How much per SQM please?!

Undoubtedly the most common question asked and yet the most tenuous to provide a satisfactory reply. Can I answer this without the use of the “How long’s a piece of string” line....? Nope!

This by no means is supposed to be a flippant reply and everyone who’s asked me the question always follows it up with words to the effect of, “Come-on, just roughly, what do you reckon?”

So, before I give a level of reasoning from which you can deduce your own square meterage or that all-encompassing ‘Ballpark Budget’, let me put some context around the question.

Firstly, sqm rates came about in relation to new homes, where by means of averaging (although I sometimes wonder if a more Google-like algorithm isn’t applied in some (many) instances, due to questionable ‘average’ outcomes which seem to favour the proponent of unsaid marketing)), an average cost could be deduced and subsequently applied across the board as a comparison for one home/competitor to the other.

In principle, this does work; on average.

Where it doesn’t work is when the comparisons made omit several mitigating factors that will skew the sqm rate significantly. By means of example: Some rates are based on the total area of internal liveable space in comparison to others who work on external wall area;

Some include garage, alfresco and balconies; others don’t;

Some include full internal and external painting, floor coverings, appliances, landscaping and earthworks; some include some and others include none (poetic I know!)

Within the comparison, the level of quality and finishes have a significant impact and I guess, this is where rates can highlight the differences most effectively.

Give me a number!

OK, to put it in context this is my part-science-based, emotionally lack-lustre approach, which I find works and by no means should this demeanour any car or building brand; merely an analogy for comparison that most of us can relate to.

Price

$1,500 - $1,800 per sqm.

Home

Project homes i.e. Company designed homes with all fixtures and fittings as provided and little if any scope to change (without additional costs).

Perceived Quality & Finish

Skoda.

Comments

Door handle might fall off after 6 months and don’t be surprised if you see the same WC in Bunnings.

Price

$1,800 - $2,300 per sqm.

Home

Upper end project homes and cheaper custom homes (NB. Architect and other fees and approvals may not be included in some of these rates).

Perceived Quality & Finish

Hyundai, Ford, Holden – with some ‘fruit’.

Comments

Door handle will last longer and fixtures and finishes will entice you to stay in the bathroom for longer.

Price

$2,300 - $2,600 per sqm.

Home

Custom homes – this is where the interiors and finishes will vary the outcome.

Perceived Quality & Finish

BMW / Audi – base models.

Comments

Door handle won’t fall off. In fact, you’ll find yourself opening and closing anything that’s openable and closable in admiration of its solidity.

Price

$2,600 - $3,100 per sqm.

Home

Upper end custom homes – this is where the interiors and finishes will vary considerably.

Perceived Quality & Finish

BMW / Audi – with some or lots of fruit!

Comments

Feels like you’ve stepped into a BMW or Audi showroom – you probably won’t want to leave and the coffee comes from one of those fancy ‘pod’ machines.

Price

$3,200 - $4,200 per sqm.

Home

Upper end custom homes – high level of fixtures and finishes throughout.

Perceived Quality & Finish

Jaguar/Lexus.

Comments

Business Class all the way; you basically have a Butler and even your garage has carpet on the floor.

Price

$4,300 - upwards per sqm.

Home

High end custom homes.

Perceived Quality & Finish

Bentley/Porsche.

Comments

Pointy end of the plane; you do have a Butler and you’re getting Instagram Likes from Royalty. Beyoncé is likely to pop in for a dip in your pool.

“You do have a Butler and you’re getting Instagram ‘Likes’ from Royalty”.

It’s far easier to be definitive with the ‘construction & content’ of a new building, but when it comes to renovations, the system simply doesn’t work.

The type of work involved in a renovation is so different from project to project that any comparison is nigh-on impossible.

Renovations can be both structural and non-structural. Maybe we can differentiate between renovations and additions….then again, many renovations still have structural components.

A simple front porch ‘addition’ of 5.5sqm, with a footing, slab and timber frame, tied into the existing roofline is costing nearly $60,000, which in terms of sqm is over $10,000 per sqm!

However, in contrast an 85sqm second-storey addition, with structural steel, removal of brick walls and a tiled roof was around $2,950 per sqm.

In comparison again, an internal non-structural renovation of a bathroom with character detailing and upper-end fixtures and fittings totalling 15sqm, equated to $3,000 per sqm.

So, all that said, can we be realistic by stating a sqm rate for renovations? Invariably, I’d be very hesitant unless there’s sufficient detail in the plans, specification and following a thorough inspection (including an engineer’s report) of the property and without making allowances for possible unknowns.

We can offer some Ballpark figures for a Kitchen, Bathroom or Laundry renovation based on a number of simplistic factors.

However, a couple of years ago I rewrote an article for the Master Builders Association, covering renovation costs to try and bring a better expectation to possible sqm rates. In it I suggested working on between $2,500 and $4,000 per sqm including GST but only when referring to an addition/extension rather than those which included internal renovations. Even now the lower end of this scale may only apply to larger non-complex additions.

I’d be thoroughly inclined to consider the project in its entirety and budget holistically rather than think a sqm rate will be accurate.

Plus, always plan for some unknowns when budgeting, it seems to impact well on sqm rates and like the onset of Bali-belly just as you’re boarding a flight, they have an uncanny knack of making themselves known at the most inconvenient times and having more than an unwelcome impact!