Frequently Asked Questions

When you think of building architectural homes, healthy would not be the first word that comes to mind for most people. We want to change this. The majority of homes in South East Queensland are constructed with dated concepts, often missing key ingredients that keep a home clean and healthy, the most important of which is temperature moderation. Adequate temperature moderation prevents rapid temperature changes within a home throughout the course of a day, which inhibits condensation. Mould growth is a direct byproduct of condensation within homes, alongside failed cladding and window systems which allow water ingress. Primarily causing inflammatory symptoms, long term mould exposure can lead to a whole host of health issues, especially for those with compromised immune systems. With his partner suffering from an autoimmune disease with chronic inflammation, our Director Dan is driven to provide our clients with homes that are safe and healthy, for life.

How do we achieve this?

To maintain a mould free house, we simply need to keep the moisture out. We achieve this by installing cavity battens outside our vapour permeable wrapped, exterior wall frames to not only reduce thermal bridging within a home, but to give any trapped moisture space to trickle down and away from the building's thermal envelope. The vapour permeable aspect of the wall membrane allows water vapour from inside to escape, while preventing liquid water from outside to enter. Insulation within the framing is the next step to help maintain consistent temperatures and avoid condensation within the home. For more in-depth information, ask us for our 'Info Pack' about Passivhaus building concepts.

Engaging your builder early, before finalising designs or applying for approval, can make a significant difference to your project’s price, schedule and result. Designs that reach approval without builder cost input can stall before construction as cost clarity is provided too late in the process. Clients then face redesigns, delays and additional fees to correct this, or the project simply does not go ahead. We prefer to get involved early, before designs are finalised and before applications are lodged. This allows us to assess cost and buildability from the outset. Design decisions are then informed by real, up to date construction costs which can be frequently referenced during the design process.

Early Builder Involvement gives you:

• Cost clarity. We provide a realistic cost analysis early in the process, providing you context on the different design elements and their respective costs

• Smarter design decisions. We work with your architect or designer to flag buildability issues and identify more cost-effective alternatives if required

• Fewer surprises. Optimising design with cost in mind reduces the risk of price shock; when prices come back much higher than expected, often with redesign costs too

Price shock occurs when the cost to build far exceeds expectations, often because early design decisions were made without accurate cost feedback. This is one of the most common reasons that residential building projects stall or never proceed beyond design. It’s not the fault of the architect or designer. They work to your brief, but without real-time construction pricing, it’s easy for costs to escalate unnoticed.

How to avoid price shock:

• Involve a builder early in the design phase

• Obtain routine price estimates as the design progresses and more details are introduced. It is more efficient to alter design details as they come than to re-design them after the final drawings are completed

It’s important to emphasise that price shock is through no fault of your architect or designer, as their knowledge and expertise lie in creating functional and beautiful spaces, ensuring designs meet planning rules and reflect your vision. As the ones who are quoting, ordering and paying for materials regularly, we understand the current market rates, availability and price trends. By involving us early, we can guide your project towards a budget-conscious and practical outcome, saving you time, stress and unnecessary re-design costs.

If your plans and approvals are already in place but you've realised the cost to construct is out of your budget, Value Management is a great process from here. Value Management is a structured review of your design, layout and selections. The goal is simple: achieve the best possible balance between functionality, quality and budget without compromising your vision. This process may include:

Construction methodology review

We review alternative construction methods or structural solutions that can reduce costs without impacting performance and compliance while maintaining the aesthetic.

Fixture, fitting and material selection

We work with your architect or designer to identify cost-effective alternatives while maintaining design intent, tweaking seemingly small choices to optimise value. Changes that are non-structural and cosmetic in nature can generally be made without resubmission for certification.

Value management gives you an understanding of which elements of the design drive cost, helping you decide which features are worth pursuing and if there are any low-impact, high-cost items which can be altered to optimise the budget.

Preliminaries provide a description of a project that allows the builder to assess the work required to formulate a scope and cost analysis. Depending on what stage we are engaged, Preliminary work can include:

• Early Feasibility Estimate(s)

• Evaluation of existing dwelling as well as design requirements and their buildability

• Working with Design Consultants to optimise then finalise design

• Cost Analysis (Price to complete the works)

The Preliminaries get us to the stage where the project details and prices are finalised and approved, with construction ready to begin.

The good news is, we can be engaged at any stage of the Preliminary Process. However we recommend an earlier engagement for best results. Ideally the process would look like this:

• Client and Design Consultant meet and discuss initial plan, with initial measurements taken and key design elements noted

• Builder is contacted to discuss project. The project is qualified to ensure compatibility before a Preliminary Agreement is signed with required documentation outlined

• Town Planning Requirements identified and cross-checked with initial design elements

• Rough estimate price for project construction given

• If estimated price is not within Client budget, initial design elements can be altered with follow up estimate given.

• Once the estimated price is satisfactory with Client budget, the design can be continued with items such as Glazing Plans, Rough Finishes Schedule (e.g. brands of desired tapware, feature materials, etc.) Geotechnical Report and Structural Engineering completed

• As milestones in the design phase are achieved and more finishes and details specified, the price can be checked to ensure the project is tracking on budget as it is being designed

• Once the final design is complete with all plans included and approved such as Site Drainage, Site Services, Engineering, Electrical, NatHERS Energy Rating Certificate, Joinery, Window and Doors schedule and a complete Finishes schedule, a final fixed price can be provided to complete the works

• Contracts presented, signed and construction commences

It is worth noting that an estimated price can be given prior to major design investment, this can give Clients peace of mind early that their project will start on budget, with frequent consultation with the builder as designs progress to ensure they remain on budget. A similar approach can still be taken if we are engaged later but instead of flagging items that might blow out the budget as they are initially designed, they are spoken about and possibly removed much later which can be heart-breaking for Clients who have become attached to the design. In the case of severe late-stage Value Management requirements, structural amendments can be required with re-submission for Building Approval, creating increased delays and cost.

The reality is, for a custom project with unique design elements, there is no set rate as those individual design elements in the condition of the site and the specific engineering details to support them have never been used in conjunction before.

Square metreage is useful to fill the gaps at the outset in those early estimation phases where there is a high number of unknowns and variables. This is why they are only estimates early on, as without the completed specifications of a project, a 100% accurate price cannot be given. That said, our estimation software uses real-time data inputs from builders locally to provide up to date, calculated estimates to get us as close as we can to the final figure.

Paying a builder during the Preliminary stage ensures you benefit from the time, attention and expertise needed to give your project the best possible start. At New Dawn Building, we don’t just price projects, we help you make informed decisions as we understand what it takes to deliver successful outcomes. That means reviewing site constraints, assesssing plans for buildability and identifying any budget risks or design gaps early on. Renovations and custom builds are rarely straightforward, engaging us for a Preliminary service ensures:

• Early review of design, staging and site constraints

• Practical buildability advice

• Identification of risk areas and potential cost pressures

• Confidence that the concept is aligned with your goals before committing to full documentation

• Clarification of potential unknowns

This process gives you a clear path forward and a quote you can trust. It also allows us to focus on giving you honest advice, rather than competing to ‘win the job.’ It is the start of a collaborative, professional relationship built on shared goals and realistic expectations.

We can't speak for other builders, but at New Dawn Building, we proudly focus on the finer details, which simply takes time. A properly procured cost analysis with detailed fixed prices (instead of variable-price allowances for everything) takes time, often up to a month. This is time taken from otherwise productive hours which can only be recouped by reducing the accuracy and detail in our cost analysis or charging for the time it takes to do so. So we made the choice on which direction we'd rather go.

We regularly hear about people who choose a significantly cheaper quote than others and end up with a large sum of variations throughout a build, with the end cost exceeding the higher quotes from the initial tender. This is caused by the builder’s lack of investment from the beginning to properly review plans and price the job with specific details and processes in mind, as well as high risk areas which could significantly exceed the budget. It can also be a sales tactic to make you believe you are getting a better price but the contract is then manipulated to include variations or exclude essential items that could of been outlined from the beginning, hence the price difference.

Generally the price for a cost analysis ranges from $350 (small jobs), to around $1500 (medium jobs) and $4500+ (larger jobs). We credit the cost analysis price back if we win the job. It is, however, a separate line item in our Preliminary Agreement package, so we charge for the rest of the package as our expertise and estimation is fully utilised.

For an estimate, the more documents with specifications you have, the more accurate a price will be. As a starting point, rough measurements and a basic finishes schedule with key features will get you a ballpark figure with Early Builder Involvement. The estimate will become much more accurate when items such as Engineering, room by room details, completed Finishes schedule, Windows and Doors schedule etc, are included.

For a detailed cost analysis, we need the completed Architectural drawings, including but not limited to Geotechnical, Structural, Hydraulic engineering as well as Sewerage, Electrical and Joinery plans with a complete Finishes schedule.

Yes. For our qualified Clients with One Builder Tenders that have a complete set of approved plans with no indication of cost, we offer a project estimate to verify if the drawn plans are within budget. If it is not, we can provide Value Management services to reprioritise the funds within the budget while maintaining the core elements of the design. Otherwise, if the design is on budget, a cost analysis can be provided from there.

Prime Cost Items and Provisional Sums are both allowances within a fixed or cost plus contract. They are variable in nature, with the actual cost calculated and charged as the job progresses.

A Prime Cost Item is an item which is subject to change or to be decided as the job progresses. The labour component has already been included separately and it is solely the cost of the item itself. A good example would be a towel rail. The time to install a standard towel rail is allocated under Carpentry Labour. If a Client/Designer specifies any towel rail with a similar installation process, the labour component will remain the same, but the cost could vary significantly between towel rail brands and suppliers. The builder makes a $500 allowance for the cost of the towel rail. When it comes time to supply the towel rail, the Client found a standard $1000 towel rail which still suits the design scheme so the Designer approves of the change. The builder then acquires the new towel rail and installs it, they then charge the $1000 instead of the original $500. Similarly, if the Client instead found a standard $200 towel rail that the Designer approved of too, the builder will then charge $200 instead of the initial $500 allowance. However, if the Client had chosen a heated towel rail for $1500, which requires electrical wiring for it to function, the builder will on charge not only the $1500 for the towel rail, but the additional electrical labour required for the towel rail to function. As the electrical labour component is part of the fixed cost section of the contract, it must be listed as a variation and approved prior to implementation.

A Provisional Sum is similar to Prime Cost Items, except it includes a labour component too. An example of this includes excavation works. This is due to the unknown nature of what is buried and the difficult nature of measuring it due to differing expansion rates of soils, rock and sediments as they are dug from their natural state.

While Prime Cost Items and Provisional Sums allow the contract to be flexible, we always recommend choosing as much as possible before signing the contract to lock away these costs so as much of the whole project cost is known before it begins.

We offer 2 main lighter stages of Passivhaus concepts before you are required to commit to the fully accredited Passive House package. This is because a large piece of Passivhaus functionality is through having an airtight, insulated envelope, with a Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system installed to reduce indoor humidity, provide clean air supply and expel exhaust air while interchanging the air temperatures without contamination. This process vastly minimises the impact of outside air and temperature on inside air and temperature which allows Passive Homes to have very consistent temperatures with fresh air year round. The humidity reduction indoors with moderated temperatures and no condensation also means the likelihood of mould growth is significantly reduced. However, if we do not fully commit to all the components of Passivhaus, we can actually end up worse off than not bothering to apply any at all. For example, if we made the house a non-insulated, air tight seal with no HRV system, the house would become a pressure cooker, promoting mould growth with no fresh air for its inhabitants and would become extremely dangerous to live in long-term. Likewise, if we installed the HRV system but did not effectively seal or insulate the house, the fresh, ventilated air would simply rush out through the ample gaps in the house's envelope, rendering the system useless.

Stage 1 of our Passivhaus concepts applied to a regular stud wall framed and clad home involves:

• Avoid pre-fabricated steel frames as they promote excessive thermal bridging

• Timber wall frame wrapped in a high quality, vapour permeable wall membrane with all joins and laps taped and sealed to prevent wind ingress within the wall frames

• Cavity battens installed to the exterior of the wall membrane to allow room for any liquid water present to drip through and air dry

• Full insulation installed to all exterior wall frames, underside of roofing, roof space (ceiling) and subfloor of timber framed homes (none if concrete slab installed)

• Exterior Window and Door units taped to wall wrap in openings with gaps spray foamed to aid blocking of airflow

Stage 2 of our Passivhaus concepts applied to a regular stud wall framed and clad home involves:

• Implementation of Stage 1 components

• Roof frame clad with wood fibre insulation boards

• High quality vapour permeable membrane installed on top of wood fibre insulation boards, with laps and joins taped to ensure full water and wind tightness. Roofing membrane is wrapped down the wall frame and the join taped to link the 2 systems together

• Eave if specified, is framed externally to the building envelope

• Counter-battens are installed directly above the rafters, in the same orientation

• Regular roofing battens are installed across the counter-battens, with an effective cavity created for water shedding and airflow

• Roofing sheets installed direct to battens with no insulation installed outside the membrane

Stage 2 of our Passivhaus concepts requires some engineering regarding the wood fibre sheeting and battening process as it differs from traditional building processes. It is however, worth the investment as having the high quality membrane wrapping the roof and walls of a home ensures a bulletproof layer of protection against water ingress while also allowing enough airflow through the cavity that any trapped moisture can dry out (heat from the sun will warm up the external cladding and roof, causing the warm air to rise, forcing cooler air to take its place and therefore create airflow to dry out the cavity).

We limit our Passivhaus concept stages there as the next step would be to wrap the interior of the building's envelope in an airtight layer. This is counter-productive without the HRV system as it will promote condensation and mould growth.

If we did Stage 2 of Passivhaus concepts and installed the airtight layer and HRV system, you'd be just about there in terms of Passivhaus components. All that would be left would be to be pedantic about sealing every last gap and blower door testing the house to ensure it is airtight to an acceptable standard. We deem that reaching this level without the blower door test would be counter-intuitive as that is the confirmation that your airtight layer is working as intended, so at this stage you may as well commit to the Passivhaus build