Buying new builds

Padre_Pio

I recently moved into a new build and I thought I'd share some experiences and things I wish I did differently.

1. Plan out the house before you move in. Usually, you've paid the deposit months before the house is finished. Take the time and plan out how you're going to fit out the house. I didn't and now we're making decisions on where to put beds and lamps, and there are no sockets nearby, or the ceiling lights don't line up with the kitchen table. Not big issues, but they would have been avoidable if we had a plan earlier.
2. Bypass the EA and talk to the foreman about specific requests. Buying a house has made me even more distrustful of estate agents. The EA who sold me the house told me that the builders would not do special requests, which turned out to be a lie. The foreman wasn't enthusiastic, but he did make accommodations for some things, like opening up the space under the stairs and adding downlights in the kitchen and living room.
3. Sound insulation: Something I wish I had done. The stud walls are hollow and sound from the toilets, the washing machine, and the water booster pump can be heard around the house. Fine during the day, but not so nice in the evening.
4. Another layer of ply on the suspended floor. This is something the neighbours did. It makes the upstairs floor feel much more solid. I have 3mm underlay and 12mm laminate, but there's just something "soft" about the floor.
5. Check the walls/reveals/everything is square. This is something the builder should have checked, and the snagger, but it was found by the tiler. One end of the hallways is about 10mm out of parallel with the dividing wall. so the tiles in the hall are ever so slightly crooked. The window reveals are also out of square, which I found when I was measuring for blinds.
6. Be an absolute pest. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, so go down to the house often and question everything. Why is that socket there? While you're routing wire for the heat pump can you run a cable for outside sockets? Why is the outside tap on that side of the house? Another neighbour had this mentality and was in their house a full six weeks before me.

RichardAnd

Good advice.

Mind you, given that many Celtic Tiger builds (houses and apartments) are now in a rather sorry state, I do wonder how the current generation of new builds will be in 20 years.  

cubatahavana

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120382023#Comment_120382023

With the current regulations they should be in very good conditions. Don't get the fear/hate towards new builds. Bought a new build in 2007 and anopther one in 2020. both fantastic construction

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120383703#Comment_120383703

I've lived in a 2007 detached and am now in a 2022 semi-D.

Both are well built, but the difference in heat retention is astounding.

We ran the underfloor for maybe 6 hours a day in the older house and the floor got hot, the water out of the gas boiler was about 55C. Very toasty toes. Now I'm running the underfloor in the new house 24 hours a day and it's cold to the touch. Water to the underfloor is never more than 30C, yet the house is warmer.

I put tiles downstairs thinking they would conduct the underfloor heat better than a laminate or carpet. Now I don't think there was much point.

cubatahavana

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120383862#Comment_120383862

Why don’t you increase the water temp? You say the house is warmer, indicating better insulation. I think 30C to heat up a tile may be a little low, needing a lot of time to do it, but if you’re running it non stop it should be warm nonetheless

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120384025#Comment_120384025

If I increase the water temp then I would be sweating. The house is warm, no doubt. Room temps are around 21C constantly. But the tile is probably 26 or 27C, which is warm enough to heat the air, but cool to the touch.

It's something I never experienced since I've always lived in houses with gas or oil boilers. The heat pump is more efficient when run continuously at a low temperature. My COP is about 4 which I'm very happy with.

rob316

There is a tolerance allowed on plumb measurements, the snagger would of spotted this and would of been ok, you said about 10mm, 8mm is allowed so not major. Granted it might be more apparent when tiled.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120382023#Comment_120382023

Nothing wrong with build quality an A rated house is absolutely top class but the finishes are really poor especially the joinery in some of the houses my friends have bought. Nothing major though its all just cosmetic.

cubatahavana

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120384075#Comment_120384075

You're right. The pump is much better running at low temps for longer periods. I shudder thinking how much I'd need to pay if I didn't have a well insulated home to keep it at constant 21-22 degrees

skinny90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058289065/buying-new-builds

Great post, im currently buying a new build and will certainly ask some of the points regarding plug sockets. Also one of the sockets in the living room has a cat 5 socket. Im going to have one run upstairs too into what will be the office.

was there an option to put in sound insulation ?

The builder is arranging some of the finishes such as flooring and tiling. Will the snagger see some of the issues your tiler found after they have tiled and floored. I suppose you'd hope so..

We have been to the show house and a few from work have bought in the same estate, one thing I have noticed is that the utility door opens into the kitchen and on the plans it opens into the utility room.

The kitchen size is great but with this coupled with the way the patio doors open and the hall door it blocks us using a big kitchen table.

For table space this is a huge issue if the door opens into the kitchen.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120386852#Comment_120386852

Ask the foreman, they will tell you what way the door will open. You could probably ask them to fit it so it opens inward, but it would depend on the reason for the change.

The plans you see in the brochures can change. Even the show house can be different to all the other houses. Sometimes they only identify issues late and have to make some adjustments.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120386852#Comment_120386852

I have two CAT5 outlets on the ground floor, three on the first floor as standard. I added runs of CAT6 to four corners of the attic for PoE security cameras I'm planning to add at some stage.

If you have the option, people are recommending you add a run for a video doorbell.

The estate isn't wired for FTTH yet, probably won't be for the next year, so we have a huawei 5G box from Vodafone in the attic that's very good. Over 100Mbps constantly, which is better than our neighbours more expensive Imagine boardband which needs an aerial on the side of the house.

I have wifi points on the ground and first floor too, so no dead spots in the house.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120387186#Comment_120387186

I would have liked a pocket door to the utility, didn't think to ask for one. Now there are switches and sockets on both sides of the door.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120387386#Comment_120387386

They probably would have said no to that anyway, particularly if it meant having to wire or plumb your house differently to the others.

skinny90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120387383#Comment_120387383

yeah I will, the AE is asking me when I want to meet with them so just figuring out what to ask, what to expect.

How much would it cost to run CAT5/6 wires upstairs and to the attic? im assuming not much if they havnt started wiring yet correct?

And for the sound insulation, what would we be expected to pay?

If we start asking out plugs will we need to detail every room where we want sockets ?

skinny90

Hi all

spoke to the builder and I have to say he was sound as with all of our requests. he said there all reasonable and he’s happy to work on them as soon as we confirm and finalise it all.

Happy to have cat 6s going upstairs, just need to tell him what rooms.

very flexible with floors, understands if we want to our own thing, add extra boards upstairs.

they had included bathroom finishes but if we want our own tiles they’ll credit us the material costs and fit them for free as long as there “around the same size”

a few other items like kitchen fittings, lights and plug sockets

happy to fit in the acoustic insulation if we want.

basically the ball is back in our court and we need to plan and get back with final requests on the advice

The only thing I’m unsure about is the insulation. He wasnt overally concerned about it. He did say he’s happy to fit if we want but doesn’t think it’s needed.

does anyone know how much sound insulation would cost ? how much we’d need etc

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120421714#Comment_120421714

Sounds like a very reasonable developer.

One thing to be careful of with the tiles, if you plan on sourcing them yourself you'll pay retail prices, while your builder will not be paying retail price for the ones they fit by default. The amount they credit you will probably be less than you think.

That said, if you're not totally happy with the ones they are supplying it's worth changing, cause tiles are a massive pain to change later.

DownByTheGarden

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120421714#Comment_120421714

Sound insulation on the joining wall doesnt really work with attached buildings. The difference would be minimal for the cost of it.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120422611#Comment_120422611

The only sound I hear from my neighbour is when they're walking up the stairs.

I'm going to put carpet on my stairs, I may ask if they'll do the same.

skinny90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120422611#Comment_120422611

Its more on the internal stud walls of the house...The reasons would be similar to the OP. Not worried about sharing walls, their ICF blocks so we should be ok

Chris_5339762

Hard for me to buy a new build - this is a UK video (and a very entertaining channel), but I'm sure its actually happening here too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_X-HrT66iU

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120440549#Comment_120440549

I love this guy, I watched a bunch of his videos before I did the snagging on my house, and caught a good few issues my own engineer missed!

cubatahavana

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120440549#Comment_120440549

Just think that he posts the ones that are going to generate him more views/revenue. If you pick 10 random new builds and 10 random second houses for sale, you may be surprised at what comes back at you. A lot of these issues that he finds are easy to fix/ cosmetic. Friend of mine is buying a house and had to pull out of a second hand one as there were issues with foundations and the roof that would've cost 20-30k to fix

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120440549#Comment_120440549

It would be a lot more difficult for developers to get away with that standard of work here.

In the UK they very often snag after they've already handed over the money and got the keys, where as in Ireland the snag happens pre-handover.

skinny90

Hi all

sorry to drag the thread up.

looking for opinions on this.

builders have informed us that they won’t be fitting any appliances for us. This includes hard wiring ovens and hob aswell as any other appliance built into the kitchen they are supplying.

im a little bit pissed as they are supplying the kitchen. We have made some minor adjustments such as not wanting a built in microwave or built in fridge.

I wouldn’t have expected much but for the stuff that needs to be wired up, slotted into the kitchen units or have doors inserted, counter tops cut for hobs etc

we had also picked a tile from their options which was included in the cost and now they are saying we have to pick another one as they can no longer source the nicer looking one.

if we want to go for a similar design to what we picked out we will need to source them and a tiny credit will be applied

is this the norm or should i talk to them about it ?

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120552346#Comment_120552346

Sounds about right. Probably don't want to spare an electrician to wire in the appliances. We got the same, the kitchen fitter wouldn't install appliances or plumb in the sink.

Probably not that much hassle to find tile to suit you, just make sure they install it, so you can include the tiling in your snag list if something looks off.

skinny90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120553185#Comment_120553185

It’s such a dose. I don’t mind paying for it if I have to but I’d rather move in with them all in. Rather than chasing a sparky for one thing and I handy man to fit the oven and hob.

topal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120552346#Comment_120552346

Very miserable service from the builder.. I have a new build and I know others that have bought them too and I've never heard of the builder not fitting the appliances after supplying them.

What did they do for your new neighbors?

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557393#Comment_120557393

Our kitchen fitter gave us a price list for appliances. Everything was about €30-50 more expensive than Currys or Harvey Norman. Fair enough we said, at least they'll take delivery and fit them. The fitter told us that actually, WE needed an electrician and a plumber to fit all this stuff, they wouldn't even unbox it.

skinny90

Sorry for bringing this up again ...

So we went with the sound insulation and we got the cat 6 cables put in.

We will do the floors ourselves.

Should be moving in mid July

In terms of snagging does anyone have any tips?

Will the sound insulation be snagged, is it even possible to snag this?

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120666098#Comment_120666098

My tip is to go through the house with the engineer and make sure he's checking everything.

I think these guys are brilliant showing what builders try and get away with: https://www.youtube.com/@newhomequalitycontrol