How much does it cost to Renovate? Ask a Building Cost Estimator
Episode 22nd July 2024 • Renovation Collaborative • Stephanie Skyring
00:00:00 00:22:22

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Do you need to know more information about the cost of house construction to help you decide whether to renovate or sell?

You might typically think of obtaining building cost advice from a builder, but did you know that’s not the only option? You can also obtain independent advice on how much it will cost to build your house plans or even your design ideas, from a Building Cost Estimator and a Quantity Surveyor.

Welcome to the Renovation Collaborative ‘On the tools’ podcast, where I interview industry experts to find out practical insider info and save you time and money. My name is Stephanie Skyring. I'm an Australian architect with 20 plus years of experience helping people create better, more environmental homes on any budget.

In the first four episodes of this Season, starting today, I focus in detail on house construction costs.

In today's ‘On the Tools’ episode, you’ll find out practical information about working with a building cost estimator; what they do, what their services cost and how they can add value to your next renovation or new build project. I talk to highly respected building cost estimator David Knight from Total Estimating Services in Brisbane.

Join me every Tuesday for Season 1. and find out whether to Renovate or Sell in Australia in 2024. 

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

00:00 Introduction

01:19 What does a building cost estimator do on a typical house project?

02:12 What is the difference between a building cost estimator and a quantity surveyor?

03:38 On what size residential projects are cost estimators most commonly used?

04:31 What is included in a building cost estimate?

05:23 Where does your material and labour price information come from?

06:06 What are the benefits of obtaining cost advice from a cost estimator over a builder?

10:15 At what stage should I get a cost estimator involved?

14:41 What do a building cost estimator’s services cost?

17:00 Can building cost estimators provide advice Australia wide?

18:35 How would I get started with a building cost estimator’s services?

19:32 Key points summary

KEY POINTS SUMMARY

We covered so much helpful information in this interview. However, there are three key points that I want you to know:

1. The benefits of obtaining independent cost advice from a cost estimator (or a Quantity Surveyor):

  • It’s impartial and obligation free.
  • You get a very comprehensive cost breakdown, so you can work out what to change to lower your costs (assuming you will probably want to!)

2. Obtaining cost advice early in the design phase is critical to ensuring your budget and design brief align.

Preferably at two key stages:

  • Concept (Sketch Design) Stage: As soon as you have a rough floor plan to determine if your ideas are feasible. This is when you decide whether to renovate or sell.
  • Developed Design (DD) Stage: When you have more developed floor plans and elevations to ensure you are still on track. This costing must happen before you seek Town Planning Approval (if required for your site) or finalise engineering.

This is such an important process to follow to avoid cost blowouts in this incredibly expensive construction market.

3. For anyone obtaining a price from only one builder: The value of obtaining a cost estimate at Tender Stage to provide an essential education about what’s included (and excluded!) from your builder’s price. This should be a very open process to be discussed with your proposed builder before he prepares his tender price to ensure the costs can be compared.

WANT TO READ MORE?

Download the written version of the entire interview as a PDF.

S1:E2 'On the Tools' with a Building Cost Estimator-Transcript

Looking for more information on design, construction costs or environment?

You can find everything you need on the Renovation Collaborative website.

  • Listen to the full podcast or get the transcript PDF edited into Q & A.
  • If you're short on time, sign up for the Weekly Wrap Newsletter and get the concise podcast summary delivered straight to your inbox.
  • You'll also find 11 easy-to-read courses demystifying the entire home design and construction process.

www.renovationcollaborative.com.au

IN THE NEXT EPISODE

In the next episode, you’ll find out what a quantity surveyor does, and get further insights into building costing that will add value to your residential project, whether you’re an owner, an architect, a building designer or a builder. I’ll talk to Flavio Costanzo, from Flavio Costanzo and Associates, Quantity Surveyors and Building Cost Consultants, in Brisbane.

RESOURCE LINKS

Total Estimating Services

www.totalestimating.com.au

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)

Australian Architects can claim formal CPD hours for listening to the podcasts.

www.renovationcollaborative.com.au/continuing-professional-development/

GET IN TOUCH

The podcasts are about finding answers to your questions. We would love to hear from you if you have any questions, ideas, or feedback. 

www.renovationcollaborative.com.au/contact/

Transcripts

Stephanie:

Do you need to know more information about the cost of house

Stephanie:

construction to help you decide whether to renovate or sell?

Stephanie:

You might typically think of obtaining building cost advice from a builder, but did

Stephanie:

you know that's not the only option? You can also obtain independent cost advice on

Stephanie:

how much it costs to build your house plans and also simply your design ideas from a

Stephanie:

building cost estimator and also a quantity surveyor.

Stephanie:

Welcome to the Renovation Collaborative on the Tools podcast, where I interview industry

Stephanie:

insiders to find out practical information to help you renovate smarter.

Stephanie:

My name's Stephanie Skyring.

Stephanie:

I'm an australian architect with 20 plus years

Stephanie:

of experience helping people create better, more environmental homes on any budget.

Stephanie:

In the first four episodes of this season, I'll focus in detail on house construction

Stephanie:

costs.

Stephanie:

In this episode, you'll find out what a

Stephanie:

building cost estimator does, what their services cost, and how they can add value to

Stephanie:

your next renovation or new build project.

Stephanie:

I'll be talking to highly respected cost

Stephanie:

estimator David Knight from total estimating services in Brisbane.

Stephanie:

Good morning, David, and welcome to the renovation collaborative on the Tools

Stephanie:

podcast.

David:

Good morning Stephanie.

David:

Thanks for having me.

Stephanie:

Absolutely, my pleasure.

Stephanie:

So, firstly, can you tell me what a building

Stephanie:

cost estimated does on a typical house project?

David:

Well, typically the clients, whether it be a builder or an architect or an owner,

David:

would send over the plans.

David:

We'd review those plans and make sure we've

David:

got enough information to give them back a pretty robust costing.

David:

We physically measure the drawing, so we'll work out how many linear metres of floor

David:

joists you'll have compared to how many square metres of ceramic floor tiles you'll have.

David:

Against those measures, we put our market rates costed out.

David:

Then we have basically a costed bill of quantities from putting your sight fence up to

David:

your final clean.

David:

So we're really building it on our desk and

David:

we're providing a detailed estimate that a builder will need and users to formulate a

David:

contract price.

Stephanie:

So can you tell me what is the difference between a building cost estimator

Stephanie:

and a quantity surveyor?

David:

Quantity surveyors are more commercially orientated.

David:

They're university and tertiary educated.

David:

They've got degrees.

David:

Cost estimators you'll probably find, funnily enough, more cost estimators than QSEs in the

David:

world.

David:

But the majority of cost estimators will be

David:

specialising, for argument's sake, a Gyproc supply and place company employ a cost

David:

estimator.

Stephanie:

Yes, of course.

David:

To work out how much metal framing, gyprock, plumbers contract, plumbers contract,

David:

electrical work, roof companies every supply company, trust manufacturers, and timber

David:

manufacturers will all have their own individual cost estimated.

David:

They don't employ QSS, but they'll train a cost estimator.

David:

They'll have a building cadet on your larger builders will employ building cadets and train

David:

them in cost estimating.

David:

Back in 81, when I left school, I was thrown

David:

into an estimating cadetship at the old timber and hardware company called Robin Brown back

David:

in the day.

David:

So that's a long time ago.

David:

But I was trained in doing timber and hardware takeoffs that we would then supply to the

David:

builders who were then tendering on little on jobs.

Stephanie:

Okay. Right, right, right.

Stephanie:

So it's a very different background, but it's

Stephanie:

very much more on the tools, isn't it?

David:

It's all hands on.

Stephanie:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David:

It's all hands on.

Stephanie:

So, going back to building cost, estimating what size residential projects are

Stephanie:

they most commonly used on and most beneficial?

David:

Beneficial, I think you would probably find the larger renovation jobs circa, you

David:

know, $750,000 upwards.

David:

We see a lot of projects in the one to two and

David:

two and a half million dollar range in residential extensions and renovations.

David:

We see a lot of new, larger homes.

David:

Of course, we're predominantly used by

David:

builders and architects and owners who have got something that's fairly bespoke.

David:

So we'd never see a project home cost?

Stephanie:

No. No. Well, that's sort of dealt with by the project home company, isn't it?

David:

They'll read their book and that's the price where we'll read a plan and have to work

David:

out the price.

Stephanie:

So, thinking about what a building cost estimated cost includes, is that

Stephanie:

everything, or.

Stephanie:

What can it include?

David:

It's everything that you want.

David:

You've got to.

David:

As an owner, you've got to be fairly clear what you want.

David:

Like, if I get a job in, we'll ask them, is the pool included?

David:

Am I pricing this so you can compare it against the only builder you can find to do

David:

the job? Are you building it yourself?

Stephanie:

Because I certainly know on projects that I've worked on and that I've had

Stephanie:

you doing building cost estimation on, often the clients will say, well, we'll do the

Stephanie:

kitchen, or they take out bits of it to try to, you know, they'll have an Ikea kitchen or

Stephanie:

whatever they'll do to try to maintain costs.

Stephanie:

So you can sort of manage all that.

Stephanie:

So therefore, in summary, there, so you are including landscaping or fencing or pool or

Stephanie:

whatever needs to be dealt with.

Stephanie:

It can be included in a building cost,

Stephanie:

estimator's cost.

Stephanie:

How do you put a cost estimate together and

Stephanie:

where does the price information come from? So both material prices and labor prices?

David:

Yeah. Well, we're a little bit lucky because we work for so many builders in

David:

Brisbane.

David:

They give us feedback.

David:

We get a lot of feedback from suppliers.

David:

So we're kept up to date with concrete timber

David:

windows.

David:

Again, you know, builders will provide some

David:

numbers on aluminium windows.

David:

So we check all of our rates against the

David:

latest quote that we get.

Stephanie:

Okay.

David:

So we're constantly in our database manipulating price files.

David:

So if clients come back in a year's time and want something repriced, we just have to

David:

basically put it back in the system and push a button.

Stephanie:

Right through the numbers.

Stephanie:

I know that people, when they've got some

Stephanie:

plans, they'll often think that the first thing they'll do is think, I've got to go to a

Stephanie:

builder to get some costing advice.

Stephanie:

What are the benefits of going to a building

Stephanie:

cost estimator instead to get a cost breakdown and advice over a builder?

David:

Well, primarily what you'll get from us is basically more intimate knowledge about

David:

your job.

David:

We're independent.

David:

We will cost it the way we see it.

David:

So there's no emotion.

Stephanie:

Yes.

David:

We'll unfortunately tell you bad news most of the time.

Stephanie:

All the time.

David:

I find where builders may not want to tell you bad news all the time.

Stephanie:

That's so true.

Stephanie:

But it's coming.

Stephanie:

It's coming, it's coming.

David:

It's going to get you sooner or later.

David:

Has to do it before you spend a lot of money

David:

on your, on your plans.

Stephanie:

Yes.

David:

And council applications.

David:

So it's.

David:

Yeah, it's.

David:

Knowledge is gold in this system, in.

Stephanie:

Scenarios, because I know getting prices myself from a builder often, sometimes

Stephanie:

they'll give you a full breakdown, sometimes they'll just give you a bottom line and you'll

Stephanie:

have to ask them, can you break it into trades?

Stephanie:

Can you give me something? Can I see some transparency?

Stephanie:

So that is the benefit of a building cost estimator, that you'll get a full, very

Stephanie:

comprehensive breakdown, in my experience, and that then you can take that apart and try to

Stephanie:

see where the costs are.

Stephanie:

Although having said that, people always

Stephanie:

think, oh, you know, well, where's the, where's the big cost?

Stephanie:

But it's never like that, is it? It's always just filtered across the whole

Stephanie:

thing.

David:

Death by a thousand sword cuts, that's.

Stephanie:

Exactly what it is.

David:

And when it is over budget, it's the only way you can attack it to get stuff down.

David:

There is no magic wand.

Stephanie:

I just always think it's just like reduced floor area is really the only way.

Stephanie:

Just build less.

David:

That's probably the worst thing you can do.

Stephanie:

Oh, really? Why?

David:

Well, you're only taking out floor and a ceiling and a roof.

David:

You're not looking at the engagement of the claddings on the walls and the windows and

David:

whether it should be aluminium or timber.

David:

Have you used the site properly?

David:

And hopefully all of those things are sort of caught at the start and at the end.

Stephanie:

I know if I've already taken all of those out, there's nothing left but floor it.

David:

And that's the problem with square metre rates.

David:

If your house comes out at $5,000 a square metre, I'll just take out 100 square metres.

David:

That doesn't work.

David:

It's probably less than half that you'll be

David:

taking out.

Stephanie:

Oh, really? Oh, my God. What are the solutions?

Stephanie:

We're coming up to that.

Stephanie:

Just talking again, just a little bit further about the benefits of working with

Stephanie:

a cost estimator to get a cost.

Stephanie:

So I think, particularly if you are going to

Stephanie:

get a single builder, like you've got one builder in mind, you're not going to get a

Stephanie:

tender.

Stephanie:

And I find often in this market in Brisbane,

Stephanie:

builders won't tender anymore.

Stephanie:

So many of them, because there's so much work

Stephanie:

out there.

Stephanie:

They're just like, we're not tendering.

Stephanie:

So your options are to choose a builder and then you want to know, just for your own peace

Stephanie:

of mind, because the cost is so high if you're getting market value.

Stephanie:

So then if you can get a building cost estimators cost as well, I suppose that gives

Stephanie:

you some level of leverage.

Stephanie:

Do you find that you used in that way very

Stephanie:

much or not?

David:

Leverage is such, but it just gives you the education you need.

Stephanie:

So I suppose then if you do.

Stephanie:

Get your estimate and you've got the builder, I'm just wondering how you would

Stephanie:

use that, then.

Stephanie:

So you would approach the builder and say,

Stephanie:

well, look, I've got this cost.

David:

I would again, if you can get the.

David:

If you get into cost estimate done beforehand,

David:

you can ask the builder to then provide their information similar to the bill summary.

Stephanie:

Oh, okay.

David:

So be very easier to compare, be.

Stephanie:

Very open about it that you've got the estimate and because even when we've.

David:

Been asked to do tender verifications, we'll do a price for an architect after.

Stephanie:

They'Ve gotten the builder comes in, because.

David:

The builder's over budget.

David:

Not over budget.

David:

Right price.

David:

It's just unfortunate that his right price is

David:

over the client's price.

Stephanie:

Yes.

David:

So we're trying to work out what's going on.

David:

So we'll price it and then we'll have our bill summary.

David:

It will never match up to another builder's bill because everyone puts things in.

Stephanie:

Oh, they do.

Stephanie:

They absolutely arrange it in a different way.

David:

It's like we then add things together to see where those differences are and try and

David:

explain where the differences are.

Stephanie:

So thinking about working with a building cost estimator for a typical custom

Stephanie:

renovation or new house project, at what stages of the project would I get a cost

Stephanie:

estimator involved?

David:

Ideally somewhere between that sketch design and design develop stage.

Stephanie:

I know, working with you that you used to do preliminary cost estimates on

Stephanie:

earlier sketch design, and I now know, because of the cost of construction being so high in

Stephanie:

Brisbane and the changing price, that you might put a price together today on a

Stephanie:

preliminary sketch design and then the job wouldn't be built, hypothetically, start

Stephanie:

construction for another year and a half.

Stephanie:

And so both labour and materials would be

Stephanie:

increasing over that time.

Stephanie:

So that then you've started moving towards, is

Stephanie:

it get putting together a full bill of quantities so you can feed in those changing

Stephanie:

numbers? It is.

David:

It really, again, depends on where we, where we slide into the equation.

David:

Again, if it's.

David:

If it's sketch design, we will still do the,

David:

you know, those basic square meter rate early, what we call, like an early cost plan.

Stephanie:

Yes.

David:

At that early cost planning stage, we're sort of using pricings that we've done

David:

or jobs that we've done in the past.

David:

So we're sort of calculating a bulk area on

David:

this drawing using those rates and putting it on this job.

David:

But, yeah, at that DD stage, we say, look, you know, even if we don't have engineering, we

David:

don't have a schedule of finishes, we will.

David:

We always recommend to get the bill of

David:

quantities done at that state before you engage, you know, before you go to the

David:

development approval, if it's a small lot in the middle of Paddington.

Stephanie:

That's right.

David:

You've got to.

David:

Got to get those numbers before you spend all

David:

of that money.

Stephanie:

That's right.

Stephanie:

Because once you've got town planning

Stephanie:

approval.

David:

It'S painful to go back.

Stephanie:

Yeah. Yeah. Because then you would have to get your town planning approval again

Stephanie:

and it's all just really messy.

Stephanie:

So when you talk about a preliminary bill of

Stephanie:

quantities, that's different to the one at the tender stage, is it?

David:

Yeah. Yeah. So when we get involved at the tender stage, we've got complete.

David:

We've got complete documentation, we can spend a day going through the documentation without

David:

measuring a thing.

David:

Because if I've got 80 pages of specification

David:

and I've got 30 pages of joinery drawings, even though we know we'll provisionally sum

David:

the joinery, but on those drawings is all the construction detail that the builder needs to

David:

build around the joinery.

David:

So it's all of the carpentry and the gyprock

David:

and the lighting and all of that is very specific.

David:

So again, we've got to, we've got to be every trade on the desk.

Stephanie:

So we've got three stages there.

Stephanie:

I'm just trying to get you to sort of

Stephanie:

articulate what the difference is between those preliminary drawings versus the

Stephanie:

preliminary bill of quantities drawings.

David:

For argument's sake.

David:

We might get a floor plan.

David:

Yes and no elevations.

Stephanie:

Oh, okay, great.

Stephanie:

Yeah, that articulates it really well.

David:

So if we get a floor plan without any elevations, and we might do some desktop

David:

investigations through realestate.com or whatever, it's a renovation or whatever, we

David:

try and work out the land and access logistics.

David:

So from that we can then understand, okay, we know the rough scope.

David:

If it's a lift and build and an extension job, we'll go back through our database and try and

David:

find a similar one and use those rates to calculate that job.

David:

But when we're doing a preliminary bill of quantities on that, you know, that's developed

David:

sketch or that DD's developed design stage, we will price that job back.

Stephanie:

To that very preliminary one.

Stephanie:

So that was hypothetically just a floor plan

Stephanie:

only.

Stephanie:

It might have been just trying to work out if

Stephanie:

a job was feasible on a site.

Stephanie:

Before you just do anything, it's like, look,

Stephanie:

quick layout.

Stephanie:

Look at what we've got.

Stephanie:

You know, is this even going to stack or should we just sell?

Stephanie:

You know, this is the renovate or sell location where we still do those.

David:

Preliminary early cost plans.

Stephanie:

Okay, so then you've proceeded a little.

Stephanie:

Bit further with that and you've got some layouts.

Stephanie:

You might have some elevations to go with those loose elevations, an idea, a loose

Stephanie:

schedule.

Stephanie:

And that would be.

David:

We could do the preliminary bill of quantities on that.

Stephanie:

And that would still be before town planning approval?

David:

Yes, definitely.

Stephanie:

Yeah.

David:

Before engineering, because we see so many engineers drawings on so many plans.

David:

We've sort of can design sizes of steel beams.

Stephanie:

That's right.

David:

We can put those in.

Stephanie:

Yes. If it's got a truss roof, if there's skillion roofs, you can work out the

Stephanie:

type of structure.

David:

You'd be very close.

Stephanie:

So getting on to working with a building cost estimator, can you give me a

Stephanie:

rough guide to what I would expect to pay for a cost estimator service.

Stephanie:

So we're assuming that I've got some kind of a project with a construction budget over,

Stephanie:

about, over the 750,000, 800,000.

Stephanie:

And it's pretty easy to get there in Brisbane

Stephanie:

at the moment.

Stephanie:

So that sort of $800,000 job, I don't know how

Stephanie:

large that is.

Stephanie:

I mean, that could be anything, depending on

Stephanie:

the site and the finishes, et cetera.

David:

But comes down to the difficulty of it.

Stephanie:

It does just a really loose range.

Stephanie:

It's just so people who don't know what a cost

Stephanie:

estimator does and they think, well, this could be really useful on my project.

Stephanie:

How much should I budget for those.

David:

Services before coming here? We looked at our average invoicing for the

David:

last twelve months based on those smaller jobs, and they really ranged around about that

David:

12.50 mark.

Stephanie:

So that's preliminary cost on this sketch design.

David:

So then we looked at the design develop plans and we're doing those preliminary bills

David:

of quantities.

David:

They're sort of coming in at nearly double.

David:

We're doing it economically because we're using our own internal resources, so we're not

David:

having to refer to engineers plans or ten page specifications.

David:

So we'll always ask the client, is it going to be basic, medium or a luxe finish?

David:

We'll plug in those luxe finishes or a medium level of finish.

David:

They've got a fairly good indication of what the end result will be without going that far.

Stephanie:

And so then moving on to the last stage, which is when you've got your full

Stephanie:

drawings, you've got your engineering, your soil test, you've got everything you need

Stephanie:

about the site.

Stephanie:

You will have maybe full schedules, you've got

Stephanie:

your cabinetry drawings, you've got all that information that's full bill of quantities

Stephanie:

that would either come from potentially an architect or from a builder if you're doing

Stephanie:

the work for a builder to price for him.

Stephanie:

So that sort of, that sort of.

David:

Number which gives you that sort of robust document that you can either, you know,

David:

I hate to say it, but bash it over.

David:

The head of builders and the banks.

Stephanie:

Yes, that's right.

David:

You know, that's about a 50% on top of that middle stage.

David:

So they were averaging out at about $35 to $3,600.

David:

So it was sort of like the 1200 mark, the 2400 mark, and then the 3600 mark.

Stephanie:

That's so helpful and it makes so much difference.

Stephanie:

That is just money so well spent.

Stephanie:

Before you launch into construction, at any

Stephanie:

stage there can cost estimators give advice for the whole of Australia or are they more

Stephanie:

locally based? Like how do they work?

Stephanie:

If I've got a property or something over in regional or in Sydney or somewhere, how does

Stephanie:

can I get you.

David:

Give that advice all even quantity supplier or cost estimator?

David:

They're all basically local knowledge.

David:

We all, if asked to do regional, we can refer

David:

to gazetted magazines that come out quarterly that tell us what prices are doing regionally.

David:

So what we normally do is we'll, if we're doing a job in Roma or Gundiwindi, we'll price

David:

at Brisbane and then we either attribute a zone allowance to it depending on if we're

David:

doing the preliminary sort of estimating.

David:

But if we're doing like a tender for a builder

David:

and Gundiwindi for a big house, we'll price at Brisbane and then we'll go through every cost

David:

and we'll say, right, oh, we're pretty sure the carpentry up there is going to be the

David:

same, but the block work and the concrete is going to be 30 40% dearer.

David:

So we can then change those numbers right at the end and then provide a more detailed cost

David:

for that zone rather than just a blanket percentage.

Stephanie:

And I think things to bear in mind then obviously, which you've just mentioned

Stephanie:

about the costs of transportation of materials out to regional areas.

Stephanie:

That's a really big cost.

David:

That's a big cost.

David:

We just did a very large home on Fraser where

David:

it was nearly 25%.

Stephanie:

Oh, because everything has to go across in the feed.

David:

Yeah. And waiting times, like trying to work out, you know, the worst case scenario

David:

and waiting time for, you know, the gyprock delivery and the accommodation for trades.

Stephanie:

Oh, wow.

David:

Yeah. Mind bottom.

Stephanie:

So my final question here, if I wanted to engage a building cost estimator to

Stephanie:

get advice on my renovation plans or whatever I'm doing, how would I start?

Stephanie:

You've told us the costs there.

Stephanie:

But just what information do I need.

David:

To get together as much as possible? Yes, obviously the plans to get, like most

David:

clients that are referred to us will ring us.

David:

And what do you do?

David:

Briefly go through what I've just basically discussed and then I'll ask them.

David:

Look, just send the plans over so we can find out because you won't know the questions you

David:

need to ask me until I look at what we've got.

David:

And then I'll be asking you, what else have

David:

you got that we can have to make it more robust?

Stephanie:

Okay, thank you so much.

Stephanie:

David Knight from total estimating in Brisbane

Stephanie:

for sharing your knowledge today to help everyone renovate smarter.

Stephanie:

Wow, what a fantastic interview.

Stephanie:

I've been working with David from total

Stephanie:

estimating services for years, but I learned so much behind the scenes info today about how

Stephanie:

a cost estimator works and.

Stephanie:

How they can really add value.

Stephanie:

To conclude today, I just want to draw your attention to three really important

Stephanie:

points.

Stephanie:

We covered so much today, but these are

Stephanie:

probably the three that I think.

Stephanie:

Will add the most value.

Stephanie:

The first and most obvious point was the benefits of obtaining independent cost

Stephanie:

advice.

Stephanie:

It's impartial, it's obligation free.

Stephanie:

You can get a full breakdown of what's included in your job so you get a really good

Stephanie:

education about what's included and what's excluded and what everything costs.

Stephanie:

So you can drill down on the design and find out how to reduce costs, assuming that you'll

Stephanie:

probably need to in this market.

Stephanie:

The second point was the importance of

Stephanie:

obtaining cost advice early in the design phase before you go too far, preferably at two

Stephanie:

points at concept stage, just when you have rough floor plans so you can get an idea

Stephanie:

whether to renovate or sell and work out if your project is even feasible.

Stephanie:

If it is feasible and you continue on, the next stage to validate those costs and make

Stephanie:

sure you're still on track is at design development stage.

Stephanie:

When you've got elevations, you've got floor plans, you've got a bit more information.

Stephanie:

But before you go to town planning approval and before you get too much detailed

Stephanie:

engineering input, because if you need to make any changes, it's too expensive to go back

Stephanie:

after this point and.

Stephanie:

Have all that design redone.

Stephanie:

The third point was for anyone getting a price from just one builder.

Stephanie:

And it's the value of obtaining a cost estimate at tender stage to really find out

Stephanie:

what's included and excluded in your builder's price to get a really thorough education of

Stephanie:

what's in there in case your builder only gives you a bottom line without much

Stephanie:

breakdown.

Stephanie:

If you decide to go this way, this should be a

Stephanie:

very open process with your builder and you should let.

Stephanie:

Him know what you are thinking of.

Stephanie:

Doing so that therefore, when you get the estimate back, you're able to compare

Stephanie:

and talk about this estimate with your builder.

Stephanie:

In the next episode, you'll find out what a quantity surveyor does and get some further

Stephanie:

insights into building costing that will add value to your residential project.

Stephanie:

Whether you're an owner, an architect, a building designer, a builder, I'll be talking

Stephanie:

to quantity surveyor Flavio Costanzo from Flavio Costanzo and Associates in Brisbane.

Stephanie:

Thanks for listening to renovation collaborative.

Stephanie:

Sign up for the weekly Wrap newsletter and get the concise podcast summary delivered straight

Stephanie:

to your inbox.

Stephanie:

Also, find the full transcript PDF edited into

Stephanie:

Clear Q and A on the renovation collaborative website renovation collaborative.com.

Stephanie:

au.

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