Builders Prices??

ryanp3

I was wondering if any body has got any quotations from builders lately. I am building a two storey house in County Galway and pricing at the moment.I got a price from a builder of approx €100 per square foot for a standard builders finish. House is 2500 square feet.It seems like they still think the building boom is on. Or am I just out of touch. I would expect to get a builders finish for less the €90 per square foot.

muffler

ryanp3 wrote: »

I was wondering if any body has got any quotations from builders lately. I am building a two storey house in County Galway and pricing at the moment.I got a price from a builder of approx €100 per square foot for a standard builders finish. House is 2500 square feet.It seems like they still think the building boom is on. Or am I just out of touch. I would expect to get a builders finish for less the €90 per square foot.

Have a look at the "live self builds" and the "how long did your build take" stickys at the top of the front page and you should get a guide as to what others are paying.

sinnerboy

you will pay twice that in dublin ....

muffler

sinnerboy wrote: »

you will pay twice that in dublin ....

But..but...he's building in Galway

archtech

ryanp3 wrote: »

I was wondering if any body has got any quotations from builders lately. I am building a two storey house in County Galway and pricing at the moment.I got a price from a builder of approx €100 per square foot for a standard builders finish. House is 2500 square feet.It seems like they still think the building boom is on. Or am I just out of touch. I would expect to get a builders finish for less the €90 per square foot.

I know in Tipperary you could expect to pay up €130/sq. foot at present for typical "non high energy efficient" house construction with standard finishes. Considering it was costing between €65-75/sq. foot approximately 10 years ago pre-Celtic Tiger €100/sq.foot won't be bad today ... remember builders prelims were much lower pre-Celtic Tiger, as were material,fuel and labour.

Best advise is to shop around get at least 3 prices from all builders based on the same spec.

ryanp3

thanks
For the advice, the quote is well broken down but would imagine to get things for a bit less as there are still be alot of extras to add on that will raise the final build price well over €100 per square foot. The garage quote which is extra is €60 per square foot. Still trying to decide the direct labour or builder root.

getfit

Received a quote from a reputable builder in the midlands of €200k for a 2,500 sqft dormer. A lot still to be spent though ---
Fire places, flooring, sewage hook up, water hook up, council fees, kitchen, furnishing etc.

Was pleasently surprised with the €80 a sqft quote though.

Still leaning towards direct labour though.

sinnerboy

€200 sq ft in Dublin I mentioned means turnkey i.e. including kitchen , sanitarys , decoration , fitted wardrobes and "reasonable" ( not fancy ) external works , services connected , energy efficiency to recently outdated standards ( TGD L 2005 )

when clients "go for it" on expensive kitchens ,bathrooms ,finishes and "designed" external works rate can climb €225 , €250 - €275

Muffler , I know OP is building in Galway ( lucky chap , no M50 ) but I post this as a reference point

Lynch32

ryanp3 wrote: »

I was wondering if any body has got any quotations from builders lately. I am building a two storey house in County Galway and pricing at the moment.I got a price from a builder of approx €100 per square foot for a standard builders finish. House is 2500 square feet.It seems like they still think the building boom is on. Or am I just out of touch. I would expect to get a builders finish for less the €90 per square foot.

Hi Ryan
that really isn't a good price, a total rip of infact. I am just about to start a new build, 4200 st story and half house for 180K.
I realise this is an exceptional good price and that things are a "little" cheaper in donegal.

• this doesnt include site clearance (as I already had it done
• doesn't include stairs (as my brother is making them), although the standard of stairs that come with a typical builders finish isn't very expensive.
• It includes everything else associated with a builders finish (including drylining as an extra)
• A very reputable builder (encase you think its some cow boy)
• His price was based on what it would take to build, not on a sq foot basis as he admits himself this makes no sense. It doesn't take twice the amount of money to build a 4000 as a 2000 sq house

This guy and most builders are chancing their arms. A nice round figure of 100 per sq foot, yeah right. Galway is probably a little more expensive than Donegal alright. You should be looking at max 70 per sq foot (boom or no boom). At that the builder is still making a very tidy profit. Get 3-4 more quotes please. An extra 40-50 K in your pocket would go a long way towards the interior.

Good luck
Lynch

sinnerboy

I'm packing my bags now .....

gally74

im working through this at the moment and whether you like or not, 90-100 sq foot is what it costs.

watch out for other costs, like, engineer, insurance, finishes, water connection, esb 1800, moving eircom poles, etc. etc.

C Fodder

Builder prices have to fall if you look around Co. Galway quite a few houses new to the market are selling for very little in excess of €100 / square foot and these are not builder finishes but relatively new second hand houses in less popular areas (rural). Now don't anyone tell me that it costs Joe Builder from Tuam more to build a house 15 miles the Galway city side of Tuam than it costs to build one 15 miles the other direction.

Daft.ie Ballygar as an example of my reasoning

gally74

what sq footage is that house?

all this comes down to what type of house you want, how much insulation do you want, fiber cement slates, 10 yr 20 or 30 yr guarntee,

if you want to build a cheap rectangular house then yes you can do it, if thats what you want.

anyone going to the self build in belfast?

archtech

C Fodder wrote: »

Now don't anyone tell me that it costs Joe Builder from Tuam more to build a house 15 miles the Galway city side of Tuam than it costs to build one 15 miles the other direction.

I think you will find that the cost of land is considerably less the15 miles the other direction of Tuam than it is 15 miles the Galway City side, which will have an effect on the overall selling price of the second hand house.

catatedog

i think ur about to be ripped off i am a builder building my own house 3000sq feet and im doing it myself its coming in at €180000 so would love to see what ur getting done for the same amount and 1000 sq feet more best of luck lynch think ur a dreamer

galwaytt

Lynch32 wrote: »

Hi Ryan
that really isn't a good price, a total rip of infact. I am just about to start a new build, 4200 st story and half house for 180K.
I realise this is an exceptional good price and that things are a "little" cheaper in donegal.

with all due respect, there is no way in hell you'll build a 4200 sq ft house for 180k. If you do, I'd want it forensically examined afterwards.......;)

I built a 320 sq m house inside the last 18 mths, and moved in Sept last. Cost, to include everything, but excluding site - 470k. UFH on 3 floors, solar, gas heating etc etc. Tarmac and one stone wall to be added, yet. Despite being (kinda) in the constr. business, I didn't do it direct labour - there isn't enough tea in china to make it worth my while - but I did live beside the site, and cc tv'd it, so I know exactly what/when/who. Visited the site 3 times a day, with camera too...........

It is far, far, too easy to talk yourself into a project based on low costs. It is both more prudent, safer - and saner - to budget comfortably, and try to exact savings as you go along. At least that way you'll only (pleasantly) surprise yourself.

Cost in Galway, as far as I'm concerned, for a proper build, are 90-100 for builders finish, 125 for comprehensives finish, and 150 for total (landscaping/paving/tarmac/gates/fencing etc etc).

Or, think outside the box. Find one of these 'out of work' builders as a site agent for 12 mths.........pay him.........50k? And let him get the direct labour sorted and arrange insurance etc etc, on your behalf. Just an idea, don't even know if it'd add up.

On a general note, please realise that the current slump in house sale prices does not translate - necessarily - into the one-off market. For a start, the big slump is in developments. Those houses are built down to a price, and no matter what anyone else tells you, materials have not come down. The big variable in those schemes is the price of the land. If you already own the site, then you're past that point, so any savings now shall be more incremental, rather than monumental. Wages, timber, cement, concrete, slates, windows & heating, electricians - I'm not aware of any falls in the prices of any of those things. Some of the labour attached to them, maybe, but in the scheme of the value of the house, it won't translate into 10's of 1000's...........not without cutting the spec, or quality, somewhere. Get a blocklayer in to lay the same amount of blocks for 1/2 the price..........well, do you honestly think the same attention to detail will be there.........??

AckwelFoley

on the law of averages, concrete costs the same per sq ft all over the country as does all other materials, labour can vary somewhat, but taking standard union rates and exempting an abnormally unusual house it is possible to give a price per sq ft.

@ €100 it does not strike me as excessively high

Lynch, i built my own home, all of it.. no labour only for electrical and plumbing, and i can promise you, you wont get the house of that size built for 180k, theres a catch somewhere..

smashey

snyper wrote: »

Lynch, i built my own home, all of it.. no labour only for electrical and plumbing, and i can promise you, you wont get the house of that size built for 180k, theres a catch somewhere..

I think Lynch is building in Donegal. Take it from me, he will get it for that price.

AckwelFoley

I think Lynch is building in Donegal. Take it from me, he will get it for that price

I know, but materials still cost the same. And even with price of labour.

4000 sqft is a big lump of a house, having said that , i concede however, that if the builder has it signed on the dotted line that- that is his price, perhaps the price is accurate.

rigormortis

snyper wrote: »

I know, but materials still cost the same. And even with price of labour.

4000 sqft is a big lump of a house, having said that , i concede however, that if the builder has it signed on the dotted line that- that is his price, perhaps the price is accurate.

That is the price now, do not forget about the extras. They always seem to crop up, especially when the original bid was low.

rigormortis

OP, for a house that size, given standard spec, I would not pay more than €200,000. Remember you are the boss, they want your trade. The country is full of hungry builders.

metalscrubber

TT,

Would love to know the details of the CCTV system you used?

Were you recording at a fixed station by the site or were you able to stream it out to the web ?

What cameras / kit did you use ?

Cheers,

Metal

Lynch32

catatedog wrote: »

i think ur about to be ripped off i am a builder building my own house 3000sq feet and im doing it myself its coming in at €180000 so would love to see what ur getting done for the same amount and 1000 sq feet more best of luck lynch think ur a dreamer

Hi Catatedog,
not sure how I could be getting ripped off, it I am getting the good price remember

I am not sure why everybody is so surprised at my price. Lets be realistic, what I'm i getting for 180 K - not a house but a carcase !!

I am under no illusion that i will need at least another 120 K to finish the house to a relatively good standard, which would include garage. A standard builders finish is far from a finished product. Not sure what you mean above when you say it will take 180 k to build your 3000 sq foot house, perhaps this includes some of your finishings, etc.
Therefore i will definitely spend in the region of 300K to complete my house.
In fact probably more as I undoubtedly will upgrade a few things as i go along e.g. the builders price includes a good standard colored PVC window, I am contemplating upgrading to wood. I know for a fact this will add another 15K. I will probably increase the spec of insulation to surpass builders regulation, again i know this will cost.

My original post was in reference to somebody getting quoted 100 per sq ft for a "standard" builders finish. This is definitely a rip off, I don't care what anybody says. If it was for the completed article It wouldn't be too bad.

I am confident that my builder (30 years experience and great rep) hasn't miscalculated. Perhaps he is just making sure that he has plenty of work for 2008 by being "realistic" and "fair" with his price. There a lots of cases up in the north west at the moment where builders haven't worked for weeks/months. I could rime of about 5 example of people i personally know.

Also the builder has given me the exact details of what the 180K covers, so as you see Catatedog, I don't do dreaming, I only operate with hard "facts".

The builder rip of days are coming to an end thank god, although i think some are hanging on to those inflated prices.

Cheers

galwaytt

metalscrubber wrote: »

TT,

Would love to know the details of the CCTV system you used?

Were you recording at a fixed station by the site or were you able to stream it out to the web ?

What cameras / kit did you use ?

Cheers,

Metal

I bought a kit off http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk in Belfast, and used a 4-channel dv recorder, but 2 cameras. One was wireless. Cost in toto, was, iirc........GBP£600, incl all cables and a webserver.......