Terms & Conditions

Overview

These Terms & Conditions govern your use of the Cost2Build website and estimating services. By submitting an enquiry, requesting a quote or engaging our services, you agree to be bound by these terms.

Estimating Service Information

Thank you for the opportunity to assist you with your upcoming building project. We provide professional estimating services designed to help you establish a realistic construction budget before making important project decisions.

Our objective is to provide a transparent and practical assessment of anticipated construction costs using the project information provided, current industry knowledge, and prevailing market conditions. This document explains how our estimating service operates, the information considered when preparing your estimate, the factors that influence construction costs, and the important considerations when reviewing your estimate.

What Is Included In Your Service

Your standard estimating service includes two reports, each serving a different purpose.

A. Cost Estimate (Detailed Breakdown) — The Cost Estimate is the primary project costing document. It contains the detailed cost breakdown, quantities, allowances, and project-specific information used to prepare your estimate.

B. Cost Summary Report (Analytical Overview) — The Cost Summary Report provides a concise analytical overview of your project costs. By presenting key financial information in a simplified format, it allows you to quickly understand how your budget is distributed across the project and how costs align with each stage of construction.

• Building Category: This section groups your costs into straightforward building categories. It allows you to see how your construction budget is distributed across the project by highlighting the cost total for each category alongside the percentage (%) each category represents of the overall build cost.
• Construction Stage: This section maps your costs directly to the physical timeline of your build. It details the precise costs for major milestones—including the base, frame, lockup, fixing, and final stages—while breaking down the cost per sqm that each stage contributes to the final cost. This stage-by-stage breakdown matches how a standard building contract operates and aligns directly with requests for stage payment releases.

Understanding Our Cost Estimates

Construction costs are influenced by a range of project-specific and market-related factors, including design development, project location, site conditions, compliance with the National Construction Code (NCC), material and labour pricing, supplier availability, and broader market conditions. Further information about these factors is provided in Section 2 of this document.

A Cost Estimate is intended as a professional budgeting tool to assist with project planning, feasibility assessment, and informed decision-making.

Our Cost Estimates are NOT:

• a fixed-price building quotation;
• a tender submission;
• a building contract; or
• a guarantee of the final construction cost.

1. Our Estimating Approach

1.1 Purpose of the Estimate

The purpose of our estimating service is to provide a practical construction budget that supports project planning, feasibility assessment, and informed decision-making. The estimate should be read together with this document, which explains the assumptions, methodology, and limitations that apply to the estimating service.

1.2 Estimate Accuracy and Expectations

A realistic estimate is not necessarily the lowest estimate. Reducing allowances or adopting unrealistic cost assumptions creates inaccurate expectations and increase the risk of budget shortfalls during construction. Our objective is to prepare an estimate that reasonably reflects expected construction costs rather than simply achieving the lowest possible figure.

1.3 How Your Estimate Is Prepared

The Cost Estimate is an independent assessment prepared by Cost2Build using the specific project documentation, specifications, and pricing information supplied prior to commencement. Because the accuracy and detail of our estimate depend heavily on the completeness and clarity of these documents, clients are responsible for ensuring all relevant requirements, selections, and exclusions are disclosed upfront and in writing.

Where information is incomplete, unclear, or unavailable, reasonable estimating assumptions may be applied based on the available project information, industry knowledge, and accepted construction practices. We will make reasonable efforts to prepare the estimate using recognised industry estimating practices. Where construction drawings are missing key structural details—specifically structural cross-sections—it significantly impacts the overall accuracy of the cost estimate, though all necessary allowances will still be included for budgeting purposes.

Please note that final construction pricing provided by 3rd parties may vary due to differences in their construction methods, business overheads, current workloads, subcontractor networks, or volume and retail purchasing agreements. These variations simply reflect how different businesses operate, and the report should always be reviewed alongside the specific documentation and assumptions used in its preparation.

2. Factors That Influence Construction Costs

2.1 Construction Cost Variables and Market Conditions

Construction costs are influenced by a range of project-specific, market-related, and global factors. These include supply and demand conditions, manufacturing changes, economic shifts, and industry demand that can affect material availability, labour availability, supplier pricing, and overall construction costs over time.

These factors may include, but are not limited to:

• material availability and pricing;
• labour costs and trade availability;
• product selections and finishes;
• design changes and building variations;
• construction methods;
• regulatory requirements;
• broader market and global factors.

While these factors are considered when preparing the estimate, changes to market conditions, pricing, product availability, or regulatory requirements after completion of the estimate may affect the final construction cost. Where specified products become unavailable, discontinued, or require substitution, suitable alternatives may need to be selected and may result in cost variations.

2.2 Estimating Methodology and Pricing Information

We prepare estimates using a combination of current market information, historical project cost data, industry knowledge and available supplier and trade pricing information. Where available, recent quotations and pricing information from similar construction projects may also be considered to assist in establishing realistic cost allowances.

Our estimating methodology may include:

• current supplier and trade quotations;
• recent pricing information from similar projects;
• internal historical project cost data;
• industry costing knowledge and benchmarks; and
• professional estimating assumptions where project information is incomplete.

3. Site Conditions, Regulatory Requirements and Structural Considerations

3.1 Site-Specific Requirements

Construction costs are influenced by the specific characteristics of each project location. Site conditions, engineering requirements and regulatory obligations can significantly affect construction methods, materials, labour requirements and overall project costs.

These factors may include, but are not limited to:

• marine exposure and high corrosivity environments;
• high wind rating requirements;
• bushfire attack level (BAL) requirements;
• highly reactive soil conditions, including H and P site classifications;
• restricted and limited site accessibility.

3.2 Regulatory, Compliance, and Cost Optimisation

When working with Cost2Build, it is important to understand that construction requirements are determined by legislation, building codes, engineering rules, and site conditions. These requirements influence project costs and cannot be reduced without affecting compliance, safety, performance, or accepted building practices.

If you request reductions in significant cost areas such as structural elements, materials, finishes, or construction methods, alternative solutions may involve trade-offs affecting compliance, structural performance, intended design outcomes, durability, maintenance, or long-term project objectives. Any changes intended to reduce construction costs should be carefully assessed to ensure compliance, structural performance, durability, and project objectives are maintained. Where requested, we can assist in reviewing alternative solutions following completion of the estimate.

3.3 Renovation and Extension Projects

Renovation and extension work comes with a different set of challenges to building new. Once you start altering, extending or removing part of an existing structure, you're dealing with framing, services and materials that are often hidden behind walls, under floors or above ceilings, and their real condition usually isn't known until that part of the building is removed and exposed.

This means a renovation or extension can only ever be priced on what can be seen and assessed at the time the estimate is prepared. To help cover anything that turns up once demolition or removal gets underway, such as additional structural repairs, hidden damage or existing work that doesn't meet current standards, we build allowances and contingencies into the cost estimate for these unforeseen items, the extent of which can't always be fully captured when costings are prepared. These projects tend to carry a much higher contingency allowance than a new build which starts on a cleared site, while a renovation or extension involves carefully working around and removing parts of an existing structure, which naturally comes with a greater chance of additional work and rectification being needed along the way.

Costs can blow out quite easily if any walls being removed or relocated turn out to be load bearing (supporting upper floor loads and/or roof loads). A cost estimate can only reflect what is documented at the time it is prepared, not what is identified or escalated once works are underway.

When removing or demolishing walls, floors, walls and ceilings may also contain services that need to be disconnected, relocated and reconnected once new walls are in place, which can add further costs. Bulkheads and service voids may also need to be created to accommodate any new or existing services.

Consideration also needs to be given to other issues that commonly arise once existing structures are opened up, such as asbestos or other hazardous materials, termite damage or timber decay, and existing non-compliant work that may trigger requirements to upgrade unrelated elements (such as smoke alarms, glazing or weatherproofing) to current standards. Temporary support or propping may also be required where load-bearing elements are being removed or altered to keep the structure stable during works, and matching existing finishes such as brickwork, cladding, tiles or roofing can add further cost where original products are discontinued or difficult to source. Site access and the disposal of existing materials, particularly where hazardous, can also affect costs depending on the site conditions.

4. Allowances, Provisional Sums and Client Selections

To establish a realistic budget baseline when specific project elements are undetermined, our reports include calculated adjustments and budget fallbacks. These items are divided into three distinct categories based on your project's completion level prior to the start of our services and include:

a) Unselected Retail Items

This type of allowance is used strictly as a budget allowance for individual fixtures, materials, or fittings that you have not yet chosen or finalised (such as specific flooring, appliances, or tapware). We apply a realistic retail cost baseline for these items so your budget guide accounts for them. The final cost will adjust up or down depending entirely on the specific products you choose down the track.

b) Specialised Trade Packages

Unlike unselected retail items, a Provisional Sum is a single budget allocation for an entire, complex trade package where the total combination of labour and material costs cannot be fully locked down prior to construction. These could be applied to intricate, large-scale components that require finalised engineering designs or customised manufacturing specs. These packages may include custom cabinetry and joinery, staircases and balustrades, and climate control and heating/cooling systems.

c) Alternative Options and Solutions

Where specific products, finishes or specifications have not been provided, we may identify alternative options or estimated allowances for budgeting purposes. These alternatives are intended to represent comparable functional solutions and assist with establishing a practical project budget. Final selections remain your responsibility and may result in cost variations.

5. Regional Considerations and Supplier Availability

5.1 Trade and Supplier Availability

We aim to source relevant pricing information from suitable suppliers and contractors where practical. However, depending on your project location, specialist requirements or regional availability, suitable trades or suppliers may not always be located within the immediate project area.

5.2 Travel and Regional Allowances

Where regional construction requirements require trades to travel, allowances may include costs associated with travel time, fuel, accommodation, mobilisation and return visits where applicable. Including these allowances during the estimating process helps provide a more realistic representation of potential construction costs.

5.3 Pricing Availability and Estimating Timeframes

Some specialised or custom-order products and services may require additional time to obtain accurate pricing. Special-order requirements, product availability, supplier response times, quotation timeframes, lead times and delivery schedules may impact the time required to complete the estimating process. We will make reasonable efforts to obtain relevant pricing information within practical timeframes and will communicate any significant delays where they occur.

6. Service Scope and Project Inclusions

6.1 Excluded Items and Client-Directed Exclusions

Certain items may be excluded from the cost estimate where directed by you or where agreed as outside the estimating scope. Examples may include landscaping, paving, fencing, external works, or other components you intend to complete separately. Where you propose to undertake any construction work yourself or exclude specific items from the estimate, these exclusions must be clearly identified and confirmed in writing before commencement of the estimating service. Any items excluded from the agreed scope remain your responsibility to allow for and budget separately.

6.2 Additional Services & Schedule of Rates

Following completion of your cost estimate, any requested revisions, redesign assessments, or supplementary works that fall outside the agreed Fee Proposal services will be charged at a flat hourly rate of $90.00 per hour. This includes, but is not limited to, revisions to project specifications or scope adjustments, analysis of completed or updated project information, and value engineering and exploring options or opportunities to reduce costs.

Please note that these are additional services and will strictly require your written approval prior to commencement. Furthermore the timeframe required to complete any additional works will be assessed upon request and remains subject to our current workload and availability.

7. Intellectual Property and Use of Our Estimating Information

7.1 Document Ownership and Intended Use

All information and reports prepared by Cost2Build remain the intellectual property of Cost2Build. Each report is prepared specifically for your project using the plans, specifications, and information you provide.

You are welcome to use these reports for the planning and delivery of your project. However, they must not be copied, reproduced, distributed, modified, or used for unrelated projects without our prior written consent.

8. Payment Terms

8.1 Payment of Service Fees

Our professional estimating services are delivered in accordance with the accepted fee proposal. To commence work, a 50% deposit of the quoted fee is required. The remaining 50% balance payment is due within 5 business days of the date we provide your draft Cost Summary Report. The complete, detailed Cost Estimate will be issued promptly upon receipt and clearance of this outstanding balance payment.

8.2 Outstanding Fees

Where payment remains outstanding after becoming due in accordance with the agreed payment terms, Cost2Build will make reasonable attempts to request payment. If the amount remains unpaid after reasonable resolution attempts, we may take further steps to recover outstanding fees, including engaging debt recovery services or legal practitioners. You acknowledge and agree that you may be responsible for reimbursing Cost2Build for any verified legal or recovery costs incurred to the extent permitted by law.

9. Estimate Validity

This estimate reflects pricing conditions current at the date of preparation. Where construction or tendering is significantly delayed, updated pricing may be required to reflect current market conditions.

Contact us

If you have any questions about these Terms & Conditions, please contact us using the contact details on our website.