Home renovations

Home renovations, House Renovation, Housebuilder

North Shore Home And Renovations – Building To A Budget

August 15, 20200

The Smartest Investment You Can Make When Building Your New Home

You decide you want a new purpose-built or renovated home for you and your family and having looked through magazines, watched building shows on TV and visited a range of houses to develop your ideas, you now have a vision for your dream-home.

You consult an architect or draughtsman and explain this dream home to them. They draw up the plans and wow it looks fantastic – just what you envisioned.
You give two thumbs up and have your designer submit the plans to Council for building consent and finally, get approval to go ahead with the build. You could easily have spent $10,000 by this stage, but you have a budget in mind so what could possibly go wrong?

Sadly, a lot can and frequently does go wrong even before the building starts.

The Next Step In Building Your Dream Home

Once you have the plans and consent from the Council, the obvious next step is to call in a builder so they can give you an estimate. It is here, that things often go horribly wrong.

The building estimates can be way over your budget. In fact, in our experience, they usually are (and sometimes by double). This is because people significantly under-estimate the cost of even basic, entry-level building. So, when we price their luxurious dream house, they are of course shocked at the cost.

People get carried away in the excitement of having a big kitchen with all the bells and whistles, a third bathroom or perhaps an entertainers’-sized deck complete with mini-bar. This is their chance to have top-of-the-range fixtures and fittings.

The biggest costs are labour and building materials, but you also have to add in other big costs. For example, initial groundwork alone can run to tens of thousands of dollars. If you are on a sloping site, then you may need retaining walls. Any increase in the floor area, especially on sloping sites, will add significantly to your building costs.

Many times house building or renovation projects do not go ahead simply because people have had unrealistic budgets and grandiose plans. Not only have people paid out $10,000 or more, but their dreams are squashed.

The Best Way To Build To Your Budget

What is the solution to build within your budget?

Oddly, the best way forward is to invest a relatively small amount of money before you get to the final plans. This may seem counter-intuitive to spend money at this stage, but it can save you thousands and help you get a home that will meet your family’s needs.

Before running off with your grand ideas to an architect, first, run your ideas past a Licensed Builder. Ask for their expert opinion on what you could realistically build on your site or with your existing house – and within your available budget. An experienced builder will have real-world knowledge on the range of costs and work involved in executing your ideas, be able to offer solutions where needed and even suggest alternatives you may not have considered. This collaborative discussion will help manage both your expectations and budget from the start, getting you closer to the home you want.

Most builders will also be able to recommend a few architects or draughtsmen best suited to your project. Once you’ve settled on one, ask them to draw-up a draft plan rather than full building plans. When you have those, enlist your builder again, along with a Quantity Surveyor. Show them the outline plan and ask them for draft costs both for labour and the materials. Of course, you will have to pay for their time and work but this will be a lot less than having fully developed plans and consent that you cannot actually afford to build.

What Happens If The Draft Is Too Expensive?

Our job as a builder is to help you manage your expectations and your budget. If the labour and material costs do come back way over your expectations, we will work with you to decide what are the absolute must-haves in your new or renovated home – maybe you don’t really need that extra bathroom that is adding $20,000-$30,000 to your build.

Other things to consider are the fixtures and fittings. Do you need the highest spec of everything?

A small but surprising example of how these sorts of costs can get out of hand is the unassuming household door. Doors can range from $80 to $900, while handles can range from $10 to $800. Even a modest change in specs for these could easily save $7,000 in a four-bedroom home. Make these spec swaps to a few more items and you can imagine the potential savings on a whole.

Budget Over-runs Cause Stress And Financial Hardship

A common problem people end up with for a building project is that too many builders use a poor pricing model. It is very common to see prices quoted at a price per square metre. Even online guides offer pricing guidelines by the sq metre. This inevitably leads to under costing and financial over-spend.

Much better is to have either itemised or fixed pricing.

In the itemised models, you can see where your money is going so you can make changes before building starts (changing the fabric of the structure after construction has started is always expensive).

Using a fixed-price option, you and the builder will agree on the final specs at the beginning, with no changes possible within that price limit.

With both of these, you have more understanding of your financial exposure and can budget accordingly.

Smart Pricing For House Building

Over the years we have seen many disappointed homeowners who cannot afford their new home simply because they did not know the likely costs up front.

We encourage all of our prospective clients to do their due diligence and follow this simple but worthwhile approach to building or renovating a home. It saves everyone time, money and disappointment.

If you are thinking of having a new home built or undertaking a major renovation, we are happy to have an initial discovery chat. We can introduce you to an architect or draughtsman (depending on your build requirements) and a Quantity Surveyor so that you can get a fuller picture before you spend thousands of dollars on unusable drawings and Council consent – and ultimately have a positive building experience from the beginning. You can reach us via email at admin@cainbuilt.co.nz or on 0800 224 628.

North Shore house renovation builder and architectural new builds.

Home renovations, House Renovation

Auckland Home Renovations – Budget Ideas

October 20, 20190

Home Renovations – The Key Part – Knowing your Budget

Before you embark on a house renovation, the most important job you must do is to work out what budget you can afford. By doing this at the start of the project you will save yourself a lot of time, energy, and possible disappointment. Imagine building up a picture in your mind of a wonderful renovation to your home, getting all excited about the new house only to have your hopes dashed when you talk to an experienced home renovations builder who gives you a ball-park estimate twice as high as your funding.

It is much better for you, and the renovation builders too, to have a clear idea of what you can afford.

Here are some questions we come across when we talk to potential clients about a building budget.

How Do I Know What I Can Afford To Build Or Do Within My Budget?

Prices will vary a lot depending on

the size of the building
the state of the current building
the building plot, is it flat or sloping?
the grade of renovation materials you want
and many more

CoreLogic, a property information, analytics and services provider, suggest that building in Auckland is in the region of $2300 per sq metre. That means that building a typical new house would cost $445,000.

However, they go on to warn of “invisible costs” including:

The cost of the land itself
Architect or designer fees
Council and other regulatory permits
Admin costs for sub-division or in-fill
Groundwork if it is a sloping section
Development costs i.e. getting services to the building which alone can be $60,000.

This means you are looking at close to $600,000 before the cost of the land. Talk to your bank or mortgage broker to see if those figures are affordable to you and if they are prepared to lend on the property.

Have A Very Clear Idea Of What You Want

One of the biggest causes of costs over-running is clients changing their mind part-way through the build. As a renovation builder, it causes us no-end of problems making changes, but we have to pass on the extra costs to the client. This could be up to an extra 50% on the original cost. To avoid big additional costs, be clear from the outset what you want.

We suggest people have two lists:

The must-haves
The nice to haves if budget allows.

With our experience we can advise you on what is feasible and what it is better to cross off.

Remember too, that most renovations must have consent from the Council. The approval process can months and any significant changes to the plans can take weeks. To minimise the delays to your house building or home renovation project, have clear, and fixed idea from the start.

Be Very Clear On Your Budget

This is a combination of the first two steps.

Once you have a reasonably good idea of your budget, plus a clear plan of what you want, then you can hire an architect or designer to convert those into building plans.

Ideally we can work through those at the concept stage with you to explain where costs might be saved or what additional costs you might be looking at.

These steps save so much time and disappointment, both for us, and for the client. If the client has a more modest budget, then it saves them the significant cost of having useless plans drawn up.

Be clear, even ruthless from the start about your building or home renovations ambitions.

When Should You Involve The Builder?

A builder cannot determine your budget for you. You have to decide that with your financiers.

We work out the costs of converting your design into a finished home. That includes, groundworks, consents, labour including sub-contractors, materials, and finishes.

If that pricing is significantly above your budget, with our experience we can look at the design and work with your architect to suggest changes so that the finished home will be closer to your budget.

However, we can talk to you before you hire an architect to give you a ball-park figure based on your outline and having seen the section we are building on. This will help you and the designer to come up with a design that is within your agreed budget. We are happy to come along to your property to discuss this with you. We can also suggest a suitable architect or draughtsman based on your project type and budget.

How much to budget for house renovations

Changes To The Plan During The Build Process

As mentioned before, changes to the plan once the home renovations building process has started are costly, on a number of fronts.

As a builder, changes during the project are not welcome but in the end we are going to be paid for them so it doesn’t affect us apart from frustration or being late for our next job. But for the client the changes can cost thousands of extra dollars.

If the changes are significant like the footprint of the project such as making the rooms bigger or adding an extra room, that means the plans have to be re-drawn and re-submitted to the Council.

You will have extra costs such as:-

design and drawing fees
costs for the Consent
additional construction costs- as well as rental and site cost if project has already been started
material costs.
Re-pricing and administration costs

Plus of course, this will add time to the overall project. If you are living in rented accommodation, then you will have extra rent to pay too. That might result in having to renew your lease on the rental property.

As stated above, have a clear idea from the start, and don’t make significant deviations from it.

The Quality Of the Finish

This relates to the carpet, fixtures and fittings, appliances, bathroom fit-out, lighting, and even the quality of paint that you want to use or fits within the budget.

This is often an aspect that can add a significant over-run to the total project cost. People decide to have a more expensive style of taps, or higher spec appliances in the kitchen or bathroom. Even door handles can add thousands to the original cost.

You can easily go from a $60 door handle to one over $250, and remember, you need two handles per door. If you have cupboards, closets as well as room doors, you could easily need 15 doors. That change in door furniture would cost almost $3,000 more. Be clear on the standard of finish you want or can afford, and stick to it.

Summing Up Home Renovations And Building Budgets

The strong message is to have a very clear idea of both budget and expectations from the start, and to not make significant changes to that. Any change will cost you time and a lot of extra money.

At Cain Built we are more than happy to discuss your ideas for your home renovations before you approach an architect or designer to help gauge the potential project cost, and make suggestions based on our years of experience in the building industry. This will help you fix those ideas and costs from an early stage.

If you’d like to have a chat about your building or renovation project in the Auckland area, call us on 0800 224 628 or if you prefer, you can email admin@cainbuilt.co.nz.

House renovations builders East Coast Bays

Home renovations, House Renovation

Auckland House Renovations – Answers To Frequent Questions

September 10, 20190

Auckland House Renovations – Frequently Asked Questions

Over the years we have been asked many questions about house renovations. Some of those crop up regularly so here is a list of some of the FAQs we are asked.

Why renovate?

There are three main reasons people renovate their home:

They need more space

More bedrooms – A young couple you may have bought a starter home but with young children, you now need more bedrooms, so you are not sharing a room with your children. Then as the children grow older into their teens, they no longer want to share bedrooms.

Work from home – One of you has a change in career and decides to work from home. A kitchen table or a corner of the living room may not be enough space or allow for quiet time. Maybe you need a design studio or a dedicated office. Renovating your home can add a specialist working area to your home saving you hundreds of dollars a month in office rental.

Older relative coming to live – This is very common as a parent needs more care or simply doesn’t want to live on their own anymore. Renovating to include a granny-flat is a common cause of a bigger renovation project.

Entertainment rooms – Increasingly common is people deciding that they want entertainment areas. This might be a home theatre or a games room. Some people even want a dedicated music listening room.

Outdated design or poor standard of repair

Poor layout – The current layout of the house is old and inefficient. Older homes are not open plan, which wastes a lot of usable space. Renovating can free-up a surprising amount of new space which can be arranged as bigger living areas, extra bathrooms, a bigger kitchen, additional bedrooms, and many more ideas. Older homes will also be inefficient from an energy consumption perspective whether heat loss, water heating, or heating systems. When renovating, you can install the latest energy-efficient systems to reduce your running costs and carbon footprint.

Poor standard of repair – Let’s face it. Not everyone wants to spend their leisure time decorating, installing new appliances or cupboards, or generally maintaining their home. Major Auckland house renovations can take care of all those problems, and more. Better still, you get a professional house renovation building company to do all the work for you.

Not wanting to move

Many families are very happy in the are they live in and simply do not want to move. They have friends or family close by, or it may be more convenient to get to work. Often it is the place at a preferred school that people don’t want to give up. On top of that, moving to a new house is a lot of work. You must look for a suitable home, give up time by going to lots of viewings or open homes, have emotional stress and setbacks when your offers get out-bid. Then if you are successful, you have to go through the turmoil of sorting and packing your chattels and furniture, moving and then unpacking at the other end. Then you have to make new friends etc. It is easy to see why some people simply prefer to stay where they are and renovate their existing home.

What should I consider when thinking about renovating?

There are a few key points to consider before a renovation project.

Budget and affordability are key. – Unless it is affordable, then don’t waste time or energy thinking about a renovation.

What do you want from the renovation? – This can be broken down into two lists – the must-haves and the hope-to-haves. By having a clear idea of what you want as a minimum from the renovation, you can determine your budget. Once you have that sorted, then you can look at other ideas like an entertainment room, a bigger kitchen etc. But draw-up those two lists to discuss with an experienced renovation builder like Cain Built.

Am I over capitalising?

Is it right for the area? – This is a good question to ask and one that needs you to think about selling the home at some stage. For example, if all the houses in your area are two- or three-bedrooms, would someone want to buy a four-bedroom house in that locality? Or would they instead look at the next suburb for a four-bedroom home? The best way to answer this is to call in a real estate agent or better still, a property valuer. They will be able to advise if the renovation project is too big, or if the area is likely to develop along those lines.

House renovations FAQs

Can I live in my house while it’s being renovated?

It depends – The answer depends on the extent of your home renovation project. If walls are being ripped out so there are no bedroom or bathroom privacy, or maybe the kitchen is taken out, then you will most likely need to relocate during part of the house renovations. There may be harmful materials like asbestos that needs to be removed so again you won’t be able to live there while that is happening. Sometimes the builder can work in stages so you can move from one room to the next but generally, especially for bigger renovation projects, it is easier, and quicker for the builders to have free access around the house.

Can I leave my belongings in my home while renovating?

It depends – Again it depends on the extent of the renovation project. Generally though, it is better to remove as much as possible. This is especially the case if the exterior walls are going to be replaced leaving the home open. Your belongings can also get very dirty with all the dust, mud and other particles on the building site.

How do I know I’m hiring a builder I can trust?

There are two ways to determine this:-

Accreditations – Look for accredited builders. At Cain Built Ltd we are both Licensed Building Practitioners (a government building standard) and an NZCB Certified Builder. For both of these accreditations, we have to undergo regular training and meet nationally approved standards. This also means that we provide a ten-year guarantee plus we have to hold a required insurance cover for public liability.

Testimonials – Ask previous clients or look at testimonials. We have tons of great reviews from very happy clients – please see this page on our website for what our customers have said about our work.

How do I get a project started / Where to start?

Talk to a builder – A chat with an experienced builder will give you an idea of what you could achieve within a rough budget. If the renovation still seems a likely project, then you need to work out your budget and talk to a designer or architect.

What type of work requires Council consent?

These projects will or may need Council consent:

Relocating a building
Recladding
Retaining walls
Altering an existing building
Extensions and additions
Deck
Porch or veranda

Who will take care of securing Council consents?

If the renovation does require council approval the Architect or Draughtsman typically takes care of submitting the plans to Council and getting them to the stage that they are ready for construction to begin.

How long will the consent process take?

Council has 20 working days to process the building consent application during which time further

information may be requested; if further information is requested the clock is stopped.

The reality is it often can take longer than this for a ’building consent’ to come through.

Should you project require ‘resource consent’ also this can draw out the planning stage of the process significantly, some have been known to take a year or more due to the number of specialist consultants involved, correspondence between them and council and red tape that can be associated with some building projects or sites.

If you later make changes to the plan, you will have to go through the consent process again.

What warranties and insurances are in place to protect my building and me?

Contracts – On agreement, we will supply you with a binding contract from the Certified Builders Association, who produce the most up to date contracts in the industry. This will outline our responsibility to you, the extent of work, insurances, time period and payment schedule.

We will also provide you with a disclosure statement detailing which sub-contractors will be working on your project, a written warranty on the building products being used and details of our insurance. We will also include a timeline and completion date.

Insurance – We carry Public Liability and workmanship Insurance.

Guarantee – We offer the most comprehensive guarantee in the industry. The Halo ten-year guarantee covers loss of deposit, non-completion cover, alternative accommodation due to errors, as well as building and material guarantees.

In addition, we are Accredited New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) which means we have been thoroughly vetted and licensed.

Home renovations, House Renovation

Coatesville House Renovations Builders – Renovate Or Move?

May 20, 20190

Why Many House Renovations Are Cheaper Than Selling Your Home And Buying Another

Many homeowners reach a point where they want extra space, a different layout to suit their family, or to accommodate new family members such as an aged parent moving in. There are many reasons wanting more or different space but whatever the cause this creates one of two choices; to move to a new home or to renovate their existing home.

There is no right or wrong answer but there are periods where people either prefer to renovate their existing house or sell their home and buy a new one. There are several reasons why renovating the home you already have is a much better investment than selling and buying another. Here are some key reasons why you might choose to renovate and some of the most cost-effective remodeling jobs you can do.

Selling A Home Is Expensive On Many Levels

With the high price of houses in Auckland these days, the costs of selling one and buying another has risen as well. According to REINZ, the median house price in Auckland is $850,000. For that you can expect to pay about $33,000 just for the real estate commission alone. Add to that mortgage costs, legal fees, valuations, LIM costs, removals, and you can be looking at $45,000 – all of which is dead money and doesn’t provide an asset value.

On top of that there is a huge amount of time spent going to open homes, the mental anguish of deciding which house you like, worrying about making an offer at the right price, and then having to do it all again when you miss out on your dream home – not to mention the laborious packing and moving process if you do end up selling.

There is a Better Way – Home Renovations in Coatesville

Instead of wasting your money on all those commissions and fees, plus all the wasted time in finding a house to move to, you can invest in your existing home by renovating it.

There are plenty of smaller renovations that you can do which can make a significant difference to your home, such as DIY-type projects ranging from decorating and landscaping, to new bathroom cabinets and these are well within the capability of a good handyman or a DIYer. However, they don’t make a significant difference to the overall usefulness or usage of space in your house. For this you will need to talk to a draughtsman or architect, and a local Coatesville renovation builder.

Why Go The House Renovation Route?

We have all heard horror stories of bad builders doing poor work, being well behind schedule or charging way over the original building quotation. But it’s important to remember that not all builders are like that. In fact, that type of builder is rare these days, so don’t be concerned about thinking of renovating your home. The chances are much higher that you will have a great result.

Which brings us back to the question, “Why go the renovation route?”

There are many reasons, but for some people, one of the key reasons is that you are not spending dead money. Everything you spend on renovating your home will be directly invested into he increased value of your property. From the cost of the draughtsman’s or architect’s plans, to getting Council consent, to the builder and materials, all of those are investments in your home.

Other Big Reasons To Choose Home Renovations

Many of the reasons to decide to hire a Coatesville house renovations builder are emotionally driven rather than a logical, numbers-driven analysis. For example, lots of families simply love their home. A home often has strong family ties where the children were born and raised, it may be a dream location, or whatever the reasons, people just want to stay in their house. Yet they still want more space or to be able to utilise that space better. In this case, renovating your Coatesville home can make this work for you.

In the short-term there will be disruption, mess, and inconvenience. All building sites are like that. But as the saying goes, “You can’t make an omelette without breaking an egg.”

Finding a good school or even getting into the school zone of your choice can be prohibitively expensive. And while children might complain about going to school, if they are settled have good friends and are doing well, it can be a huge wrench for you and then children, to uproot them to move to a new school. This is one of the biggest reasons that people choose to stay in their current home and renovate it to meet their new needs instead of moving home.

How We Work As A Coatesville Home Renovations Builder

At Cain Built, we have worked with many families on home renovations in Coatesville. One of the first things we ask is what does a family want to achieve with a home renovation? Is it more space, better space, accommodating new family members, or simply making their home look more modern? Whatever the desire, we can help make it happen for you.

After our initial meeting and discussion, we can give you a ball-park estimate to see if it is within your budget before you commit too much in expense. After that we know numerous good draughtsman and architects who we can introduce to you who will extract your end goal, and convert that to working drawings for submission to the Council.

Once consent is given, we will firm up the pricing for you so you can talk to your bank about financing your home renovations build. We will also give you a building schedule so you can plan how you want to live while the renovations project is being carried out.

Some families are happy to live in the home among the building work while others move out to family or rent for the duration of the renovations, depending on the scale and duration of the project.

Summary

Cost is not always about money. Lots of families have strong ties to their existing home but still want to renovate it for more space or to modernise it. If you and your family are emotionally attached to where you currently live but want to get more utility from your home, please call us on 0800 224 628 or email at admin@cainbuilt.co.nz, we’d be happy to talk to you about your options.

Home renovations, House Renovation

East Coast Bays Builder For Major Home Renovation Projects

March 20, 20190

Major Renovation Projects

Unless you are qualified, you should never attempt to undertake a major home renovation project on your own. Many people look at the costs of the project and think that they will save a lot of money by doing it for themselves, but it is usually the opposite. Part-time DIY-builders generally end up spending much more than they intended. This is especially the case if they factor in the extra time that they will need compared to hiring a professional builder. Even worse is that their attempts could easily have a disastrous outcome. Watching a few videos online or home renovation shows on TV does not make an amateur an expert at big renovations.

In fact, watching home renovation shows ought to convince anyone that trying to do it yourself is asking for trouble. They all go way over budget, take far more time than they expected, and cause untold stress to the family.

What Are You Buying When You Hire A Builder For A Major Renovation?

A major home renovation, whether it is a new bathroom or a total house renovation, is going to set you back many thousands, and more likely hundreds of thousands of dollars. So what are you getting for your money?

You Are Hiring An Experienced Team Of Builders

When hiring a professional building contractor, you are hiring not just the builder themselves but a whole team of proven experts. Every professional home renovation builder not only has a team of skilled carpenters, but a network of qualified subcontractors that they will call in to work on the construction project alongside them. You don’t have to spend your time finding and verifying a plumber, a roofer, and an electrician to name just a few. The builder most likely already has preferred contacts at hand who they work with and can attest to the quality of their work, which they can suggest and then manage for you.

Experience

Experience is the key to delivering a top-quality job. Imagine if you were trying to learn carpentry, framing, flooring, drainage etc. It would take you months, even years to develop sufficiently good skills to carry-out major renovation projects in your home. A professional building company has years of experience in their chosen field, along with access to other companies with years of experience in their own fields. Experience is not something you can buy, but it is something you can hire.

There are of course many ways to know if a contractor is experienced. One being references or if they are a Licensed Building Practitioner. You can also ask the company’s representative to show you examples of their past work and any testimonials they have.

Furthermore, they know which permits are needed which can save you hours of frustration trying to find out from the Council.

It is Their Career

What does that mean? With DIY projects, they can only be done when a person is free, such as during the evenings or over the weekend. This means that the project is part-time. However, when you hire a builder for a major renovation project, they work when you are working. This means you get eight experienced hours a day rather than a couple of novice hours a day on your project.

The Renovation Is “Move-In-Ready”

The project is not finished, until it is fully completed. A DIY-er may run out of energy towards the end and leave a few smaller jobs for later, only they never get around to them. When you hire a building company, they will finish all of the tasks including cleaning the paint spots and finishing the site clear-up.

All you will need to do is add the furniture and sit back to enjoy your newly renovated home. This not only saves you time and money but ensures the job is fully finished with no corners cut so you actually end up with the home you imagined.

What Sort Of Major Renovation Projects Can We Help You With?

Over the years we have worked on many types of home renovations. These have ranged from renovating a bathroom or kitchen, creating open-plan living and dining areas, right up to complete house renovations. A full house renovation might even include adding a new storey, or a large house extension covering hundreds of square metres. Whatever you have in mind, we can help.

Conclusion

Clearly, unless you have a lot of different building skills, and can devote all of your time to a major house renovation project, you will need the skills and experience of a professional builder to get a good quality job finished.

However, when hiring, it is important to ensure that you have hired a professional contractor who has proven credentials for work similar to your renovation project.

This simply means learning more about their previous work, the quality of the end result, and even if they finish the work as scheduled.

Ask them too if they are accredited members of a trade association. Many associations demand ongoing training and reviews of work for companies to keep their accreditations. This alone can save you a lot of time and worry when looking to hire a renovations builder.

At Cain Built we are not only both New Zealand Certified Builders Association accredited (NZCB) and Registered Master Builders accredited but have worked on many different types of major house renovations, so we’re sure to be able to help you with yours. If you have a project in mind, please give us a call on 0800 224 628 or email us at admin@cainbuilt.co.nz and we will gladly have a chat with you about your renovation project.