Many factors can influence demo cost, such as the mentioned asbestos, but also site access, scale, complexity (is it full or partial demo?) and also if there is any potential value/salvageable aspects. The quicker the job the cheaper it will be. If it's deemed and easy crunch and level then it will be cheaper, if it's more fiddly with asbestos or possibly needing to work around/retain a portion of existing or if its at the back and harder to get machines in then that can increase the cost. It's not a simple flagfall cost of demolition. It's also pays to select an appropriate contractor for the particular scale/nature of the job, i.e. if you go for a company geared up for a larger job and yours is small then you won;t get much love.....sometimes it's a quicker/easier job for the builder to integrate it in with the contract and they simply allocate labour +bins and it ends up more efficient/cheaper ....it ultimately depends, it's horses for courses....if it's smaller scale you may be able to save by stripping some of the cosmetic stuff yourself and getting eh builder to finish of the messier/larger stuff and bring in specialist asbestos removers as required (no getting around that one, it is what it is)...otherwise shop around for a contractor appropriately scaled/suited to handle your particular job effectively/efficiently....best of luck :)

Great advice from all the posters here. But I love the line "Don't get blinded by the size"! Yes, the price/sqm will be higher for a smaller home, as all the expensive essentials - a kitchen, bathrooms etc - will all still be there. But the overall cost will still be significantly lower. Especially if you keep the build to a single storey! As soon as you go up, costs will increase significantly. You'll have more wasted space too, like a staircase & landing. Be ruthless, & importantly, be inventive! Australians now build the largest houses in the world. We overtook the US after the GFC. Is this something to be proud of? I don't think so. Not in this world of finite resources, & climate change. Of finite land, while we continue with our urban sprawl, even endangering something as iconic as our beautiful, & vulnerable koala. Houses don't have to be bigger, they just have to be much better designed. The rest of the world can design in much smaller footprints, why can't we! A smaller home will not only cost you less to build, it will cost less money to maintain over it's life. It will cost less to heat in winter, & cool in summer. It will cost you less time to clean, & maintain. It will cost the environment less. In resources & embodied energy during the build, & in emissions to heat, cool & maintain it over it's life. Do you really need that rarely used guest room? Do you even what it, when you think hard about the financial cost to you, the cost to the environment & your children's future? Along with the time it takes to maintain this room, clean it, dust it, when it's sitting there usually unoccupied. Wouldn't you prefer a well designed multi-purpose room, that can play multiple roles? House guests, when they come to stay. While at other times, be used as a second living areas for the kids, or an office space. Same goes with storage, where many poorly designed homes fall down. We'll designed storage is critical, especially in smaller spaces, but it can be done. OP, you've chosen a nice small block, with a nice 15m wide southern frontage. This will give you a lovely, wide, northern rear aspect. Work with it! You can have beautiful, light & bright living areas, that will connect to your north facing backyard. These living areas will be heated by the northern sun in winter, shaded (by eaves) in summer. If you haven't already, start by reading this wonderful government about energy efficiency home design. https://www.yourhome.gov.au/ There's a lot to take in there. But if start with the passive design section. You've got a lovely northern aspect to work with, & this website will teach you how best to take advantage of it. There's even house plans in there somewhere (in the menu). Not sure if there's anything appropriate for your block, but I'm sure you can learn from them, & get some ideas.

We have been building our house for over two years now. The supply chain downturn has made it a nightmare. We are camping on the mezzanine floor of our warehouse so it isn't costing us to wait, but if I had rented a property while building we would be in trouble now. I purchased most of our plumbing supplies early in the build so at least those items have not gone up in price, but many others have. We ordered and paid for a cantilever pool awning in February this year, and it was sent in three lots. The last delivery was two weeks ago. I suspect the company was having a hard time getting it out of China, so not their fault. We had quotes for fly screens/security screens that totalled over $25,000. We had to forgo the security screens in favour of fly screens for most of the house. We had a quote for a large aluminium mesh panel to place on the front left corner of the house which was over $25,000 also. The fencing company got an order wrong and we ended up with the wrong colour louvre panels on the front driveway sliding gates, plus the wrong colour for a fence. We have managed to turn it into a positive by keeping the wrong coloured louvre blades, and they will now be put up vertically on the front corner of the house, instead of the aluminium mesh. They are six metres long, but the house is two stories, so all good. We had to keep the gate panels the same, so the wrong colour will have to be exchanged for the right colour. People are still building houses here, and some of them are going up very fast, so I don't understand why ours has taken so long. We have purchased most of the goods locally, but I suppose the suppliers are having trouble getting them from overseas. I am at the point where I am losing interest in this house, which is a shame because it will be a beautiful house when finished.

Wow Nicole, sorry you took my offer of assistance the wrong way. I responded as there had been no other responses to this original posting from 18th January, and your plans and the original question didn't show great clarity of thinking. I am glad that you have resolved your queries via another posting, drawn everything up yourself to a high standard so that your renovation will progress smoothly and efficiently with all of the appropriate technical documentation. Fortunately, with my six years contributing to the Houzz community and my 66 Houzz reviews, I know that not everybody thinks as you do. Best of luck with your renovation, Dr Retro