When comparing pricing of estimates or tenders between builders its important to do a like for like comparison as a lot will leave out things that you will need or things that you will likely upgrade eg. Kitchen. What worked for me was filling out the following table and filling out the estimated values.
In many cases the items in the site costs are included in the base price and other features may be included in promotional packages so you might not need to add these values individually. This is why its important to not just compare base prices against each other as its very misleading.
The estimated costs here are averages I found across multiple builders and these wont all be charged by all of them and the amounts can be less or more.
| Group | Item | Estimate Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Costs | Home Base Price | 550,000 | |
| Demolition PA | 34,000 | Costs in 2022 have gone up almost 50% due to gov. regulations | |
| Architect Fee | 5,000 | ||
| Landscape Plan | 900 | ||
| Discounts & Promotions | Discount | -30,000 | |
| Promotion | 25,000 | ||
| Site Costs | |||
| Traffic Control Plan | 500 | ||
| Dilapidation Report | 1,000 | Report on the site conditions after the demo in case of future disputes of impacts to other properties | |
| Statement of Environmental Effects | 1,270 | ||
| H1 Slab | 4,450 | You may require an upgraded slab depending on your soil | |
| DEB + Ceiling Heights | 56,000 | Drop edge beams and ceiling height increases due to a slope in your property | |
| Rock Removal PA | 5,000 | If rocks are found during the cut and fill they will need special machinery to break up and disposal will be more costly | |
| Soil Removal PA | 5,000 | Due to cut and fill | |
| Additional Concrete Pump | 1,290 | For piering | |
| Council Requirements | |||
| AHD Survey – contour survey | 385 | A survey done after the demo to ensure levels are correct for the builder to do their cut and fill for the slab | |
| Saline Soil – 32mPa concrete piers | 3,750 | Extra piering support | |
| Zone Allowance – Council | 9,000 | Some builders will charge a zone allowance as trades can cost more in a specific location | |
| Hydraulics PA | 28,000 | Stormwater management for your site | |
| Marine Conditions PA | 5,000 | If you live near water you may require certain treatments to your property eg. to prevent rust | |
| Acoustic Conditions PA | 10,000 | If you live below a airplane paths, have a nearby trainline or highway you may need to have extra treatments to your house like sound insulation or better windows | |
| Arborist Report | 1,700 | If you have nearby trees and need an assessment on the impact on them due to a build. | |
| Acoustic Report | 2,200 | Similar to acoustic conditions. The report can impact the cost significantly of the building material you have to use | |
| Estate Conditions | |||
| Demolition Site Inspection | 600 | To ensure the demo has removed all relevant materials, disconnected the relevant utilities, etc. | |
| Survey Report to confirm levels after demo | 590 | Possibly another name for the AHD Survey – TBC | |
| Relocate water meter for new driveway | 1,170 | ||
| Overhead Pole – 3 phase power | 3,450 | ||
| Shade cloth to scaffolding 1 | 450 | ||
| Shade cloth to scaffolding 2 | 950 | ||
| Traffic control PA | 5,000 | If you need to hire traffic control to allow for certain trades to access your property and they may block the street. The builder will ask for a fund at the start and will bill you the total after the build has completed or thereabouts. | |
| Additional site handling | 5,000 | If access isnt easy to your lot, eg. you have a steep driveway and large trucks cant get into it, they may need to transport items by hand which can cost time | |
| New layback/crossover to driveway | 6,000 | Council part of the driveway | |
| Footpath cutout & disposal for driveway | 2,000 | If you are moving the driveway you need to dispose of the old one if applicable | |
| NBN prewiring | 990 | ||
| Fibre optic wiring | 1,040 | ||
| BASIX | Basix PA | 5,000 | Basix may require changes to your home to make it compliant and those changes can cost money. |
| OHS | Tiger Tails | 2,500 | |
| Tree Protection PA | 3,500 | ||
| Pool Engineered Cover | 4,000 | ||
| Externals | |||
| Driveway | 11,000 | ||
| Facade | 25,000 | ||
| Wall insulation incl garage (R2.7) | 500 | ||
| Ceiling insulation incl garage (R5.0) | 3,000 | ||
| Garden Taps | 280 | ||
| Ceiling Height 2740 (Ground) | 9,000 | ||
| Ceiling Height 2740 (First) | 5,000 | ||
| Balcony | 9,075 | ||
| Airconditiioning (23kW + 8 zones) | 9,000 | This can be significantly more depending on what the builder includes. This is more of an upgrade cost then a total cost. | |
| Slimline air con wall grill (x1) | 375 | ||
| Colorbond or Tile Roofing | |||
| Garage Door Upgrade | 1,000 | ||
| Windows + Doors | |||
| Double Glazing | 25,000 | ||
| 2340 High Doors GF + FF | 2,520 | ||
| Obscure Glazing – Wet Areas | 800 | ||
| Skylight | 2,475 | ||
| Flyscreens | 1,000 | ||
| Front Door Upgrade | 1,200 | ||
| Recessed Floors – Stacker Doors | 1,000 | ||
| Window Protection | 1,000 | This would include frame and glass protection. Glass would include the exterior and a common product is a roll on application | |
| Electrical | |||
| Downlights + plugs + other | 18,000 | ||
| Gas to Leisure | 250 | ||
| water & electrical at all 4 corners | 800 | ||
| Internal Finishes | |||
| Square set ceilings (ground and 1st) | 2,000 | ||
| Coffered Celiing (Theatre) | 3,000 | ||
| 3 coat paint (Endure) | 1,500 | ||
| Dropped Ceiling to Kitchen | 900 | ||
| Soundproofing insulation between Floors | 3,500 | ||
| Hebel Powerfloor | 20,000 | You wouldnt need soundproofing between floors if you go with this | |
| Soundproofing (walls) | 4,500 | ||
| Staircase Upgrade PA | 22,000 | These would be for a monostringer and possibly glass balustrades | |
| Laundry Chute | 2,000 | ||
| Floor coverings | |||
| Laminate / Tiles to ground and first floor living areas | 25,000 | ||
| Kitchen | |||
| Allowance | 25,000 | Excluding appliance upgrades | |
| 40mm Benchtops | 3,500 | ||
| Undermount Sink | 1,180 | ||
| Bathrooms | |||
| Provide one hob less shower incl. long grated drain | 1,000 | ||
| Smart Tiles | 250 | ||
| Soft close toilet | 300 | ||
| Floor to Ceiling Tiles | 11,000 | ||
| Recessed Floor to one wet area | 2,800 | ||
| Other | |||
| Structural Steel PA | 30,000 | These would include things like lintels and steel beams |