<p>I also want full control when it comes to building my dream home. I would rather have regrets for following the things that I want for my dream home rather than regretting my decision to follow someone else's advice. However, I would definitely plan carefully and execute according to plan to avoid wasting my time and effort, as well as resources in the projects that I do.</p>
<p>Owner-Build here. Great experience. We were able to make changes, without hefty fees. Saved a bundle. Most importantly, I now know everything about the house, even behind the walls.</p><p>One advantage I had, was that I was semi-retired, so I was able to be on-site every day. I don't know how this could have been accomplished without that.</p>
<p>HI Audrey. I am about to go down the owner-builder pathway. I have 5 1/4 acres just west of the Blue Mountains (west of Sydney). I am going to employ a builder to build a timber platform and erect a kit frame (EcoBarn Studio) and put on the colourbond roof. I am going to do all the cladding, lining, doors windows etc. I am an Electrical Engineer so I am ok with managing the project. I think if you do your homework it can be a very satisfying experience. Wish me luck. Any tips ??</p>
<p>HI Fred. I am about to embark on an owner-builder project on 5 acres west of the Blue Mountains. I want to make my own triple glazed timber windows but council states they have to be certified to Australian Standards. Do you know of anyone that has built their own windows and/or an engineer that can certify a window design ?</p><p>Glad to hear of your positive owner-builder experience and wish you all the best. Sure beats working in an office.</p><p> </p><p>Regards</p><p>Garry</p>
<p>Hi Gary, hey how did it go? Thinking of doing the same thing with an ecobarn frame in central vic. Did you find it easy to work with?</p><p>Kitka</p><p> </p>
<p>I honestly don't think there is a down-side to becoming an owner-builder. Just pick the level of involvement that feels right to you. If you pick a level of responsibility that proves too hard you can pull back a bit, or even hire a builder as your site supervisor or advisor.</p><p>The biggest issue I found was the insurance. The bank said "get the warranty insurance before you start". The council said "get the warranty insurance before you start". But I couldn't get the insurance. Luckily I spoke to someone who then said "oh, I bet it was the bank or the council that said that? They always get it wrong". So for an owner-builder the warranty insurance is only for later (when you're selling the house if it's within a few years after the project). BUT, there is actually completely different insurance you do need to have. Mainly Public Liability, which I thought was covered on my existing insurance (but it's not covered for construction work).</p><p>Here's the people I spoke to, who I'd happily recommend after dealing with others who had no idea : www.allrisk.com.au </p><p>It turns out it was the same company my training provider already recommended previously, but I'd forgotten until I looked back over the stuff they sent.</p><p> </p>
<p>Deciding to become an owner builder is not a decision that should be taken lightly although I agree that it could be a very rewarding process.</p><p>As the owner of a cleaning business in Sydney which specialises in builders cleaning, I come across many owner builders who have their homes ruined by shonky contractors and end up calling us in to clean up the defects they leave behind.</p><p>Just today I went to see an owner builder who obviously tried to save money by using the cheapest trades he could find.</p><p>The guy had marks and scratches all over his sliding doors ($18000 per panel), some were done by the gyprockers but most were done by another another cleaning company he had used which didn't know they can't blade tempered glass and also used hydrochloric acid on them (very common with cleaning companies to cut operating costs). He said he discovered it a few hours after they started and kicked them offsite right after, unfortunately the damage was already done.</p><p>Inside of his house was even worse, dried grout left all over his marble tiles, fingerprints and silicone on every single wall. His cleaning bill is going to be over 5k and some of the work is already damaged beyond repair.</p><p>What I am trying to say is, make sure you do your homework on all the contractors if you decide to go down the owner builder path and be prepared to take a lot of time off work because you need to be there to manage all the trades which can quickly turn into a full time job.</p>
<p>We're owner-building. We bought a very old weatherboard home and had it transported to our rural property. A lot of it was asbestos so that had to be removed, and a lot of it that wasn't removed fell down during transport or in the case of the concrete floor and tile roof, just couldn't be moved. So we ended up with a frame and little more. I tried to get tradies in for some of it but that's proven very difficult due to our location, so we've done pretty much everything ourselves except the electrical work and most of the plumbing. We now have all the external walls back, gyprocking throughout (plastering now), a floor throughout most of the house with only a few holes haha and functioning bathroom, laundry, toilet, kitchen. I'm sort of handy but neither of us has ever done any of this before. Not that we planned to now, it was necessity! Hafta say though, it was very daunting but most of it wasn't that hard once you actually start. We've only made one mistake, and luckily that was a $30 sheet of gyprock only! But we probably spent more time planning than actually working! Hubby and I have fought more over the last 3 months than we have in our entire marriage, and there's still A LOT of work to go, but most of the harder stuff is done, it's just cosmetic now. We saved a buttload of money, we never would have afforded this otherwise. Did we enjoy it? Not quite, although it is immensely satisfying when things are done and there's a sense of achievement looking at stuff and knowing 'I built that'. Would we do it again? Given a choice, probably not. But Are we happy we did it? Definitely!</p>
<p>I also want full control when it comes to building my dream home. I would rather have regrets for following the things that I want for my dream home rather than regretting my decision to follow someone else's advice. However, I would definitely plan carefully and execute according to plan to avoid wasting my time and effort, as well as resources in the projects that I do.</p>
<p>Owner-Build here. Great experience. We were able to make changes, without hefty fees. Saved a bundle. Most importantly, I now know everything about the house, even behind the walls.</p><p>One advantage I had, was that I was semi-retired, so I was able to be on-site every day. I don't know how this could have been accomplished without that.</p>
<p>HI Audrey. I am about to go down the owner-builder pathway. I have 5 1/4 acres just west of the Blue Mountains (west of Sydney). I am going to employ a builder to build a timber platform and erect a kit frame (EcoBarn Studio) and put on the colourbond roof. I am going to do all the cladding, lining, doors windows etc. I am an Electrical Engineer so I am ok with managing the project. I think if you do your homework it can be a very satisfying experience. Wish me luck. Any tips ??</p>
<p>HI Fred. I am about to embark on an owner-builder project on 5 acres west of the Blue Mountains. I want to make my own triple glazed timber windows but council states they have to be certified to Australian Standards. Do you know of anyone that has built their own windows and/or an engineer that can certify a window design ?</p><p>Glad to hear of your positive owner-builder experience and wish you all the best. Sure beats working in an office.</p><p> </p><p>Regards</p><p>Garry</p>
<p>Hi Gary, hey how did it go? Thinking of doing the same thing with an ecobarn frame in central vic. Did you find it easy to work with?</p><p>Kitka</p><p> </p>
<p>I honestly don't think there is a down-side to becoming an owner-builder. Just pick the level of involvement that feels right to you. If you pick a level of responsibility that proves too hard you can pull back a bit, or even hire a builder as your site supervisor or advisor.</p><p>The biggest issue I found was the insurance. The bank said "get the warranty insurance before you start". The council said "get the warranty insurance before you start". But I couldn't get the insurance. Luckily I spoke to someone who then said "oh, I bet it was the bank or the council that said that? They always get it wrong". So for an owner-builder the warranty insurance is only for later (when you're selling the house if it's within a few years after the project). BUT, there is actually completely different insurance you do need to have. Mainly Public Liability, which I thought was covered on my existing insurance (but it's not covered for construction work).</p><p>Here's the people I spoke to, who I'd happily recommend after dealing with others who had no idea : www.allrisk.com.au </p><p>It turns out it was the same company my training provider already recommended previously, but I'd forgotten until I looked back over the stuff they sent.</p><p> </p>
<p>Deciding to become an owner builder is not a decision that should be taken lightly although I agree that it could be a very rewarding process.</p><p>As the owner of a cleaning business in Sydney which specialises in builders cleaning, I come across many owner builders who have their homes ruined by shonky contractors and end up calling us in to clean up the defects they leave behind.</p><p>Just today I went to see an owner builder who obviously tried to save money by using the cheapest trades he could find.</p><p>The guy had marks and scratches all over his sliding doors ($18000 per panel), some were done by the gyprockers but most were done by another another cleaning company he had used which didn't know they can't blade tempered glass and also used hydrochloric acid on them (very common with cleaning companies to cut operating costs). He said he discovered it a few hours after they started and kicked them offsite right after, unfortunately the damage was already done.</p><p>Inside of his house was even worse, dried grout left all over his marble tiles, fingerprints and silicone on every single wall. His cleaning bill is going to be over 5k and some of the work is already damaged beyond repair.</p><p>What I am trying to say is, make sure you do your homework on all the contractors if you decide to go down the owner builder path and be prepared to take a lot of time off work because you need to be there to manage all the trades which can quickly turn into a full time job.</p>
<p>We're owner-building. We bought a very old weatherboard home and had it transported to our rural property. A lot of it was asbestos so that had to be removed, and a lot of it that wasn't removed fell down during transport or in the case of the concrete floor and tile roof, just couldn't be moved. So we ended up with a frame and little more. I tried to get tradies in for some of it but that's proven very difficult due to our location, so we've done pretty much everything ourselves except the electrical work and most of the plumbing. We now have all the external walls back, gyprocking throughout (plastering now), a floor throughout most of the house with only a few holes haha and functioning bathroom, laundry, toilet, kitchen. I'm sort of handy but neither of us has ever done any of this before. Not that we planned to now, it was necessity! Hafta say though, it was very daunting but most of it wasn't that hard once you actually start. We've only made one mistake, and luckily that was a $30 sheet of gyprock only! But we probably spent more time planning than actually working! Hubby and I have fought more over the last 3 months than we have in our entire marriage, and there's still A LOT of work to go, but most of the harder stuff is done, it's just cosmetic now. We saved a buttload of money, we never would have afforded this otherwise. Did we enjoy it? Not quite, although it is immensely satisfying when things are done and there's a sense of achievement looking at stuff and knowing 'I built that'. Would we do it again? Given a choice, probably not. But Are we happy we did it? Definitely!</p>
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