E90. Breaking down building costs

In this episode of the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast, Frank and Amelia dive deep into the one question every home builder has: How much is this going to cost? From budgeting for the basics to planning for the unexpected, Frank and Amelia break down the key factors that influence your building costs before you even start building —so you can make informed decisions from the start.

Building a new home or renovating an existing one is exciting, but it can quickly turn overwhelming if you don’t have a clear understanding of the costs involved. In this episode, Frank and Amelia walk you through essential cost components like site preparation, reports such as bushfire, thermal performance, structural engineering, and permits, plus how to estimate these expenses that occur before the build to stay on track with your budget before you even work out your building costs. They also talk about how to handle unforeseen costs and why it’s crucial to communicate with designers, architects, and builders early on and have contingencies in place.

They'll explain why doing the groundwork and getting realistic budget figures upfront can save you from costly surprises down the road. Plus, they share practical advice on how to adjust your plans if your dream home starts to feel out of reach financially.

If you’re planning a build or renovation, don’t miss this episode. Get the insight you need to ensure your project stays within budget—and that you avoid any costly mistakes along the way!

Press play and feel confident about your next move. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode! 

About us
Prime Design is a building design company locally owned and operated in Tasmania since 2004.  Our goal is to share as much valuable information as possible about the process of building design, extensions, and more. We will talk about a different topic each week. To suggest a topic you would like us to talk about contact us at info@primedesigntas.com.au

Disclaimer
The information provided on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, individual circumstances, or remedy. We strongly suggest you consult a qualified professional before taking any action based on the information provided in this podcast. The views, opinions, and information provided in this podcast are those of the hosts do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer, or company. All content provided on this podcast is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this podcast and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, or damages arising from its use. We reserve the right to change content or delete any information provided on this podcast at any time without prior notice.

Transcript

E90. Breaking down building costs 

[INTRO] (0:08 - 0:24)

Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast, focused on providing valuable information for anyone looking to undertake a new build or extension project. We'll share our tips, tricks and stories from a building designer's perspective.

[Amelia] (0:26 - 0:42)

Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast. I'm your host Amelia and once again we're joined by Frank Geskus.

[Frank] (0:42 - 0:43)

G'day Amelia.

[Amelia] (0:43 - 0:44)

It's another Friday.

[Frank] (0:44 - 0:45)

Happy Friday.

[Amelia] (0:45 - 0:46)

Oh, happy Friday.

[Frank] (0:46 - 0:47)

You got much planned for the weekend?

[Amelia] (0:47 - 0:49)

We're doing some winemaking, I think.

[Frank] (0:50 - 0:54)

Oh, seriously? Oh, dude. And you've got pasta tonight, haven't you?

[Amelia] (0:54 - 0:58)

Well, mum said we're doing curry, so it's no pasta tonight.

[Frank] (0:59 - 0:59)

Okay.

[Amelia] (1:00 - 1:01)

Bit of a change.

[Frank] (1:01 - 1:02)

Oh, well.

[Amelia] (1:02 - 1:04)

Oh, well. So what are we going to talk about today?

[Frank] (1:04 - 1:23)

I thought we might have a bit of a chat to enlighten everyone. What are some of the costs that are going to be incurred before you even start building? So you come and see someone like myself at Prime Design going, hey, I need you to design a house for me.

No worries. But our cost is one of many costs I’m sad to say.

[Amelia] (1:23 - 1:23)

Yes.

[Frank] (1:24 - 1:29)

Because there's so much reports, specialists we have to get in on the most basic home.

[Amelia] (1:30 - 1:31)

Red tape, really.

[Frank] (1:31 - 1:54)

Yeah, some of it I see is legit. The planning approval component, like 95% of the work we do has to go for planning. You know, for just dumb stuff.

I've just got to hold myself back a bit. Airport obstacle limitation area over Launceston. I just did one in Devonport. Hey, they've got one. Did one in Hobart. Hey, they've got one. It's like the whole state's covered in there's an obstacle for airports.

[Amelia] (1:56 - 1:59)

We did have a bit of a chat about that. I thought you got that off your chest before.

[Frank] (1:59 - 2:01)

No, I didn't.

[Amelia] (2:01 - 2:02)

You still hung up on it.

[Frank] (2:02 - 2:02)

It still irks me.

[Amelia] (2:02 - 2:03)

Oh, dear.

[Frank] (2:04 - 2:09)

Can't they fly these things properly? And we haven't even got very tall buildings here.

[Amelia] (2:09 - 2:10)

No, we don't.

[Frank] (2:10 - 2:12)

Even our mountains aren't very tall.

[Amelia] (2:12 - 2:12)

True.

[Frank] (2:13 - 2:22)

Anyway, that's just planning approvals. And every designer in the country and architect in the country knows what I mean about the frustration with planning sometimes.

[Amelia] (2:23 - 2:25)

Yes, they all have their irks about.

[Frank] (2:25 - 2:26)

Irks.

[Amelia] (2:26 - 2:26)

Yeah.

[Frank] (2:26 - 2:27)

Yeah, that's putting it nicely.

[Amelia] (2:28 - 2:39)

That's putting it nicely. But things have changed over the years. I mean, you were saying in one of our previous podcasts, I think it was only 10 to 12 pages for drawings and documentation.

[Frank] (2:39 - 2:49)

Yeah, when I first started 21 years ago, I could get away. Not get away. It was required to provide, I think it was about six, seven drawings.

It wasn't a lot.

[Amelia] (2:49 - 2:49)

Yeah.

[Frank] (2:49 - 3:00)

Site plan, floor plan, side views, elevations we call it, roof plan, plumbing plan, a section. Here you go. No worries.

Sign off. Here's your permit.

[Amelia] (3:01 - 3:04)

And now it's, you know, on average about 35 pages.

[Frank] (3:05 - 3:52)

35 to 40 pages in Tasmania. And please be aware, this is in Tasmania. And CBOS, the governing body, and good on them.

Oregon's great. There's a minimum documentation standard because there's so many rules we have to work with. And as a consumer, you want to make sure you get the proper set of drawing so no one makes a mistake.

[Amelia]

Yes. 

[Frank]
Easy. It's very simple.

But where it's got a little bit ridiculous, we'll go through all the different basic consultants that we need. And we'll discuss a couple of those. So the first obvious one is like, you've got us as designers, design a basic house.

And I'm just going to throw some numbers of variance. Because please, there's a caveat with dollar amounts I'm going to say. Because it varies on the type of house, where it is, the complexity, the size, a whole bunch of stuff.

[Amelia] (3:52 - 3:54)

And probably the state as well.

[Frank] (3:54 - 4:28)

The state. Very much so. So if you're looking at a basic home, you could be starting at $3,500, including GST, all the way up to $6,000.

Even on a basic home, depending on the complexity, how much effort. If you've got something that, hey, I really love this, I've sketched this up, this is perfect. You already sketched your ideas, great.

If you need a full custom design, it could be $6,000, it could be $10,000, it could be $18,000. Depending on the complexity, we work with the customer to understand that. So that's just from the design fees, just being up front with those.

And it does vary a lot. But who's going to make this house stand up?

[Amelia] (4:28 - 4:30)

A structural engineer.

[Frank] (4:30 - 4:31)

You've done this before.

[Amelia] (4:32 - 4:33)

I haven't.

[Frank] (4:34 - 5:06)

So a structural engineer has to design the foundations. And whether the floor is a timber or concrete, has to design that as well. Do you need a retaining wall?

Do you need bracing? Because if it's timber framed, you need to brace it up so it doesn't rack and flap in the breeze. Control joints in your claddings.

Tie downs, so what ties it all down. And all these are done to the Australian standards. And also lintels over your windows, doors, garage doors and the like.

And then you've got timber decks, alfresco’s. Some people will put a spa on their deck, we've got to hold all that up.

[Amelia] (5:07 - 5:08)

Retaining walls even.

[Speaker 1] (5:08 - 5:44)

Yeah, retaining walls, that's a big one. So there's lots and lots, and depending on the complexity, the slope on your site. So that varies.

So on average, you could be looking at starting at about $1,900 for engineering for that. Now, just another thing on all the prices I'm going to say. Some people say, oh, I've got someone who did it cheaper for me and whatnot.

We work with people that back their work. They're fully insured, that are reputable businesses. We don't work with people who are the cheapest.

We want people who do a great job. And if there's a problem on site, they're going to site to go help sort that out.

[Amelia] (5:44 - 5:52)

It's definitely a flow-on effect. So it does really matter who you choose for your different sub-consultants.

[Frank] (5:52 - 7:28)

By all means, shop around. But the cheapest does mean you're going to get exactly what you want. 

[Amelia]

True.

[Frank]

You don't even know what you're going to get. Same as building design fees. Within our fee, we organise all these guys.

But if you go do it yourself, fine, do it yourself. But also be aware it takes a lot longer, and you may not realise what you're getting for the money. I've seen soil tests.

The engineer needs a soil test to see, well, what am I designing to? What's the soil conditions? And I say they're going to be between $880 to $1,200, subject to what it is, where it is.

And there are guys cheaper out there. But be careful of what you get in the report. If it doesn't give you all the information, some of them don't give bearing capacity, some doesn't make recommendations.

And if your site is a little bit trickier, you may not get the right information. Or you get someone that's very conservative and classes it quite high. They do it with all their blocks and don't give you any information.

You pay peanuts, you get chimps. That's my saying with a lot of this stuff. If you get a cheap soil test, you then have expensive footings because the engineer only designs to what the soil test report shows and recommends, if it even recommends.

If that report is done really well, and there's a couple of really good guys, we use about four or five different companies all around Tasmania, and they're fantastic. Good reports, good recommendations. You can ring them up, discuss stuff.

But then the engineer can design to a really good soil test, which then saves you money in your footings. But you don't know that.

[Amelia] (7:28 - 7:28)

No.

[Frank] (7:29 - 7:53)

Unless you work in the industry. The other thing you need to get is a high-quality feature survey of your site. I'm not talking a bunch of contour lines that you think you can get off a map on the computer.

It's actually going to site, looking at all the features on your block. There might be a rock sticking out. There might be a stump.

Someone's done some excavation. We need to know that. They also go and find out where your sewer and stormwater connections are.

[Amelia] (7:53 - 7:54)

That's pretty important.

[Frank] (7:55 - 7:58)

Well, I think so. The most important part is how deep are they?

[Amelia] (7:58 - 7:59)

Yeah, that's a good point.

[Speaker 1] (7:59 - 8:13)

Because what happens if you design the house and you don't know how deep they are? You design it. You set the floor level.

And you can't actually fold your sewerage to that connection point. As in, it doesn't comply. And that means literally pushing stuff uphill.

[Amelia] (8:13 - 8:13)

Yes.

[Frank] (8:13 - 8:15)

And then it doesn't work.

[Amelia] (8:15 - 8:16)

Well, that's no good.

[Frank] (8:16 - 8:22)

No. Then you put a pump in. It gets really expensive.

And it has happened. I've seen it so many times.

[Amelia] (8:22 - 8:23)

Really? 

[Frank]

Yep. 

[Amelia]

Okay.

[Frank] (8:24 - 8:40)

All because I didn't get a proper survey and got the invert levels of these connection points. Good to know what the electrical connection is. Also, where your crossover is.

And for planning, where is the neighbouring properties? Because also, how does the sun affect your house?

[Amelia] (8:41 - 8:41)

That's a good point.

[Frank] (8:42 - 8:44)

How would you? No one likes to live in the shadow.

[Amelia] (8:44 - 8:45)

No.

[Frank] (8:45 - 8:57)

So, why wouldn't you get surveys? And most designers use 3D software. They can model it easily.

Yep, you're going to get plenty of sunlight in your living space. Or on your deck or private open space.

[Amelia] (8:57 - 8:58)

Okay.

[Frank] (8:59 - 9:09)

And you know what I think is really handy? Getting a really good detail survey. Can you actually drive your car into your garage without leaving the exhaust over a bump or smashing the nose of your car into the concrete?

[Amelia] (9:10 - 9:10)

Yeah.

[Frank] (9:11 - 9:26)

That sounds very extreme what I've said. But I've seen too many instances where they have not thought about it. And I've seen temporary steel ramps put over grates going down into garages.

You can see all the scourge marks into the concrete.

[Amelia] (9:26 - 9:27)

down the driveway. Oh dear.

[Frank] (9:27 - 9:47)

You know, you have a normal car and you scratch the nose into the concrete or vice versa. The underside of your car is scratched up because it clips when you go over a rise. And it's more than you know.

It's just ridiculous. So, a designer uses that to make sure that the driveway works. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

[Amelia] (9:47 - 9:50)

It does sound simple. 

[Frank]

Sounds common sense even.

[Amelia]

It does.

[Frank] (9:50 - 9:51)

Sometimes that's in short supply.

[Amelia] (9:51 - 9:52)

Occasionally.

[Frank] (9:52 - 9:59)

So, you've got those two key elements. The other element you need to allow for is your thermal assessment.

[Amelia] (9:59 - 9:59)

Yes.

[Frank] (10:00 - 10:23)

For energy. Yeah, we've spoken about that. We’ve had Toby in, it’s six-star minimum in Tasmania.

Other places around the country are up to seven-star. Which I'm sure they're having a few struggles with on that. Because it's a very big jump between six and seven.

So, you're going to be looking between $450, $650 for a quality report. And you want a quality report on that as well. Because you want to make sure your house actually performs.

[Amelia] (10:23 - 10:24)

Yes.

[Frank] (10:24 - 10:45)

Now, on the flip side to that. And this is the thing that irks me about the building industry. And no offence against builders or anything like that.

I think it's the legislation. No one's actually checking if all the thermal requirements have been met on the house. Have the bats been installed correctly?

Have you got the right size wall bats? Ceiling bats? All these types of things to meet the minimum requirements.

No one's actually checking it.

[Amelia] (10:45 - 10:46)

Really?

[Frank] (10:46 - 10:50)

Yep, seriously. It's the biggest joke in the whole industry all around Australia.

[Amelia] (10:50 - 10:57)

It seems like a bit of a waste if you have to have an energy assessment and then it's not followed up at the tail end of the whole thing.

[Frank] (10:57 - 11:04)

Or even during the build to make sure it's installed correctly or actually installed. Because can you see it except in your ceiling? Can you see it in the wall?

[Amelia] (11:04 - 11:06)

No. Well, that's right. You'd have no idea.

[Frank] (11:06 - 11:08)

You wouldn't have a clue. So, isn't it bizarre?

[Amelia] (11:08 - 11:10)

That is so weird.

[Frank] (11:11 - 11:17)

Yep. There is no mandatory requirement for your thermal assessment being checked on site physically.

[Amelia] (11:17 - 11:18)

Wow.

[Frank] (11:18 - 11:35)

And up until recently in Tasmania. Sorry, I'm going to go in my soapbox. You know I love my soapbox. Bathrooms. 

[Amelia]

Yes. 

[Frank]

Waterproofing. Very important. You don't want it to leak. Very expensive when it leaks.

Destroys half your house. In Tasmania, the legislation only just came in October last year where it's mandatory inspection of waterproofing.

[Amelia] (11:35 - 11:36)

Really?

[Frank] (11:36 - 11:52)

I've been in this game for 21 years and when the changeover to licensing and all the rest of it, it's only just come in because that came in 2004 or 2005. And it's only come in last October 2024 that you have to have mandatory waterproofing inspections.

[Amelia] (11:53 - 11:53)

Wow.

[Frank] (11:54 - 11:55)

How dumb is that?

[Amelia] (11:55 - 11:56)

Is that even for a reno?

[Frank] (11:56 - 11:58)

It's for anything that needs a permit.

[Amelia] (11:58 - 12:03)

So, if it needs a plumbing permit, for example, in your bathroom, if you're redoing the plumbing. 

[Frank]

Yes. 

[Amelia]

Yeah, okay. Interesting.

[Frank] (12:04 - 12:12)

But, yeah, well there's another whole thing there too. But isn't it maddening? Our mate on TikTok that's picking up all these builders not doing good waterproofing.

[Amelia] (12:12 - 12:14)

Yes, there's a lot of them.

[Frank] (12:14 - 12:49)

And this is exactly why I say it. I just find it mind-blowing. Anyway, we'll move on from that.

So energy rating assessments or thermal assessments, $450 to $650. Then you also might need a bushfire attack level. Now in Tasmania, we can only build up to BAL 29.

Unlike our mainland friends, they can go up a lot higher. But that's just the rules that have been given. So you're looking between $880 to $1,200 to get a report.

There again, you want to have a quality report. I have been caught myself with a cheap report and it's caused me problems. And I had to go get another report done because it was rubbish.

[Amelia] (12:50 - 12:50)

Really? Oh, wow.

[Frank] (12:50 - 12:53)

The client didn't pay for that. I paid for that because I engaged them.

[Amelia] (12:54 - 12:54)

Yes.

[Frank] (12:54 - 13:02)

So I thought, yeah, I was pretty ticked off by that. So there's some of your basics that you need. But here are the surprise ones.

[Amelia] (13:03 - 13:05)

Yes, there's always surprise ones.

[Frank] (13:05 - 13:40)

In Tasmania, we're lucky. We live in valleys and mountainous spaces and all that. And some of our soils aren't real good.

So we have a fair bit of landslip around the place. And it's defined by low, medium, high and active. So if you're in a low landslip, you may have to get a report and an inspection done.

That might cost you about $1,000. If you have a medium, you may have to get a report, which then there's more potential for the movement. That could be anywhere between $2,500 to $3,000.

If it's high, well, open the wallet. I've had them up to $20,000.

[Amelia] (13:41 - 13:42)

Wow.

[Frank] (13:42 - 13:52)

Yeah. Because people have bought this land, they haven't seen what level of landslip it is. And it's just off its head.

It's not hard to find online either.

[Amelia] (13:53 - 13:53)

Yes.

[Frank] (13:53 - 14:07)

With our favourite website, The List. So those are things you've got to consider. If you're in a site where you need to have wastewater, we've spoken about wastewater.

We have, yes. Too many times, human waste, dealing with it on site. You didn't like that name, did you?

[Amelia] (14:09 - 14:11)

Not really. It was a bit irky.

[Frank] (14:11 - 14:41)

Yes, fair enough. But it's real. We've got to deal with it.

Those reports can be between $1,900 to $2,500, subject to where you travel and all the rest of it. Sometimes we have to deal with our own stormwater on site. And that occasionally happens.

So we've got to design stormwater trenches. So you could be anywhere between $1,000 to $1,800 for that as well. You could be in a flood inundation area.

[Amelia]

Yes. 

[Frank]

Or a flood overlay. And then you have to get a report. The last one I had done was, I think, just under $5,000.

[Amelia] (14:41 - 14:44)

Oh, wow. They're not cheap, are they?

[Frank] (14:44 - 14:45)

No, those are a bit of a killer, those.

[Amelia] (14:46 - 14:50)

Actually, I think we did mention that on the previous podcast when we talked about flooding.

[Frank] (14:50 - 15:12)

Yes. So you need to look at those. But this is where a designer should be able to come in, do all these assessments, make you aware of it.

And the way we operate, we arrange the quotes for you. If you want to do it yourself, fine. But if the report is not accepted, well, that's why it's got to be done by a quality person.

Other things we've come across is potentially contaminated land.

[Amelia] (15:12 - 15:13)

Yes.

[Frank] (15:13 - 15:17)

So that's been a doozy. And just huge variations on that.

[Amelia] (15:17 - 15:20)

Once again, it depends on the complexity, doesn't it?

[Frank] (15:20 - 15:28)

Yeah. And we're only talking general residential here, too. But it does happen.

Like someone might have had a fuel tank next door for their previous business 50 years ago.

[Amelia] (15:28 - 15:28)

Yeah.

[Frank] (15:29 - 15:56)

They keep pretty good records of that. Another one that catches quite a few people out is if the soil report comes back and it's highly reactive, so it's H1, H2, or an E or a P problem, the plumbing departments require a different type of plumbing plan with lots of joints and flexibility in it. It has to be signed off by a hydraulic or civil engineer.

So that can add probably another $1,200 to your design.

[Amelia] (15:57 - 15:57)

Okay.

[Frank] (15:57 - 16:07)

So that's a bit of not real great. If you've got a really steep site, and depending how steep it is, some councils are now asking for full civil design of the driveway.

[Amelia] (16:08 - 16:09)

Really? Yep. Wow.

[Frank] (16:09 - 16:19)

Because, as I was saying before, if you struggle to get in and up and around and down your driveway, it's not very good, is it?

[Amelia] (16:19 - 16:20)

No.

[Frank] (16:20 - 16:36)

It's horrible. And you want to make it as easy as possible. So then your designer needs to point that out, and it can only be pointed out by having a quality detail survey and how the house is positioned, and then some councils are required, we need a civil engineer to verify this.

We have some pretty extreme blocks here in Tasmania.

[Amelia] (16:36 - 16:38)

We do, yeah.

[Frank] (16:38 - 17:06)

So that's some of it. And I'll mention planning approval. We get some really interesting reports we need for that, and we've mentioned that previously.

If you're on the coast, coastal inundation, or if you're near a creek, waterways. And there's a few other reports like that too. So planning can trigger a number of reports too.

And these are the hidden costs. So by the time you go through this, you could have spent, before you go for your building permit, you might have already dropped anywhere between $13,000 to $17,000, $18,000.

[Amelia] (17:07 - 17:09)

Yeah, that's not a small amount.

[Frank] (17:10 - 17:43)

No, it's not. So then you've still got to get your building permit. 

[Amelia]

That's right.

[Frank]

So then your building surveyor, or in some states it's called certifier. I actually like that word a bit better. You could be anywhere between $3,000 to $4,500 for them to do their work, check, assess, sign it.

It may include inspections. We pay for inspections separately. And there's generally, for a building surveyor, I think it's between four and six inspections.

I can't remember how many mandatory ones, because they changed in October with the waterproofing. You've got to pay for the council building fees.

[Amelia] (17:43 - 17:43)

Yes.

[Frank] (17:44 - 17:51)

You've got to pay for their plumbing fees. So the building fees, all these fees vary from council to council. We've got 28 councils, 28 different prices.

[Amelia] (17:52 - 17:52)

Wow.

[Frank] (17:52 - 18:09)

And then you've got inspections. Some of the councils include those. These all have to be paid up front.

And then you have, this is my personal favourite, the industry training levy fee in Tasmania. So 0.3% of your total building costs, you have to shell out to this industry training levy.

[Amelia] (18:09 - 18:12)

Right. That sounds like revenue raising to me.

[Frank] (18:12 - 18:15)

It does a bit, doesn't it? I'd love to see the full numbers on this.

[Amelia] (18:15 - 18:16)

I'd be really interested.

[Frank] (18:16 - 18:25)

Apparently it goes to support apprentices and the like in the building industry, which I think is great. I think it's a good idea.

[Amelia] (18:25 - 18:31)

Well, if it does go towards that, then I guess that's okay. But I'd be interested to see the data on that.

[Frank] (18:31 - 18:38)

Well, so would I. And the other part that really ticks me off is, would you consider me as a building designer as part of the building industry?

[Amelia] (18:39 - 18:40)

You would think so, yes.

[Frank] (18:40 - 18:42)

And same with any architect?

[Amelia] (18:42 - 18:43)

Yes.

[Frank] (18:43 - 18:44)

Same, right?

[Amelia] (18:44 - 18:46)

You don't see any of that percentage, do you?

[Frank] (18:46 - 18:52)

We get squat. 

[Amelia]

Diddly squat. 

[Frank]

Diddly squat. But apparently we're not part of the building industry.

[Amelia] (18:52 - 18:53)

Oh dear.

[Frank] (18:53 - 18:59)

Anyway, just getting my opinion out there. It's not exactly fair, is it?

[Amelia] (19:00 - 19:00)

No.

[Frank] (19:00 - 19:38)

So you may have a TAS fire assessment fee due to, it could be the complexity of the situation you're in with the bushfire. You have a permit authority fee. So this is an interesting position held within council.

So once the building surveyor, the guy that signs off, the guy that takes the insurance and takes the hit, does all the inspections for your building, then has to go to council to get the plumbing and all the building fees. And the building fees aren't a lot within the councils because generally that's archiving and stuff like that. But the permit authority then goes, checks everything.

And this permit authority can actually stop the project if they don't agree with something.

[Amelia] (19:38 - 19:40)

Surely that's the purpose of the building surveyor though?

[Frank] (19:40 - 19:46)

That's exactly right. They have the right to stop it if they feel something's out of whack.

[Amelia] (19:46 - 19:50)

Okay, righto. 

[Frank] (19:50 - 19:55)

So how many layers did I put in there? That's one, two, three, four, five. Oh, did I mention TasWater?

[Amelia] (19:55 - 19:56)

TAS Water?

[Frank] (19:56 - 20:10)

No, they're actually pretty good. They're getting their systems pretty good at the moment, I must say. And their communication is getting better and better from the residential point of view.

So there are fees sometimes for assessments or if you're building near their infrastructure or things like that.

[Amelia] (20:10 - 20:12)

That makes sense, I guess.

[Frank] (20:12 - 20:29)

Yep. But generally you've got four main fees that you have to pay, but then you've got the bonus rounds with TAS Fire and TasWater maybe. So yeah, that's if everything goes really well.

And then you go get your permits. Now this stuff used to take, this last bit used to take two weeks.

[Amelia] (20:30 - 20:32)

Oh, it will take way longer now, surely.

[Frank] (20:33 - 21:01)

We're getting up to six weeks for some of this stuff. It used to take two weeks to get a permit, plumbing and building. Don't get me wrong, most plumbing departments are fantastic.

They smack it out in two weeks. They're generally pretty good. If you've done it all right, it's not a problem.

The building surveyors are generally pretty good. They're a private industry, so they're trying to get it out in two weeks. But there's just still hold-ups and stuff with it too.

And sometimes the council can't process it fast enough. Like we noticed that during 2022, even last year, the workload was far too high for them.

[Amelia] (21:01 - 21:02)

Yeah, right.

[Frank] (21:02 - 21:03)

Just paperwork.

[Amelia] (21:03 - 21:03)

Yes.

[Frank] (21:04 - 21:11)

So yeah, that gives you a bit of an overall of potentially going into building your new home or even doing a reno.

[Amelia] (21:12 - 21:19)

I think that's, like just listening to that, that might scare a few people because you don't get told this stuff.

[Frank] (21:20 - 21:40)

No, you don't realise how much this stuff costs. So if you're going to go do a project, because I've got someone coming in shortly, they want an en-suite extension. So extend the house for an en-suite.

The problem is, or even putting a carport out the front of the house, the cost of doing quite a bit of this, you don't need all of this for a carport, is more than the cost of the carport.

[Amelia] (21:40 - 21:44)

Really? 

[Frank]

Yeah. 

[Amelia]

That's pretty crazy when you think about it.

[Frank] (21:44 - 21:48)

And this is why you've got to be really careful what you choose to do. If you're going to do stuff on your home.

[Amelia] (21:48 - 21:50)

Do something substantial.

[Frank] (21:50 - 22:02)

So you only pay for half this stuff once. When we talk to people that want to do renos and whatnot, is that all you want to do? Because if there's more that you need to do or you're thinking about, you don't have to do it right now.

[Amelia] (22:02 - 22:04)

You just do it all under one permit.

[Frank] (22:04 - 22:10)

Do it all one permit. And you can say, hey, got this completed, fine. I've got two years to get the next bit completed.

[Amelia] (22:10 - 22:10)

Yes.

[Frank] (22:12 - 22:21)

So there's a way to work through the system. So even if you get planning approval, you give yourself a couple of years before you get your building permit if you had to.

[Amelia] (22:21 - 22:22)

And you can get extensions.

[Frank] (22:22 - 22:25)

And you can get extensions as long as it's reasonable.

[Amelia] (22:25 - 22:25)

Yep.

[Frank] (22:25 - 22:53)

So anyone looking at doing renos, extensions, whatnot, make sure they're of a reasonable size. It's just sad how much money goes into just putting a shed and a carport up. But be aware, we've spoken about in Tasmania, you don't need a permit for some sheds and carports.

If you check, I think it was the four or five main things, and you're not building over infrastructure, you're not too close to the boundary. You're not in a bushfire prone zone. You're not in a landslip zone.

You should be okay.

[Amelia] (22:54 - 22:58)

Yes. 

[Frank]
But you see why people get frustrated. 

[Amelia]

Yeah.

[Frank] (22:58 - 23:09)

So this is where most designers, architects can advise you on all this. But I believe they need to be up front. Everyone needs to be up front with what is required before you start your project so you're fully aware of it.

[Amelia] (23:09 - 23:15)

Yes. And I guess don't take these numbers for gospel either because this is just a guide to get you started.

[Frank] (23:16 - 23:39)

This is a guide so then you can go in eyes wide open. You don't know. You buy a block.

You have an existing house. Whatever it is, it doesn't really matter. I want to do a development in the back of my yard.

I want to put a granny flat. I want to put a unit in the back of my yard. Just getting quotes or someone who can organise all this for you, then you can make an educated decision what to do.

Is this worthwhile? Have I got the money for this right now?

[Amelia] (23:39 - 23:40)

Yeah, that's a good point.

[Frank] (23:41 - 23:53)

You know, it's not a big deal getting these prices. That's why we do it. We add it all up in our own food proposals because we know so many of these contacts.

We've got a lot of values already in place for a lot of these.

[Amelia] (23:54 - 23:59)

And so you get kind of a pretty good idea before you even start a project.

[Frank] (23:59 - 24:06)

Yeah, and most people don't realise. Even just putting a deck off the side of your house, like if it's over a metre off the ground, it's going to cost you a fair bit of money.

[Amelia] (24:07 - 24:07)

It is.

[Frank] (24:07 - 24:08)

It just does my head in.

[Amelia] (24:08 - 24:11)

And sometimes it can seem like a bit of a pain really.

[Frank] (24:11 - 24:20)

It is. It is for such a small project. And that's why I say, well, if you're going to do it, what else do you need to do?

Or do you save up? Put it off until you need to do something else.

[Amelia] (24:20 - 24:20)

Yes.

[Frank] (24:21 - 24:35)

And please do not go just build it and then you've got to – you think it's easy to get around to say, hey, I'm just going to build the deck. I'm just going to extend it to put the ensuite in. I'm going to put the shed out the back without checking and stuff like that.

It's pretty expensive trying to fix it.

[Amelia] (24:36 - 24:42)

It does. Yes. I don't know if this is all councils, but I know one particular council, they charge double, straight up.

[Frank] (24:42 - 24:43)

Some are triple.

[Amelia] (24:43 - 24:43)

Yeah.

[Frank] (24:44 - 24:47)

You know, because it's called illegal. You haven't got a permit for it.

[Amelia] (24:47 - 24:48)

Yes.

[Frank] (24:48 - 24:50)

Or as constructed works. Don't go down that track.

[Amelia] (24:50 - 24:52)

No, don't do that.

[Frank] (24:52 - 24:56)

Don't do it and ask for forgiveness because you don't get forgiveness. You just get a bigger bill.

[Amelia] (24:56 - 24:58)

You do. Yeah, you still end up losing.

[Frank] (24:58 - 25:13)

Yeah, exactly. So if you're even thinking about it, come and talk to any designers, architects anywhere. They should be able to give you a good guide.

Even a building surveyor. Talk to them and say, what do I need to do to do this? How much is this going to cost me?

And all you need is to get budget figures.

[Amelia] (25:13 - 25:13)

Yes.

[Frank] (25:14 - 25:15)

And then you can sit down and go, yep.

[Amelia] (25:15 - 25:18)

I can afford that. That works. 

[Frank]

I can afford it or I can't.

[Amelia]

Yes.

[Frank] (25:18 - 25:28)

So just ask them for that advice. That's that whole research and we keep banging on about research. But you're better off looking and finding this information and getting caught.

[Amelia] (25:28 - 25:29)

Yes.

[Frank] (25:29 - 25:31)

Oh, gee, I can't afford this, you know.

[Amelia] (25:31 - 25:34)

Before you've, you know, gone too deep into it.

[Frank] (25:34 - 25:35)

Yeah, exactly right.

[Amelia] (25:35 - 25:38)

Yeah, yep. That's a really good place to wrap up, I think.

[Frank] (25:38 - 25:39)

Sounds good.

[Amelia] (25:39 - 25:56)

Thanks for listening to the Building Design Prime Time Podcast. 

[Frank]

Catch ya’s later. 

[OUTRO]

You're listening to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast.