Yes - MILEHAM is a professional Licensed Builder: 272736C. We are an award winning Member of the Master Builders Association of NSW, and are also a Member of the Association of Professional Builders.

You can read more about the importance of working with a professional Master Builder here:

Yes we will. MILEHAM has a 100% flexible service model, meaning we build custom homes not only for our Architectural Design Clients, but also for Clients who have sourced their designs and approved plans elsewhere.

MILEHAM offers detailed Fixed Price Contracts on our custom home building projects to allow more transparency and dependability for our clients. Our Building Quotes are valid for 30 days and, once approved with your deposit paid, construction begins within 3 months.

You can read more about Fixed Price vs. Cost-Plus Contracts here:

A building estimate is a ballpark figure based on what you want to achieve e.g. you want to extend the back of the house into a open kitchen/living, renovate the front bedroom and add a pool. Estimates don’t require a builder to go away and calculate every material and fitting, but they do help you confirm if what you want is generally within your budget. Estimates are usually about a page long and don’t cost you anything as no detailed work or planning has been undertaken by the builder.

By comparison, a building quote should be between 25-40 pages, specify every inclusion, and detail the amount of materials and labour required for the duration of your project. Pulling together a proper quote can take up to 40 hours and involves contacting subcontractors for quotes and creating a lengthy and detailed job schedule. It is for this reason you should expect to pay a nominal fee to receive a building quote.

You can read more about the difference between a building quote and estimate here.

This is a really good question and something which can be very misleading in the home building industry.

A builder who offers you a free quote is usually only providing you with a free estimate. These lack the detail of a professional building quote and usually overlook, or ballpark, key components of your build. As a result, they tend to run on the low side of the true cost to build your home.

It takes up to 40 hours and 3-4 weeks for a professional, licensed builder to pull together a detailed, accurate building quote - one that has been personalised for your particular build. It’s a complicated, timely and involved process, including such requirements as reviewing your DA or CDC approved Construction Plans to confirm specific materials and construction methods needed for your build, requesting sub-contractor prices and availabilities (and waiting for their responses), pulling together the combination of these responses which best align with your timeline and budget, and doing a proper review and check of all the detail to ensure everything lines up.

MILEHAM provides all our Clients with updated building estimates throughout every Stage of their Design process with us. Once plans are approved, we charge an upfront fee of $1,500 + GST for a comprehensive building quote. To provide you with peace of mind, we guarantee our Building Quote will not be higher than the free Building Estimate we have already provided you. If it is, we will refund you your Building Quote fee (and you can still accept our Building Quote).

You can read more about the issues you may experience with “free” building quotes, here:

We charge an upfront fee of $1,500 + GST to prepare a personalised and comprehensive Building Quote for your project.

To provide you with peace of mind, we guarantee our Building Quote will not be higher than the free Building Estimate we have already provided you. If it is, we will refund you your Building Quote fee (and you can still accept our Building Quote).

Before you start any building or construction work, you need to apply for a Construction Certificate (CC) (MILEHAM does this on behalf of our Clients). This certificate is applied for after you have received DA or CDC approval. It essentially confirms that the construction plans and development specifications are consistent with your approved plans, and that they comply with the Building Code of Australia.

To obtain your Construction Certificate, you should budget:

• Around 1% of your Build Cost Estimate (submitted with your DA/CDC) for your local Council Development Contribution (not all Councils require this Contribution, and fees can vary within the same Council area).

• A $2,500-$3,000 security bond to cover any potential damage to public assts during your build. This bond is refunded upon completion of your build, pending any damages.

• A Long Service Levy of 0.25% of the Build Cost Estimate (BCE). This fee only occurs when your BCE is over $250,000.

The specifics of these charges will be detailed in the consent letter you receive from Council or your Private Certifier once your plans are approved, and invoiced by the relevant third party.

A Provisional Sum (PS) is a rate or allowance specified in a building quote when there is an unknown quantity or task required in order to complete your home renovation or new home build. PS’s cover labour only, or labour and materials. They are used when either:

1. Final selections have not yet been made (e.g. you have not yet chosen the timber - and thus can’t know the price - for your staircase), or

2. When it is simply not possible to include a price in the quote due to factors that can only be uncovered once construction actually starts (e.g. a set rate per square meter for asbestos removal during demolition).

Provisional Sums are thus estimates within your quote, which means they often change when the final cost of the task is calculated.

Upon receiving a building quote, always check if your builder has filled your quote with PS’s or confirmed costs. An experienced and professional builder will have minimal PS’s in their quote.

Builders who rely on PS’s are typically disorganised and are not prepared to put in the time to quote your job properly. It’s a big red flag and increases the chances you’ll be taken advantage of. Typically these builders include unrealistically low provisional sum allowances in their quote so that their prices appears lower than their competitors. These builders know that if there was any error in the final costs, they will be passed directly onto you.

Much like a Provisional Sum (PS), a Prime Cost (PC) item is a dollar figure allowance used in building quotes and contracts to allow for items such as appliances, sinks, taps, etc., where the final selection of those items is still to be confirmed.

The allowance for a Prime Cost item only covers the supply of that item. Any labour associated with the installation of that item should either be included in the contract or listed separately as a Provisional Sum (PS).

Just like Provisional Sums, Prime Cost items do change depending on your final selection and therefore can incur additional costs. So in order to minimise your exposure to budget overruns, make your selection choices prior to signing a contract (where possible).

An Extension of Time is the amount of days added to your building contract’s timeline as a result of:

1. A variation added by you, and/or

2. Inclement weather or any other reason outside the builder’s control

EOTs simply extend the contract completion date of your renovation or new build, from what was originally recorded in your building contract.

Variations can introduced for many different reasons, the most popular being when you change your mind on something after the contract has been signed (e..g you decide to add a bathtub to your bathroom).

Variations document what has been changed along with any additional costs that relate to labour, materials and administration fees.

Variations can also be incurred when any unforeseen work arises, which is typical of renovations and extensions. If there was no way of knowing about a certain issue at the time of quoting your project, it’s simply an unforeseen variation that needs to be raised so the builder can do the necessary work.

Each time a variation is raised, these typically come with an extension of time attached to them.

A rock clause can be found in most building contracts, typically fixed price contracts. It’s there to protect a builder from unfortunate, unforeseen circumstances like hitting rock during excavation.

An Occupation Certificate is a certificate which authorises the occupation and use of a new building or home, or outlines a change of building use for an existing building in accordance with its consent.

In NSW, the Home Building Compensation Fund (HBCF) (formally known as the Home Owners Warranty Insurance - HOWI) provides a safety net for home owners faced with defective building work and non-completion of that work carried out by a builder or tradesperson.

By law, a builder must take out insurance through the HBCF on residential work over $20,000, before starting any work or taking any money under the contract, including the deposit.

The insurance under the HBCF covers:

• All major defects for six years after the work is completed.

• All other defects for two years after the work is completed.

• Loss arising from non-completion of the work (the homeowner must make a claim within 12 months of the failure to commence, or cessation of, the work).

• The total limit (including non-completion of building work, defective building work, and any other costs covered by the policy) is $340,000 per dwelling, with a sub-limit for incomplete building work of 20% of the contract price.

MILEHAM takes out HBCF on behalf of our Clients for every home building project that we do, and we supply our Clients with a copy of the HBCF Certificate of Insurance (COI) for their records.