PlanCost Australia in Research, Victoria, Australia | Construction company

PlanCost Australia

Locality: Research, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 3 9437 2777

Address: 1/1601 Main Rd 3095 Research, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.plancost.com.au

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• Architectural designer

24.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 9 - The cost of "excluded" items This is the ninth in a series of Facebook articles which will explore this complex issue. If you would like to follow this series, simply like us on Facebook and you will receive these articles as they are published. The articles will also be posted progressively on our web site (http://plancost.com.au/) , follow our company LinkedIn page (http://www.linkedin.com/plancost australia)..., follow us on twitter (@plancostqs) or we can add you to our email list (contact us: [email protected]) Excluded items The base price from volume builders usually excludes the cost of a number of items that would normally be included in an architect designed house. These include such items as: Landscaping Fencing Driveways Curtains Services connections Floor coverings In a recent poll on the homeone.com.au web site, recent home owners were asked: When building from a display type home - how much more was your final contract price compared to the base price of the home. The results of the poll are indicated below: Some of the comments on the web site were: Our house ended up at 44% above and with all the gardens, curtains, landscaping etc it will be 55% above the base price of the house. As things stand now we are between 30-40% however I am sure we will be well up over the 50% by the time all the extras are finished Works out to 37%... That's before landscaping, curtains, fencing etc (& anything else we missed & don't find out until we move in) Today I had quotation presentation with , and final quote is $444K where as base price was $230K, still it doesn't include drive, garden, landscaping, curtains and upgrades. This is by no means a comprehensive study, and the actual cost vs original base price will vary considerably from builder to builder. However, it is usually the case that prices received from volume builders exclude a number of costs that would normally be included in the budget for an architect designed house. As can be seen from the graph above, these costs can be significant and should be taken into account in any initial budgets and design selections. In Article # 10 we will summarise the previous 9 articles. We will also review the original question of Why do architect designed houses cost so much? and consider the perhaps more appropriate question of : What is the extra value included in an architect designed house?.

20.01.2022 http://issuu.com/aiqs_be/docs/september-2013

17.01.2022 Anybody looking to update their kitchen? Trippy!!!

17.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 7 - Fitout and Finishes This is the seventh in a series of Facebook articles which will explore this complex issue. If you would like to follow this series, simply like us on Facebook and you will receive these articles as they are published. The articles will also be posted progressively on our web site (http://plancost.com.au) , follow our company LinkedIn page (http://www.linkedin.com/plancost australia), follow...Continue reading

16.01.2022 A winery bus tour of the Yarra Valley was an epic way to finish off the year. It was a fitting way to farewell Jemima - we wish you all the best for the future Jemima and cheers to another great year at PlanCost.

15.01.2022 For those of us in the construction industry, some of our most important work is in the health sector. These buildings witness the birth of our children, help provide care for our sick and house our ageing. At PlanCost, we have provided Quantity Surveying services on over 500 health projects over the last decade and a half. From this wide range of projects, we have extracted some key data which you may find helpful in the design of your next health project.... Attached is our Cost Data sheet relating to Cost Planning of health buildings, which includes: $/m2 rates for various types of new health buildings Rates for various levels of refurbishment of existing buildings Indicative allowances for add-on costs such as contingencies, fees, FFE, etc Building Price Index Indicative construction times Current projects These Cost Data Sheets will be updated and posted quarterly, and are also available on our web site at www.plancost.com.au Please feel free to use this information on your next project, and do not hesitate to contact us if you require any additional information or wish to discuss this further.

15.01.2022 We are very proud to have been a part of this fantastic project. Congratulations to everyone involved! At last Friday nights Victorian Architecture Awards, Ballarat Community Health Primary Care Centre received the Regional Prize recognition of projects that have made a significant contribution to regional Victoria. "The value of early interactive design processes with client and stakeholders is well demonstrated at the Ballarat Community Health Primary Care Centre, result...ing in a rich and lively response to the diversity of community and health needs. While the saw tooth roof form provides an identifiable silhouette to the local roads, its primary strategy is to maximize daylight and interior amenity, Beneath these roofs, simple and clear internal spatial organization is formed by a series of landscaped streets and linked by a central day lit atrium. Enriched with natural timbers, robust steel elements and glazed bricks, these indoor-outdoor spaces provide a lively and functional interior environment linking a variety of private and communal spaces. The constant links to interior gardens and voids combined with open stairs encourage positive community engagement. This combined with a more active and interactive workplace increases the overall wellbeing of all that engage with the Centre. [Victorian Architecture Awards Publication]

15.01.2022 The Plancost team are sleeping at the 'G to help put youth homelessness to bed. If you would like to donate please follow this link to our Plancost page. http://fundraise.melbournecitymission.org.au//pl/plancost0

14.01.2022 PlanCost Australia is proud to launch our "One Project, One Plant" initiative. For every project we do, we will plant one native tree. Click on the link for more info... http://plancost.com.au/general.php?pageID=49

14.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 2 (in a series of 10) - Builders Margin and Overheads The comparative cost of Margin and Overheads (including risk, supervision and preliminaries) on a typical 250 m2 house are shown in the chart below.... Volume builders operate on lower risk, lower supervision costs and lower profit margins due to the large number of repetitive houses that they build. Builders who specialise in one-off architect designed houses require higher allowances for risk and supervision, and can charge higher margins due to the specialised nature of the projects. We estimate that the average cost per m2 for Preliminaries, Supervision, Margin, Risk and Overheads for builders who specialise in one-off architect designed houses is in the order of five to ten times higher than those for a volume builder. Time-related Costs A large proportion of these costs are time related, and therefore rationalising the design and construction process to reduce the construction time as much as possible will help reduce some of these costs. Margin In our experience, builders margin on architect designed houses can vary from 10% to 30%. This is largely market driven, and therefore careful selection of tenderers is important. In certain markets, negotiation with one or two preferred builders may alleviate this risk to some extent as the margin can be pre-agreed before negotiation takes place. Careful selection of builders, sensible allocation of risk, clear documentation and simple detailing can all help to keep builders risk, supervision and margin costs down. However, these costs will always be higher for a one-off architect designed house than a volume builders house. In Article # 3 we will discuss the pricing discounts available to volume builders.

13.01.2022 One-of-a-Kind...that's for sure!!! http://sourceable.net/five-one-kind-houses/

12.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 3 (in a series of 10) - Bulk Purchase Discounts This is the third in a series of Facebook articles which will explore this complex issue. If you would like to follow this series, simply like us on Facebook and you will receive these articles as they are published. The articles will also be posted progressively on our web site (http://plancost.com.au/general.php?pageID=38), follow our company LinkedIn page (http://w...Continue reading

12.01.2022 Simon showing our new Cadet QS the ropes :)

12.01.2022 Happy 14th Birthday PlanCost Australia! It's Moet Time!!

11.01.2022 The BEST choice for your office supplies. Friendly fast service. Nothing is ever too much trouble. Highly recommended :)

10.01.2022 From Jemima in Hong Kong! Spectacular!

10.01.2022 PlanCost Australia is very proud to have been involved with some of the 2013 Victorian Architecture Award Winners: Edward Street House - Sean Godsell Architects, HOUSE house - Andrew Maynard Architects, Ormond College - Lovell Chen and Third Wave Kiosk - Tony Hobba Architects. Congratulations to all of the winners and we look forward to working with you again in the future. http://architectureau.com//2013-victorian-architecture-aw/

08.01.2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch

08.01.2022 Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, we greatly appreciate your support. With conditions tomorrow night predicted to be cold and wet any further donations to our cause would certainly help get us through the night. If you havent had the chance to donate yet, there is still time. Just click on the link below This is what we are doing and why... The Plancost Team are sleeping at the MCG to put youth homelessness to bed. We're sleeping on a cardboard box at the MCG on Thursday 26 May in solidarity for the awareness of the 6,000 young Victorians who have no secure place to call home. Please support us, we're on a mission - let's put youth homelessness to bed by donating to our team.

08.01.2022 Congratulations to Robert Simeoni Architects - who were awarded a National Architecture Award for Heritage Architecture for the Restoration and New Works at the Good Shepherd Chapel, Abbotsford.

08.01.2022 The PlanCost Crew aka Tough Mudders!!!

07.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 4 (in a series of ten) - Structural Costs This is the fourth in a series of Facebook articles which will explore this complex issue. If you would like to follow this series, simply like us on Facebook and you will receive these articles as they are published. The articles will also be posted progressively on our web site (http://plancost.com.au/general.php?pageID=38) , follow our company LinkedIn page (http://www....Continue reading

06.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 1 (in a series of 10) No doubt most architects will have been asked this question at some stage.... Their clients may have seen the ads in the weekend newspapers where volume house builders are offering over 40 squares for $300,000, or something similar. Some volume builders homes appear to be less than $1000/m2, whereas many architect designed houses are $2500-$3500/m2. Why is there such a difference? Why do architect designed houses cost so much? This is a complex question without a simple answer. Understanding the drivers behind these additional costs will help keep them to a reasonable minimum. It may also help to explain this complex issue to a perplexed client. This will be explored in a series of Facebook articles. If you would like to follow this series, simply like us on Facebook and you will receive these articles as they are published. The articles will also be posted progressively on our web site: (http://plancost.com.au/general.php?pageID=38) There will also be a number of other interesting and useful articles posted on our Facebook page, covering a wide range of building and quantity surveying issues. Firstly, lets look at some comparative data. Below is a graph indicating the comparative cost between a typical 250 m2 volume builders house at $280,000 ($1,119/m2) and a similar sized architect designed house at $860,000 ($3,441/m2). The cost information is based on two actual projects typical of the types of houses with which we have been involved. Obviously this data can vary significantly from one design to another. Therefore this data is, at best, a useful comparison for discussion purposes, and should not be used as a guide to the possible cost of actual projects. The most significant differences are in margin/overheads, structure and façade, with lesser differences in other components. Internal fitout (finishes, joinery, fittings, etc) can be two or three times the cost, however the total cost difference in these components is not as high as, say, structure and façade. To best understand the drivers of these higher costs, and to help keep them to a reasonable minimum, we need to look at each one individually. The answers that apply to one probably wont apply to the other, and therefore minimising costs in an architect designed house cannot be done with one sweep of a magic wand. It requires careful and prudent value management over all components of the project. We will cover all aspects of this challenging question over this series of articles. In Article # 2 we will cover builders margins, supervision costs and overheads. For more information please contact us: p: (03) 9437 2777 e: [email protected] w. www.plancost.com.au

05.01.2022 The latest edition of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors quarterly magazine The Building Economist is now available. Please feel free to browse through its interesting range of articles and feature, with our compliments. To read, click the link below: http://issuu.com/aiqs_be/docs/be_december2014

05.01.2022 PlanCost is pleased to announce that we have been appointed Quantity Surveyor for the Royal Exhibition Building Protection and Promotion Project. This major project will be extremely challenging and PlanCost are proud to be involved with this amazing world heritage listed building .

04.01.2022 Award Winning Tower House.. take a look, you won't be disappointed.

04.01.2022 The team from Plancost would like to thank every kind person that donated to The Melbourne City Mission's fundraiser to help put youth homelessness to bed. We felt so proud to be a part of helping raise over $526,000 from this year's event. We had a small glimpse of the hardships so many youth face each and every day and we were certainly very grateful for the warmth and comfort of our own bed the next night. The photos and video really sum up the whole experience.... Thanks again and we look forward to raising even more $ next year. The Plancost Team http://fundraising.cmail2.com/t/r-l-shyduul-hlfthjyjk-y/ Holly Grimes Nathan Grimes Simon Grimes Jodie Farrell Steve Grimes Mat Hinkley Tom Grimes

04.01.2022 Currently under construction, the upgrade to the existing H.E. Parker Reserve will create a state-of-the-art multi-sports complex in Heathmont.

03.01.2022 Sleeping at the 'G is getting very close. The Plancost Team are doing all we can to help make an impact to the lives of homeless youth. Every little bit helps. If you are yet to donate but wish too, just click the link below which will take you straight our donation page. With great appreciation from Plancost Australia.

03.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 8 - Services This is the eighth in a series of Facebook articles which will explore this complex issue. If you would like to follow this series, simply like us on Facebook and you will receive these articles as they are published. The articles will also be posted progressively on our web site (http://plancost.com.au/) , follow our company LinkedIn page (http://www.linkedin.com/plancost australia), follow us on twi...Continue reading

02.01.2022 Eat your heart out Google - PlanCost is the best place to work :)

02.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 5 - Façade and Window Costs This is the fifth in a series of Facebook articles which will explore this complex issue. If you would like to follow this series, simply like us on Facebook and you will receive these articles as they are published. The articles will also be posted progressively on our web site (http://plancost.com.au/general.php?pageID=38) , follow our company LinkedIn page (http://www.linkedin.com/co...Continue reading

01.01.2022 Why do architect designed houses cost so much? Article # 6 - Roof Costs This is the sixth in a series of Facebook articles which will explore this complex issue. If you would like to follow this series, simply like us on Facebook and you will receive these articles as they are published. The articles will also be posted progressively on our web site (www.plancost.com.au) , follow our company LinkedIn page (http://www.linkedin.com/plancost), follow us on twitter (@plancos...Continue reading