Home Renovation: Wildly Different Prices
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01-12-2023 11:53pm#1
My fiancee and I bought a house recently in south Dublin. Location is great, but it needs a lot of work (though thankfully qualifies for vacant home grant). No work done on it since around 1980 at least, and a lot is probably from it's original build in the 1940s - ex council, 92sq m, solid concrete, G(!) BER rating etc.
Anyway, we have been having a fair bit of hassle getting people in to quote. We have three more who should be able to the other side of Christmas, but in the meantime have had two, and their prices were so insanely different that either one is undercutting to the point of worry, or the other is trying to rip us off outright. A possibly likely difference to point out is that the first (cheaper) is a builder, while the second (more expensive) is an architect.
I have included a rough sketch I slapped together below, which might help for reference. Basically, the full list of works we are looking at are:
- Approx 15sq m extension to the back, and then changing the roof across the full space (e.g. where the kitchen currently is also - it's an old, flat roof showing it's age).
- Full rewire and replumbing (8 radiators, new combi boiler, possibly a good bit of pipe work).
- 8 new windows triple glazed, 3 new doors (front, side, and double door to the back).
- Installing an upstairs bathroom as there currently is not any. Thankfully all walls are hollow/drywall so no load bearing work there. A different house in the area was listed with this done already so it is possible (again see picture below).
- Dry-line or cavity wall (we had a chartered surveyor in before purchasing who said it is suited for this, double leaf etc).
- Converting downstairs bathroom to single toilet, and home office beside it.
- Simple drywall division of current sitting room (where there is an archway presently) and installing a new door to this front living room (this was where the door frame already was so no issue re supporting wall etc). A pretty small job according to both the builder and architect.
- Attic insulation, flooring, plastering and skirting (we will do the painting ourselves). We do not need materials for flooring as we are able to get this at a significant discount as is - only labour for that part.
Anyway, the builder has given a priced estimate at €117,000 (without a kitchen which we will probably just go cahs & carry etc for) for the whole job though has to his credit been clear that it is an estimate and not a quote. The architect on the other hand is saying €220,000 (including a kitchen) - or €150,000 without kitchen, floors, plastering, skirting, downstairs bathroom renovation or upstairs bathroom installed (but plumbed for etc - just as an empty room for now).
Architect fees etc would be on top of this from what I can tell, but they will not go into any further detail until we have paid €9.7k for the concept and detailed design package, as well as the measured survey. Looking at their price listing on the quote, the total architect fees could come to about €30k or maybe a little more. Going with the builder though, we would require a separate architect to do some sign offs, drawings etc.
So which, if either, of these seems more realistic? Hopefully we have a better idea when others have looked at it in the next month or two, but they're just such incredibly different quotes that our heads are kind of spinning.
And just while I am at it aside from painting, is there anything worth having a DIY go of on our own to save costs? We have let both know that we will also be doing the deconstruction/wallpaper stripping/etc work in preparation.
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