Removing walls downstairs is structural work.

took us a year they gutted the whole inside ..had to move walls built new ones that was after the builder estimation of three months of work ..because once they start there's always unplanned problems..

yours is structural not cosmetic..bear in mind everything has to flow..ie if you wanted a particular bath and they don't have it in stock it's 8 weeks or more wait to order ..things like that can throw the spanner in the works..

or they remove the carpet to find termite or rot then it's further delays..

so go for it ..just need to have a healthy bank account as once money runs out the work stops :) and like any Reno we overshot ..300K became 400K in no time :)

Hi Suzanne.

There a huge number of variables. Design could be a few months to a year. Construction could be three months to 18. Costs will vary wildly depending on location (capital city vs regional area), site access, finishes, size of building, remedial work needed (if any), how much you plan to do yourself versus a builder......the list goes on.

A good architect or building designer will explain the various options about what they can do for you. They can manage the whole project, their fees will reflect the amount of time, skill and energy they need to put in.

As to your madness. It depends how much time you have to dedicate to the project in relation to your available funds. If your budget allows you to get a builder to do the construction and to pay for professional assistance with project management, then it is very possible and your sanity can (on the whole) be preserved. If the budget is tighter then you need a comprehensive plan from the start and good time management skills.

Happy to talk to you more about this if you need to.

Good luck.

Hi Suzanne

The key is to do all your design, building permit drawings, an excellent specifications, ordering of some appliances (not necessarily delivered) and "timing in" a Builder well before you start any physical building work.

By the way if you are removing walls downstairs and upstairs you are doing structural work - depending on how the roof and the walls are supported.

You can take various process in your approach but a good design is always the key - this means that before you begin your Building Permit drawings you are holding in your hand a design that you can feel in you "gut" that you are very happy with - "you" means all stakeholders in the project. To achieve this it takes time - it is difficult to do one concept of a design and built your first draft, I have found from past experience that it takes about three goes at concept designs to eventually distill a good Sketch Plan - or final idea.

If you allow some time to measure up and do the initial existing conditions and then some discussion and eventually produce the first concept, then meetings and discussion to revise and change things, then also allow for daily events three to six months will easily pass.

Then you may need planning permit - depending on local planning laws - (Council may tell you six to eight weeks but six to eight months may be more realistic especially if you are in any sensitive council) and hoping you get no objections - considering that yours appears to be internal work it may not apply - unless you change or put in a new window or do any external work - again depending on local town planning regulations.

Then Building permits Drawings and consultants (if any), a good eight to ten weeks and then instructing and employment of a Builder - Builders are not necessarily ready to build on your timing - so you may have to wait before he/she can start on your job.

So when you allow for family commitments which always take priority, and work commitments that must come first, eighteen months to three years (if planning with objections) from start to build may be a good estimate. Then the building process which may take six to nine months and you will get to eighteen months to over three years.

Any competent Building Designer, Drafts-person, Architect can and do produce the required documents and administer the contract if required. - it just depends how much you are willing to invest in the process.

An Architect may charge 10% to 15% or more of the FINAL building cost - so if you are going to spend $3000,000.00 he would get $30,000.00 to $45,000.00 or more, not including payments to consultants and authorities which are generally excluded from design fees.

If you stage the process - get a good design done by a Building Designer that works on a fixed fee, and then you may get a drafts-person that specializes only in working drawings to do you Building Permit documents - (or the same Building designer if you are happy with the process) and get a good Builder and do your own contract administration - you can do this if you worked with your Building Designer thorough the design and working drawing, your cost for the whole design process may be quite different.

You will be confident enough to administer your own contract if you have good drawings which are well detailed and have followed the design process throughout -

Good complete, competent, well detailed, well specified and with accurate finishing schedules documents is the key.

This is what the Builder uses to build - if he has to wait six weeks because you did not make up your mind on and appliance or tile selection, the process would fall over and you cost will dramatically increase.

To a Builder the more the omission and changes = More waste of time and more cost to the client.

The longest and most difficult stage is to get a good concept and sketch design before moving on to the other stages, give yourself time - if you go fast and don't follow the process and give it to "some expert" to do the whole process and you become a bystander paying the "money" the result could be painful.

As you can see there are a lot of factors - ring somebody up (use skype if there is as distance issue) , find a Building Designer you can work with and have a chat.

Like all things it will take a few revisions to get it right , but if
you are willing to work at it, it will payoff in the end. The first
thing is to draw up the existing conditions to scale so that an initial
proposal showing possibilities can be worked on.

I would be willing to work on this project with you online, I hope this is of some help.

Regards

Michael Manias

mm407p@gmail.com

Hi Suzanne,

It's difficult to give time frames without more detail but you'd probably be looking somewhere between 3 - 12 months depending on the scope of works.

Removing walls will most likely trigger building permits but town planning shouldn't be too much of an issue assuming no trouble with overlays.

If you're looking for a sense of the cost of your scope, try this

Online Renovations Cost Calculator

Hope this helps. Richard@themakeovergroup