Possible to build a house for €60,000?

bigneacy

So this isn't for me, Its for my Dad.

In county monaghan - 2675 sq. ft house - Close to esb & water

2 storey detached, 4 bedrooms, 2 ensuites, 1 bathroom, entrance hall, sitting room, living room, sunroom, kitchen/diner & utility room.

If he

• sourced all the materials himself, for the best price possible, Ireland or otherwise.
• used direct labour
• got some materials second hand or end of line
• controlled the budget down to every last cent

Do you think its possible to build it for €70,000 or less (not including the site & architectural plans which are already done), considering materials and labour are probably at their lowest level they'll get to right now. Not including solictor fee's, stamp duty or any other fee's. We're talking materials and labour, fixtures & fittings.

I have never built, renovated or had anything to do with building work before, so forgive me if my prices are way out

I have been already able to source (on his behalf) 24 new pvc windows, a new pvc front door and a new pvc back door for €3080.
I have also been able to source a new fitted kitchen including all appliances, cookers and fridge, sinks etc. for €2000

I've been told the windows and doors alone should have been around 11 or 12k. Would this be accurate?

Einstein

I don't believe that you'll build the house for this price.

Myself and my wife are currently pricing a house thats approx 2800 sqft and it's comin in at around €80 per sqft. This is also taking into consideration that her family are commercial builders, and we're getting fairly decent prices from suppliers that they deal with! Someone else could prove me wrong, but I'll be impressed if they do!

Poor Uncle Tom

No.

danbohan

bigneacy wrote: »

So this isn't for me, Its for my Dad.

In county monaghan - 2675 sq. ft house - Close to esb & water

2 storey detached, 4 bedrooms, 2 ensuites, 1 bathroom, entrance hall, sitting room, living room, sunroom, kitchen/diner & utility room.

If he

• sourced all the materials himself, for the best price possible, Ireland or otherwise.
• used direct labour
• got some materials second hand or end of line
• controlled the budget down to every last cent

Do you think its possible to build it for €70,000 or less (not including the site & architectural plans which are already done), considering materials and labour are probably at their lowest level they'll get to right now. Not including solictor fee's, stamp duty or any other fee's. We're talking materials and labour, fixtures & fittings.

in a word NO

but if you wait another year or two you might buy one for 60k

No6

Thats works out at 26.16 per square foot, I don't think building costs have been that low since the 1960's!!!

muffler

The materials for the house will cost 60k - 70k minimum so unless you have a family full of tradesmen who will work for free then you are never going to get it done for the budget specified.

I think you either need to reduce the house size down to 1200 sq, feet max. or alternatively double your budget.

bigneacy

danbohan wrote: »

in a word NO

but if you wait another year or two you might buy one for 60k

County Monaghan beat you to it danbohan

danbohan

bigneacy wrote: »

County Monaghan beat you to it danbohan

think he will need more than the 60k in that one too , still i suppose in 2006 they be looking 200k for it

It may be possible if you are using salvaged materials (lots of ghost estates around) and free labour etc.

bigneacy

danbohan wrote: »

think he will need more than the 60k in that one too , still i suppose in 2006 they be looking 200k for it

probably be cheaper to knock it and start again... think he could do that for 60k?

bigneacy

Deleted User wrote: »

It may be possible if you are using salvaged materials (lots of ghost estates around) and free labour etc.

Plan is basically to try and use cheapest labour possible - not trained monkeys mind, plenty of well experienced labourers and skilled tradesmen with no work. Be only too happy to get a nixer.

As well as that get, as you said, salvaged materials... stuff that had been installed but for whatever reason never got used.

Such as the kitchen I found. It was installed in a community project for older folks. Project went tits up at the last minute so now they are selling brand new, unused complete fitted kitchens for about a quarter of their value. A friend of mine got hers last week so I know they're the real deal and good quality.

This is the kind of thing that I think might get this build in at such a low price, cheap (not shoddy) labour, individually - lowest priced - sourced materials and a tough, tough hold on the finances

sydthebeat

you could do it for nothing if you made all the materials yourself!!...

but as far as using "proper" material as described by the building regulations, which you will most likely have to purchase, the theres no way youd build a 2600 sq ft house for 70,000.

consider plastering alone at about 8K, electrical at around 5K, renewable energy requirements most likely solar collectors and wood stove at approx 5K, plumbing 5k... (most of which have to be bought materials) thats a third of your budget already without any superstructure.

be realistic..... budget approx €65-70 per sq foot, and THEN and ONLY THEN start discounting what you can get on the cheap....

bigneacy

renewable energy requirements? whats this now?

De.Lite.Touch

bigneacy wrote: »

So this isn't for me, Its for my Dad.

In county monaghan - 2675 sq. ft house

Might be closer to €260,000 than €60,000.

That's for the house, not groundworks.

-- De.Lite.Touch

mr_edge_to_you

bigneacy wrote: »

renewable energy requirements? whats this now?

Sorry, but are you for real asking what renewable requirements are?

Not a chance you can build a house that size for that price. We are near ESB and water (about 15metres) and it still cost around €4.5k for connections.

Also just because a kitchen has been installed a few weeks hardly makes it the real deal. It's only whenit starts getting use that you'll see if it's up to the job or not.

bigneacy

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

Sorry, but are you for real asking what renewable requirements are?

bigneacy wrote: »

I have never built, renovated or had anything to do with building work before

Yes, I am for real.

mr_edge_to_you wrote: »

Also just because a kitchen has been installed a few weeks hardly makes it the real deal. It's only whenit starts getting use that you'll see if it's up to the job or not.

But as I already said its a new kitchen. Its never been used. I seen the kitchen my friend got from the same crowd, stickers still on the applicances, everything in tip top condition, not a mark or scratch. Its like buying a kitchen from harvey norman except... its not!

De.Lite.Touch

bigneacy wrote: »

renewable energy requirements? whats this now?

Do you genuinely not know about them?
Hard to beleive in this day and age, but okay - here you go, in brief.

Perhaps now would be a great time for you to have a skim through the Building Regulations.
For renewable energy requirements in particular look at the latest verstion of Part L.

They're linked to on the Department of the Environment website.
They are the laws under which all new buildings must be built.

You can also find the Technical Guidance Documents there.
They are the worked examples showing methods of compliance with the building regulations.

(I assume its okay to post links to government departments.)

http://www.environ.ie/en/

Have a good look around while you're there - some very interesting stuff.

De.Lite.Touch

Poor Uncle Tom

De.Lite.Touch wrote: »

(I assume its okay to post links to government departments.)

Yes, since there are not any competitors out there........unfortunately.

changes

would you need a treatment plant/septic tank thats 3000 or 4000 to supply and get fitted.

Screed, flooring, stairs, paint etc. all add up

Why would it have to be 2600 sq foot thats a large house. It would end up being a big shell filled with the cheapest stuff available.

Could he not build a smaller house?

bigneacy

I suppose he could, yeah.... What would be a realistic size? Considering the money? (no smart answers - caravan hahaha)

sydthebeat

bigneacy wrote: »

I suppose he could, yeah.... What would be a realistic size? Considering the money? (no smart answers - caravan hahaha)

1200 sq ft 3 bed single storey gabled..... thats about €65 per sq ft.... which is extremly competitive in the industry right now...

anything lower depends on what you can get for free or highly discounted...

site works alone could cost you 6-8K

TheBunk1

You could buy this beauty for only 70k.....

http://www.property.ie/property-for-sale/5a-Mount-Pleasant-Road-Turners-Cross-Co-Cork/551904/

bigneacy

sydthebeat wrote: »

1200 sq ft 3 bed single storey gabled..... thats about €65 per sq ft.... which is extremly competitive in the industry right now...

anything lower depends on what you can get for free or highly discounted...

site works alone could cost you 6-8K

interesting, thanks syd...

changes

2000 is a nice size, it will prob take a couple of years can he put some of his income into it also so he could end up spending 100K on building it. Even then it will be a struggle on that budget.

Don't forget things like plasterboarding the ceilings metal or wooden battons, gutters, hardcore for driveway and around the house, insulation, bathroomware, tiles etc

And a roof on that size of a house is going to cost 15K and more likely 20K

bigneacy

Thanks changes. Its not that he doesn't have the capacity to pay more, he has 70k in cash (in the bank, obviously) to spend on it, I'm trying to convince him that he shouldn't get a mortgage again at this stage in his life (he's only 45 like, but he's already finished paying one mortage)

He could easily go and get 150 grand mortgage on his own, but the preferable way to do it would be mortgage free

sydthebeat

bigneacy wrote: »

Thanks changes. Its not that he doesn't have the capacity to pay more, he has 70k in cash (in the bank, obviously) to spend on it, I'm trying to convince him that he shouldn't get a mortgage again at this stage in his life (he's only 45 like, but he's already finished paying one mortage)

He could easily go and get 150 grand mortgage on his own, but the preferable way to do it would be mortgage free

i would think the the very starting point would be to build what he needs...
ie if hes a single guy wouldnt a three bed be loads.....

also consider that the larger the house, the larger the running costs... utilities, maintenance etc...

AstonMartin

TheBunk1 wrote: »

You could buy this beauty for only 70k.....

http://www.property.ie/property-for-sale/5a-Mount-Pleasant-Road-Turners-Cross-Co-Cork/551904/

Easily the best one yet.

mrgaa1

I think the OP and thread title highlight how far the media have really downtrodden the construction industry. Materials have come down in price, mostly, due to lack of demand and labour costs have come down but not to this extent.
For any respectable sub-contractor - mechanical, electrical, brickie, plasterer, joiner, groundswork etc..... insurance for vehicles, insurances such as public liability etc... should all be in place.
All these have to be included. If the subbie is not from the "black" market then tax's etc... have to be paid

When you can buy a house cheaper than you can you build it for there is an issue - great for buyers not for sellers

gerico

difficult to find a subbie thats not operating on the black market at the moment.