I've seen a bit of sand I would like to build on, its got beautiful ocean views from the rear of the plot. I think this block would benefit from a house designed just for that block, its not odd shaped and it is flat but the views are amazing and it'd be a shame to waste them on a house that doesn't maximise the potential.

However if we chose an architect over a display village type builder I'm worried it'd send the budget skyrocketing, also I've never built before and it all seems a bit daunting. Anyone built a house this way? What was your experience?

An architect will initially be more expensive, but will be able to give you exactly what you want. You will need to have some ideas about what type of house you want, so it is a very good idea to go to a showhomes village and look around. You can think about the sort of space that will work for you, and how eco-friendly you want the house. You will have the chance to put in double glazed windows and more insulation than is standard etc...

Mind you, some of the standard house builders have eco- versions and can adjust their plans. Take photos of your block and they can tell you which of their products would suit best, and give a very rough idea of costs. NB always add on 30% to cover contingencies like hitting rock, which will prove to be v.expensive!!

(Haven't built out here, but drew up plans for big extension in the UK using an architect - only to have council reject them because we didn't have enough parking spaces outside the house, which was ridiculous as we were the end of a block and it was just grass. We could have parked cars outside, but would have had to drive over the neighbour's front lawn!! Funnily enough the architect didn't spot that one...)

Use a draftsman rather than an architect unless you have an unlimited budget. An architect will charge around 5% of build cost, and therefore the more it costs, the more they get paid. An architect will design you a building that he can show people from the outside and say "aren't I an amazing architect? I designed that!". A draftsman will design a building that actually works for you as a family to live in. A draftsman should charge around $5000 tops. It's a good idea for you to do a design you have in mind on a piece of paper or computer software and then take it to the draftsman who will make it work structurally and within regulations.

I lecture on owner building and have some experience with both architects and draftsmen......

BB

We spent 8 years building designer homes on difficult blocks, professional qualified, registered, domestic and commercial builder.

The architect fees will be nothing compared to the groundwork, engineering, footings, retaining walls etc. Yes can even happen on 'flat land" . Going multilevel will add lots of extra cost, safety comes in with height restrictions, some states will require safety scaffold at many stages - costly.

Most engineers will over engineer to cover their arse liability wise. Very unlikely any builder will give you a fixed price for this work, items like heavy machinery ( read money bleeding per minute) will at best be a quote per hour, and who knows how many hours?? till they get in there.

We got out of it and back into Commercial work, due to the massive cost increases, liability issues and Clients who seizure when they discover things like the engineer has found something that requires a $17,000 wall, or massive reinforcement of the slab...............

It can be done, but you will need to have some unlimited funds in case of problems, because it wont be a fix price contract unless you are very very lucky with your builder and then I would worry he will build to that price not what is required.

Now you could sign up and all will go well and very little extra will be required.

One way you can have a little check on your suspicions is if the block has been bought and sold a few times. Often blocks will be bought by the type who chronically underestimates what it will cost, fantastic house plans are drawn up, everybody is super dooper impressed then the quotes start to roll in and 6 months later the block is back on the market.

One for the brave but we did it time and time again, absolutely amazing houses, and make sure the house is in a area you will recoup the extra building costs if you plan to sell. The buyer rarely appreciates what this type of construction costs.

Thanks all some good advice there

That's my fear! We can afford the block and a double storey home and we have around 100k for the extra "finishing off" touches, but im worried that 100k would be a drop in the ocean if we went with having it designed to suit the views from the block.

I couldn't disagree more with your entire post, particularly this bit. In fact, I can't recall a post on BE that I disagree with more, which is quite something....

A draftsman will design the house you think you want. Most people don't really know what that is, don't think about how they use their homes, where the sun rises and sets, where best to position it on the plot, etc. A good architect will give you so much more, the house of your dreams, after spending many, many hours working out exactly what it is you want and need and can achieve. Yes it will cost more both to pay an architect (who has spent more time qualifying than a doctor) and to build such a house, but if you have a spectacular view, a realistic budget and are clear to your architect about your budget, you should be able to achieve something so much better.

I would though say that this is only worthwhile if you do want something different, something individual, not simply something a draftsman could do; your own little (or not so little) Grand Design (and it does help if you have a healthy budget!). If you aspire to whatever the Oz equivalent of a Barrett home is, you'd be better saving your money for something more important to you. Equally don't do it unless this is your "forever home" as what works for you won't necessarily work for someone else. As Jad n Rich says, it is one for the brave.

I speak from experience too - I'm married to a great architect, who has changed many people's lives for the better over the years I have known him. I include myself amongst them. We live (in England) in a house he designed and we built (and which won the Daily Telegraph and Individual Homes house of the year, consequences of good design rather than any plan to win awards) and every day I come home from the office feeling so lucky to live where we do. And that's after 15+ years in the house. I only wish I could do what he does.... but sadly I don't have the imagination.

I was very clear to my architect about my budget. It was written on the front of his contract. He wasted my money and a year of my time designing a house that I couldn't afford. It would have cost at least twice my budget. I sued him at VCAT and won. Two people I work with have had identical experiences with different architects and have approached me for info on how to sue their architects.

The biggest number of complaints about architects (according to VCAT) is designing over budget. Anyone can design a house over budget. It takes real skill to design a house within budget. My draftsman designed a house within budget for 1/10 the cost the architect charged.

So draftsmen may not have the amazing design skills that an architect has, but at least they can design a house that actually gets built!

Maybe it's different in England, maybe they are more tightly controlled or regulated, that's my experiences in Australia.

BB

I could not agree more!

We started with an architect, but after 3 months she came up with nothing remotely appropriate for US. Note the "US". I sent her packing and we designed the house we wanted (note the "we") in a couple of weeks: a very good draughtsman drew up the plans, adding a few tweaks from his experience, and we started building. We now live in a house that suits us down to the ground, oriented the way we want it and designed for low maintenance.

If you have plenty of money and don't mind living in someone else's house, do it with an architect. I've no doubt that many will design for YOU but you'll only know late on in the process.

We found a project house similar to our ideas then modified the design to suit us (including extra rooms, water tank, sewage system, insulation, wiring etc). The builder gave us a fixed price after months of detailed discussion and we got what we wanted, finished 5 months later with no nasty surprises. We chose everything before the build. It worked for us.

I am a builder out and was back in uk ,over 30 years in my occupation .
From my experiences you get very good architects and some very poor, they like to spend other people's money as at the end of a projecte they like to claim a lot of the glory especialy if they put the project up for a award.
Reading what Lesley's posted that is what I would do, it might be worth the extra cost to have a geo tec report on the site so you will know if rock or other problems exist .could save in the long term, good luck

didn't Jesus say don't build a house on the sand?

Matthew 7:24-27

Amen.

But its ok. Trust them They put it on a concrete slab - just like a garden shed