It's always heartening to hear stories of people achieving successful and great value outcomes. My comment above was however not for standardised design or DIY scenarios, rather responding to an urban scenario with split level. The work we do is by nature customised and we deal with this sort of thing regularly & yes it (usually) involves a lot of money..as a flagfall and the sky's the limit. It's not however necessarily about bells and whistles and being fancy for the sake of it either. Rather it's about quality and long term value. You can spend a lot of money that lasts a long time which ends up being a more cost effective option than spending half as much but not lasting nearly as long. It's all relative and it depends of course also on land value, what is being proposed and the capacity for a proposed project to be financed. It's always a balance across a number of factors. We can rarely pin down a specific number either. It depends on specification and the design detailing. DIY construction is a completely different kettle of fish to a contracted build, as is a more simple, standardised design & construction/ specification to a more complex and customised multi/split level scenario with intricate/unique detailing...as is also rural scenarios to tighter inner urban situations. It really is a case of how long is a piece of string and it will range dramatically depending on how you are going about it. I had a client once who similarly was a DIY Owner builder with a trade background who did most of the work themselves. They similarly achieved the construction for a dollar amount far less that what it would have otherwise cost in a commercial contract. The design was also for mirror imaged connected townhouses so there was an economy of scale there as well, as well as being a compact and efficient design with certain details standardised to make the construction more efficient and materials relatively minimised with essentially 2 houses fitting within the size of a standard house, so they got 2 for the price of 1 essentially (good result!). BUT when you factor the practical hours "donated" or performed on the project for "free", including every hour of labour, construction management etc, supply and handling etc and apply a reasonable dollar value to it, as well as GST and builder's margin (or a construction management %) on top of the total, it's pretty much a resulting cost in the ballpark of what I was indicating.

They are partly correct in saying 'Plans often have errors on them' however this is usually a pretty basic spelling mistake or a minor 'typo' rather than something of significance such as a door with sidelights.....something like this is difficult to overlook when checking drawings. Note: It is quite significant! If the door in the elevation plans show the sidelights (as well as on the door schedule if one is provided) with no extra notes saying to amend to a single 820 entry door then you may have a case. The plans may well be council approved but do those plans also say the same thing, as the building certifier may well be expecting a door with sidelights to be in place when they inspect! If it's not as shown on the drawings then where will that leave you, the builder and also the inspector......? Note: All amendments are to be noted on the construction plans. A client recently decided to change backyard facing windows from 1200h x 970w to a 1200h x 1210w during construction. This would have not only affected the BASIX Certificate (NSW) but would have also needed to go through council for their approval in case of overlooking and privacy issues..... Check the approved plans and specifications (against the builders inclusions) thoroughly. It could be a misinterpretation by either party but at least you'll know for sure where you stand. It really is a shame that this has happened, building 'should' be enjoyable from beginning to end. I do hope you get your sidelights as they really will make a great entry to your new home. All the best.

Hi RJ, There seems to be some dangerously incorrect criticism floating about of using area rates to map out the cost for a project in the early stages, however we can use this to highlight to the Houzz community the appropriateness of using area rates to cost your project in the early stages. RJ you have done everything right in using an approximate area rate to map out your project costs before a designer is appointed!! Although there is some merit to note it is helpful to source your area rates from similar projects from the industry at that point in time - which can be obtained from a QS/Cost Planner/architect/designer - at least you are starting to think in realistic budget terms terms. $2K/m2 may/may not reflect what a builder can deliver for a bespoke design - depending of course on whether structure or kitchens / bathrooms are affected (i.e. check out this amazing kitchen / bathroom calculator from realeastate.com.au!! https://www.realestate.com.au/calculators/renovation-calculator/) ........however this is still getting you close to what might end up being the budget or the revised scope of work. The first thing your designer should do - almost before ANY drawings are done - is check your project budget matches your brief/scope of works by using Cost Plan A area rates and an 'Opinion of Probable Cost".. They can also identify if you are touching other parts of the site or scope that need to be taken into account that you may not have realised. At the start of a project, when there is no design yet, only plans with an approximate area scope of works (floor area schedules), it is what is referred to as "Cost Plan A" stage. Refer to this helpful description from the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services; "Due to the very nature of information available, cost plan A is developed in conjunction with floor area schedules and should be based on data gathered from other similar projects, surveys of existing conditions and major project specific issues such as the suitability, age and condition of existing facilities, including upgrade of site services, asbestos removal, topography, heritage issues and so on."....http://www.capital.health.vic.gov.au/Planning_and_evaluation/Cost_plans/Cost_plan_stages/  One of the benefits of using an architect is that we are rigorously trained and registered to provide "Cost Advice", and right from the early stages using area rates. Building designers must provide this advice however are governed by consumer law and not by an Act of Parliament. When your project is at this stage there is clearly no 'Trade Breakdown" as the design hasn't even started yet!! And yet we must guide you as to an appropriate budget to match your scope of works. A responsible architect / building designer will test these area rates with industry-standard costings to identify an appropriate budget right from the beginning, so that we can make adjustments to the scope to ensure we can get excited about what you can really afford to build before the design is finished. Refer also to this helpful article by Choice on "what can go wrong"......but also what can go right when using an architect/building designer; https://www.choice.com.au/home-improvement/building-and-renovating/design-and-trades/articles/architects-designing-to-build-budget I love that you are already excited to begin looking at a shortlist of Pros in the Brisbane area and I wish you Good Luck!

Thanks for the advice team. So the house is block work on a cement slab, but when we did our renovating in the bathroom and had to cut through and re-lay the floor in the very small bathroom we noticed that the slab was incredibly thin and had no reinforcing. The walls have some cracks however we did have the building inspected when we bought it and thought we had a solid shell to start with. (Its brick and cement we said - what can go wrong?!) Our house is not in the flood zone. There is an asbestos ceiling which has also complicated matters a little - everyone who has quoted on the job has vowed not to disturb it - but I am not sure when you are walking around up there and pulling the original roof off if this is actually possible. The roof is a flat cliplock roof with no crawl space at all, so the ceiling is on battens that are attached to the rafters. The block of land is 822 sqm and will be worth about $130 000 if the house was demolished. (Demolition is set to cost around $30 000- due to asbestos etc) We have spoken to an architect who has told us that it may be possible to reuse our kitchen, the solar set up and some windows, but if we try to force the project to reuse all of our windows and doors it could end up being counter productive. So if it happens to fit we might reuse. I just spoke to a real estate who are telling me that in our area a small new house (3 bedroom) will not reach the $300 000 value point - so it may be impossible to reach the right formula to allow the bank to lend for a rebuild-