Builders

We had a great two hours with a local builder called John Newton yesterday. He was recommended to us by a friend's friend who is exactly the sort of person we'd want to build our house but can't because he's too busy with other projects...

How do you choose a builder? Answer: I don't know. I guess that you have to like them, because they're going to see you at your best and at your worst, they're going to find out a lot about you, you're going to pay them an awful lot of money, and they will be responsible for delivering your dreams in three dimensions with a roof on top.

John seems very nice: calm, practical, no nonsense. He runs a tight ship, so to speak, employing regular builders and tradespeople whom he trusts, and he seems to have a focus on a quality finish. He also knows and likes our architect, and likes Christian's work, which helps. So far, so good. The down side was that he thinks - without doing a full costing - that he'd be charging us around $1,500 per square metre and that our budget, therefore, is inadequate. Damn! Now $1,500 per square metre will buy you the structure (frame, walls, floor joists, flashings, chimney, roof), basic electrics (internal cabling, connection to your power system, wall sockets and power points, light switches etc), basic plumbing (connection to your sewage system, internal plumbing, taps and shower heads), some internal cabinetry (standard kitchen/larder/cupboard/bathroom units with standard tops, basic shelving, doors, skirting boards and architraves if you want them), internal flooring (tiles, carpet and wooden floorboards) and a spray-paint finish. Not included, as far as I'm aware, are toilets, bidets, baths, shower screens/cubicles, kitchen appliances such as cooktops or ovens or dishwashers, light fittings, airconditioning, windows, exterior work such as outside lights or patio tiling or decking, or your swimming pool! And if you want anything fancy you're going to pay extra for it too.

Anyway, 223.5 metres of house plus 84 metres of office/studio comes to 307.5 square metres of internal floorspace which at $1,500 per square metre comes out at $461,250 of basic build cost. I understand that one ought to allow around $100,000 for internal fit-out and 20% contingency... OUCH! I guess I need to go back to my spreadsheet.