They spend thousands of dollars with consultants and design professionals, not to mention investing an enormous amount of time and emotion, without having any real idea of what their project will cost. They only discover the actual cost as construction progresses and have multiple price ‘blowouts’. And this is all too easy to do with the incredibly high cost of construction in Australia. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
In this course I show you how to calculate the right amount to spend on your project, break down your budget so you understand all the costs to be considered, work out of your design ideas are feasible or not, and what to do next.
I show you how to get clear on your budget and design costs from the early concept stages and prevent stressful and unnecessary cost blowouts.
COURSE CONTENTS
I have divided the course into lessons to guide you through everything you need to know.
- Lesson 1. Let’s talk about money starts with the basics. The house design and construction process is expensive, so get comfortable discussing money and make the most of what you have to spend.
In the next two lessons I focus on understanding your budget: Setting an appropriate budget for your situation and working out everything it must cover.
- Lesson 2. Understand your Budget: How much should you spend? helps you work out the right amount to spend on your new house or renovation to suit your situation.
- Lesson 3. Understand your budget: What’s in a budget? outlines all the costs and fees to consider in your Total Project Budget to help you put some realistic figures together and how to find out the portion for house construction – Construction Budget. You will aim to design within your Construction Budget when you are creating your Concept Design.
In the following lessons I show you how to determine a rough cost for your Concept Design.
- Lesson 4. Check design costs: How much will my project cost? shows you how to prepare a (very) rough cost for your concept design plans so you can determine if they are feasible.
- Lesson 5. Check design costs: When to check costs shows you the key stages when you need to check costs and who is involved.
And in the final lesson I give you some guidance on the next steps to help you move forward.
- Lesson 6. Feasible or not feasible? outlines the options once you know if your ideas are feasible or not.
COURSE PREREQUISITES
Each of the courses in the Renovation Collaborative series builds on the knowledge you gained in the previous course. To complete your feasibility investigation you will need the Concept Design plans you prepared in Course 6. in front of you.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
This course refers to current construction costs discussed in the Podcasts.
Follow this link to the Podcast page.
Search using the ‘Construction Costs’ tag to see the latest cost information from Building Cost Estimators and Quantity Surveyors.
