Dunsborough house design

November 1, 2024
House Designs, News
Comments Off on Dunsborough House Design
Threadgold Architecture

The recent building bid/tender result by Dunsborough architect Threadgold Architecture for a beachfront Dunsborough house design clearly delivered building cost savings. The property owners achieved over $500k in budget saving simply by creating a competitive building market.

Dunsborough house design – bid tender process

Dunsborough architect Threadgold Architecture has shed new light on the old idiom “…if first you don’t succeed, try and try again…” The property owners had aborted two previous attempts as a result of using south west building designers. The south west building designers delivered a costed contract sum of the Dunsborough house design 50% over the client’s budget. Threadgold Architecture initially invited eight south west builders to bid/tender for the construction of the Dunsborough house design. The Dunsborough architect eventually received four building bid/tender submissions at close of tender.

The most expensive building tender submission was $404,010 greater than the lowest tender price. The $404,010 costing discrepancy represents a 27.4% variance in building the very same Dunsborough house design. The bid/tender result generated a cost saving in excess of the $404,010 costing variance evidenced in the bid/tender submissions. The result clearly illustrates the discrepancies in different builder’s margins, trade labor costs, material supply costs and profits. The outcome shows creating a competitive cost environment can generate generous cost savings for property owners. Procuring a house design through a south west design and construct builder may be the most expensive mistake a property owner could ever make. Afterall, once that design and construct contract is signed, competitive pricing forces are completely lost and the idiom “…client always pays…” becomes the unenviable standard.

cost-plus or verbal contracts

Unfortunately many property owners get sucked into thin, lightweight and loosely worded building contracts that favor the builder’s commercial interest. The builder’s profit outcomes run contrary to the client’s interest in a fair, cost-effective and quality house design. Some property owners are suckered into cost plus contracts with a south west design and construct builder. The builder may persuade the clients that an Architect has superfluous skills and is an unwarranted cost. The best idiom for the property owner’s circumstance would now be, “…like a fox guarding the hen house…”.

Dunsborough house design – trust vs contract clauses

There’s little incentive for a south west design and construct builder to keep a Dunsborough house design to a low budget. Generally, a budget blow-out on a cost-plus contract is the odds-on outcome. Threadgold Architecture has been managing building contracts since 1995 and the ‘pea-in-the-shell game’. Understanding building budgets can be complex for a client to succeed in if the contract lacks the accountability clauses. However, builder accountability can be achieved via a third-party superintendent between the client and builder.

Trust is a relational attribute that is built over a long period of time through consistent, dependable and demonstrable behavior. Trust is usually displayed through social and business interactions but is becoming increasingly harder to find in society. Although not all south west design and construct builders are untrustworthy – how many of us are perfect judges of character? It’s difficult to assess integrity within the first beer, the first handshake or the first sketch design meeting.

Dunsborough house design – contract umpire

Rather than leaving the process to trust; a more cost effective outcome is to engage a Dunsborough architect. The practice superintends the construction of your Dunsborough house design using a robust building contract. The contract incorporates retention monies, liquidated damages and a practical completion dates. These contractual clauses will never be presented at any south west design and construct builder design meeting. Many south west design and construct builders like to sell themselves to property owners as avoiding an architect to save money but the exact opposite is true as the majority of south west design and construct builder clients pay through the nose by the lack of a competitive market and having no contractual security of a third-party assessor (the Architect).

At this point, the most appropriate idiom might be, “…hindsight is a beautiful thing…”. I’ve met too many people, after the fact, who rue and regret their choice procuring (arguably) their biggest investment. Property owners are served better engaging a Dunsborough architect who’s governed by the Architect Act 2004 and Architects Regulations 2005. The practice generates cost effective competitive market result through a tender process followed by superintendence during construction of the project through a robust, equitable and fair contract (AS2124-1992 for example).

Dunsborough house design – contract

AS2124-1992 provides for a third party superintend role, allowing the Architect to assess any monetary variations of the builder with a pre-agreed rate for builder’s margin. South west design and construct builders do not have to adhere to the same strict legislative controls as a Registered Architect; who is governed by the Architects Board of WA. Afterall, the State Government of Western Australia has been procuring buildings using architects through the Public Works Department/Building Management Authority/Housing and Works/Building Management Works and achieving competitive, cost effective, value-for-money quality building outcomes in Western Australia via the competitive building tender process since 1 January 1901. Would not 116 years would be sufficient time to determine if the building tender process doesn’t work?

Dunsborough House Design