# Forum Home Renovation General Odds & Sods  Cost of drafting

## loupivac

I was wondering if anyone knows how much I should pay for drafting. We have an old place we want to renovate and extend and we know exactly what we want we just need it drawn up. We have met with someone, seemed very good, but he has quoted $10800 (plus extra for consultants for structural and hydraulics). 
We need to make a rushed decision because of  council deadlines but I'd hate to spend way more than necessary just to get started sooner. 
What do you think? 
Many thanks

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## brissyboy

Sounds way excessive. My wife is a building designer & town planner and would only charge that sort of dollars if she was managing it from concept to approval & even then that would have to be complex. If they are not doing a planning report and is just drawing it up should be $1-2k.

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## loupivac

Thanks Brissyboy I thought that sounded high :Cry:  
For the planning report (which we sadly need by 24 Aug) he is charging $4600 and the a further $5600 for contruction drawing..plus GST 
It awful because we need to make a decision today so he can get started but just don't know what to do.

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## dib

I agree that it is very expensive, but my guess is that you will have not much chance getting it done by someone else in that time frame without paying a higher price.  The best you can do is delay telling this other one until moday arvo / tuesday morning and make LOTS of phone calls/faxes on Monday and try to get some other prices.  It maybe worth a lot of money to you so my guess (Without knowing anything about the project) it'll be worth it.  Go through the yellow pages, fax whatever info you have over the weekend so that they have all the info they need on Monday, then follow up with phone calls. 
First rule is always get three quotes,second rule is if you dont like them get some more!.  
It may turn out that the project is complicated and you might not do any better, but if you dont ask you will never know.

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## r3nov8or

What's the rush?  
I paid $900 for our 8 square extension drawings - complete, approved with no changes. It was drawn up 8 years ago, but even at double or triple they are a bargain compared to your guy. For that quote I'd be expecting him to project manage the build.

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## jago

I paid $2800 there abouts for plans by an engineer whch apart for the calcs for the footings slabs and retaining walls, its very basic as I gave him my original plans which they scan.  
He left a lot of detail off the plans to give me latitude with council but when I questioned him about full spec plans he said they would cost in the region of  $12k, of course I went cheap still got passed and I  have to spend a fair bit of time working out things myself.But f you are usinga good builder they will know how to...or should. :2thumbsup:

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## seriph1

There are no "set" fees for these things believe it or not. To me, that fee sounds like what an architect would charge for a remodel of around $140,000. There are a lot of things to consider when drawing up plans and this is where the fees while sounding excessive at times, can actually save a home-owner money and as important - grief! 
I have no desire to be confrontational, but when someone tells me they know exactly what they want, I believe they are telling me they have a fair idea of the likely dimensions and overall look and feel they are aiming for. A small percentage of folks know much more than that, and why should they? But when it comes to engineering computations, soil testing, Bushfire attack ratings, span calculations based on different conditions and materials, few people have these answers. Draftspeople don't draw pictures of buildings, they create working drawings that must be reliable documents for council's planning and building departments, interior designers, cabinet makers, builders, concreters, electricians and plumbers etc. After drawing them, they then have to certify that they're correct, or revise them until they're acceptable to the authorities. 
I guess with that kind of knowledge, I'd accept being charged $100 - $150 per hour and imagine that it would take between 30 and 50 hours to produce, plus costs. This includes meetings with you and other professionals, producing numerous copies of plans, as well as any submissions that may have to be done on your behalf. 
All in all, it is a pretty in depth process I imagine. Maybe you could ask him to outline where the costs are ...

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## loupivac

Thanks everyone you have been so much help. 
We have gone with Dibs advice "First rule is always get three quotes,second rule is if you dont like them get some more!. "..I'm thinking of having this tattooed somewhere before we start this project  :Biggrin:  
I agree that you get what you pay for and appreciate Seriph1's advice on just how much work drafting involves. It's really helpful to know that the going rate is about $100 - $150 per hour.  
Before seeing the draftman we paid an architect for his time ($175 an hour)  to give us a sketch of our extension, we are basically adding a bedroom, bathroom and laundry as a rear wing on a federation house. We then had the place surveyed and have plans with current property dimensions. So we still feel that $12k was a bit high.  
Given the ultimatum that "this is the price and if you want it done in time for council I need an answer today" we had no idea what to do. Anyway i have contacted a drafty through this forum (thanks Mike) and hubby (a steel fabricator) rang around a couple of contacts and we have found two other people can do the council plans for $1500-2000. 
To start with we thought "bugger we'll have to pay up" but thanks to this forum I have saved $2600 on planning stage drawings alone.. :brava: we haven't even settled on the property yet and obviously have a lot to learn in a short space of time.. 
Thank you all

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