BUILDING BUDGET

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 771, 18 September 1929, Page 14

BUILDING BUDGET

UNWISE TO OVERLOOK EXTRAS ALLOW A MARGIN Building one’s own home Is an event which, even to those who do it, seldom happens more than once. Usually you have no previous experience to guide you, aud unless well advised, you are apt to learn some expensive lessons. The most unpleasant awakening most people experience is on the question of total cost. It Is easy to start out with the idea that you will spend, say, £2,500 on a house. You intend this sum to cover everything, but you find at the finish that your budget is out, perhaps to the extent of £I,OOO. If you mention £2,500 to your architect you may rest assured he will plan to spend this on building alone, and possibly his plans will, to commence with, exceed this, as architects’ plans sometimes do. The important fact to remember is that the actual building of the house does not cover the cost of making a new home, and there are other and often expensive items to consider. Here are the main items which must be considered and budgeted for in building a house, aud each one should be fully investigated before starting the actual building:—(l) Land, (21 work preliminary to building, levelling or other work likely to appear as extras in the builder’s account, (31 drainage. (4) secondary bnildings, garage, etc., (51 road making or road charges, (6) decoration and interior fixtures outside builder’s estimate. (71 landscape work. All these matters should be very carefully budgeted for. since they may all be items which are not covered by the estimate for the actual building, and it should also not be forgotten that the architect’s fees are additional to the builder's estimate. If it is necessary to confine one’s expenditure to a given amount it is very advisable to allow a margin for unforeseen contingencies, and 5 per cent, would be a minimum to allow for such purpose, while IQ per cent, would be safer.