Average building price

aodh_rua · 17-02-2004 4:33pm #1

Not sure if the mods will agree with posting this here - but it's not really a Classified and I can't think of anywhere else...

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Anyone know what the current builders going rate is per square foot for building new houses ? I've heard that its around €50 per sq. foot but I can't seem to find any info on the web.

Cheers!

(Oh - it'll be a rural house in Kildare)

uberwolf · 17-02-2004 4:37pm

you'll prob get a load of answers in the mean time, but I'll ring my old pair this evening and find out how much teh house they're currently building in Kildare is costing. I do rememeber this much though, there was a sliding scale of price the further west they went...

*edit. in terms of where the builders were from not where they were building the house

Victor · 18-02-2004 12:50am

Originally posted by aodh_rua
I've heard that its around €50 per sq. foot but I can't seem to find any info on the web.

Only if you plan to live in a barn. This suggests a minimum of €113/sq.ft, so you should be thinking an absolute minimum of €100/sq.ft without carpets and fittings.

http://www.scs.ie/publication/hri.asp
http://www.scs.ie/publication/hritoc.asp

These threads are welcome on Accommodation / Property and Gardening / DIY.

aodh_rua · 18-02-2004 11:02am

Cheers Uberwolf!

spongebob · 18-02-2004 11:16am

Originally posted by aodh_rua
Anyone know what the current builders going rate is per square foot for building new houses ? I've heard that its around €50 per sq. foot but I can't seem to find any info on the web.

Cheers!

(Oh - it'll be a rural house in Kildare)

Insurance companies recommend that your rebuilding costs are c.€80 per square foot and that you may be underinsured if you do not have this level of cover...in case of fire for example.

As you do not have to rebuild the septic tank and driveway/garden/outside walls / sheds i would therefore recommend €100 as a rule of thumb . It may be a tad less in some areas.

If you are in a hurry you will pay a premium, the €113 figure is reasonable in that case.

M

Victor · 18-02-2004 12:42pm

Originally posted by Muck
As you do not have to rebuild the septic tank and driveway/garden/outside walls / sheds i would therefore recommend €100 as a rule of thumb . It may be a tad less in some areas.

You hope.

You need to insure the entire property - what happens if someone crashes into your front wall, does a runner and you don't have it insured? What if your shed catches fire. What if a drain collapses and you have to repair your driveway? Or you septic tank blocks and floods your house ?

Read the SCS guide (note it includes demolition costs, so is marginally high).

Capt'n Midnight · 19-02-2004 2:27am

Any quantity surveyors out there ?

How much do the raw materials for an average house costs ?
How many hours does it take to make one ?
What is the Irish/Eu rate for that labour ?

uberwolf · 19-02-2004 3:18pm

according to my Dad they were quoted between €70 and €100 per square foot depending on where the builder was from.

demac · 19-02-2004 3:23pm

It also makes a difference where you are located and where the house will be built

I know of case 2 or 3 years ago where a quotes for a 2,500 square foot house in Kerry was €45 per foot and a similar sized house in Meath was €100. Big difference. However, the prices will vary depending on what finish you specify, i.e. put down drive way, pillars, fencings, etc.

spongebob · 19-02-2004 3:45pm

Originally posted by Victor
You need to insure the entire property - what happens if someone crashes into your front wall, does a runner and you don't have it insured?

If they damage MY front wall enough to warrant it being repaired then the car will be a writeoff anyway

Its Granite!

M

Victor · 20-02-2004 8:04pm

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
Any quantity surveyors out there ?

I am a quantity surveyor.

Lump · 21-02-2004 11:19am

Are you really?! Never would have guessed.... thought you'd be the nerdy computer type person.

John

BigEejit · 21-02-2004 1:23pm

Originally posted by Victor
I am a quantity surveyor.

Any answers for the Capn's questions ....they are interesting and will probably point to the incredible cost of building-labour in this fucked up country of ours

Victor · 21-02-2004 7:31pm

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
How much do the raw materials for an average house costs ?

I'm not aware of any reliable figures as so much of the construction industry is sub-contracted.

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
How many hours does it take to make one ?

Ditto.

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
What is the Irish/Eu rate for that labour ?

Irish union rates are probably in line with rates in Western Europe, but substantially higher than those in Southern and Eastern Europe. In practice union rates are rarely paid, with craftsmen in particular doing substantially better, although probably not quite as great a differential as existed 3-4 years ago.

There has been a shift from office to residential development in the last 2-3 years, especially as a lot of vacant office space (new and existing) came about at the end of the dot com boom.

I consider the €100/sq.ft (of course few people work in sq.ft anymore) a reasonable figure to work with. However, you can spend anything from €100 to €750 on a toilet, so without a better idea of what is actually wanted, I can't comment with any degree of certainty.

Originally posted by Lump
Are you really?! Never would have guessed.... thought you'd be the nerdy computer type person.

Bigot

Lump · 21-02-2004 7:53pm

Bigot....

I think not. It's just odd the perceptions you get of people.

John

ur mentor · 21-02-2004 9:21pm

Why do you need to know? We can all guess away to our hearts content here but until you get drawings, specifications etc. its like asking how much a 2003 car costs.:D
Practically if you want to keep builder honest get three at least to quote, if you want a loan get agent to value finished product if you want to insure it go on the higher side of figures above, if you want a budget find out how much you can afford to repay on a loan.;)

aodh_rua · 23-02-2004 11:45am

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm probably looking at a two-storey\dormer coming in at around 2750 sq ft.

There is one other thing I was wondering about. I've been looking at floorplans on the net (amazing what American architects post online) and I was wondering if anyone had used them for ideas and whether they were happy with the results.

SAXA · 23-02-2004 3:59pm

Just built myself

Seperate the build cost from fixture & fittings. These are your own personal choice

Build cost of a house is in the region of 65 to 75 /sq.ft But it depend on alot of thing. ie house design, colour of windows add a stairs for a two storey house Size of kitchen, roof slates or tiles what kind of floor, heating type and so on. My roof was pretty complicated and the labour cost 12,000 alone. But the figure I quoted is about right for a straigh forward enough house.

Victor · 23-02-2004 5:37pm

Originally posted by aodh_rua
There is one other thing I was wondering about. I've been looking at floorplans on the net (amazing what American architects post online) and I was wondering if anyone had used them for ideas and whether they were happy with the results.

Be wary, as their designs won't necessarily comply with Irish regulations and will need "localisation".

Victor · 23-02-2004 5:44pm

Originally posted by SAXA
Build cost of a house is in the region of 65 to 75 /sq.ft

£ or €?

Did this include painting, carpets, kitchen, etc?

How did you measure the floor area?

SAXA · 23-02-2004 6:18pm

Most houses are in meters/sqrd but easy enough to convert. Mine was 2022 sq.ft downstairs and 900 sq.ft in the attic which can be converted. Had to alter the roof design to do this.

The carpets kitchen and so on are personal choices. You can pay between 4500 euro to about 20,000 euro for a kitchen depending on what you want, plus another 2000 for the kitchen and utility appliences The cost I gave are for your basic 4 wall roof windows doors floors ie screed , wood or tiled, basic or a step above bathroom ware and painted. It depend on how much input you want into the house really. I bought off the plans and had a lot of input into the finish. But from my experience you can add about 20,000 onto the at build cost to properly finish a house.

aodh_rua · 23-02-2004 7:33pm

Saxa - whereabouts did you build?

Capt'n Midnight · 23-02-2004 7:59pm

Originally posted by Victor
How did you measure the floor area?

Tip #27
Weigh the house, fill with Helium, note the weight difference and taking 2.5m as the average ceiling height and 1Kg/m3 being the weight of air you can easily calculate the floor area.
(area in m3= weight difference in Kg / 2.5)

Before you ask - I've had one of those days

Victor · 23-02-2004 8:24pm

My point being you can measure gross footprint, net footprint, gross internal floor area, net internal floor area, wall to wall, plaster to plaster, skirting to skirting .....

Gross internal floor area (GIFA) is the usual measure when doing cost studies, but will be perhaps 5% more than the amount of "carpet"

spongebob · 23-02-2004 10:26pm

Originally posted by Victor
...skirting to skirting .....

Mmmmm Victor, how apt in AfterHours !

M

Victor · 23-02-2004 11:31pm

Originally posted by Muck
Mmmmm Victor, how apt in AfterHours !

WTF? Ever head of a "skirting board"*?

* A base board for our American readers.

SAXA · 24-02-2004 11:58am

Originally posted by aodh_rua
Saxa - whereabouts did you build?

Just outside Galway city

spongebob · 24-02-2004 2:52pm

Saxa

did that price include a Builder or did you get all the subbies in yourself or did you get a builder to do the structure/shell/first fix and then

.......... get the second fix done yourself with your own subbies ?

I suspect the latter TBH

M

SAXA · 24-02-2004 3:37pm

I bought the house as a building in progress. Ie the site and the value of the house as it was. It was cheaper that way cause got a better price for an early sale and the value then meant I paid no stamp duty. So we pay the original owner in stage payments and he looks after the builder. Build cost worked out as 71 euro sq.ft but you have to add about 20 grand to finish the house and of course the price of the site for total cost. Maybe thats how people are getting over 100 euro sq.ft . But strictly speaking the site cost is not park of the build cost.

spongebob · 24-02-2004 5:43pm

A well structured piece of business too may I say .

Pity the Dubs don't do stage payments

M

Victor · 24-02-2004 9:31pm

Originally posted by SAXA
I bought the house as a building in progress. Ie the site and the value of the house as it was. It was cheaper that way cause got a better price for an early sale and the value then meant I paid no stamp duty. So we pay the original owner in stage payments and he looks after the builder. Build cost worked out as 71 euro sq.ft but you have to add about 20 grand to finish the house and of course the price of the site for total cost. Maybe thats how people are getting over 100 euro sq.ft . But strictly speaking the site cost is not park of the build cost.

Be very careful. If you are saying you didn't pay stamp duty, did you pay VAT? A few property developers were engaging in a scam and the revenue are chasing them.

Average building price

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