Where to spend and where to save

The testThree questions

Run every line of the budget past three questions:

1. Will it be built over? Anything inside the walls, under the floor, in the roof or behind the tiles can only be changed by pulling something apart.
2. Will you use it every day? Things you touch, open, turn and lean on every day wear, and a poor one annoys you every time.
3. Could you change it later without a builder? If a painter, an electrician, a delivery or a weekend's work can change it, it can wait or be modest now.

Spend where it's built over, used every day or hard to change. Save where it's easy to change later.

SpendWhere the money earns its keep

• The structure and footings. They're designed for the site and built over immediately. There's no saving worth having here.
• The building envelope. Insulation, sealing, windows and doors, the roof and its flashings, and the details that manage condensation. Together they decide how warm, quiet and dry the house is for the rest of its life. In Canberra, this is where comfort is won or lost.
• Waterproofing and wet areas. Every tile in a bathroom sits on the waterproofing. Getting it right once is far cheaper than finding a leak later.
• The services you can't see. Extra power points, data, conduit for later, plumbing rough-ins and good drainage cost little while the walls are open and a lot afterwards.
• What you touch every day. The kitchen bench and its drawers, the taps, the door handles and hinges, the windows you open and close. Quality here is felt every day, and cheap versions fail.
• The plan. Getting the rooms, storage and connections right costs no more to build, and it's the hardest thing of all to change later.
• One or two heroes. An entry, a volume, a window in exactly the right place. Spend there, and keep the rest simple.

SaveWhere modest is fine

• Finishes you can change. Paint, carpet and other loose floor coverings, and window furnishings. They're replaced every decade or so anyway.
• Light fittings and appliances. Choose mid-range, and make sure the cavities and wiring allow for an upgrade later.
• Joinery in secondary rooms. Standard robes, open shelving and loose furniture in studies, spare rooms and the garage. Save the built-in joinery for the kitchen and the rooms where it really earns its place.
• Premium finishes in rooms you rarely use. The spare bathroom doesn't need the same tiles and tapware as the main one.
• Details. Standard skirtings, architraves and junctions cost less than seamless, minimal detailing, which needs more precision at every joint.
• Standard sizes. Windows, doors and sheet materials in standard sizes cost less and arrive sooner.
• Planting. Plant small and let it grow. Spend on the hard landscaping that's difficult to change, such as drainage, retaining walls and paths, and add the soft landscaping over time.

The trapsFalse savings and false spends

False savings look cheap now and cost more later:

• cheaper windows or a cheaper frame, paid for in heat loss every winter
• insulation cut back to the bare minimum, with gaps and thermal bridges left unsolved
• cheap waterproofing, tapware or hardware that leaks, sticks or breaks
• leaving out the conduit, power and plumbing you'll want in five years

False spends add cost without adding much to daily life:

• built-in joinery in every room
• premium finishes everywhere, including rooms that are rarely used
• complex forms and details chosen from pictures rather than from how you'll live
• extras added one room at a time, without seeing what they add up to

DecidingMake the choices on purpose

Start from your non-negotiables, the things you set out in your budget that you won't give up. Then work through the rest of the list with the three questions, and price the big choices as options with your builder while they're still decisions on paper. A house that spends on the right things and is modest everywhere else almost always feels better than one that spreads the same money thinly over everything.