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Hi Dombat, It sounds like all the Noosa builders are going back to Melbourne LOL!
Those quotes do sound excessive to me but I know that builders will add dollars to the budget when any sort renovation on a heritage listing is involved.
If you are able to post some plans I might be able to see where the money is supposedly going.
Otherwise I would suggest you redesign the new area so it is not structurally attached to the house (a pod). In brisbane this has proven a popular way to increase/modernise living area while still retaing street presence and character of older houses. Generally the new area has state of the art living . kitchen, bath facilities connected to the old house by a covered walkway. The old part of the house is then sound proofed and air cond and turned into sleeping/ study areas with minor renovation work.
You can save mega bucks doing things this way becuase it is all new build. And get around various planning problems.
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As a carpenter I often gave quotes to owner builders and I told them all to do a TAFE course on being an owner builder as it would give them the tools to overcome the pitfalls and give them the confidence to deal with trades (talk the talk:D)