Advice - Thinking of Being a Owner Builder for Granny Flat

MrNice on 18/01/2021 - 02:20
Last edited 18/01/2021 - 05:09 by 1 other user

Thinking of doing the Owner Builder course to construct a granny flat.

What do you think, is it much better to do it this way rather than hiring a construction company?

BACKSTORY: My friend paid for a company it said from $150k turns out when doing it total cost was $200k for a 2 bedroom granny with a garage brick veneer construction.

I believe from some little research that I can save from 25% to 45% on costs if I do the course and hire tradies for the different stages of the building process.

NOTE: I have never done anything in construction nor have managing experience for this. But I do have a logical mind, and know how to negotiate and check quotes as well as verify tradies licences and ask for references of their works.

May I ask if anyone on here has done Owner Builder and did it pay off?

Any tips would be much appreciated.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • garetz on 18/01/2021 - 03:55

    Its not as hard as people make it out to be, but if you make a mistake it will end up being very costly, and since its your 1st time, you can probably count on making many mistakes.

  • Dundundunnnn on 18/01/2021 - 05:24
    +5

    I call bs on 45% saving. As an estimator of 10+ years for a major building group I can assure you we pay suppliers equally or better than any deal you can negotiate and often 50-60% cheaper to trades. I onboard builders and have helped them reduce the cost of slabs from 46k to 22k using superior trades and by breaking the product down into material from major suppliers + labour from subcontractors (instead of doing supply and install which is easier). Owner builders are a subcontractors dream as you have no idea what you're doing and always getting reamed on price + imaginary extras on the spot. If you think 200k is unrealistic tender to a few builders…

    • netjock on 18/01/2021 - 09:40

      I call bs on 45% saving. As an estimator of 10+ years for a major building group I can assure you we pay suppliers equally or better than any deal you can negotiate and often 50-60% cheaper to trades.

      Well that doesn't make sense then. Can be both more expensive gross and cheaper contractors. Oh yes, the big major building group gouge.

  • Not SkyNet on 18/01/2021 - 08:36
    +2

    Also one thing to keep in mind is that as a Owner/Builder if you apply for a license to do (even if you don't do it in the end) it must be listed in the sale of the property (At least in NSW it does) this can make some people wary of properties with that note as they think "what else is done by the owner"

  • morebierplease on 18/01/2021 - 08:39
    +1

    I have not been an owner builder but through my own managed renovations I found that organising your own contractors is much more time consuming.

    Say you are getting stone benchtops from a stonemason after your kitchen was put together by a different cabinet maker. You need to wait for the cupboards to be installed before you can even get the stonemason in for a measure and quote. Then you have the wait for the stonemason. For us, we had to wait 8 weeks between cupboard installation and benchtops because, 2 weeks wait for measure and quote then 6 weeks before stone cut and installation. If we had used a kitchens construction business, things would have gone much quicker.

  • corky on 18/01/2021 - 09:11
    +2

    Maybe consider buying a prefabricated one?

  • screensaver on 18/01/2021 - 09:20
    +3

    Get different quotes from companies, then check previous work

    • ihbh on 18/01/2021 - 09:34
      +1

      This is the way.

    • Dundundunnnn on 18/01/2021 - 13:01
      +2

      Can't agree more. Don't look at the bottom 1/4 who promise the world and do not deliver. Look for reputable builders with signs on fences and always insist on referrals (in NSW you can do a HBCF search for a builder which shows every single house they have built in NSW in recent years. Look up a handful of addresses and go and knock on their front door and say 'can I have 5 minutes of your time to ask how XXX builder treated you and was there many overruns?'

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join