Owner/Builder Extentions...your experiences

[Fastgirl]

So hubby and I are about to embark on extending our current home.
We havent ever built/extended before, and will be going the owner/builder route. We have enrolled in the Homebase Owner/Builder course to give us a better understanding of the process as we dont want to go in blind...anyone done this?
I feel confident I'll do my research thoroughley before I sign anything....so as part of the research im asking as many people as possible to tell me their stories. The good, the bad and the ugly.
What do you wish you had asked before signing on the dotted line with your builder?
We've found a couple of builders in the hills we will approach...but Im wondering if among the ten thousand plus members here who may have built/extended and have a story of recommendation or ''keep the hell away from'' story that you can share with me? If you dont want to mention names on the forum, for legal reasons, please feel free to PM me.

Greatly appreciated crew!!

[D'Artagnan]

We've done it several times and the key is getting a good builder as you've worked out. By good though I mean a good communicator / listener and someone that demands high standards. We had one (in Canberra sadly - who's name was Dean Martin, no joke), who apart from getting all the local Mums all gooey (he was young....with abs), would tell us when we were making a mistake and why. This is important. 'Yes men' are not helpful. But he also demanded high quality work from all the tradies and wouldn't back down. We came home after the plastering to find big red China markers all over the walls and ceilings. That was where he could see imperfections and he made them come back and do it again

He turned this...
before.jpg

Into this.
after.jpg

He went on to complete the whole house. The most amazing thing was watching our architect friend drawing on the floor, where she wanted the kitchen, fireplace, bathroom layout etc and then coming home to find it built.

Sadly he refused our offer to move to Perth to do our next reno

The next advice is to look at their previous work. Good tradies will be happy to show you. Our latest effort, a flooring guy, came word-of-mouth recommended and it was a complete disaster. We let our guard down because of a friends recommendation and now will have to spend 10's of thousands ripping the floor up to do again.

Other than that, don't back down when you know what you want. They can talk you into the cheaper to do option as it's easier for them.

HTH

D'Art

[Mo-Fo]

Hi Fastgirl,

Owner/Builder means your doing/organizing the works yourself and you've enrolled in the owner/builder course, that all makes sense. But you've also said that your going to approach a couple of Builders... which would mean that you're not going to do/organize the works yourself.

??

[agrid]

We had a bathroom renovation and engaged a builder because everyone said a builder makes the problems go away. He turned out to be a scum-sucking maggot with no skill or integrity whatsoever. The job was shit and when he broke a marble bench top and tried to cover it up with silastic we reduced our payment by the amount it cost to repair the damage. He took us to court. We won, but 5 years later when my wife went to take out a business load she found she had a bad credit rating.

We did our kitchen renovation ourselves and only used tradies that were recommended by friends. They all got along famously and the job was excellent.

[Sprint]

I owner-built our extension - recently completed on budget and on time.
You start with a design, see it drawn (including structural and architectural) as well as energy drawing data.
The set of drawings must include all required specification, including EVERY detail of your build requirement (site prep and compaction, what membrane to slab? what damp course to bricks? what is your roof timber layout?... what about door/window/wardrobe lintel size/spec and position... these arte a tiny sample set... you have to concieve EVERYTHING and document it).
You take your drawing set to your council and apply for a builders licence.
YOU MUST BE INSURED.
You then engage trades to fulfil the design/specification.
E-a-s-y.

I did a sizable extension (including a theatre room with raised ceiling detail) and had it to lock up seven weeks after the slab cured.
I'll share a little secret of mine - EXPECT problems... and ANTICIPATE them.

I'm a Project Manager.
I can't imagine undertaking a complex job with no prior building experience.
My advice if your job has complexities (maybe some evil retaining requirement.... do you have wet areas you're including [i.e. bathroom]?) is to hire a builder and NOT owner-build.

S.

[fredie]

always check out the builders previous customers . work . get references

[Scott52]

One thing to be aware of is that you must provide indemnity insurance to the new owner if you sell the house. This can be quite expensive.

I did an owner building extension about 10 years ago. I paid an Architect a small amount to draw up the plans. I submitted to the council and was given building approval quite easily. I did the site works and compaction myself and was able to sign my own compaction test certificate because I'm Engineer.

I then hired a friend on an hourly rate who was a Registered Builder to arrange all the trades and project manage the job. He only charged me a few grand because it was a part time exercise for him.

The project went well and I saved many thousands. We sold a couple of years later and I had to arrange the indemnity insurance. The insurance company required a builders and Engineers report before they would give me insurance.

[Sprint]

Scott the cover is only required for seven years... if you sell during that period.
If you sold after that point, no insurance is required.

S.

[WIGARUS]

Scott the cover is only required for seven years... if you sell during that period.
If you sold after that point, no insurance is required.

S.

It's still relevant.

A builder has to have indemnity insurance in place before a building license is issued. Which means it doesn't need to be inspected by anyone. Typically the builder will be told by the council that the license is ready to be issued and then they will organise the policy and get the license. Indemnity insurance for a builder isn't cheap. Indemnity insurance for an owner builder is very not cheap. Especially in the last couple of years as a major insurer in WA has stopped offering indemnity insurance full stop which means there isn't a great load of competition driving prices down.

Also as Scott52 has pointed out, depending on the work that is done, the insurer may want reports form builders, engineers, etc. and based on the outcome of those reports rectification may be required. Considering that most people only figure this stuff out when they are trying to sell their property and usually when they have an offer in place its hardly something to shrug off.

[Fastgirl]

We've done it several times and the key is getting a good builder as you've worked out. By good though I mean a good communicator / listener and someone that demands high standards. We had one (in Canberra sadly - who's name was Dean Martin, no joke), who apart from getting all the local Mums all gooey (he was young....with abs), would tell us when we were making a mistake and why. This is important. 'Yes men' are not helpful. But he also demanded high quality work from all the tradies and wouldn't back down. We came home after the plastering to find big red China markers all over the walls and ceilings. That was where he could see imperfections and he made them come back and do it again

He turned this...
before.jpg

Into this.
after.jpg

He went on to complete the whole house. The most amazing thing was watching our architect friend drawing on the floor, where she wanted the kitchen, fireplace, bathroom layout etc and then coming home to find it built.

Sadly he refused our offer to move to Perth to do our next reno

The next advice is to look at their previous work. Good tradies will be happy to show you. Our latest effort, a flooring guy, came word-of-mouth recommended and it was a complete disaster. We let our guard down because of a friends recommendation and now will have to spend 10's of thousands ripping the floor up to do again.

Other than that, don't back down when you know what you want. They can talk you into the cheaper to do option as it's easier for them.

HTH

D'Art

Awesome job! Thanks

Hi Fastgirl,

Owner/Builder means your doing/organizing the works yourself and you've enrolled in the owner/builder course, that all makes sense. But you've also said that your going to approach a couple of Builders... which would mean that you're not going to do/organize the works yourself.

??

Id like to cover both bases. Do the course to know what to expect AND get quotes from a few local builders so we can have an idea of costs from them and how they would run the project. I dont want to walk in blind to this project.

We had a bathroom renovation and engaged a builder because everyone said a builder makes the problems go away. He turned out to be a scum-sucking maggot with no skill or integrity whatsoever. The job was shit and when he broke a marble bench top and tried to cover it up with silastic we reduced our payment by the amount it cost to repair the damage. He took us to court. We won, but 5 years later when my wife went to take out a business load she found she had a bad credit rating.

We did our kitchen renovation ourselves and only used tradies that were recommended by friends. They all got along famously and the job was excellent.

Thanks

I owner-built our extension - recently completed on budget and on time.
You start with a design, see it drawn (including structural and architectural) as well as energy drawing data.
The set of drawings must include all required specification, including EVERY detail of your build requirement (site prep and compaction, what membrane to slab? what damp course to bricks? what is your roof timber layout?... what about door/window/wardrobe lintel size/spec and position... these arte a tiny sample set... you have to concieve EVERYTHING and document it).
You take your drawing set to your council and apply for a builders licence.
YOU MUST BE INSURED.
You then engage trades to fulfil the design/specification.
E-a-s-y.

I did a sizable extension (including a theatre room with raised ceiling detail) and had it to lock up seven weeks after the slab cured.
I'll share a little secret of mine - EXPECT problems... and ANTICIPATE them.

I'm a Project Manager.
I can't imagine undertaking a complex job with no prior building experience.
My advice if your job has complexities (maybe some evil retaining requirement.... do you have wet areas you're including [i.e. bathroom]?) is to hire a builder and NOT owner-build.

S.

I dare say being a project manager this would have been easy for you.

We are adding 3 bedrooms, 3 new bathrooms, 3 living entertainment spaces(one family, 1 for the kids end of the home, and our entertainment lounge area) Extending each end of the current rectangle shape(10m a 8 m x 2), and adding a 6m x 5m front (middle)extention, plus pool and outdoor entertainment gazebowith inbuilt outdoor kitchen, solar panels, extra rain water tank, sinking a bore...i THINK thats it....so far. Plus marri wood floors throughout, and new kitchen, new cabinetry for Master walk in wardrobe/kitchen/study/utility room/laundry room.

always check out the builders previous customers . work . get references

Thanks

One thing to be aware of is that you must provide indemnity insurance to the new owner if you sell the house. This can be quite expensive.

I did an owner building extension about 10 years ago. I paid an Architect a small amount to draw up the plans. I submitted to the council and was given building approval quite easily. I did the site works and compaction myself and was able to sign my own compaction test certificate because I'm Engineer.

I then hired a friend on an hourly rate who was a Registered Builder to arrange all the trades and project manage the job. He only charged me a few grand because it was a part time exercise for him.

The project went well and I saved many thousands. We sold a couple of years later and I had to arrange the indemnity insurance. The insurance company required a builders and Engineers report before they would give me insurance.

Check! I know I need about 3 different insurances...im still researching what licenses/insurances and who needs what. Thanks for your input...it all helps!

[Sprint]

its hardly something to shrug off.

Perhaps you missed the line where i wrote in my initial post, in caps, that 'YOU MUST BE INSURED'.
My second post was with specific reference to the requirement to hold indemnity insurance FOR A SUBSEQUENT BUYER of the property.
That requirement, for an owner-builder, expires seven years after the building work is performed.

S.

[monkeyboy]

We are adding 3 bedrooms, 3 new bathrooms, 3 living entertainment spaces(one family, 1 for the kids end of the home, and our entertainment lounge area) Extending each end of the current rectangle shape(10m a 8 m x 2), and adding a 6m x 5m front (middle)extention, plus pool and outdoor entertainment gazebowith inbuilt outdoor kitchen, solar panels, extra rain water tank, sinking a bore...i THINK thats it....so far. Plus marri wood floors throughout, and new kitchen, new cabinetry for Master walk in wardrobe/kitchen/study/utility room/laundry room.


WOW thats a lot of work! i was looking at doing this to mine but found it near imposible to get a mortgage to cover the costs as an owner builder...any suggestions where to go?

[WIGARUS]

Perhaps you missed the line where i wrote in my initial post, in caps, that 'YOU MUST BE INSURED'.
My second post was with specific reference to the requirement to hold indemnity insurance FOR A SUBSEQUENT BUYER of the property.
That requirement, for an owner-builder, expires seven years after the building work is performed.

S.

I didn't miss anything. 7 years is a long time. Who knows what could happen in that amount of time? I just thought it would be relevant to expand on what some others have said already.

[Fastgirl]

WOW thats a lot of work! i was looking at doing this to mine but found it near imposible to get a mortgage to cover the costs as an owner builder...any suggestions where to go?

We will get an estimator to pre-cost the project for us..first..then use our mortgage broker to get the best deal I guess. U guess its all dependant on your equity, the area you live in. We dont owe lot on our mortgage, so I guess thats in our favour.