Keeping costs down on new build

Arddon

As it says in the title...what decisions can be made from the start to help keep down the costs of new builds, but that ultimately don't impact (too much) on the future running costs...

So I'm wondering about building with steel frame, timberframe, ICF, blockwork...are flat roofs cheaper to construct than pitched roofs...keeping the "shape" as simple as possible...etc etc

Be interested to hear peoples views...

BryanF

Arddon wrote: »

As it says in the title...what decisions can be made from the start to help keep down the costs of new builds, but that ultimately don't impact (too much) on the future running costs...

DESIGN A SMALLER HOUSE

Arddon

hilarious!

Lets say the house is 2 storey, 2250 sq ft....fair enough?

kkelliher

The number one way of keeping costs down is to prevent changes in the construction process. This also means having everything properly detailed and having everything listed in your contract documents.

Changes = More money for contractor

sinnerboy

Well the most thermally efficient space we can build is a cube - max floor m2 vs external surface m2. But the planning process and your own desire to live in something that you find attractive will more often than not move you away from that "ideal" .

Smart spend no 1 - hire an experience designer who "knows where the sun is" i.e. can produce a design

1. that maximises solar gain ( with the potential thereby alone to contribute up 30% of your heating requirements by that measure alone)
2. that matches your detailed brief ( you need to think about how you will use the building - in DETAIL ) and
3. that will achieve planning permission.

My opinion - too many clients simply seek out the guy who can deliver on item 3 above and give little of no real thought to 1 and 2. Untill it's too late of course.

Building regulations impose on all of us now a very high standard of energy efficiency. So we have to insulate well , and aim to build thermal bridge free air tight structures and consider carefully our ventilation strategy. We must also provide a renewable energy source. All non non-negotiable must do by law.

Smart spend no 2 - hire a BER Assesor to for DEAP analysis and consultation service. What if I improve double glazing to triple , what if I use a heat pump not a gas boiler , what if I improve my air tightness etc etc.
Options A will cost X to build and Y in running costs
Options B will cosy XX to build and YY in running costs .
You will identify the smart spends for your design.

The quality of information you have produced before the building starts will have a profound impact of the build process. The more the building is "first built on paper" the easier it will build on the site. This is true for a direct labour build or main contractor build. Who does what and when and how ? The more certainty you bring to these questions to quicker and easier the build will be. Most projects - even the best planned ones - present unforeseen challenges. But the best planned projects cope best and cost overuns and delays are most easily minimised.

Smart spend no 3.
Commission

• a comprehensive set of working drawings and specifications. Floor plans , elevations , sections , details , schedules. This may mean appointing an Architect and A Structural Engineer
• a Bill of Quantities

.

It is counter intuitive to most people to hear "spend money to save money". And I don't blame anyone for questioning my motives here - It seems as if I am trying to drum up business for my own professions and allied professions - but I place my agenda front and centre here. It is a case of to make an omelette you must first break some eggs.

juniorballyc

sinnerboy wrote: »

Building regulations impose on all of us now a very high standard of energy efficiency. So we have to insulate well , and aim to build thermal bridge free air tight structures and consider carefully our ventilation strategy. We must also provide a renewable energy source. All non non-negotiable must do by law.

Hi sinnerboy, v informative post. Never knew it was compulsory for renewable energy source (in fairness I don't know much bout building!) could u point me in direction of regulations around this please? Cheers

DOCARCH

BryanF wrote: »

DESIGN A SMALLER HOUSE

Excellent advice there from SB.

I'd wouldn't dismiss Bryan's advice either! Why do you need 2,250 sq.ft.?

A well planned 1,500 to 1,750 sq.ft. house will offer you a lot more than a badly planned 2,250 sq.ft. house.

It baffles me why the 'norm' these days seems to be to build big/lots of square footage...simply because it can be done.

Get a good architcet - build a smaller house - save money (both on build and running/lifetime costs)!

sinnerboy

juniorballyc wrote: »

Hi sinnerboy, v informative post. Never knew it was compulsory for renewable energy source (in fairness I don't know much bout building!) could u point me in direction of regulations around this please? Cheers

Here. Bedtime reading

kkelliher

sinnerboy wrote: »

Well the most thermally efficient space we can build is a cube - max floor m2 vs external surface m2. But the planning process and your own desire to live in something that you find attractive will more often than not move you away from that "ideal" .

Smart spend no 1 - hire an experience designer who "knows where the sun is" i.e. can produce a design

1. that maximises solar gain ( with the potential thereby alone to contribute up 30% of your heating requirements by that measure alone)
2. that matches your detailed brief ( you need to think about how you will use the building - in DETAIL ) and
3. that will achieve planning permission.

My opinion - too many clients simply seek out the guy who can deliver on item 3 above and give little of no real thought to 1 and 2. Untill it's too late of course.

Building regulations impose on all of us now a very high standard of energy efficiency. So we have to insulate well , and aim to build thermal bridge free air tight structures and consider carefully our ventilation strategy. We must also provide a renewable energy source. All non non-negotiable must do by law.

Smart spend no 2 - hire a BER Assesor to for DEAP analysis and consultation service. What if I improve double glazing to triple , what if I use a heat pump not a gas boiler , what if I improve my air tightness etc etc.
Options A will cost X to build and Y in running costs
Options B will cosy XX to build and YY in running costs .
You will identify the smart spends for your design.

The quality of information you have produced before the building starts will have a profound impact of the build process. The more the building is "first built on paper" the easier it will build on the site. This is true for a direct labour build or main contractor build. Who does what and when and how ? The more certainty you bring to these questions to quicker and easier the build will be. Most projects - even the best planned ones - present unforeseen challenges. But the best planned projects cope best and cost overuns and delays are most easily minimised.

Smart spend no 3.
Commission

• a comprehensive set of working drawings and specifications. Floor plans , elevations , sections , details , schedules. This may mean appointing an Architect and A Structural Engineer
• a Bill of Quantities

.

It is counter intuitive to most people to hear "spend money to save money". And I don't blame anyone for questioning my motives here - It seems as if I am trying to drum up business for my own professions and allied professions - but I place my agenda front and centre here. It is a case of to make an omelette you must first break some eggs.

excellent advise

gooner99

DOCARCH wrote: »

Excellent advice there from SB.

I'd wouldn't dismiss Bryan's advice either! Why do you need 2,250 sq.ft.?

A well planned 1,500 to 1,750 sq.ft. house will offer you a lot more than a badly planned 2,250 sq.ft. house.

It baffles me why the 'norm' these days seems to be to build big/lots of square footage...simply because it can be done.

Get a good architcet - build a smaller house - save money (both on build and running/lifetime costs)!

I would concur with this and was almost sucked into the norm for large houses a few years back.got planning in 2008 for a 240sqm house,recession struck.Lucky enough I've kept my job,but my wife has lost hers. Have just submitted change of house type planning for a 140sqm house. Boy am I relieved that it's turned out this way, as I would no doubt now be living in a large house built to the norm of the time,wondering how the hell I'm going to heat and pay for it. Still not over the hurdle with the bank, but it looks promising from initial meeting (hell they even rang me twice to see how things were progressing!).I must admit we have everything we need in this new design and in many ways it makes much smarter use of the space.Because of this we put much more thought into it along with our architect and he came up with the goods. The design also takes into account solar gain and shelter (on very exposed site). I'm happier that I should now be in a position to build to a much better thermal standard given the revised house size and design. I would echo the advise to seek out a good architect who is willing to work with you on designing a house that incorporates what you want/need. One thing someone said to me was that anyone can design you a large house with all the rooms you need, but it takes much more skill to design a smaller house with everything you need. It can be tricky and sometimes you have to cut back a bit or drop a playroom/study/ensuite for every room/etc.., but for me that was pretty easy at the end of the day.

vendredi

OP,

It depends what stage in the process you are at.
Design or build.

Shop around. Tender with more than one archi / builder / tradesman.

At design phase, an Architect is not a luxury, although you have to factor in their cost. Do your homework in terms of what type of build you want (what is your lifestyle). The more you know the better you'll be able to make informed decisions.

At build phase, you may not need a QS, but take time to go through every item of the bill of quantities before you agree on terms. As an example a very popular roof slate may be selected by the builder unless you specify otherwise. The same slate from an other company can be cheaper. I had a 3 euro/sqm difference for my project. Total saving: around 500 euros. Basically by reviewing the BoQ with the builder, we saved around 3000.

just do it

Smart saving no 4

You've already started on this one - educate yourself! This forum has tons of valuable info. Live self-builds and the house that boards built are well worth the few hours reading.

Also the 2 main Irish building mags worth reading are PassiveHousePlus (was Construct Ireland) and SelfBuildIreland (I think!).

Best of luck

Arddon

Cheers boarders - some great posts

My apols to BryanF - a smaller house makes sense...I thought he was being a smart arse! Anyways as I said, apologies!

Early doors here, still at design stage so will get a good designer on board and take from there, and try to catch all in the initial design.

And of course keep reading this site is an absolute must as it's so insightful n a wealth of knowledge is available.

sheff the ref

Building a cube also means that the upper floor bedrooms are perhaps bigger than they need to be. A 2500 square foot cube will be 1250 below and 1250 above. Would an 1875 square foot bungalow do the same job? It might not be as efficient to heat as a cube, but there will be 25% less space to heat

sinnerboy wrote: »

Well the most thermally efficient space we can build is a cube - max floor m2 vs external surface m2. But the planning process and your own desire to live in something that you find attractive will more often than not move you away from that "ideal" .

sinnerboy

Remove yourself from the field in the stix. Think of an urban infill site. In this case a cube may be appropriate.