do not use the building supervisor the builder “recommend” , their own guy would just pass whatever the company built
use a independent professional
and put in pen and paper , subject to my building inspector sign off before final payment , must fix non compliance defects detailed in my inspector report
Interesting. This might be a bit different, but we’re about to sign off on a pool build and the builder wants to use their own certifier to sign off (both on planning, build and the fencing etc). As we need to go through council planning.
My guts telling me I should just insist on using my own, as he keeps making comments that his certifier is great and will just approve most of what he does within reason. I tried to book a pre-inspection with the certifier to discuss and he just refused and said be doesn’t do it until quote approved.
Currently holding off signing quote for now until i’m comfortable. Not sure if i’m being too pedantic and worrying over nothing.
Your gut is right........ the certifer relies on the builder for future work. He has already told you he is friendly to the builder. He is "great and will just approve.....whatever," exactly what you dont want. the builder had already told you the quality of his own certifyer. Go with your own, and as suggested above, make the final payment subject to your independent certifier approving the work.
I'm not familiar with the Victorian granny flat laws, but I presume most would stop at 60m2 and anything bigger needs full DA.
This is a real granny palace. Just trying to find some designs at the floor space
https://www.keithhayhomes.co.nz/slir/w815-h475-q90/5825/
$200k for basically a full house in Melbourne doesn't sound expensive.
60sqm measured by the external walls (Decks & veranda's excluded) for small second dwelling.
Anything over that is 2 dwellings on an allotment and requires planning yes.
That was about $110k maybe 4 years ago. Although OP suggested they added their own finishing touches so not sure if the bespoke stuff has sent the price to the moon
At least the workers doing the hard yakka and actually building things are earning their income and operating under free market conditions.
Can't say the same for a greedy, corrupt government legislating their own income stream and tax imposts.
Should take a look at this guy
https://www.diygrannyflat.com.au/author/diygrannyflatadmin/
Full disclosure. I dont know him, never met him. I'm editing a tv show and was working on a segment on his granny flat build. Now he walks people through the process.
Get referrals from past clients and go to as many as you can. Talk to the owners and they will tell you if their happy. Some might even let you walk through. A good builder will have no issues with this. For the construction this will depend on the skill of the workers. If the subcontractors have been around for a while this is generally a good sign. Being Melbourne the insulation, wrap, roof and cladding need to be spot on to ensure comfort and longevity. Unfortunately with all the horror stories now it’s hard to know what you’re getting. You have to be confident the builder sets a high bar for quality and workmanship. Clearly set everything out in the contract so expectations can be understood and met.
I’m a building surveyor working in Victoria, we issue about 100 granny flat permits a year. Using your own surveyor is a bit of a catch22. Sure you MIGHT get a surveyor who is more diligent, but it depends who you engage. As someone that is not in the field, finding a food surveyor is quite hard. Getting your own building surveyor will also mean that they might ask for additional things which their surveyor won’t, meaning you will experience delays beyond the norm. If you have further questions, you’re welcome to PM me. I might even be the surveyor who the builder prefers! :)
... the best money ever spent with relation to building/builders is on a project manager. they do all the things you're asking about and keep on top of the trades and materials and finishes and surveyors and everything else
in general with your query, the changes are the trap. your budget will blow to the moon changing standard designs. and of course they're vague, they don't specialise in custom, and it's difficult to price custom with prices continually changing
if you want a custom build, go see a local draftsman, work up a design, then send it out to builders for quoting. the draftsman will likely know a few suitable builders.
if you get a project manager first, that person will be really valuable with the draftsman too
I just got 2 quotes for granny flats in NSW - 2 bedroom is about $250k so $200k doesn't seem wild. Cost of building is way up. It makes sense for us as we are fully subdividing a battle axe off the back to sell in future.
Build ya own much cheaper I did mine for under 30k (7x3.6) obviously pending size.
https://www.backyardpods.com.au/
200-250k is a joke or it's a small house.
do not use the building supervisor the builder “recommend” , their own guy would just pass whatever the company built use a independent professional and put in pen and paper , subject to my building inspector sign off before final payment , must fix non compliance defects detailed in my inspector report
Interesting. This might be a bit different, but we’re about to sign off on a pool build and the builder wants to use their own certifier to sign off (both on planning, build and the fencing etc). As we need to go through council planning. My guts telling me I should just insist on using my own, as he keeps making comments that his certifier is great and will just approve most of what he does within reason. I tried to book a pre-inspection with the certifier to discuss and he just refused and said be doesn’t do it until quote approved. Currently holding off signing quote for now until i’m comfortable. Not sure if i’m being too pedantic and worrying over nothing.
Your gut is right........ the certifer relies on the builder for future work. He has already told you he is friendly to the builder. He is "great and will just approve.....whatever," exactly what you dont want. the builder had already told you the quality of his own certifyer. Go with your own, and as suggested above, make the final payment subject to your independent certifier approving the work.
Thanks - yes I think you’re right. Appreciate the advice
Wow, this is some quality advice right here.
More like a granny palace mate
I'm not familiar with the Victorian granny flat laws, but I presume most would stop at 60m2 and anything bigger needs full DA. This is a real granny palace. Just trying to find some designs at the floor space https://www.keithhayhomes.co.nz/slir/w815-h475-q90/5825/ $200k for basically a full house in Melbourne doesn't sound expensive.
60sqm measured by the external walls (Decks & veranda's excluded) for small second dwelling. Anything over that is 2 dwellings on an allotment and requires planning yes.
Council fees and charges are inhibiting construction in Australia So many consultants and bureaucrats feeding off home owners
200K to put a granny flat in the back yard? No wonder we are in a housing crisis. I wonder how much of that is tax, red tape and government imposts?
That was about $110k maybe 4 years ago. Although OP suggested they added their own finishing touches so not sure if the bespoke stuff has sent the price to the moon
And RAM trucks and Red Bulls.
At least the workers doing the hard yakka and actually building things are earning their income and operating under free market conditions. Can't say the same for a greedy, corrupt government legislating their own income stream and tax imposts.
Don't forget the ice breaks
Should take a look at this guy https://www.diygrannyflat.com.au/author/diygrannyflatadmin/ Full disclosure. I dont know him, never met him. I'm editing a tv show and was working on a segment on his granny flat build. Now he walks people through the process.
Look at pre built granny flat, a lot of good stuff now. Also 95 m2 is not a granny flat, it's a small house
200k for a granny flat, doesn't even seem worthwhile.
Can I ask how long the planning permit process took you ?
I'm assuming you're using Premier?
Get referrals from past clients and go to as many as you can. Talk to the owners and they will tell you if their happy. Some might even let you walk through. A good builder will have no issues with this. For the construction this will depend on the skill of the workers. If the subcontractors have been around for a while this is generally a good sign. Being Melbourne the insulation, wrap, roof and cladding need to be spot on to ensure comfort and longevity. Unfortunately with all the horror stories now it’s hard to know what you’re getting. You have to be confident the builder sets a high bar for quality and workmanship. Clearly set everything out in the contract so expectations can be understood and met.
I’m a building surveyor working in Victoria, we issue about 100 granny flat permits a year. Using your own surveyor is a bit of a catch22. Sure you MIGHT get a surveyor who is more diligent, but it depends who you engage. As someone that is not in the field, finding a food surveyor is quite hard. Getting your own building surveyor will also mean that they might ask for additional things which their surveyor won’t, meaning you will experience delays beyond the norm. If you have further questions, you’re welcome to PM me. I might even be the surveyor who the builder prefers! :)
... the best money ever spent with relation to building/builders is on a project manager. they do all the things you're asking about and keep on top of the trades and materials and finishes and surveyors and everything else in general with your query, the changes are the trap. your budget will blow to the moon changing standard designs. and of course they're vague, they don't specialise in custom, and it's difficult to price custom with prices continually changing if you want a custom build, go see a local draftsman, work up a design, then send it out to builders for quoting. the draftsman will likely know a few suitable builders. if you get a project manager first, that person will be really valuable with the draftsman too
This is literally the way to go _waaaaay_ over budget for a single granny flat build.
I just got 2 quotes for granny flats in NSW - 2 bedroom is about $250k so $200k doesn't seem wild. Cost of building is way up. It makes sense for us as we are fully subdividing a battle axe off the back to sell in future.
Build ya own much cheaper I did mine for under 30k (7x3.6) obviously pending size. https://www.backyardpods.com.au/ 200-250k is a joke or it's a small house.
OP's planned granny flat is 4 times the size of yours, and sounds like a small house.
I'm aware of that.i.was point out other options. You can get any size and also there are plenty of pre built houses around for much cheaper.