Self build costing - worthwhile quitting fte?

have2flushtwice

Hi,
I'm just starting a self build, at foundation level to be exact.
I was going over costs and thought of all the different trades that will come through the door over the project. All labour costs.



If I was to quit my role and focus on the build, would it be worth my while financially?
Where my salary would drop I would save on labour. Looking at it that way it's a transaction removed. Oh works full time.
Social welfare and maybe a day a week working somewhere else.
I know what my take home pay is, less social welfare, and that would be the value to save. Im keeping that value to myself by the way! The saving would be the break even point.
Has anyone else gone down this route?

Thanks.

jmBuildExt

have2flushtwice wrote: »

Hi,
I'm just starting a self build, at foundation level to be exact.
I was going over costs and thought of all the different trades that will come through the door over the project. All labour costs.



If I was to quit my role and focus on the build, would it be worth my while financially?
Where my salary would drop I would save on labour. Looking at it that way it's a transaction removed. Oh works full time.
Social welfare and maybe a day a week working somewhere else.
I know what my take home pay is, less social welfare, and that would be the value to save. Im keeping that value to myself by the way! The saving would be the break even point.
Has anyone else gone down this route?

Thanks.

Financially - sounds like you've already decided yes.
Are you sure that the value you add to your build will be worth it. Some ppl over estimate themselves.
But....
Do you like your job? Will you get same work when its all over - and if you dont would you still afford the mortgage/bills? Do you have much service built up in your current job?
All depends.

dellas1979

I dont understand - are you proposing to do actual work on your build to bring down costs? (are you qualified?) or is it you want to PM it?

Personally, I have a building contractor, and it still wrecks my head from time to time dealing with them, but I still manage a full time job.

I find it comes in waves. Maybe 3 weeks of nothing. Then full throttle. Lots of decisions. Back to days/weeks of nothing.

I have a job where I can take phone calls, leave the office (within reason) when I need to.

If you dont have a job that allows you this, yes, things can be made more difficult, but not impossible.

I spend most evenings and weekends looking at products (bathrooms etc) for the house.

So, if you can afford to give up your job and want to, why not. I personally again wouldnt like to be a person (if I can work) living off the state. And if you quit, youve to wait 9 weeks.

Prenderb

I'd be very careful to weigh up the financial and personal risk of not being able to find fte again after your build. Economy is good now, but a year from now, or more? Not to mention whether you have prsi contributions and stamps and all the other things to carry you throughout the period of your build, e.g. after 12 months on jobseekers you will have to prove you're applying for work.

Assuming you will have a mortgage, remember that you will have to start paying that as you draw it down...and if you do have a mortgage, you will have perhaps gotten it on the strength of your earnings?

Consider whether you can get through in a day what a tradesperson can get through in a day. Be honest and realistic about your abilities. Then weigh that up.

If there was a career break option available to you that would perhaps be a safer bet? Or consider keeping the job and reducing hours?

I dunno, to me it seems to be a risky thing to do.

enricoh

I dont think so to be honest, you would be better off doing a bit at the weekends and evenings. Tidying up, collecting stuff etc
I done a 700sq ft extension last year n spruced up the old bit. Went direct labour.
Dont know what part of the country you are in but tradesmen are flat out at the minute. You could end up waiting a month for the chippy to come do the roof. It'd be a long month if yer off!

Some lads will have their set way of doing things n u'll just be slowing them helping them.

BarryD2

have2flushtwice wrote: »

Hi,
I'm just starting a self build, at foundation level to be exact.
I was going over costs and thought of all the different trades that will come through the door over the project. All labour costs.



If I was to quit my role and focus on the build, would it be worth my while financially?
Where my salary would drop I would save on labour. Looking at it that way it's a transaction removed. Oh works full time.
Social welfare and maybe a day a week working somewhere else.
I know what my take home pay is, less social welfare, and that would be the value to save. Im keeping that value to myself by the way! The saving would be the break even point.
Has anyone else gone down this route?

Thanks.

I know a few people over the years who have taken on most of a build themselves. I've done it myself for a good sized extension/ rebuild. But I'm self employed, so took on less work and just attended to business the odd day or late evenings.

It basically depends on you and attitude of mind. The basic skills you can pick up relatively quickly. There's books, manuals, internet sites to help and I was also wont to have a look at various houses under construction to check details, asked a local builder for advice here & there etc. You'd be surprised how helpful trades people are if they see you're having a go yourself and have an interest in how they do things.

You can certainly tackle most of a construction project bar maybe finishing trades like plastering depending on how picky you are. I did all my exterior rendering and plastered interior but you tell the walls/ rooms I started on! Took me about 3 or 4 rooms to figure it out to a decent standard. Likewise all the carpenty and plumbing, a relative did the wiring but I would have assisted and done the chasing etc. Roofing is a different matter, ours is two storey and one thing you figure very quickly is that things get tougher as get higher as everything has to be hauled up by yourself. So local builder did that but known people to roof their own bungalows.

But it's a long old haul. There's days, lots of them when things go well and lots when it just seems like a bit of a struggle. You need a supportive partner/ family if you have one because most of your life will go into building for several months. Satisfaction is achieved from seeing progress every day, knowing what went where and that it was all done properly. Or if it wasn't, well you know where the shortcomings are. Unlike a lot of shoddy work that is covered up.

You'll definitely save a lot of money, possibly end up with a sore back but have a deal of satisfaction when you've done.