5 Questions to ask about Square Meter Rates
“What is your square meter rate?” I have been asked this question relating to Architectural design fees, I have been asked this question relating to building costs. It seems the metric that people gravitate to when thinking about building or renovating.
It is often the comparison that ultimately decides who a client works with, especially when deciding between housing company. It’s a clever marketing tool, but how accurate are they? What this metric include or exclude? And why are some of them so varied?
Here are 5 questions to ask when being quoted sqm rates to clarify things?
1. Does this rate include GST?
Most Builders and Architects work on rates that exclude GST. This is because as a business they can claim the GST of their expenses. You as a client will be paying GST without claiming it back for your project, so asking this question is important. Especially if someone is verbally giving you an estimate as a written quote will usually clarify this.
2. What standard of build or design does this rate apply to?
You have an idea in your head about what you wanting to achieve, but that vision might be different to the Architect, Builder or Tradesperson is thinking. The standard of design affects the amount of design detail. Spending some time making sure that what you are being quoted is what you are expecting in terms of standard is important.
Often square meter rates assume minimum quality to appear as attractive as possible. Then variations are often charged out at a higher rate, meaning that you pay more than what you initially bargained due to being quoted a basic assumed scope.
3. What size dwelling does this rate apply to?
We all know that bathrooms and kitchens are the most expensive rooms in a home given they have more finishings like tiles, systems like waterproofing and plumbing and various other fittings and fixtures. The Garage is usually the cheapest. While our houses may vary in sizes, the area of the more expensive spaces relative to the rest of the build affects the overall cost relative to area.
A 200sqm home will have a higher rate than a 250sqm home with the same kitchen and bathroom facilities. Smaller homes as a result will have higher generic rates relative to the area. Asking what size dwelling that rate is based on and what those areas look like relative to rate means you are basing your build budget on a miss matched set of criteria.
4. What kind of typology is this rate calculated for or from.
Standard alone homes will have a different square meter rate than a Terrace or Apartment style building. For Standalone homes the surface of a building affects the cladding area, which current accounts for a large percentage of the material costs. The length of the outside perimeter impacts on the square meter rate. Single story dwellings have more roof area relative to floor area whilst double or triple story buildings have less. Complex forms also add cost. Multi story dwellings have additional structural requirements but less foundation area.
Medium Density dwellings such as Terrace homes and Apartments share structure but have added requirements around acoustics and fire which affect the base square meter rate.
Understanding what type of project these rates are referencing is important to decide if they relate to your project.
5. Lastly, what level of building performance is this rate based on.
Much like we ask about what the assumptions are in question one, this question is going to be one we should be asking more and more of. Most square meter rates are based on the minimum quality legally permitted. Our building code sets out the minimum, and unfortunately its often treated as a design guide which has created the norm.
The public have been led to believe that a code compliant home is warm, comfortable and energy efficient, and that building better is just expensive and argued at time, unnecessary. Higher performing building do cost more than the minimum performing building, but that is just logical. If you are wanting to create a high-performance home, ask the question when being given generic square meter values.
There is no crystal ball that we have to determine costs, but when doing the very early preliminary investigations I strongly recommend asking the questions above. At the very least it will help you make more informed decisions, and hopefully mean you don’t end up in a project that challenges your budget expectations and didn’t deliver on your aspirational requirements.
To understand what your project could cost, book a chat with me to understand how I work with my clients to get an initial project budget considering all costs in greater depth than a simple square meter rate.
