New House

Benny123

Is it much cheaper to go "self build " as opposed to getting a contractor in. We are hoping to start a build in West Galway in a few months. The house is a single story bungalow (approx 2200sq ft).

Foundations are in so its all up from here!

Hope to get away with €150K - how realistic is this?

Mike2006

That works out at about €68/sq ft which is possible but it will be a low enough spec for that.
The devil is in the detail. You need to say exactly what spec you are going for on your big hit items: Windows, Kitchen, Heating system, Stonework etc...

These large cost items will determine your cost really.

Mike.

sydthebeat

Benny123 wrote: »

Is it much cheaper to go "self build " as opposed to getting a contractor in. We are hoping to start a build in West Galway in a few months. The house is a single story bungalow (approx 2200sq ft).

Foundations are in so its all up from here!

Hope to get away with €150K - how realistic is this?

if you self build you basically take the place of the contractor...
so what you actually 'save' is the contractors wage...

materials will cost basically the same (actually more as many contractors benefit from economies of scale)

so your big question is "can i do the same job as a contractor?.........
do i know all the legal regulations that need to be followed, building regs, insurances, health and safety, etc?
do i know all the methods to achieve the best possible end product?
do i know and understand all the requirements to ensure the build is structurally stable?
can i spot a defective product?
hav ei got the experience to spot a possible problem and remedy it before it becomes a huge and costly problem?
can i spot if tradesmen are ensuring best practises, using proper materials, and taking care?"

if the answers to all the above is yes... then fire ahead with your self build...

sydthebeat

Benny123 wrote: »

Is it much cheaper to go "self build " as opposed to getting a contractor in. We are hoping to start a build in West Galway in a few months. The house is a single story bungalow (approx 2200sq ft).

Foundations are in so its all up from here!

Hope to get away with €150K - how realistic is this?

68 per sq foot to comply with 2008 regs is extremely optimistic....

perhaps if you do a lot of work yourself....

Poor Uncle Tom

You will also need to take out insurances to provide a suitable structural guarantee, not just employers and public liability.

gman2k

Plus now as you are the builder, you will have to do things like the following;
Organise scaffolding
Provide water for cement/ conc/ plastering, and have a container for storage
Have decent vehicle for pulling trailer
Get generator (if you are going to be doing work there yourself)
Tools to be bought and hired
temp fencing/ gates
Steel cabin/ container
Going around to different suppliers for prices for various items
Ordering all materials - conc, blocks, sand, insulation, windows, finishes......
etc etc etc
These are the items that people forget about when self building.
Also to be considered is the extra time spent on the build versus a contractor.
so you will save money, but it will cost you in time, hassle etc.

Benny123

Thanks all!

Guess €68 per sq ft does seem optimistic. I was given a broad outline by our engineer of €120 but that was 18 months ago, he said this was a good finish! Was hoping things had come back a bit from there.

sydthebeat

Benny123 wrote: »

Thanks all!

Guess €68 per sq ft does seem optimistic. I was given a broad outline by our engineer of €120 but that was 18 months ago, he said this was a good finish! Was hoping things had come back a bit from there.

im certifying a build at the moment thats 2712 sq ft...

the builder quoted €175,000

thats €64.52 per sq ft.....

i will be extremely surprised to see it come in at that price.... but how builders run their business is up to them.... ie cash deals etc...

mr_edge_to_you

Hey, this theme is common enough here these days. We're building a 2100 sq ft house, storey and half. From the prices we got from contractors a price of 63e per sq ft will get the same finish as the house you grew up in. Again, there's an interesting recent thread on costs per sq ft further down. If you haven't yet decided what energy sources, window type etc you're cost exercise is pointless at this stage. We decided to go with a contractor for a few reasons. We don't have the skillset to be as involved in project as direct labour route requires. Secondly, i've shared an office with two people who did it, there's less torture in guantanamo bay! Plumber ringing giving out because carpenter hasn't his job done, that type of ****e. It is your responsibility to manage all those relationships. Thirdly, it is much faster to employ a contractor, we're getting married next october so want to be certain. Direct labour is financially cheaper but for me there's on value on sanity. But started on your heating and window research straight away. YOU SIMPLY CANNOT BUDGET WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO INSTALL.