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Renovating homes throughout Sydney Since 1971

If you need a home extension or renovation and are looking for a builder that you can trust and has the relevant experience and an impeccable track record then make Spannenberg and Son your builder of choice.

If you don’t know where to start or don’t have a design or council approval, don’t worry because we have that covered

Make an online enquiry at www.yourhomeextension.com.au today and we will give you a call

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THE ADVANTAGE OF A FIXED PRICE CONTRACT

When engaging a builder  for your home renovation there are 2 types of contract that you may enter into, a ‘fixed price contract’ or a ‘cost plus contract’

COST-PLUS CONTRACTS 

A cost-plus contract is one where the builder undertakes to build the house for whatever it costs plus a margin of a stated percentage. Cost- plus contracts are loved by government departments, who believe that they give the public the best possible and most cost-effective deal. 

What lies behind that is the fundamental drawback to cost-plus contracts: the builder has no incentive to buy or work as cost effectively as possible. Why bother? However, much it costs, the builder is going to get everything back together with the agreed percentage. Cost-plus contracts may seem when you first look at them to be cheaper than the alternatives but they never work out that way. 

FIXED PRICE CONTRACTS

The price is fixed and the builder has to do it for that amount of money. When a builder quotes a firm price for any part of the project that is a commitment to build it for that amount of money. If it costs less, the builder pockets the difference.
IF IT COSTS MORE, THE BUILDER LOSES MONEY. 

The builder does have to do a fair amount of work up front to calculate the exact cost of the project and it is not unusual for the builder to spend days even weeks calculating the cost of the build. He needs to get it right or he could loose significant amounts of money so he needs to calculate accurately the every brick, nail and piece of timer and the time taken to do the build and add it all up.

SO WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE TO THE CLIENT OF FIXED PRICE CONTRACT?

-The client knows up front exactly how much the build is going to cost and will have the necessary funds put aside for the build.

-The banks commonly want a fixed price contract these days in order to release the funds

-The builder will have a better relationship with the client as they won’t need to scrutinise every invoice and the cost of every brick and every screw to ensure they are getting absolutely best value from the builder, and as commonly found the Client/Builder relationship deteriorates at the end of a cost plus contract as the cost of the build starts to blow out.

-The builder is incentivised to price the job accurately or he could loose significant amount of money, the builder doing a cost plus contract won’t put the time into pricing the project accurately as they have nothing to loose, there is significant risk here of the job not costing what was originally estimated, most cost plus contracts blow out in cost 

At the end of the day the client is after value for money, this is not about driving the price down and cutting the builder’s margin to the bone. The best projects are those where there is a good working relationship between builder and customer. If you agree to pay a fair price, you can expect a good job. If you try to get the house built for less than it should really cost, expect to get what you’ve paid for. 

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Increases to the existing BASIX standards came into effect on 1 October 2023.

The increases include higher thermal performance standards and higher energy standards.

There is also a new requirement to calculate and record embodied emissions of building materials.

The new standards will result in:

cheaper energy bills. You’ll use less electricity so your bills will be cheaper – you could be saving as much as $980 a year on energy bills.
more comfortable homes. Your home will be naturally cooler in summer, warmer in winter, which means you won’t be turning the heater or air conditioner on as often.
fewer carbon emissions. This contributes towards our goal of net zero homes by 2050

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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUPERVISOR

The majority of the work to build your home renovation will be done by subcontractors and tradespeople. They have to be supervised, and it’s very important that the supervisor should work for the builder. The supervisor must be fully experienced, because it’s the supervisor who keeps the subcontractors and tradespeople up to the mark.

Did you know that some building companies pay their supervisors a bonus for saving money on the job – which they can probably only do by cutting corners? So, what do you think – are those companies bent on delivering to the customer – to you – the highest quality and best job they possibly can?

Supervisors know, just as building companies do, that the huge majority of their customers know very little about construction. Best practice companies employ best practice supervisors who keep the customer informed and give the customer what they want. Other supervisors pull the wool over their customers’ eyes, saving the builder money by delivering a substandard job while pretending that “this is the right way to do it.”

Should the supervisor be on site every minute of the working day, every day?

No. One supervisor may be responsible for more than one job. But he or she should be visible often enough to be able to make sure the job is done right.

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Another successful design and approval at Avalon beach

Now for the build

Our expertise and our task is to transform a tired old home from concept through the design process, approvals and the build, we can deliver all this as a one stop shop

A family home with plenty space and of note are balconies that will have the most beautiful views over Careel bay and beyond

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