Excellent article that parallels many of the same issues faced by professionals in other trades and related or aligned industries. 1. On the subject of Budget. There seems to be an almost universal reticence on the part of potential clients to withhold information on their budgetary constraints. In my many years of experience in business within my own industry, I have yet to find, or even hear of a story, of a reputable provider who has intentionally 'padded-out' a quotation to meet the limits of a budget disclosed by the client. Obviously, trust is the issue here, and I suppose understandable. However, you can build confidence in your selection of providers by checking carefully their credentials and, preferably customer testimonials/recommendations if they are available to you. With a 'known' budget limit a provider can design a solution that provides the best value for money. The correct trade-offs can be made over elements that make up your eventual quotation in a way that does not compromise the overall quality of the solution you are presented. You may not be able to incorporate all elements of your 'wish list' but you give the provider/supplier the opportunity to work with you in arriving at a quality solution that doesn't skimp on the important, and often required, elements of your solution design. From the supplier/providers point of view the amount of time and effort providing you with a solution quotation that provides optimal value can be vastly minimised. - I don't know how many times I have provided quotations to potential clients who are unable or reticent in disclosing their budget, only for them to fall over, when the quoted price is way beyond the amount they are willing or able to spend. When this happens, it leaves a rather bad taste in the mouths of all parties; with the provider/supplier now perceived as 'over the top' with their pricing, and the provider having to 'rework,' (if lucky enough to be given the opportunity to do so), the quotation in light of the 'now disclosed' budgetary constraints. Of course, often as not the potential client moves on to another provider/supplier, educated and informed by the first provider and is able to direct the second provider with a revised specification (and associated design decisions) courtesy of their interactions with the first provider who will ever be thought off as 'over the top.' I can only emphasise the point, that providing an indication of your budgetary range or limits, is so very important and may well save you from missing out on the benefit of working with a reputable supplier/provider.- Instead, you may be left with a provider that has made an easy sale having being given a shopping list or manifest of the required solution components, with the hard work and expertise required to define the solution, already completed and provided by the client. 2. On the subject of quotation detail, I have always provided a complete quotation breakdown so that the customer can clearly see what is included and what is not. In my business branding is as important as feature lists and component specifications, as the information detailed in the quotation should speak of the calibre, quality and functionality of the solution you have been quoted on. For a supplier/provider. this can sometimes be a two-edged sword, as it provides an easy pick-list for the next supplier/provider, who once again may simply counter-quote the solution and undercut pricing on the same components that make up the first provider's quotation. Alternatively, cheaper, often inferior elements of the solution may be substituted, in order to provide a clear price advantage, which 'sad to say' at least 50% of the population will opt for (imho); with claims of superior quality, reputation and after sales, warranty and service benefits, sacrificed by clients who value price over just about anything else. Of course, in many cases these are not the clients we are targeting with our own business, but that does not prevent a lot of time, effort and expertise being wasted; and in a lot of cases, as already described, expertise that is simply given away to a usually, lower-tier player in our market. 3 On the subject of Project vs Custom. I will not repeat the excellent points made in both the article and some of the comments above. In my own business we only manufacture custom product (Drapery). One point I will make is that reputable suppliers/providers in any market have usually been in business for a considerable time (30+ years in my case). If you produce crap, you do don't tend to survive in business over the long haul. Reputable providers/suppliers have built quality long-term relationships with the providers in their supply-chain, and often as not it is word-of-mouth recommendation that provides much of your custom. Word-of-mouth recommendations are typically the product of an 'impressed' and 'happy' customer. You will pay more, but with the reputation of the provider/supplier on the line each an every day, there is little scope for 'finger pointing' when we the supplier gets it wrong, or if a problems or issues are experienced post sale. - We have far more on the line, and as a result, do very much 'give a damn' as do our delivery partners with whom we work, to ensure that no chinks develop in our collective 'reputational armour' and that you receive the premium value you paid for.

Yes, this is very much a 'how long is a piece of string' question! And the answer is probably very much a 'you get what you pay for' answer! We have just built a house and paid in the vicinity 0f $1800/m2 - the builder we used has 3 lots of 'specs' for houses - basically the lower budget, the middle, and the higher end. For our given floor plan they could quote on each of the specs and we went with the middle one. This involve things like the quality of the fittings/appliances etc. eg. with the low spec we would have got a basic kitchen with formica benchtops, the middle spec included soft-close drawers and hinges with stone benchtops etc and it was the same for all the fittings throughout the house - toilets/vanities/laundry fit out/quality of carpet/type of concrete for drive etc. A word of warning - we had a friend who was very happy because he built a house for just over $1000/m2 - but you could tell! It looked all fine when it was brand new but after a few months you could tell the poor quality of some fittings. And the carpets were already looking worn! so - you get what you pay for.

My $0.02 - in NSW designers are NOT registered or accredited, beware. All architects are nationally accredited. I suggest that there are a lot of things you can do yourself before you start - get a proper survey of your block, ensure that you get them to provide angles for anything that isn't square....understand if there are utilities like sewer pipes which will affect your setbacks or useable space...... Go online and workout the sun angles for your longitude and latitude helpful for solar and overall layouts. West facing picture windows are not the best. Some of the solar firms have online calculators which help to do this. Read the local council rules and understand them, apply them to your survey and your design ideas....including if you are a corner block and if you want to go two storey...... If it is still a 'go' Get all of the heritage, flood, fire etc checks done by council - around $150 depending on council........ Eliminate or at least understand all the big constraints before you go any further........ Look again at the survey- any contour lines may cost you money, assume a cost of at least $2000 per sqm to start and do some layouts of your ideas on paper, add up all of the spaces, can you actually put them on your block? How much is the total?.......yes garages are slightly cheaper to build but still take up precious footprint space.... Is access likely to cause issues for trades, equipment and deliveries?......... Keep refining and updating the ideas and plans thinking about how you want to use the spaces and move around inside and out.....where are you putting the wheelie bins, clothes dryer etc..... Try the free to use BASIX site forms if you are in NSW, understand how the size, shading and orientation of windows affects your sustainability and adjust, this will also apply many of the local council rules as well..... Do you want a brick house, with render? A pole home, a kit build? A fast build insulated panel build? What type of roof?...... The more you have worked out for yourself the better, look at the kit home options, there are lots and some are very good... Everything is delivered and you just construct with the trades and some may have builders in your area.....The new InsulLiving Code Mark BCA approved options are also worth a look..... Anyway do all of that before you line up for the fleecing floor lol

in our old home we had traditional vinyl tiles throughout the living areas, kitchen, entry and laundry and they were able to be polished to a high or low sheen We've used the same type of vinyl tiles in our new home renovation ..the new ones, called Armstrong Branco 30cm square vinyl tiles, have been laid, sealed and polished once in September 2105 and, without more than an occasional wipe over with a damp mop, still look great although, because we live in a cold climate we do have some carpet and rugs for warmth and to save our poor old dog from skidding on the shiny floor