2D plans

i think minimum would be 360 degrees external views, meaning views of exterior from the 4 directions, front , back and 2 sides.

[shhh201 0]

I am going to revive this thread.

So basically, we bought a piece of land that is around 5000 sqft. We have some concerns regarding what to do with our plot.

Currently, its a 2 storey house which is build in the 1970s. The house has water proofing issues as well as illegal structures: ie balcony that was submitted ended up being covered in full which became part of the master bedroom. The current design resulted in 4 different ceiling heights for every floor. Its currently a semi-detached as well. With a width of 12.2m and a considerable depth. The side setback is 3m, front setback is 10m. 

Our current constrains:

1. We do not want to spend more than 2mio to build the house hence we thought of converting to a detach. It also becomes more sellable in the longer run. My family is also small: just 2 kids and 2 adults w our 2 helpers. It feels silly to be looking at a 8000 sqft house but for future potential value it also doesnt make sense to not build it up.

2. we have explored A&A but the issue is that A&A has a cap of 50% change, the house is build in 1970s with 4 ceiling heights, bad waterproofing and a lack of windows. In a long house, its very dark and to open up windows we will have very little room to do anything else. 

3. We have been talking to alot of people from different backgrounds: 4 builders, 1 ID-project coordinator, 1 architect, 1 contractor.

4. 2 of the builders themselves are architects but they honestly feel much more pushy. We have narrowed down to 2 builders who brought us to their previous project houses to see the past projects they have done. But because both builders do not give visuals instead give a cost breakdown. Is this common industry practise? They give floor plans and a cost/accounting breakdown of what is provided only and will expect you to sign based off this?

5. If i want to appoint an architect, base on consultant fees, is it very likely that the cost will be more expensive than Design and Build? 

6. If I just go with basic Design and build, carpentry wise is not provided for, how much will the carpentry be looking at? What will be the key things in the contract i should look out for if no visuals are given? 

Please give your opinions freely.

[snoozee 97]

just tear down and rebuilt since the house has so much existing issues. it will prevent you from getting headaches in the long run.

what is your longer term plan for the house? is it for retirement? do you have plans for your kids to stay with you even if they get married? if yes, then build a slightly bigger house now to cater for future use. count how many rooms you need and the desired size of each room and work out the max GFA you would want/need. if your plans is to built and sell in 10 years time, then a 6000 to 7000 sqf house may be good. you don't have to built to the max just because you can do it.
 

a landed house gives the owner the opportunity to have a private outdoor space for use. so building up to the max just because you can do it may defeat this purpose. if you can have a big front yard and/or back yard, you can use the space for entertainment or gardening, etc. the bigger outdoor area can also be used as a selling point as most houses now are built up to the max with hardly any outdoor areas.

architect fees can be 70k and up. but you get someone to design your house according to your needs and project manage for you as well. with D&B, you are trusting the company to do everything in order and if things go south, you have no one to look after your interests.

carpentry really depends on how extensive you want to do it. if you want to have custom carpentry everywhere, then expect to pay a 6 figure sum for it. if you just opt for the necessary items like vanity cabinets, kitchen cabinets, simple wardrobes, etc, you could possibly do it for less than 50k.

Edited May 18, 2021 by snoozee

[shhh201 0]

Thank you so much for your help @snoozee

I will like to keep the house for as long as possible (meaning age and die in there) but children wise we have no idea if they will want to come and live with us in future. 

I hear you on the outdoor space and it does make sense. Because the land plot is not that big and the compulsary set back is 2m per side on a detach I was thinking that might save us some cost. But then again having 2m setback will result in the outdoor area being very narrow/nothing much can be done on that aspect. 

Can I check regarding visuals? Whilst I have been speaking to builders, they do not provide visuals for now because we have not commited to them. They have given us a detailed price breakdown that mentions 

Is this dangerous signing without a visual? Like will it be very hard to negotiate what we want later in terms of design in your opinion? I am worried I sign and they say "oh if you want this u top up, if you want that you give me extra $$".  TIA

[snoozee 97]

since it is for long term stay, i would suggest you design and built the house accordingly to what you and your family needs and don't need to think about resale value.

the 2m side setbacks can be side gardens or external partial walkways to access the front/back without getting through the house. While 2m seems narrow, I have managed to squeeze a side garden with turfing strip and also a narrow 30cm walkway for my house in that 2m strip. this side garden serves as greenery as well as provide some privacy since i didn't built a brick boundary wall (i used fence instead) between me and my neighbour so that ventilation can flow through.

your outdoor areas can also be your front yard as well and need not be the sides. try not to tile up the entire driveway as it may get very hot in the days and instead just tile what you need while leaving space for garden/turf.

is your quotation for extension work? cos i see an item mentioning "extension". They are also proposing Timdek roofing sheets so do a search and see if you like the pattern of the roofing sheet or not. There's other patterns of metal roofing sheets if you don't like this pattern but of cos cost may vary.

since you haven't signed anything, the builder also won't commit to anything and do more than what is necessary to close the deal. if your concern is about cost due to design changes, then you should appoint and architect first and do up the entire design before looking for a builder. in this manner, you will be able to see all the 3D renderings and finalised the design aspect. Then the builder will quote based on the tender specifications drawn up by the architect and there would be no dispute since the quotation is already based on finalised design. Also by calling a tender, all builders invited for the tender will quote in a standard itemised format drawn up by the architect and you can do a proper comparison as well.

 

[leechaorui 2]

shhh201, based on your land area of about 5000 sqft with 12.2m frontage, your depth should be around 38m assuming you have a regular rectangular land.  With back and front set back of 9m and side setback of 4m, the max that you can build your house on the land is about 237sqm/ 2500 sqft (round down for being conservative).  If you wish to use the side area for potential parking instead of garden strip at least on one side, you may wish to consider leaving a setback of 3m at the side so that it provides a more comfortable space to get in and get out of the car.  The usual car park space width provision is 2.4m and it can feel quite tight to get in and out.  However, this will mean that your house size will shrink a bit more.

Agree with Snooze, for long term self stay, it is better to do a new erection. This means you can potentially build to the max height limit of the planning guidelines on envelop control in your area.  Based on the size of your house, I think most quotes will hover around upwards of $3m at today's prices and takes up to 2 years for completion.  In construction, it is important to take care of the agreement and be very clear what you are getting and paying for including a clause on how disputes can be resolved. If you want a house that is fairly unique and meet your needs (provided you are clear with your needs) and optimise the space allocated, you will probably need an architect to design it for you.  A well design house and a mediocre design makes a difference in terms of functionality, aesthetics and future maintenance.

For a detached house, a 5000sqft land area is not exactly big.  If you wish to leave more ground external area for green spaces, it will eat into the interior space availability.  Other considerations that can help you better optimise space is to build a basement which can house the home shelter and provide sheltered car park spaces for potentially 3 to 4 cars.  However, the cost of a basement may increase cost by quite a substantive sum, depending on design.

Better to plan both finances and design carefully first before taking the plunge as this is for your own stay into the long term. Quite a lot of home owners didn't plan carefully and regret after building the house as they realised that the house that they built is not what they want most, after spending their life savings.

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by leechaorui