Cost of building a home?????

lizzydrip

Hi guys, I'm planning on buying a plot of land to build our own home on but I haven't got any idea of the costs. I'm just wondering if theres any of you who built your own home and would know the costs of building it. I need a rough idea how much it would caost from the foundations up until it was ready to walk in to. It would be a three bedroom two storey detached house approx 1500 st ft. I know a lot will depend on the finish etc but a ballpark figure would be appreciated.
Thanks:)

Builderfromhell

There are books of house plans published in Ireland which give guideline prices for different types of houses in different parts of Ireland.
That should give you a good idea as you are the only one who knows waht type of house and location.

Ddad

I've been researching this stuff for what feels like an age in preparation for our own build. At the mo in Cork it's costing between 90-120 a square foot to a bare bones builders finish which excludes kitchen, flooring etc. Site and stamp duty are additional. If you go direct labour its cheaper again but more expensive on the nerves. 1500 x 100 =150,000 + site +finish + stamp and legal.

Quack13

I'm in a similar enough position myself although slightly further along. We too are trying to assess whether we can afford to get a builder or will have to go direct labour route.

With the way things currently are we thought we would get a god deal on a builder. I understand that it will be slightly more expensive but were willing to pay a certain amount extra to have less stress over the course of the build. It's also a little tricky for us as both of us work quite a bit away from the site so would be away a lot of the time.

We did get some really good quotes from some builders (currently going through these and doing some figures). However one thing I will say (also what dDad_ alluded to) is that initially we didn't factor in all these 'extra' costs and what initially looked like a great price once all the extras were added it started slipping out of our budget. I suppose it depends on what you're after personally and it differs from person to person but in our case some of the extra costs we had were:
- Kitchen (inc appliances)
- Flooring/Tiling
- Painting & Decorating
- HRV
- Fireplace
- Entrance wall/gate

Also some figures that builde rincluded but we think we would have to add extra cost to:
- Sanitary
- Electrics
- UFH/Heat Pump
- windows/doors

These are some of the top of my head...I'm sure there are others.
Perhaps other posters on here could mention some more that I have missed, or maybe some peopl on here have had experience whilst building.

I suppose you should try break the build down into stages, speak to a builder, someone with experience, or even browse this forum, then price up each stag to get a ough estimate nd work from there.

Hope this helps!

Q

muffler

The Live Self Builds and to a lesser extent the How long Did Your Build Take threads will provide some ideas.

Also enter "Building costs" in to the forum search box and you will get a lot of threads that may be useful

lizzydrip

Thanks for the replies guys. I wasn't aware that stamp duty had to be paid on new builds?? Is it not just for second hand homes??
I also had a look through some of the other threads on this subject and some people have gotten quotes for as low as €50/st ft... Apparently with the economy problems the average quote is now approx €80/ sq ft so thats good to know.
Did any of you guys hire a project manager for your builds?

muffler

lizzydrip wrote: »

I wasn't aware that stamp duty had to be paid on new builds??

Stamp duty is payable in respect of the site but not on the actual house.


Edit: Stamp duty rates can be seen here

Technophobe

Hi Lizzydrip,

I hired a Project Manager and so far it is working out very well
It helps that he is a very experienced brickie and has done thsi before...Also, his eye for things that should be considered even at this stage (walls being built) to make things easier as we move along is great..!!

mr_edge_to_you

Hey

We are in the process of getting quotations for our 2100sq ft (storey and a half) at the moment and I have to be honest, none of the prices per sq ft I saw here compare to what we've ben quoted. The average (we've gotten a few at this stage) quote is €110 per sq ft with a contractor. That includes construction of a seperate garage as well. Our spec is:
125mm cavity wall 80mm wall insulation and 37mm insulated plasterboard to internal wall.
Concrete first floor.
Double glazed timber windows (including sun room and 2 double doors to patio)
Rendered plaster finish exterior.
Geo thermal heat pump with UFH throughout.
Waste treatment system.
Solid white oak throughout.
Screed flooring upstairs and downstairs.
All paths and kerbing taken care off.

We still have to furnish it! I would've thought that what we're building was a reasonable spec but the general consensus from the builders is is a high spec build.

The Geothermal is costing about €11 per sq ft so obviously that has a massive impact on the cost.