In every boom and bust cycle one thing stays constant. Builders who know their numbers survive. Builders who do not, struggle, even when they have full order books and great brands.
That is the space V2E lives in.
What started in South Australia as a specialist timber framing and estimating service has grown into one of the most advanced construction modelling and estimating teams in the country. Their mission is simple: give builders a clear, accurate picture of what is in the job before they sign the contract, so they can actually make money from the homes they build.
We sat down with Thomas, General Manager at V2E, to unpack how they got here and why the way most builders estimate is leaving money on the table.
From abandoned degrees to a new estimating model
Like many in construction, Thomas did not follow a straight line into his current role.
He started out studying engineering, decided it was not for him, then tried architecture and realised that was not quite right either. What became clear was that he wanted to sit in the space between design and construction, where drawings turn into real buildings.
That led him to working with Michael Reed, now Managing Director of V2E, at one of the largest frame and truss and timber supply businesses in South Australia.
As a frame and truss designer Thomas was doing far more than laying out a roof. In South Australia, frame and truss designers take on much of the structural thinking. They are responsible for lintels, beams, bracing and truss design, not just pushing a button on software.
“It really was that middle point,” he explained. “We were doing structural design but also working in design software, modelling the job so it was ready for manufacture.”
This combination of structural knowledge and practical supply experience became the foundation for V2E.
Why South Australia shaped V2E’s approach
South Australia has a slightly different approval process to the eastern states. To get building rules consent, builders need a fully certified structural set that includes:
- All timber framing documentation
- Roof and floor truss documentation
- Lintels and bracing nominated
- Certification before work starts on site
You cannot just send plans to council with “roof trusses by others” scribbled on the drawing and figure it out later.
On top of that, the state has a long history of stick built frames and more involved roof construction methods. That created a specialist role that does not really exist elsewhere: the timber framing estimator or timber systems designer.
These people understand the timber framing code, can design lintels and bracing, produce layouts that can be certified, and then turn that into cutting lists so the wall can actually be built.
V2E was born in that environment. At first the team focused on framing contracts for project and custom builders, designing and documenting timber systems and providing accurate material lists. The lightbulb moment was realising the same process could apply to the whole project.
“If we can do this for timber so well, why not for everything?” Thomas said. “Why can’t we model the whole job properly, design it how it will actually be built, and then generate a proper bill of quantities that a builder can quote and order from direct?”
That question drove the next few years.
The problem with how most builders estimate
Once V2E started working more closely with builders around Australia, Thomas noticed something that genuinely shocked him.
From his supplier background, the purest form of estimating was always:
- Work out exactly what goes into the job
- Work out how much each part costs
- Apply your margin and understand your profit
What he saw in many building companies was the complete opposite.
A lot of builders were working off “package allowances” or square metre rates for each trade. Plastering should be about this much. Electrical should be about that much. They would lean on historic numbers or market “rules of thumb” and build a price around that.
The trouble starts once the job is sold.
Someone in the team then has to go back and actually work out the real quantities for ordering and site. A project manager, estimator or supervisor ends up redoing the takeoff so they can buy materials, line up trades and raise purchase orders.
That double handling creates three problems:
- Extra labour cost doing the same job twice
- A constant risk the detailed takeoff does not match the original budget
- Hidden margin erosion once actual quantities overrun the loose allowance
On top of that, most builders are not accounting for how much prices change based on location and their own way of building.
Thomas gives a simple example. Take the same project home design and build it in Adelaide, then 90 minutes north in a regional area. Even with the same soil type and footing design, the true cost is different. Trades cost more, materials come further, excavators are only in town on certain days and travel time adds up. The builder’s “DNA” in each region changes.
“A lot of people are pricing off what the averages say for a state,” he said. “If you are not actually in that exact market, there is a risk your numbers are wrong before you get started.”
From coloured plans to true 3D construction models
Plenty of software claims to make takeoff easy. Most of it works the same way. You upload PDF plans and colour over the drawing. The software counts the line lengths and areas and gives you a number.
The problem is that houses are built in three dimensions, not two.
“If you are only looking at flat plans, you can only measure what you can see,” Thomas said. “You cannot properly check whether the engineer, architect, interior designer and surveyor are actually lining up with each other.”
When those drawings do not match, it is not the consultant who wears the cost. It is the builder who has to fix retaining walls, concrete levels, roof structure and services on site, often with awkward conversations and variations.
V2E decided to flip that model.
The team uses SketchUp with PlusSpec and their own add ons to build a full 3D construction model of the job. They bring in architectural, structural, survey and interior plans and build the house digitally as it will be built on site.
That includes details as small as:
- Framing layouts
- Batten and membrane build ups
- Claddings and interfaces
- Roof structures and trusses
- Anchors and fixings, down to epoxy tubes for chemset bolts
If it is in the model, it is in the bill of quantities.
“On a 24 hour job, probably 22 hours is getting the model right,” Thomas explained. “The last couple of hours is just letting the software spit out the BOQ.”
The result is a detailed bill of quantities and a linked 3D model that are always in sync. Builders get access to an online viewer they can share with their team, trades, certifiers and even clients. They can isolate structural steel, look only at a specific wall build up, or pull a quick square metre count off a particular roof area.
This does two important things.
First, it dramatically reduces human error and missed items.
Second, it solves one of the biggest fears builders have with outsourcing estimating. Trust.
“If you outsource and then have to redo the work yourself, it is a waste,” Thomas said. “We wanted builders to see exactly what we had counted, not just trust a spreadsheet.”
Builder DNA and the power of a proper onboarding
The technology is impressive, but V2E is very clear that software is only part of the story.
The other half is understanding each builder’s unique way of doing things. Thomas calls this “builder DNA.”
Two builders can finish houses that look identical from the street, but build them in completely different ways behind the scenes. One may use prefab frames. Another may stick build. One may run a direct labour crew. Another may subcontract everything. One may use specific membranes, tapes and batten details to suit their system.
If the estimating does not reflect that DNA, the price will not match reality.
V2E’s onboarding is built around learning all of that detail. The team wants to know:
- What project management software you use, so the BOQ can drop straight in
- Whether you use your own carpenters, or fully subcontract
- Whether you buy frames, or buy lengths and stick build
- How you want labour broken down if you pay hourly
- The exact products and sequences you prefer for key systems like membranes and claddings
That way, when a BOQ arrives, it already looks like the way you build.
“For a builder with their own crew and stick building, you need cut lists, lengths, sheet counts and labour hours,” Thomas said. “If you buy everything pre nail and subbie it out, that is not what you need. Our process has to fit how you run your jobs.”
This is also where the advisory side of the work comes in. After seeing hundreds of projects and dozens of systems, the team can often suggest smarter ways to detail or assemble parts of a build, without sharing anyone else’s IP.
Why process beats headcount
One of the strongest messages in the conversation was around staffing.
Many builders feel they cannot grow without hiring another estimator, project manager or supervisor. When they try to outsource, they often push the same broken process to a new person or an offshore team and hope it will magically get better.
Thomas believes this is the wrong way around.
“If you have a bad process and you add more labour, you just make a bad process worse,” he said.
The better approach is to invest in a solid process first. That includes:
- Clear workflows for estimating, pricing and ordering
- A consistent method for collecting and applying quantities
- Checklists and standards inside your project management system
- A clear split between who builds the BOQ and who decides the price
In that world an estimator or project manager does not have to be a unicorn who can do everything. Their job is to apply rates, manage quotes, check the BOQ and get the job ready for approval, not count every bolt themselves.
The builder becomes the control step, not the person buried in spreadsheets.
Once that process exists, outsourcing parts of it to specialists like V2E becomes a force multiplier, rather than a band aid.
What makes a good builder in this context?
At the end of the podcast, we ask every guest the same question. Thomas’ answer was simple and very on brand.
A good builder can clearly explain the steps of their process to a client, then actually deliver what they promised when the job hits site.
That comes back to the same three themes that run through V2E’s story:
- Time
- Transparency
- Trust
If you can save time by removing double handling.
If you can improve transparency by showing exactly what is in the job.
If you can build trust with clients, trades and suppliers because your numbers and information stack up.
Then you give yourself a real chance to build beautiful homes and make a fair profit doing it.
For many builders, that starts with finally getting estimating right.
Find out more about V2E https://www.v2e.com.au/
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