Looking for cost of building a house in 2012/2013

ilovebiccies · 14-07-2012 7:54pm #1

Mod edit: All requests for prices for new house builds in 2012 may be posted here.

Hi there, not sure if this is the right forum, but here goes. We are looking at a site to buy at the mo and build a home. Just wondering if anyone would know what the average cost these days is for building a house. From start to finish? We were hoping to build around 2500 sq ft which I think converts to around 230sq mtrs??

Victor · 14-07-2012 10:07pm

Moved from Accommodation & Property

It will vary a lot, depending on what you want. One-, two or three-storey, shape, quality of finish and fittings. How much will you be willing to do yourself? Will you need a long driveway? Septic tank? Well?

ilovebiccies · 14-07-2012 10:23pm

Ooh god, hadn't even considered any of this. We literally just heard of this site the last week or so and wanted to know if I was dreaming or what???

toc2012 · 14-07-2012 11:06pm

download smart draw and do a plan of the house you would like then if you contact a qs or engineer they will give you a rough idea how much it will cost for materials to build the structure, then add how much you want to spend on kitchen 2k +, your bathroom 500 +, fittings (lights door handles sockets and switches)

fclauson · 15-07-2012 9:02am

don't draw it your self - you will NEVER comply with building regs

get a professional

an architect to design it
a tech arch to detail it
an engineer to do the their bit
a BER assessor to make sure it complies with regs

you could then get a PHPP person to do a calc for you

you are then ready to engage a QS

dardhal · 15-07-2012 1:18pm

In Spain, architects tend to give a ballpark figure of 1000 €/sq.m. for detached houses according to current building standards and average building and finishing qualities, and that is excluding taxes, architect/project costs, planning permissions, finance costs, etc. I am pretty curious about what's the figure in Ireland, or for that matter, anywhere in Europe.

muffler · 15-07-2012 1:44pm

dardhal wrote: »

In Spain, architects tend to give a ballpark figure of 1000 €/sq.m. for detached houses according to current building standards and average building and finishing qualities, and that is excluding taxes, architect/project costs, planning permissions, finance costs, etc. I am pretty curious about what's the figure in Ireland, or for that matter, anywhere in Europe.

Lets stick to Ireland and prices here please.

toc2012 · 15-07-2012 2:26pm

you will find building regs here, http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/BuildingStandards/ , you would obviously only be doing a rough drawing on smart draw for estimates sake, get estimates from 3 or 4 local builders and ask can you see houses (not pictures) they have done before,

wexford12 · 17-07-2012 7:44pm

Depending where you live and again alot has to do with what ground works are needed. I wexford you can get a builder starting of at €50 per sq foot up to €100. Depends on the finish about half the budget is spent after the roof goes on

BryanF · 17-07-2012 11:01pm

wexford12 wrote: »

starting of at €50 per sq foot

holly sh..
lets see this house

wexford12 · 18-07-2012 12:21pm

Its true there are many of them out there. It will be for a builders finish no ground works or kitchen / bathrooms will be basic white and no painting done.
But its a house square no thrills or spills but nothing wrong with it either

wirehairmax · 18-07-2012 10:18pm

wexford12 wrote: »

Its true there are many of them out there. It will be for a builders finish no ground works or kitchen / bathrooms will be basic white and no painting done.
But its a house square no thrills or spills but nothing wrong with it either

I've seen some ads in local papers by builders advertising houses for €50 a sq ft. None of these ads gave a business name, landline number, address etc and your only contact was a mobile number. Buyer beware I say. I've also found out who some of these guys offering this and I wouldnt let them build a dog house. We built a house for my sister last year and even without counting our own time it came out close to €75 a sq ft. 2000 sq ft bungalow with the attic space ready for converting at a later stage, solar panels, triple glazed windows, zoned heating system, minimum landscaping, treatment system, sand/cement render externally. There is no way a modern house can be substantially completed to an acceptable standard for ridiculous prices you may hear of.

flintash · 18-07-2012 10:33pm

wirehairmax wrote: »

I've seen some ads in local papers by builders advertising houses for €50 a sq ft. None of these ads gave a business name, landline number, address etc and your only contact was a mobile number. Buyer beware I say. I've also found out who some of these guys offering this and I wouldnt let them build a dog house. We built a house for my sister last year and even without counting our own time it came out close to €75 a sq ft. 2000 sq ft bungalow with the attic space ready for converting at a later stage, solar panels, triple glazed windows, zoned heating system, minimum landscaping, treatment system, sand/cement render externally. There is no way a modern house can be substantially completed to an acceptable standard for ridiculous prices you may hear of.

Hi, can you please clarify this for me: you're saying you build the house with all goodies such as triple windows, solars, heating system, i presume all around painted and plumbed for 75EU per feet ?
Sound like good value for me.

muffler · 18-07-2012 11:03pm

flintash wrote: »

Hi, can you please clarify this for me: you're saying you build the house with all goodies such as triple windows, solars, heating system, i presume all around painted and plumbed for 75EU per feet ?
Sound like good value for me.

He didn't say that. You really should read the post before commenting. What wirehairmax said was

without counting our own time it came out close to €75 a sq ft. 2000 sq

wirehairmax · 18-07-2012 11:06pm

flintash wrote: »

Hi, can you please clarify this for me: you're saying you build the house with all goodies such as triple windows, solars, heating system, i presume all around painted and plumbed for 75EU per feet ?
Sound like good value for me.

Like I said, our own time is not accounted for in this figure. Fully plumbed and wired, oak joinery such as doors and skirtings also included. Painting and decoration is not included as my sister and her husband did most of this although we did get roped in to organize tilers, materials, etc. Bespoke kitchen was also on top of this sum. Other than that the house fully complied with all building regulations and planning conditions.

flintash · 18-07-2012 11:46pm

Thanks wirehairmax . I'm just starting to get onto "property ladders"

, so I have so many ???
I just want to get an rough idea.

acutenurse · 24-07-2012 3:04pm

Does anyone have any idea what a 3000 square foot bunglow house would cost to build in south kildare area?

sydthebeat · 24-07-2012 3:09pm

acutenurse wrote: »

Does anyone have any idea what a 3000 square foot bunglow house would cost to build in south kildare area?

why not post up the proposed specification here?

a query like the above is the same as asking how much a 2 litre car costs.

muffler · 24-07-2012 3:28pm

I have now changed the thread title slightly and this thread can now be used for all requests for house building costs around the country. Thanks.

lostinashford · 24-07-2012 9:15pm

I've moved this from another thread hoping for more feedback

Have planning permission for and am awaiting mortgage decision for a 1636 sq ft extension/rebuild - my architect has given me a quite detailed preliminary estimate of €290,000 excl contingency fund, his fee, ESB, engineers fee etc...what does anyone think, his estimate runs to 4 pages and seems very comprehensive but seems very high given what I'm reading on some Boards threads!!!

Don't know anything about this game but here are details...appreciate any comments on this price ( working out at roughly €180 sq ft for turn key finish)

Job will include demolition of existing extensions (1022sq ft) and clearance of same.

New build will wrap around remaining concrete original cottage - total 1636 sq ft, part of which is single story with flat roof, part one and half story.

Proposed ground floor 1205sq ft, upper story 430 sq ft.

Roof insulation Kingspan 60mm, cavity insulation Kingspan Kooltherm K8, Floor insulation Kingspan TF70.

Triple glazed alu-clad windows through out

Includes carpets/solid wood floors where appropriate, painting, built in wardrobes, mid-range kitchen, Quinn Merriot rads throughout

2 evacuated solar panels + cylinder and pumps.

Rain water collection tank, pumps, filters

Built current regs using blocks

Thanks for your time

fclauson · 25-07-2012 6:22am

lostinashford wrote: »

....

Roof insulation Kingspan 60mm, cavity insulation Kingspan Kooltherm K8, Floor insulation Kingspan TF70.
...

just elaborate on this please - 60mm looks wrong
please give
insulaiton in roof, walls and floor including depths

lostinashford · 25-07-2012 8:12am

fclauson wrote: »

just elaborate on this please - 60mm looks wrong
please give
insulaiton in roof, walls and floor including depths

All I have from architect is:

Insulation between roof timbers - Kingspan 60mm TP10

Cavity insulation - Kingspan Kooltherm K8

Doesn't specify floor insulation or depths.

This info is from a preliminary estimate, technical drawing not done yet.

fclauson · 25-07-2012 11:03am

ok - before you go any further get a pre-build desing based BER assesment done

you will need to comply with TGD Part 2011 L - and 60mm in the roof will not do that

Getting the assesment done will give you the U-values (thermal performance) of you structure

Build tight, insulate right otherwise you will live to regret it

lostinashford · 25-07-2012 7:48pm

fclauson wrote: »

ok - before you go any further get a pre-build desing based BER assesment done

you will need to comply with TGD Part 2011 L - and 60mm in the roof will not do that

Getting the assesment done will give you the U-values (thermal performance) of you structure

Build tight, insulate right otherwise you will live to regret it

Thanks for that fclauson

Had a look at the Kingspan specs and the TGD 2001 L, would need to at least double the 60mm to meet regs I think?

I confess to know nothing about this game, trusting my architect to do the job for me? At an earlier stage we did have a conversation about insulation and he said to build to regs would give us a very well insulated home when I said I'd like to max out on insulation etc? But what regs is he working to?

lostinashford · 25-07-2012 7:52pm

Building to current regs what BER rating should be achieved?

muffler · 25-07-2012 9:58pm

lostinashford wrote: »

Building to current regs what BER rating should be achieved?

Can we keep the thread for discussing the pricing aspect only. For anything else please start a new thread. Thanks.

okiss · 25-07-2012 10:28pm

I had one family member who built a house in the past 12 months and they told me that is will cost far more than you expect. In regards to get a house built by direct labour or by a builder it is your choice but just be aware that a builder will try to give you cheap things ie windows ect so they have more profit on the job.
You need to be there as much as possible when getting a house built or employ someone to do this who knows about building.
I would price everything because you can save yourself money doing this and every cent helps here.
You better off is you build a house to have a certain number of rooms done ie kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and sitting room and do up the other rooms when you have some money saved up. The less money you borrow the better.

Open A · 30-07-2012 12:07pm

So much depends on the specification: you can spend anything from €5 to €800 per square metre on tiles. A paid of sliding doors can cost anything from €300 to €6,000 depending on brand, materials, size and specification.

We completed a timber-frame 2.5 story house with roof terrace, timber-frame / aluclad windows 250sqm for just under €1000 per square metre. This excluded all painting which the client did themselves and the electrics (client's relative is an electrician)

fclauson · 30-07-2012 8:23pm

I have held of from replying to this thread because prices are so variable but as someone who is now 1/2 way through a build ....

My best advice is to spec out your build and then get a QS to price - it will save money in the long run. Then depending how you cost a build (is it just to builders finish, does it include the external ground works, does it include the garage costs etc etc) the £100/sq Ft guide can grossly miss lead you

But the basic "to builder finish" of just the structure then a 80 is ok - but to fully finish a house and its grounds then this can grow to 100,120,140 or even 160 as all the extra costs have to be related back to the fixed sq/ft of the house which thus raises the price/sq ft.

mj_mam · 03-08-2012 10:35am

We are currently in negotiations with the bank for a mortgage of 170k.
The bank seem to think that 170k will not cover the cost of the build, getting very negative energy from them.

The house we intend to build is 2950sq ft, two story, simple A shaped roof with 2 story "porch" coming out the front center.

Just wondering what people here think of this cost estimate? We would also have about 22k in savings, so it does come close to 200k that we would have to spend.

Also, my other half is a block layer, will do all blocks and stone work.
His brother is a carpenter and will do all inside carpentry work; skirting/arch, hang doors, fit kitchen/utility and stairs.
His brother in law is a plumber and has quoted us 2,500 for labour.
Family friend supplying scaffolding and excavating site.
A relative will be doing the roofing for us.
We are also connecting to exisiting ESB/Mains water/sewerage connections on site.

-2950sq ft in total
- BER Rating B1
- 150mm pre-stressed concrete slab between the floors
- kitchen/utility (hoping to cover both with 9,000)
- 2 bathrooms, 1 ensuite (en-suite and 1 bath with chrome towel rad, other bath with normal rad)
- 11 other double rads (no sizes yet)
- approx 4m2 solar panel
- 300mm cavity wall with 100mm pumped bead insulation
- double glazed windows
- slated roof with 300mm rockwool fill

We are hoping to get to "move in" finish; ie. kitchen and bathrooms finished, along with 1 bedroom and landscaping completed.

Engineer has done report with cost coming in at €58 per sq ft, but he is still thinking the bank will have more to say on this!

We are in Kilkenny by the way.

archtech · 03-08-2012 12:54pm

mj_mam wrote: »

We are currently in negotiations with the bank for a mortgage of 170k.
The bank seem to think that 170k will not cover the cost of the build, getting very negative energy from them.

The house we intend to build is 2950sq ft, two story, simple A shaped roof with 2 story "porch" coming out the front center.

Just wondering what people here think of this cost estimate? We would also have about 22k in savings, so it does come close to 200k that we would have to spend.

Also, my other half is a block layer, will do all blocks and stone work.
His brother is a carpenter and will do all inside carpentry work; skirting/arch, hang doors, fit kitchen/utility and stairs.
His brother in law is a plumber and has quoted us 2,500 for labour.
Family friend supplying scaffolding and excavating site.
A relative will be doing the roofing for us.
We are also connecting to exisiting ESB/Mains water/sewerage connections on site.

-2950sq ft in total
- BER Rating B1
- 150mm pre-stressed concrete slab between the floors
- kitchen/utility (hoping to cover both with 9,000)
- 2 bathrooms, 1 ensuite (en-suite and 1 bath with chrome towel rad, other bath with normal rad)
- 11 other double rads (no sizes yet)
- approx 4m2 solar panel
- 300mm cavity wall with 100mm pumped bead insulation
- double glazed windows
- slated roof with 300mm rockwool fill

We are hoping to get to "move in" finish; ie. kitchen and bathrooms finished, along with 1 bedroom and landscaping completed.

Engineer has done report with cost coming in at €58 per sq ft, but he is still thinking the bank will have more to say on this!

We are in Kilkenny by the way.

€58/sq.foot is low for a finished house by today's standards. I'm not saying that the house can't be built for the figure, however I can see why the Bank are concerned. While you have accounted for a some of the labour costs, materials are by far the largest cost to a project these days. Building costs of €58/sq. were typical of the mid to late 1990's, and at that time material were cheaper and the standard of build far less.

I would suggest that you should get a costed Bill of Quantities prepared that demonstrates to the bank that the work can actually be done for the figure. You should include a contingency sum that could be used in the event that one or more of the "helper" parties becoming unavailable.

To be honest I would be concerned that your house achieves compliance with Part L of the building regs, the insulation spec seems low and while it achieves a B1 BER it may not actually comply with the regs in terms of meeting the require EPC ad CPC values. Had you had construction drawings and details prepared by any chance?

Have you asked yourself do you really need a house of almost, 3000sq.feet?

Remember the bank will want to ensure that the security (your house) is completed to a finished level, so that they can at least re-couple their money if circumstances arise that they need to do so.

Looking for cost of building a house in 2012/2013

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