building your own home

BigGuy82 · 21-02-2015 7:53pm #1

I am looking at building my house and I have a site in Cavan where I am from We have mortgage approval for 190000, I am looking at both options of direct labour where I can assign myself as the builder and getting a builder. I am a plumber by profession so I have a fair grasp of what's needed in building a house. What I want to know is with todays regulations will 190000 get me in the door for a house of 2500sqft.
Thanks

Dav · 23-02-2015 1:39pm

Moved from Site Dev.

893bet · 23-02-2015 1:43pm

Very very very unlikely.

cikearney · 23-02-2015 2:10pm

I'm finally starting my build. I'm also a plumber and building a house 2550sqft. have prices ranging from â‚¬200000 to â‚¬250000 we decided on the builder at 250000 brought it sown to match the other prices and up ed the price by upgrading the insulation and doors, stairs etc.

We will also save a further â‚¬10000 by plumbing it myself so it'll be finished for about â‚¬240000.

We looked at doing it by direct labour but it's a lot harder to deal with the banks for the sake of a few grand.

Best of luck with your build

johnwstafford · 23-02-2015 2:23pm

BigGuy82 wrote: »

I am looking at building my house and I have a site in Cavan where I am from We have mortgage approval for 190000, I am looking at both options of direct labour where I can assign myself as the builder and getting a builder. I am a plumber by profession so I have a fair grasp of what's needed in building a house. What I want to know is with todays regulations will 190000 get me in the door for a house of 2500sqft.
Thanks

A very good friend of mine is building a 2800sqft as we speak in Wexford. I'm keeping a very close eye on the situation as I'm literally about to break ground myself only over the road from him next month.

The QS he is using priced 180K and that's including 20K contingency (this price includes 5K for a kitchen). The roof is on and slated and the windows are going in this week. He has change (albeit very small) from 50K. The QS has only been out by 1 bag of cement according to my friend so everything is coming in on budget. He's an electrician by trade and has gone down the road where he is the builder - he's up checking everything out every day. He has not encountered any probs at the mo and if things keep going they way they are, he'll come in at the 160K mark.

One thing I will say though is this (I've heard this from a lot of people): The yoyo's are all eat'n up when you go inside the house so if he doesn't keep things simple, he could very well miss his budget.

Hopefully that'll give you a bit of an indication.

BigGuy82 · 23-02-2015 2:39pm

Cheers lads, its a fine balance, no point in having a fine looking house on the outside and then cheaply finished inside

893bet · 23-02-2015 2:42pm

He has change from 50k for what is completed?

So foundation and walls, roof and windows for less than 50k?

johnwstafford · 23-02-2015 2:54pm

893bet wrote: »

He has change from 50k for what is completed?

So foundation and walls, roof and windows for less than 50k?

That's correct.

893bet · 23-02-2015 2:56pm

johnwstafford wrote: »

That's correct.

That is incredible to be honest. What size a house?

I say this as I am going direct labour. With a very simple design, got the windows at cost price and still spent significantly more than that.

Edit: just seen its 2800.

I don't see how it's even possible without significant corners being cut.

johnwstafford · 23-02-2015 3:05pm

893bet wrote: »

That is incredible to be honest. What size a house?

I say this as I am going direct labour. With a very simple design, got the windows at cost price and still spent significantly more than that.

Honeslty 893be, that's what it has cost. I was sitting with him two weeks ago and he ran all costs by me. One thing to rem, he's in the building trade and is calling in a few favors.

It's a bungalow with two bedrooms in the roof, no dormer, only two Veluxes. He's keeping everything simple and is getting everything at a good price. But yea, I'm not trying to prove anything in this post, just putting it out there what it is costing.

To plaster the whole inside and make it airtight is next on his list and that's going to be 20K in or around that mark.

I'm building a 2 storey 220m2 house and I hope to get out on 200K including a 10K kitchen. I'm not going to be shrimping on anything. I'll put up a post on boards when I get into it and keep people informed.

Drift · 23-02-2015 3:23pm

I'd say a 5k kitchen will look fairly weak in 2800 sq ft house

893bet · 23-02-2015 3:41pm

johnwstafford wrote: »

Honeslty 893be, that's what it has cost. I was sitting with him two weeks ago and he ran all costs by me. One thing to rem, he's in the building trade and is calling in a few favors.

It's a bungalow with two bedrooms in the roof, no dormer, only two Veluxes. He's keeping everything simple and is getting everything at a good price. But yea, I'm not trying to prove anything in this post, just putting it out there what it is costing.

To plaster the whole inside and make it airtight is next on his list and that's going to be 20K in or around that mark.

I'm building a 2 storey 220m2 house and I hope to get out on 200K including a 10K kitchen. I'm not going to be shrimping on anything. I'll put up a post on boards when I get into it and keep people informed.

A bungalow of 2800 sq feet is pretty big and the most expensive way to build. Foot print is large and so is roof!

I have cut mine to the bone and am well above that. Would be interesting to see what u value he specified for windows, insulation in floor, etc as the price is incredible.

BigGuy82 · 23-02-2015 11:40pm

Would it be just as expensive to build a dormer , the cost of the roof alone, if I slashed the size of my two story to near 2000 sqft would it end up looking too skimpy, a mate of mine who is a QS told me that for a turnkey finish with tarmac piers at a fairly high spec your looking at 93euro/sqf, or in around 85 for standard/avg finish, without furnishings

Charlie Charolais · 24-02-2015 7:04am

BigGuy82 wrote: »

Would it be just as expensive to build a dormer , the cost of the roof alone, if I slashed the size of my two story to near 2000 sqft would it end up looking too skimpy, a mate of mine who is a QS told me that for a turnkey finish with tarmac piers at a fairly high spec your looking at 93euro/sqf, or in around 85 for standard/avg finish, without furnishings

Hi, what is included and excluded in turnkey?

my friend · 24-02-2015 7:31am

Charlie Charolais wrote: »

Hi, what is included and excluded in turnkey?

A 6 mile driveway?

BryanF · 24-02-2015 12:00pm

BigGuy82 wrote: »

Would it be just as expensive to build a dormer , the cost of the roof alone, if I slashed the size of my two story to near 2000 sqft would it end up looking too skimpy, a mate of mine who is a QS told me that for a turnkey finish with tarmac piers at a fairly high spec your looking at 93euro/sqf, or in around 85 for standard/avg finish, without furnishings

Has this Qs actually been working since 2008 ?

BigGuy82 wrote: »

I am looking at building my house and I have a site in Cavan where I am from We have mortgage approval for 190000, I am looking at both options of direct labour where I can assign myself as the builder and getting a builder. I am a plumber by profession so I have a fair grasp of what's needed in building a house. What I want to know is with todays regulations will 190000 get me in the door for a house of 2500sqft.
Thanks

a huge struggle imo, you might get to a rough builders finish, but that may suit your bank. First thing to do is find an assigned certifer (new building control regs) that will work with you. I would recommend you go on a passive house course, there are tradesmen courses ideal to get a guy up to speed on current methods and practices.

Charlie Charolais · 24-02-2015 12:11pm

my friend wrote: »

A 6 mile driveway?

touché my friend, my freind

I've been busy ready this book all morning :P

galwaytt · 24-02-2015 2:31pm

I had a guy on the phone yesterday wondering if you could finish a 2555ft house for under 200k. Not a chance imho. He told me he'd been out of the game here for a while.

Like, as in, 9 years out of it...............that's a lifetime.

rampantbunny · 24-02-2015 3:52pm

johnwstafford wrote: »

Honeslty 893be, that's what it has cost. I was sitting with him two weeks ago and he ran all costs by me. One thing to rem, he's in the building trade and is calling in a few favors.

To be fair jws, and I'm not saying it was intentional, but it's a bit misleading to post the figures you did as an indicator, but then to come back and say that he got there by 'calling in a few favors'. It's not a great indication to the OP of the real cost.
I'm building myself and found the numbers...incredulous (has to be word of the day).

FrontDoor · 24-02-2015 8:50pm

I spoke to a very reputable builder the other day.

Ballpark, 100 per sqft for a builders finish, rising to 120 for a complete finish. The sky is the limit after that.

He felt you could manage it cheaper, but the finish would be very poor.

johnwstafford · 25-02-2015 2:10pm

rampantbunny wrote: »

To be fair jws, and I'm not saying it was intentional, but it's a bit misleading to post the figures you did as an indicator, but then to come back and say that he got there by 'calling in a few favors'. It's not a great indication to the OP of the real cost.
I'm building myself and found the numbers...incredulous (has to be word of the day).

Fair point to make.

I assumed that since he is in the building trade (plumber by profession), he too would be "calling in a few favors". I just explicitly mentioned later on for everyone's sake -
one could argue that it was an oversight on my behalf - TBH, it doesn't matter to me.

BTW, some else wanted to know what spec the windows, insulation was, etc. All I know is that he has got triple glazed windows and has 150mm insulation in the floor. It's going to be an A rated house, has to be to meet current regs. Again, hope this helps.

I won't be replying to anymore follow on questions - too busy. I'll reply to the post in a month or 2 and provide details on where my friend is at and how much he has spent - if he on track to get the house done for 160 --> 180K. Hopefully he will...I'm using his costs as a metric to benchmark my costings

BryanF · 25-02-2015 2:44pm

a here is the problem with 'super low' building figures on the internet

johnwstafford wrote: »

A very good friend of mine is building a 2800sqft as we speak in Wexford. I'm keeping a very close eye on the situation as I'm literally about to break ground myself only over the road from him next month.

The QS he is using priced 180K and that's including 20K contingency (this price includes 5K for a kitchen). The roof is on and slated and the windows are going in this week. He has change (albeit very small) from 50K. The QS has only been out by 1 bag of cement according to my friend so everything is coming in on budget. He's an electrician by trade and has gone down the road where he is the builder - he's up checking everything out every day. He has not encountered any probs at the mo and if things keep going they way they are, he'll come in at the 160K mark.

One thing I will say though is this (I've heard this from a lot of people): The yoyo's are all eat'n up when you go inside the house so if he doesn't keep things simple, he could very well miss his budget.

Hopefully that'll give you a bit of an indication.
______________________________________________________________

Honeslty 893be, that's what it has cost. I was sitting with him two weeks ago and he ran all costs by me. One thing to rem, he's in the building trade and is calling in a few favors.

It's a bungalow with two bedrooms in the roof, no dormer, only two Veluxes. He's keeping everything simple and is getting everything at a good price. But yea, I'm not trying to prove anything in this post, just putting it out there what it is costing.

To plaster the whole inside and make it airtight is next on his list and that's going to be 20K in or around that mark.

I'm building a 2 storey 220m2 house and I hope to get out on 200K including a 10K kitchen. I'm not going to be shrimping on anything. I'll put up a post on boards when I get into it and keep people informed.

johnwstafford wrote: »

Fair point to make.

I assumed that since he is in the building trade (plumber by profession), he too would be "calling in a few favors". I just explicitly mentioned later on for everyone's sake -
one could argue that it was an oversight on my behalf - TBH, it doesn't matter to me.

BTW, some else wanted to know what spec the windows, insulation was, etc. All I know is that he has got triple glazed windows and has 150mm insulation in the floor. It's going to be an A rated house, has to be to meet current regs. Again, hope this helps.

I won't be replying to anymore follow on questions - too busy. I'll reply to the post in a month or 2 and provide details on where my friend is at and how much he has spent - if he on track to get the house done for 160 --> 180K. Hopefully he will...I'm using his costs as a metric to benchmark my costings

maybe you'd ask him to approximate the free labour and favours, so we can assess what the real cost of the build is

180K for 2800sqft .. a bit of an 'oversight' alright

BigGuy82 · 26-02-2015 12:00am

BryanF wrote: »

Has this Qs actually been working since 2008 ?
a huge struggle imo, you might get to a rough builders finish, but that may suit your bank. First thing to do is find an assigned certifer (new building control regs) that will work with you. I would recommend you go on a passive house course, there are tradesmen courses ideal to get a guy up to speed on current methods and practices.

this QS is working for a company pricing work like this full time as in today and yes yesterday and prob tomorrow aswell,for yor info

galwaytt · 26-02-2015 6:17pm

...it's been mentioned on here before, but I had a client Arch and his builder in today.

The client's lender is querying everything because............they're too high. They are telling the client that build costs are €65 - €85 ft/2.

I kid you not.

This is the same institution that directs you to insure to market value rebuild costs, and whose insurance 'partner' is telling you that price is €130/ft2.

Is it any wonder the system here is broken ?

building your own home

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