New Self Build

dos30

Hi,

I’m starting the design process for my self build at the moment.
To date I’ve have a preplanning meeting which went fine and also passed a percolation test.
I would hope to build it to be around 2500 sq ft with a budget of around 250k.
I would also hope to build it to a passive or near passive standard. So airtight with loads of insulation and MHRV.
Or is this even possible on my budget?

The next step is to hire an Architect/Engineer to design the house.
I suppose that’s my first question, should I get an Architect or an Engineer?
I have been in contact with a young Engineer through a friend, he is fairly cheap but is only starting out on his own and has only 1 house complete. Is this to be avoided?
I have also been in contact with an Architect who designed a house for another friend. He works for a firm but does nixers on the side for approx €1500, he would only design the house and not supervise any of the build.

Should I contact one of the few Architecture firms with experience in designing passive houses.
Or one of the planners listed on the PassivHaus website http://www.passivhausplaner.eu/phplaner/planersuche.php?clandc=1&clandv=Ireland

Sorry about all of the questions but I want to make sure I start off on the right foot.

sas

dos30 wrote: »

I would hope to build it to be around 2500 sq ft with a budget of around 250k.
I would also hope to build it to a passive or near passive standard. So airtight with loads of insulation and MHRV.
Or is this even possible on my budget?

You may be able to build the structure for that but just the structure assuming it's direct labour and you do alot of work yourself. It will exclude white goods, kitchen etc too. It also assumes that you find someone to design it for you that knows what they are doing but doesn't charge the going rate. You will not build passive if that's your entire budget. Windows alone could eat 40k of it depending on the amount of glazing you'd like. Ignore any of regular house + 10% nonsense you'll read on the price. That may only hold through if you are building in Dublin and paying for an expensive contractor.

I'm 1/2 way through a direct labour passive build having done a certain amount of it myself, it isn't cheap and it also isn't easy.

You may well be able to get yourself a well insulated comfortable home for that money though.

LoTwan

I got contractor quotes of c. 240k for an A3 block build, 5ac/h, no special airtightness measures, oak stairs & secondary carpentry, double glazing (u = 1.2), no MHRV, no floor, no kitchen, no bathrooms, no painting.

You are not going to get anywhere close to A1 with 250k, even with direct labour.

Carlow52

dos30 wrote: »

Hi,

I’m starting the design process for my self build at the moment.
To date I’ve have a preplanning meeting which went fine and also passed a percolation test.
I would hope to build it to be around 2500 sq ft with a budget of around 250k.
I would also hope to build it to a passive or near passive standard. So airtight with loads of insulation and MHRV.
Or is this even possible on my budget?

The next step is to hire an Architect/Engineer to design the house.
I suppose that’s my first question, should I get an Architect or an Engineer?
I have been in contact with a young Engineer through a friend, he is fairly cheap but is only starting out on his own and has only 1 house complete. Is this to be avoided?
I have also been in contact with an Architect who designed a house for another friend. He works for a firm but does nixers on the side for approx €1500, he would only design the house and not supervise any of the build.

Should I contact one of the few Architecture firms with experience in designing passive houses.
Or one of the planners listed on the PassivHaus website http://www.passivhausplaner.eu/phplaner/planersuche.php?clandc=1&clandv=Ireland

Sorry about all of the questions but I want to make sure I start off on the right foot.

Am glad to see you passed the percolation test:D

On the preplanning, did you show them what orientation the house would need to meet the PH requirements.

Like all new ideas the Passiv Haus moniker comes at a premium and once you approach anyone with these words in your opening statement then the meter will run at a higher rate.

I would, if I were you, make sure you know what the PH standard requires for all the main parts of the house, so for example if it says it requires a U value of Z for the roof then you go and put that in your spec, without any reference to PH.

The essential points are, AFAIK, airtightness, insulation, thermal bridging , glazing and orientation.

In terms of employing any professionals there are 3 key elements:

how do you get on with the person?

Will they take your input on board?

Do they have the skills to supervise the work on site on an almost daily basis- gone are the days of weekly/monthly site visits?

If the answer to any is no then move on.


[The supervision is key as there is no point spending say 40 k on glazing and the contractor using a bit of foam to fit. On this point make sure that whatever paperwork you enter into allows the supplier of the glazing to fit it or at the very least be on site for the entire fitting time, ditto with airtigntness membranes etc]


On your budget, you need to break it down into the mains elements, for example is the site serviced for water/elec/gas/etc

Nixors for drawings only is not my cup of tea, especially when the person already has a job.

dos30

Thanks for the detailed replies lads.
Sas I’ve read a lot of your comments throughout this forum and on constructireland.
You seems to very knowledgeable on the subject, I’d hope to take a similar hands on approach. Are there any books etc you’d recommend?
How much do you think your house will cost per sq ft? Do you have a blog or anything for the ongoing build? Would be very interested in reading about it.

From what I’ve read to date, it’s either go down the passive route which means you don’t need to invest in a main energy source(Geothermal, oil etc), just a backup to the HRV like a heat pump or a stove.
Or it’s save money by not going down the passive route and invest it in a main energy source. Is there any happy medium?

Carlow52 when I went for the preplanning I was told the house would have to face the road, so it would have to be east facing.
Not ideal, but I’m sure a good Architect could come up with a design to work with this.

sas

dos30 wrote: »

Thanks for the detailed replies lads.
Sas I’ve read a lot of your comments throughout this forum and on constructireland.
You seems to very knowledgeable on the subject, I’d hope to take a similar hands on approach. Are there any books etc you’d recommend?

There are no books that cover this for Ireland. One I bought while being very detailed refers to materials not commonly available here. It has played no part at all since I actually started.

I've depended heavily on a couple of people I met on forums (such as this) that are further down the road than I am. One of them dealt directly with the PHI (which I ultimately ended up doing) which has made life a little easier. He used his local architect and had the design validated by the PHI prior to submitting for planning. I talk to him a couple of nights a week and have done for the last 18 months. I've also depended on members such as Sydthebeat (who is my architect),Sinnerboy, Beyondpassive,SoldSold and BigGeorge for ideas and am very grateful for their opinions and help.

dos30 wrote: »

How much do you think your house will cost per sq ft?

Currently running at 102 per sq ft excluding anything that could even sort of be considered a finish e.g. skirting boards, doors, kitchens, flooring etc.
It's getting worse week by week too.

dos30 wrote: »

Do you have a blog or anything for the ongoing build? Would be very interested in reading about it.

I work in IT, so naturally no! This is one of the guys I've depended on though.
www.mypassivehouse.com

dos30 wrote: »

From what I’ve read to date, it’s either go down the passive route which means you don’t need to invest in a main energy source(Geothermal, oil etc), just a backup to the HRV like a heat pump or a stove.
Or it’s save money by not going down the passive route and invest it in a main energy source. Is there any happy medium?

This is an over simplified view. I am putting in UFH downstairs. It will be fed (if it's required) off a tank that is heated by a backboiler off my stove. The stove I need to buy and is recommended for PHs is €4500 supply only. That's close to the price for an oil burner and rads if you shop around. If you go for a PH certified HRV it will cost alot more than a non certified unit. PH windows cost a fortune. I reckon I could spend anywhere from 70 - 100k less and get a very comfortable home based on the experiences of my brother in law that I described in another thread here.

dos30 wrote: »

Carlow52 when I went for the preplanning I was told the house would have to face the road, so it would have to be east facing.
Not ideal, but I’m sure a good Architect could come up with a design to work with this.

That blog I pointed you to is for a house facing east. It can be done. In general it allows you more scope for glazing on the front as you can see from his pics. That house hardly strikes you as a PH, mine screams of it.

galwaytt

LoTwan wrote: »

I got contractor quotes of c. 240k for an A3 block build, 5ac/h, no special airtightness measures, oak stairs & secondary carpentry, double glazing (u = 1.2), no MHRV, no floor, no kitchen, no bathrooms, no painting.

You are not going to get anywhere close to A1 with 250k, even with direct labour.

Not so: I've seen finished house to A2 in North Co Dublin done complete for €1059 per sq m, inc VAT - and that had some bespoke features: could have knocked another....30k of it I reckon.

BTW - direct labour is not necessarily the cheapest route, these days.

wclarke20

galwaytt wrote: »

BTW - direct labour is not necessarily the cheapest route, these days.

Interesting point. Wonder what the general opinion on that is

A builder who is quoting me said the price quoted includes 5% for him. Wonder how that sits with the 'boom' figure?

dos30

I'd probably still prefer to go direct labour just to have quality control over the build.

Following a conversation with sas I've also decided to not build a Passiv Haus, but I will set the PH U values as my target.

From reading a lot of threads on here it's seems like the services of a good Architectural Technologist are invaluable. So I think I'll avoid going down the route of letting the Engineer design and supervise the build.

If there are any Architects or Technologists interested in quoting for my build please send me a pm and I'll give more precise requirements.