|
Index
PRICES
1.Do Moss Brothers have a price-list?
2. How much is the showhome?
3. Is the showhome sold yet?
4. How much does a new house cost to build?
5. What kinds of things affect the cost of a
Moss Brothers house?
6. How do clients pay for a new house?
7. What is the breakdown or stages of the progress
payments?
8. What is the Moss Brothers square metre rate?
9. A Moss Brothers home is too expensive for
me.
PLANS & DESIGN WORK
1. Can the client change the brochure plan and
does it cost any more?
2. Where does the inquirer start or where do
you go from here?
3. What happens at the first meeting with the
architectural designer?
HOW LONG DO THINGS TAKE
1. How long do we have to wait to get Moss Brothers
to build for us?
2. How long does it take to get a building permit?
3. How long does a house take to build?
4. Can we hold Moss Brothers to a completions
date and penalise them if they don’t complete on time?
5. Will tradesmen remain on the job or be removed
to work elsewhere?
GENERAL
1. Are Moss Brothers Registered Master Builders?
2. How long have Moss Brothers been in business?
3. Is heat loss a problem with high ceilings?
4. What is the difference between a character
home and a replica or reproduction home?
5. What does the term, “Character Home
Design & Build” mean?
WHY SHOULD AN INQUIRER
CHOOSE TO DO BUSINESS WITH MOSS BROTHERS
5 reasons
WHEN CONSIDERING TO WORK WITH
MOSS BROTHERS, WHERE DO YOU START?
1. How does the inquirer set up such a meeting?
CARPENTRY
1. Do Moss Brothers employ carpenters on
wages or contract labour, and why?
2. Don’t weatherboard houses require
more maintenance?
3. Don’t the verandas block the sun?
4. Can a replica home be built on a concrete
floor?
5. Do we use colour-steel long-run roofing
iron?
PRICES
1. Do Moss Brothers have a price-list?
Moss Brothers don’t have a “price-list” but
instead we have a Pricing Guide. The Pricing Guide assists the
inquirer to calculate out the likely cost of a house based on
an average square meter rate X (times) style and size. The main
reason for this is Moss Brothers are as much designers as we
are builders. Therefore no two houses are designed the same as
each client has unique, special and different requirements. Of
course we have a range of brochures and each brochure illustrates
a design, shape, or style of a house showing a floor plan as
example. Moss Brothers believe that it’s just self-serving
for a building firm to have a price-list because a price-list
tells the inquirer (or client), “this is what you must
have in your new home, and this is what it will cost”.
With some building firms that have price-lists, if the client
makes any changes, it’s automatically an extra.
Back to index
2. How much is the showhome?
Currently a replica or reproduction house built by Moss Brothers
would range from between more than $1,000,000.00 to under $200,000.00.
The showhome is $596,000.00 including GST, floor coverings,
light fittings and appliances. This amount excludes drapes, site services and design fees. The showhome is an average
sized Moss Brothers construction project.
Back to index
3. Is the showhome sold yet?
The showhome isn’t for sale. The showhome is purely for
displaying goods and services and setting a benchmark for the
standard of workmanship the client can expect from Moss Brothers
when we design and build for them. When Moss Brothers replace
a showhome (once every 4 or 5 years) it’s only because
we want to introduce new ideas. If you can appreciate, we need
our showhome to show off what we can do for you. When there is
no showhome it’s like not having a shop front.
Back to index
4.How much does a new house cost to build?
At Moss Brothers the cost of a new house is made up from four
main ingredients, we call it "the pricing mix":
(a) The client's budget.
(b) The client's preferred house style i.e. what the house
will look like from the outside once it’s finished.
(c) The client's living and family requirements i.e. how
many bedrooms, bathrooms, living areas or verandas etc…
(d) What’s important to the client i.e. what materials
Moss Brothers are requested to build with or, how authentic
looking should the house be or how much attention to detail
is required?
Interestingly, even using this method, it's important to point
out that the larger the house is the $ cost per square metre
reduces and adversely the smaller the house the greater the $
cost per square metre. Some explanations are the bulk-buying
factor of a larger building and the lesser percentage of Kitchens,
Bathrooms and service areas to the overall size of the average
larger house.
Moss Brothers don’t have a price list but instead have
a pricing information sheet. The Pricing Information Sheet gives
$ per square metre averages and is very useful as a guide for
budgeting
Back to index
5. What kinds of things affect the cost of a Moss Brothers
house?
New Zealand building industry authorities set what they call, “minimum
building code standards”. Moss Brothers clients accept
that while minimum building code standards do the job and cost
less, that’s not what’s important to them. Moss Brothers
clients simply demand greater levels of product performance than
standard minimums and don’t mind paying for it.
Similar applies to the calibre of tradesmen. When Moss Brothers
ask their inquirers or clients what standard of tradesmen’s
workmanship would they expect, without exception the answer is
always high. Most would agree that regardless of what service
(including professional service) we purchase, we expect, no we
demand, the standards to be high.
Most would also agree that no two professionals or tradesmen
have the same level of attitude, passion, skill, honesty, punctuality,
reliability or desire to achieve the same attention to detail.
Because some tradesmen’s desire and ability to perform
exceeds others, the end result is always more appreciated and
valued by the client or employer. So the answer is; if you want
a really good job you must employ good tradesmen. And if you
want to employ and retain good tradesmen, you must pay them well.
Therefore it’s reassuring to know that Moss Brothers expect
to pay higher rates to secure the tradesmen that meet their standards.
It’s also interesting to note that Moss Brothers have never
had a complaint from a client because they employed competent
reliable tradesmen that cost more.
Back to index
6. How do clients pay for a new house?
By progress payments based on the value of the work completed
at the end of each stage.
7. What is the breakdown or stages of the progress
payments?
a. 10% deposit.
b. 15% on completion of the foundation.
c. 30% on completion of roof framing.
d. 20% on completion of the roof on, the weatherboards on and
the windows in, i.e. the outside complete.
e. 15% on completion of all internal wall linings
f. 10% on completion and at handover.
Back to index
8. What is the Moss Brothers square metre rate?
Moss Brothers doesn’t have a square metre rate because
we specifically custom design and build each house individually
for each client. However, to assist the inquirer with an indication
of cost, Moss Brothers have put together a pricing sheet which
shows the average square metre cost of building a replica house
derived from the past twelve months work Moss Brothers have completed.
Back to index
9. A Moss Brothers home is too expensive for me.
The showhome, as it is, may be beyond some clients’ budget
and more than what they want to spend. But Moss Brothers can
and will design a home at a price that is manageable to you.
That’s what we do here. It starts by having a meeting with
the company’s architectural designer to find out what we
can do for you. That meeting is obligation free and no conditions
apply.
Moss Brothers are designers and builders and therefore design
and build to suit all budgets.
Back to index
PLANS AND DESIGN WORK
1. Can the client change the brochure plan and does
it cost any more?
The brochure plan is most unlikely to suit the client’s
needs. The inquirer needs to forget about the brochure floor
plan and focus on overall outside style and shape of the house
they want. Floor plans are designed around family requirements,
preferred living spaces, how much entertaining the client does,
the views, what’s important to the client, prevailing winds
and sunrise and sunset etc.
Back to Plans & Designs Index
2. Where does the inquirer start or where do you go
from here?
The whole process starts with a meeting between the inquirer
and a company architectural designer. This first meeting is always
held at the office or in the showhome. The first meeting is for
as long as the inquirer wants (½ hour to ½ day),
is absolutely free and no conditions apply. To request such a
meeting phone 0800-66-77-27 or 06-370-2058.
Back to Plans & Designs Index
3. What happens at the first meeting with the architectural
designer?
Firstly, the owner would usually own the land (or about to
purchase) where they wish to build if they are to get maximum
benefit from the meeting. Then, the owner should bundle up all
their thoughts and ideas, such as magazine pictures or cuttings,
notes, samples and photos etc and bring them to the meeting.
The benefit of the meeting is so you can pick the brains of an
expert to find out if what you propose will work or how it can
be made to work without feeling pressured by a pushy salesperson.
At the end of the meeting the inquirer can choose to commit to
working with Moss Brothers or walk away. At this point all it’s
cost the inquirer is a couple of hours of their time.
Back to Plans & Designs Index
HOW LONG DO THINGS TAKE
1. How long do we have to wait to get Moss Brothers
to build for us?
Once The Action Plan (also called a proposal or quote) is accepted
and agreed to by the client, the worst possible
scenario or longest the client would have to wait is 15 weeks
before work starts on site.
The reasons; first Moss Brothers have to complete the plans
and specifications ready for a building permit, this takes 3
weeks. Then, the plans and specifications are sent to the council
for building permit approval, another two to three weeks. And
finally, our builders will be currently working on other projects
and will not be taken off to start on another
project until the one they are on is complete.
Back to How Long Do Things Take?
2. How long does it take to get a building permit?
The council must have the building permit
approved within 10 working days of the plans being deposited
(conditions apply).
Back to How Long Do Things Take?
3. How long does a house take to build?
Moss Brothers always tell their clients that many things determine
the cost of a house with size having only a small impact. Same
thing applies in the length of time a house takes to build. The
labour content of a typical Moss Brothers replica house is probably
a third more than that of a contemporary New Zealand house because
of all of the fiddly reproduction detail. Moss Brothers can only
give an estimate of time that one of their houses will take to
build once the client’s plans and specifications are complete.
The client should allow 6 months construction time for something
like the showhome.
Back to How Long Do Things Take?
4. Can we hold Moss
Brothers to a completions date and penalise them if they don’t
complete on time?
Moss Brothers will not work to a penalty clause. There are many
reasons for a project not being completed on time, such as but
not restricted to:
a. Bad weather
b. Injury to a tradesmen
c. The owner requesting too many variations
Back to How Long Do Things Take?
5. Will tradesmen remain on the job or be removed to
work elsewhere?
Moss Brothers never remove tradesmen from a project to work
elsewhere. In fact Moss Brothers guarantee that the onsite work
will be continuous until completion. However, this statement
needs to be clarified and qualified.
There are times when tradesmen will leave the project to work
elsewhere or the project will stop but usually only for the following
reasons:
a. The client needs to understand the cycle of a building project.
The carpenters start on site and stay on site until they finish
all they can do. The carpenters then leave the site to start
on the next project while the painters, plasterers, plumbers,
electricians and joiners carry out their work and finish off.
Once these other trades have finished the carpenters come back
for about a week to do the last of the remaining odds and sods,
including refitting doors and making sure everything works before
handover to the owner. Of course, these carpenters have to come
from another building project, which means they are leaving the
job to complete the previous project. This cycle continues on
every project. This will be the only time carpenters can leave
the job.
b. Other subcontractors, like painters, plasterers, plumbers,
electricians and joiners are always working on other projects
and cannot just leave them to start on the next project when
it is ready. Especially in the case of the plasterer or painter,
there can be a delay of anything up to two weeks even when they
have been given months of notice.
Back to How Long Do Things Take?
GENERAL
1. Are Moss Brothers Registered Master Builders?
Yes – for 16 years
Return to General Index
2. How long have Moss Brothers been in business?
Since 1983
Return to General Index
3. Is heat loss a problem with high ceilings?
The height of the ceiling is not the problem in heating any
house. Getting access to the heat already generated is the problem.
Even with a low 2.4m ceiling two thirds of all heat is in the
top third of the room, and as we don’t live in the top
third we can’t enjoy the existing warm air without some
form of mechanically mixing the air. The best and most cost effective
way is with a ceiling fan.
Return to General Index
4. What is the difference between a character home
and a replica or reproduction home?
Moss Brothers specialise in the design and build of character
homes and replica or reproduction homes. But the difference between
the two is that a character home is a home that is designed with
less straight sharp and hard lines than contemporary designs
and more colonial features. Character is more in reference to
a style of home. Have a look at the Heritage Homestead or Rathkeale
Homestead Moss Brothers brochures, as these are excellent examples
of character homes. A replica or reproduction home has more precise
features that specifically pick out a period in time e.g. the
latest Moss Brothers showhome is modelled around the year 1910.
Return to General Index
5. What does the term, “Character Home Design & Build” mean?
The words “design and build” are terms used to assist
the public to understand what a company can do for them. So in
the instance of Moss Brothers Ltd it should be taken to mean
that if you would like to build a character or replica home then
our firm specialises in the total project. In other words, we
show and give the client a wide range of options, discuss styles
and designs with them, prepare draft plans then building permit
plans & specifications and then manage the construction procedure
from the first peg to the last touch of paint; a one-stop shop
or complete package, if you will.
Return to General Index
WHY SHOULD AN INQUIRER CHOOSE TO
DO BUSINESS WITH MOSS BROTHERS INSTEAD OF GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE?
5 reasons Moss Brothers are so different from other designers & builders.
- Moss Brothers are so committed to providing our clients with
a superior standard of finish we confidently give a 10-year guarantee
on workmanship when employed as building contractor. No other
building firm does this. What this means is, if there is a fault
or failure in our workmanship we fix it for free for up to 10
years after completion of the building project. Moss Brothers
are constantly amazed that most operators in the construction
industry do not have confidence in their ability to take full
responsibility for their own performance. As Moss Brothers have
been providing this guarantee for more than 10 years, inquirers
can actually confirm this for themselves by phoning the office
and requesting a Past Client list.
- The Moss Brothers 10-year guarantee is transferable, that
means if you sell your Moss Brothers house inside those first
10-years from completion the next owner gets the advantage of
the guarantee. The benefit here is a potential purchaser cannot
use any argument to reduce the asking price. In fact the vendor
(you) can ask a higher price because you can offer a peace-of-mind
workmanship guarantee.
- Another reason Moss Brothers confidently give a 10-year guarantee
is because we have one employee whose sole job is to manage all
aspect of on-site activity and quality control. What this means
is that nothing, and we mean nothing escapes the eye of the Project
Manager. If he finds a tradesman not working to Moss Brothers
standards or cutting corners, out it comes and they do it again.
- We absolutely guarantee your building project will start within
15 weeks from signing the proposal.
- All on-site work will be continuous until completion. What
this means is tradesmen will not be taken of your job to work
elsewhere. This makes planning for a date to take possession
far more accurate.
Return to index
WHEN CONSIDERING TO WORK WITH MOSS
BROTHERS, WHERE DO YOU START?
The inquirer starts by having a meeting with a company architectural
designer. The first meeting is free and no conditions apply.
1. How does the inquirer set up such a meeting?
Ask a staff member to book in a time or phone the office or
showhome – 0800-66-77-27, 06-370-2058 or email
[email protected]
Return to index
CARPENTRY
1. Do Moss Brothers employ carpenters on wages or contract
labour, and why?
All of Moss Brothers carpenters or builders are employed on
contract because we have found them to be more dependable, more
reliable, have more of a sense of urgency, a higher standard
of carpentry ability, they can be held to account for the work
they do and are no different to employing any other trade persons
like painters, plasterers, plumbers, electricians and joiners.
Also, it’s a fact that most tradesmen of any worth reach
a stage in their career where they say to themselves; with the
skills and attitude I have, I can do better for myself being
self-employed than working for wages. These are the tradesmen
Moss Brothers work with.
Return to Carpentry Index
2. Don’t weatherboard houses require more maintenance?
Fact: a brick or stone house is not a maintenance-free house.
It’s today’s perception that a brick or stone exterior
cladding equals a low maintenance house and it’s simply
not true. Sure brick or stone exterior cladding can assist, but
they make up only a small piece of the overall picture. In most
cases brick or stone exterior cladding only covers the easy bits
to paint and maintain. It’s around the windows and eaves
and other exterior trim that takes the time and effort. The modern
replica house may look like it’s going to require more
attention, but in reality the difference is only minor. Weatherboards
that are installed and painted by experienced tradesmen are tried
and true, that’s why there is a trend back to using them
after the leaky house syndrome.
Where are all the high maintenance areas in our homes? They
are created from high usage around laundries, toilets, showers,
bathrooms and kitchens. It’s these rooms that require attention
and cleaning, every day. How often do the easy bits require paint
or maintenance around the exterior of a house, only about once
in ten to fifteen years? All too often attention to detail in
design to high usage areas is almost always ignored or neglected
with the modern style house. More attention must be paid to those
washing and cleaning areas mentioned above.
Return to Carpentry Index
3. Don’t the verandas block the sun?
Many people have concerns that verandas block the sun and have
the effect of making the inside too dark. Over the last 15 years,
a huge percentage of the homes built by Moss Brothers have verandas.
Why, because they look fantastic, they add character and charm
and for those that enjoy an indoor-outdoors lifestyle, they are
a great extension of living spaces. Not once have we heard, hey,
we love our new home but the verandas make it too dark inside.
Trial and error and experience has taught us that the best size
or width is 1.8m or 6ft. The reason is, any wider and you will
start creating undesirable shadowing and any less and the veranda
won’t have the desired visual effect.
During the shortest winter days our Masterton showhome, which
has 1.8m wide verandas, enjoys full winter sun in all the Living
areas and all Bedrooms. The fact is that even with standard 600mm
eaves you wouldn’t enjoy any more late afternoon winter
sunshine. Plus there is the added bonus, that without question,
verandas help reduce winter condensation.
The flip side to this is that in the summer you get the reverse
effect where, except for first thing in the morning and last
thing in the afternoon, the verandas do block more sun because
the sun is higher in the sky and therefore verandas give more
protection for you, your home, your carpets, your drapes and
your furniture from fading and damage caused by stronger more
intense sunlight/UV. In fact people without verandas often draw
curtains in the summer to protect floor coverings and furniture
from sun damage.
Another huge benefit is for those who are considering building
on rural land where there is no town or mains water supply. That
extra roof catchment area could be the difference between being
self-sufficient in household water and having to buy water in.
Return to Carpentry Index
4. Can a replica home be built on a concrete floor?
A concrete floor is cheaper to build than a timber or particleboard
floor but only if the building site is level and the floor is
a minimum 225mm above natural ground level. Our recommendation
will always be, if you’re building a replica home, they
look their best when elevated or raised up off the ground by
at least 600mm. 100 years ago, concrete as we know it wasn’t
available, so the old style colonial villa house appears to look
out of place set low to the ground. Also, if a house is built
low to the ground using timber decking on the verandas becomes
marginal.
If a concrete floor is desired then the way to achieve this
result is to simply raise the concrete floor higher. By doing
this it will achieve the desired look, it will allow for timber
decking to be used as sufficient ground clearance can be achieved
and it allow for very much higher floor insulation under the
concrete.
Return to Carpentry Index
5. Do we use colour-steel long-run roofing iron?
All Coloursteel roofing comes in long-run. We tell the manufacturer
what measurement we want and that’s what we get. The lengths
can be enormous. The benefit of long-run roofing is that there
are fewer joints and therefore less chance for leaks and rusting.
Return to Carpentry Index
|
NAVIGATION
