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The Total Process

Total Lifestyle Builders is your one-stop shop for home extensions. We coordinate all aspects of the job from start-to-finish which minimises hassles and helps to provide comfort, satisfaction and peace-of-mind to our Clients.

Step 1

We Receive Your Initial Enquiry

One of our staff will take your details and ask a few questions about your home to help qualify your requirements. An appointment may then be made for one of our Design Consultants to meet you at your home. There are no fees or obligations for this meeting but we will ask to meet you during daytime hours so that we can better assess your home.

Step 2

Initial Consultation with Client

Our Design Consulatants include a Master Builder and an Architect, each with extensive design and building experience. They can advise you of the feasibility of extending your home and provide an approximate estimate of cost before you proceed to the next step. During a typical meeting we will:

Listen to your ideas and help to clarify your design requirements
Discuss what would be included and how we would go about extending your home
Provide a ballpark estimate of cost for the proposed extension

If this is acceptable to you, then an authority will then be signed by you, requesting that we proceed to with a design.

Step 3

Total Lifestyle Builders' Design Process incorporates three components, which together are typically what a financial institution would require to give you financial approval:

Concept Design

Preliminary Specification

Fixed Price Estimate

Concept Design

A measure-up of your home
Photographing the house interior and exterior
Obtaining relevant information from the Local Authority (i.e. Council)
Preparing a 3D computer-generated model of your home with the proposed concept based on a mutually-agreed design brief
A design presentation held in the comfort of our premises. We can "walk-you-through" the design of your home! The powerful nature of our CAD program means that you can make changes in "real time" (thereby allowing us to compare options and discuss the implication of changes).
At the end of the presentation our clients receive a paper copy of the existing and proposed floor plans, together with internal and external views of the concept.

Preliminary Specification

The preliminary specification is a checklist of items that will be included and/or excluded from the proposed design and an estimated construction cost, based on the initial design brief. It typically includes such things as:

A general description of the works

A list of your responsibilities during the job

Type of flooring & floor coverings

Type of wall cladding & the required finish

Type of roof & any special treatment that may be required

Type of windows & screens

Doors & door furniture
Wardrobes & other cabinetry
An electrical schedule (a list showing how many light points, power points, etc, have been proposed)
A plumbing schedule (i.e. a list showing how many taps, vanities, etc, have been proposed)
Extent of painting
A list of Prime Cost and Provisional Sum items

An indicative timeframe for construction will also be discussed with you during this stage.

We aim to allow our clients to stay in their homes while we build but we will discuss with you (if applicable) the need to vacate the home for a specified period of time during construction.

Fixed-Price Estimate

Our estimates are typically accurate to within 5% of the contract price and are guaranteed for a period of three months from the date of the design presentation.

Our fee for this is only $2900.00, which is paid prior to our undertaking the measure-up. This fee will be credited to the fixed contract price, should the client sign a contract to build with us within the agreed three month fixed-price period.

For complex house extensions it may be necessary to arrange additional design presentations at the concept stage; in such cases the design fee may be negotiated with the Director.

Step 5

Preparing Plans for Building Approval:

Once your finance is in place, we will prepare the plans that are reuqired for building approval.

An appointment will be made for our Interior Designer to meet with you for a colour consultation (to help co-ordinate your “new look”). We may also arrange appointments with various other representatives to help you with the selection of things such as tiles, bathroom fittings, cabinetry, etc, to more fully integrate your home design.

Step 6

Building Certification/Approval

Once the design has been finalised and approved by you, we will then arrange the necessary approvals and inspections with your local Council, and pay the relevant insurances and levies on your behalf.

Step 7

Construction

Construction commences after Building Approval has been granted and a deposit received.

A pre-construction meeting will be arranged with you on site before we start our building work: this is where we explain the construction process and how it will affect you. At this point of time we will also introduce your dedicated Building Supervisor and shortly afterwards, the crew of experienced tradesmen who have been hand-selected to look after your home. Our building crews are trained to respect our clients’ needs; their aim is to treat your home as if it were our own.

You will also be provided with a list of emergency and after-hours contact numbers to assist you in the event of a problem.

Step 8

Practical Completion

When all building works have been completed we will arrange for an independent Building Certifier to inspect your home. A Final Inspection Certificate is then issued, signifying Practical Completion and the start of our 6-month Maintenance Period.

At this point of time we will return your keys, and provide you with relevant warranties, certificates, and a Home Owner’s Manual.

Step 9

Maintenance and Warranties

Your home is covered individually by the Queensland Building Services Authority (QBSA) Home Owners Warranty, providing for six years six months protection on major and minor defects.