How Long Did yer Build take?

Dr. Nick

ModestMouse wrote: »

Cost per sq. ft.: approx. €85 to builders finish, approx €105 fully finished...at the most i hope.

Those figures would be very much in line with my experience (almost exactly), and that's building in south Meath, 20 mins from Blanchardstown.

There have been doubters on here in the past few months suggesting that building at that price is unsustainable and that there'd be half-built houses all over the country but I think we're disproving that. My contractor is on two other one-offs as well as mine at the moment.

ModestMouse

Thanks Dr. Nick, good to know we're not being ripped off - we're also in south meath about 30 mins from Dublin.
Also for anyone looking at this thread trying to decide whether to take the plunge, just remember the huge difference in price per sq ft has an awful lot to do with the spec. For example we got quotes for top of the range windows @ €40k, or bottom of the range at €9k, for a kitchen we could have payed anything from about €6k to €38k. Your own budget will decide what spec you can afford and of course your own personal taste has a lot to do with it. Hope this helps a little!

katana1

My house is a four bed l shaped bungalow--about 1800sq foot.
Planning took me 10 years as it was rejected 4 times and given the fifth. Planning came through in 4 months (with 21 conditions).
I got an established builder to do the house as I needed a raft foundation .
The build from when they started was nearly 6 month to the day when I got the keys.
I went 30k over budget as I never took into account site drainage and all the topsoil needed for the site.
The house is concrete construction and slates on roof.
Things that I would have changed if I had to start again are--Not enough phone points--I would have put Ethernet cable to all bedrooms.
En suite is too small and master bedroom is too big--Utility room is too small with kitchen too big.
The pitch on the roof is too low to ever convert attic into rooms.
I would have also installed a second electric shower in bathroom(As only electric shower is in en suite)Awkward when family are staying over.
This can be done with a "R" switch that my builder said couldn't be done!

AckwelFoley

I built an 1800 sq ft bungalow.

It took 6 years.

Granted i done all the work myself, excluding the electrical and plumbing (i hate plumbing) and held down a 9 to 5 job at the time.

But there was a method behind my maddness. A 270 euro per month mortgage :pac:

Im planning to start another one in 2011

snyper

snyper wrote: »

I built an 1800 sq ft bungalow.

It took 6 years.

Granted i done all the work myself, excluding the electrical and plumbing (i hate plumbing) and held down a 9 to 5 job at the time.

But there was a method behind my maddness. A 270 euro per month mortgage :pac:

Im planning to start another one in 2011

Wow, A masochist!

AckwelFoley

Deleted User wrote: »

Wow, A masochist!

i love it

Great satisfaction from doing it

snyper

snyper wrote: »

i love it

Great satisfaction from doing it

Same here! I'd do it again if necessary, but I would probably get divorced first! :eek:

mossy74

Build type : Contractor
Location: South Meath
House Size: 3600 sq feet 4 bed two storey
Construction method: Cavity
Planning process length: approx. 3 months
Start date: June 2006
Finish date: August 2007
Includes double garage, GSHP U/F heating and Air to water HP for hot water production, all county council fees, bespoke kitchen, marble tiling and timber flooring, painting, groundwork, gates, light fittings, curtains etc. etc.
Lessons Learned and advice: Don't build at the peak of an economic bubble!
Cost per sq. ft.: approx. €172

Dr. Nick

mossy74 wrote: »

Build type : Contractor
Location: South Meath
House Size: 3600 sq feet 4 bed two storey
Construction method: Cavity
Planning process length: approx. 3 months
Start date: June 2006
Finish date: August 2007
Includes double garage, GSHP U/F heating and Air to water HP for hot water production, all county council fees, bespoke kitchen, marble tiling and timber flooring, painting, groundwork, gates, light fittings, curtains etc. etc.
Lessons Learned and advice: Don't build at the peak of an economic bubble!
Cost per sq. ft.: approx. €172

Sounds like a nice finish but €172!! Faaack!

I'm

mossy74 wrote: »

Build type : Contractor
Location: South Meath
House Size: 3600 sq feet 4 bed two storey
Construction method: Cavity
Planning process length: approx. 3 months
Start date: June 2006
Finish date: August 2007
Includes double garage, GSHP U/F heating and Air to water HP for hot water production, all county council fees, bespoke kitchen, marble tiling and timber flooring, painting, groundwork, gates, light fittings, curtains etc. etc.
Lessons Learned and advice: Don't build at the peak of an economic bubble!
Cost per sq. ft.: approx. €172

Hi Mossy74 - thanks for posting this info, even if the costs are scary - I'm going to start a 3500 sq ft 5 bed two storey soon, any advice on particular areas of high cost in this type and size of build or do you feel that the high cost was just across the board at the time?

Thanks !

muffler

mossy74 wrote: »

Lessons Learned and advice: Don't build at the peak of an economic bubble!
Cost per sq. ft.: approx. €172

I'm wrote: »

or do you feel that the high cost was just across the board at the time?

I think thats the answer

cuculainn

Build type : Direct labour
Location: West
House Size: 3000 sq feet 4 bed two storey
Construction method: Cavity
Planning process length: approx. 7-8 months
Start date: Jan 2010
Finish date: TBD
Includes double garage, Raft foundation, UFH. We plan to spec the house to A3 grade insulation. After that we hope to be able to save by doing alot of the work ourselves, such as tiling, floors, some of the electrics, landscaping etc.

We have a max buget of €80 per square ft. Is this realistic? what advice would you give to someone starting out?

We plan on getting at least 4 quotes for everything. All ready we have seen about a 4k difference in raft costs




Cost per sq. ft.: approx. €80

Leadership

cuculainn wrote: »

We have a max buget of €80 per square ft. Is this realistic? what advice would you give to someone starting out?

Looks a bit tight but possible by dirrect labour and if the project management is almost full time. The raft and A3 build spec may cost a lot more than you think. Also your time line looks light unless you have done this before. I am nearly complete and at plastering stage so 2nd fix is creeping up on me and my budget has gone from €82 to €87 per sq ft.

If this is your first time I would give the following advice:

• Seriously consider a contractor unless you can really commit a lot of time to the project. I dont know where you are based but in the South block built homes are ranging between €55 and €85 per sq ft for a builders finish. Mine is close to €82 but I have lots of extras like ICF, concrete floors and high spec electrics.
• Plan for a 20%-25% overspend as there are so many hidden costs and factors on each build. Another option is to balance this risk by reducing the finish quality i.e. budget solid wood floor but have a plan B for laminate etc
• Spend hours trawling the internet for matterial, find the cheapest and take a print out to suppliers and ask can they beat that price. Its the easiest for me as I hate haggling and prevents a lot of wasted dialogue. Many suppliers will match or beat the price espcially if you show interest with buying more material from them.
• Future proof - There is no such thing really but everyone I have interviewed wish they had had added extra TV, CAT 5, Satalite (x2 for sky hd) and sockets,etc while building.
• Top tip - slate roof tiles from Spain cost the same as those horrible featureless concrete tiles that are the norm today, however see below for Irish value
• Ikea is great for lights and a great balence for looks and cost
• At your budget if you want a A3 rating the renewable element of building regs are joke. A beter approach IMO is to plan for an energy efficient home (insulate,airtight etc) and impliment the minimum requirement to satisfy building reg's but factor future upgrades once they are more stable and cost effective. So basically who cares if you only get a B rating today with a simple bioler upgrade to a wood pellet or geo solution you can have your A rating once these systems are cost effective.
• There are good Irish deals out there so do not assume buying from the North, UK or Germany is better value. I have searched costs globally by internet and and local searches while I am on business trips and Ireland is very good value at the moment espcially if you haggle and buy multiple products

Lastly enjoy the experience it is worth it in the end!

cuculainn

Leadership wrote: »

Looks a bit tight but possible by dirrect labour and if the project management is almost full time. The raft and A3 build spec may cost a lot more than you think. Also your time line looks light unless you have done this before. I am nearly complete and at plastering stage so 2nd fix is creeping up on me and my budget has gone from €82 to €87 per sq ft.

If this is your first time I would give the following advice:

• Seriously consider a contractor unless you can really commit a lot of time to the project. I dont know where you are based but in the South block built homes are ranging between €55 and €85 per sq ft for a builders finish. Mine is close to €82 but I have lots of extras like ICF, concrete floors and high spec electrics.
• Plan for a 20%-25% overspend as there are so many hidden costs and factors on each build. Another option is to balance this risk by reducing the finish quality i.e. budget solid wood floor but have a plan B for laminate etc
• Spend hours trawling the internet for matterial, find the cheapest and take a print out to suppliers and ask can they beat that price. Its the easiest for me as I hate haggling and prevents a lot of wasted dialogue. Many suppliers will match or beat the price espcially if you show interest with buying more material from them.
• Future proof - There is no such thing really but everyone I have interviewed wish they had had added extra TV, CAT 5, Satalite (x2 for sky hd) and sockets,etc while building.
• Top tip - slate roof tiles from Spain cost the same as those horrible featureless concrete tiles that are the norm today, however see below for Irish value
• Ikea is great for lights and a great balence for looks and cost
• At your budget if you want a A3 rating the renewable element of building regs are joke. A beter approach IMO is to plan for an energy efficient home (insulate,airtight etc) and impliment the minimum requirement to satisfy building reg's but factor future upgrades once they are more stable and cost effective. So basically who cares if you only get a B rating today with a simple bioler upgrade to a wood pellet or geo solution you can have your A rating once these systems are cost effective.
• There are good Irish deals out there so do not assume buying from the North, UK or Germany is better value. I have searched costs globally by internet and and local searches while I am on business trips and Ireland is very good value at the moment espcially if you haggle and buy multiple products

Lastly enjoy the experience it is worth it in the end!

Thanks for the post.........Will post how we get on

PatcyMcl

I'm on 15 years. Just started on my wrap around deck. Can't finish til I get more money.

Ginger83

Great info guys.
Can anyone recommend a reputable company I could get a price sq/ft from?
I'm in Cavan, just over Meath county border.

Have gotten one quote so far off family friend, its for a 1800sq/ft bungalow and he says he cant do it for under 200K, thats 115 odd sq/ft.

Our budget with bank is around 85sq/ft after we would pay for site, fees etc.

Builders finish will do-nothing fancy required.
Thanks

Dr. Nick

Almost there.....this fecker will have cost a tad over €300k all in excl site - co.co. fees, tarmac, floors, electrics incl tvs, furniture, kitchen, cat5'd up etc. Basically move-in. Which we will this month.

kardarie

Build type: Direct Labour
House Size: 2,700 sq. ft.
Construction method: Timberframe
Planning process length: 8 weeks
Months to complete: 4 months from site clearance to moving in.
% over or under budget: Spot on budget, but went slighty over on furnishings.
Price per ft2: approx. €50.

clint_eastman

kardarie wrote: »

Build type: Direct Labour
House Size: 2,700 sq. ft.
Construction method: Timberframe
Planning process length: 8 weeks
Months to complete: 4 months from site clearance to moving in.
% over or under budget: Spot on budget, but went slighty over on furnishings.
Price per ft2: approx. €50.

Great price. Just saw you say €100k all in on another thread which, differs to above, what did you end up at? How did you manage to get your costs so low? Were you involved in the build yourself alot? I'm going direct labour, but really am not doing much of the actual work just organising the relevant trades and I see myself spending €50/sqft on the house structure and M&E only, then add in windows, kitchen, stairs and furnishings..... this is still below what a few builders were quoting so I'm happy enough with how things are going. Would love to know how you did it and what type of spec you've gone for?

ninjaBob

Build type: Direct Labour
House Size: 3,600 sq. ft.
Construction method: Block Build
Planning process length: 12 weeks
Months to complete: 15 months from site clearance to current state, the build took 9 months to finished plaster. Then a further 6 months to fix the mess

% over or under budget: Went over budget repairing shoddy workmanship, otherwise it would have been spot on, if not a few thousand under.

Full Repair Works : €97.22
Partial Repair Works : €87.50
Without Repair Works : €79.16

(per square foot)

Currently floating between partial and full repair works.

A rough breakdown comes to:

Blockwork & Roof : €35,000
Hollowcore : €3500
Insulation, Slabbing & Plastering €18,000
External Nap Plaster : €6500
Groundworks : €25,000
Electrics : €12,000
GeoThermal Heating System + Floor Insulation + Underfloor + Screed : €29,000
Plumbing : €6500
Water Treatment & Harvesting : €5300


Blocks : €10,000
Concrete : €6,500
Materials : €25,000 (Wood, Slates etc.)
Windows : 13,000

Carpentry : €38,000
3x Bathroom Suites : 3200
Tiles, Adhesive, Grout : 3000
Engineered & Laminate Floors : €4500
Paint : €800
2 x fireplaces : €3100

My Breakdown of Carpentry is:

CutString Stairs (3 Flights) : 6400
Kitchen (Solid Oak Shaker) : 6400
Kitchen Worktop (Granite or Quartz) : 3000
Utility (Laminate, includes worktop & sink) : 1200
Doors, Skirting & Architraves : 9500
Window Reveals (Architrave around the windows) : 2500
Paneling (hall only) : 1500
3x Wardrobes : 2500
Vanity Unit : 800
Flooring : (67sqm engineered, 97sqm laminate) : 2800
Front Door : 4800
Landing : 1200


My budget was originally 285,000, but then we had some shoddy work done which made the cost escalate to €350,000. We are currently hitting the €320,000 mark for the build.

muffler

Great posts lads. Keep them coming.

They do provide information and encouragement to others.

Thanks a mill.

Shorty69664

Build type: Direct Labour
House Size: 2070 sq ft. Bungalow - (If you Include converted attic it's 3300)
Where: Mayo
Construction method: Block Build
Planning process length: 12 weeks
Months to complete: 15 months from site clearance to moving in 10 days ago.
Total cost = 258,000 (Including 50,000 for site and all profesional fees, Co,Co contributions, kitchen, sanitary ware, etc)
Does not include furniture.

Front wall and garden, etc. to be completed yet. Not included in above price

8% under budget.

kardarie

clint_eastman wrote: »

Great price. Just saw you say €100k all in on another thread which, differs to above, what did you end up at? How did you manage to get your costs so low? Were you involved in the build yourself alot? I'm going direct labour, but really am not doing much of the actual work just organising the relevant trades and I see myself spending €50/sqft on the house structure and M&E only, then add in windows, kitchen, stairs and furnishings..... this is still below what a few builders were quoting so I'm happy enough with how things are going. Would love to know how you did it and what type of spec you've gone for?

Well the house itself came in at just under 100k fully finished. Spent another couple of €k on furnishing it. Kept costs so low as we done almost everything our selves apart from electrictian, plumber, blocklayer and plastering. TBH we spend days and nights working on the house. We prob would of kept the price even lower but decided to surround the property with a block wall. Sorry to seem stupid but what to ya mean what kind spec?

clint_eastman

kardarie wrote: »

....what kind spec?

I just mean what type of heating system, insulation levels etc you put in, general stuff that can affect the overall cost greatly. Fair play for doing some much work yourselves.

kardarie

Sorry, we put in the normal OFCH and a stanley solid fuel stove which is brilliant and we hardly ever use the Oil. Timber framed houses are warmer so we just used the normal insulation.

mr_edge_to_you

We started on 7th July 2009 and moved in on Friday 30th April 2010!

muffler

Well done

soldsold

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

We started on 7th July 2009 and moved in on Friday 30th April 2010!

Land speed record Mr Edge, well done

bob skunkhouse

Started clearing the site at the end of May 2009, hopefully moving in in 2 weeks WOOOOO HOOO!!

Got a top class local contractor to build the house.
Floor area from the plans is 2660ft2. Builder cost it up at 157k which includes everything except..kitchens/tiling/sanitryware/windows/suspended ceilings.
We'd already sourced our windows(from a company i would never recommend!!). Kitchen/bathrooms/tiles he said were a personal touch and there was no point in him fitting those as we might not have liked them.
Our total spend on the house so far is 340k and thats pretty much finished at that.
He PC'd for doors/skirts/architraves but we up'ed to white oak.
He also pc'd for stairs 3k, sparks 5k, and plumbers 3k.
Oh, the build also includes a garage.

Couple of things that pushed or cost up -
Superquilt lined roof -supply and fit - 5k
Drylining to external walls - supply and fit - 10k
We added an internal curved mezzanine balcony(looks class) - in situ concrete - 2.5k
glass balustrade with SS handrail - 5kGBP.
Joinery timber - white oak - 5kGBP(from quoted pine)
UFH and geothermal heat pump - 20k

adelcrowsmel

kardarie wrote: »

Build type: Direct Labour
House Size: 2,700 sq. ft.
Construction method: Timberframe
Planning process length: 8 weeks
Months to complete: 4 months from site clearance to moving in.
% over or under budget: Spot on budget, but went slighty over on furnishings.
Price per ft2: approx. €50.

Hi kardarie just wondering if you could pm me with who you got your Timberframe with and cost if you wouldn't mind - it must have been pretty reasonable considering you final cost per ft2? I'm at the point of deciding whether to go timber frame or block!!