Help With Extensions & Things

BuilderBob

Hey there,

I'm currently looking at a couple of properties and having been out of the loop for a while (and now that we are living in Mr.Hobbs' rip off Ireland) was wondering:
1)just how much I can do myself and how much is regulated/certificated.
2)How much are architects charging for extensions - House is bog standard 3 bed semi.
3)Is there any good book/website I could use for reference.
4)Is there a rough amount per sq. foot/metre to budget for.
Thanks for any help

FX Meister

The library will have books on building. Most are from the UK but they are worth a look.

Idleater

BuilderBob wrote:

Hey there,
I'm currently looking at a couple of properties and having been out of the loop for a while (and now that we are living in Mr.Hobbs' rip off Ireland) was wondering:
1)just how much I can do myself and how much is regulated/certificated.
2)How much are architects charging for extensions - House is bog standard 3 bed semi.
3)Is there any good book/website I could use for reference.
4)Is there a rough amount per sq. foot/metre to budget for.
Thanks for any help

I have no idea at which point you should start getting into regulation/certification build wise.

As to what you can do yourself is pretty much limited by what you yourself are willing to do. There extremes would go between what every co. co. have: Development Exempted from Planning Permission (I think these are the same no matter which cc you live in) to complete self build houses so that pretty much has you covered. You could also check out enviorn.ie which has more legalistic documents that I was not bothered looking further into at present.

Archetects can help you in the planning process as they will/should more than likely know what you will be allowed to do in your particular circumstances but then they charge you for the privelage. You will have to decide on whether their cost is worth it in terms of speed/number of planning applications etc.

I don't know about costings as I have not got that far in my renovate but I'm sure that some others/other threads will give you some feedback on this.

L.

Branners

Hey Bob if i were you i'd take a look at the Homebond Building Manual for construction details on all of your extension problems. It depends on the extension for whether or not you need planning permission, if its totally to the rear of the building and is single storey and under 40 sqm's it doesn't need permission.

Not sure about building costs but architects would charge around 2500euro minimum for an extension, unless you get somebody to do it as a nixer, if you need any help you can PM me, i'm a qualified Architectural Technician, i could take a look if your in my area that is.

patrido

BuilderBob wrote:

Hey there,

I'm currently looking at a couple of properties and having been out of the loop for a while (and now that we are living in Mr.Hobbs' rip off Ireland) was wondering:
1)just how much I can do myself and how much is regulated/certificated.
2)How much are architects charging for extensions - House is bog standard 3 bed semi.
3)Is there any good book/website I could use for reference.
4)Is there a rough amount per sq. foot/metre to budget for.
Thanks for any help

i'm kind of answering both your posts here so apologies for any confusion I'm also mostly talking about new build rather than extension.

1: you can do pretty much everything yourself, if you have the time/skill/inclination. your mortgage company will probably want someone with PI to verify the work done at each drawdown, and they may require that person to check that it complies with the building regulations. this might be a pain in the a$$ but it's a good reassurance that the job is done correctly.

wiring is obviously highly regulated, but you can diy it, and get RECI to send out an inspector to certify it. if it's reci certified, you should have no problems with insurance. issues could arise if you do some diy work on an existing installation and it is not certified. in the uk now, all electrical work must be certified, and any that's done diy to be later certified must be notified to the relevant authorities in advance. something similar is on the way here.

so yes you can do lots yourself, but there are lots of buts and ifs and howevers

my wife and I are in the middle of our build at the moment - the roof is almost complete, and we haven't paid a day's labour yet. it's very hard work, very time consuming. but we have lots of experienced help - both my dad and my dad in law are experienced self builders and have done lots of work with us, and given us lots and lots of advice, sisters partner is a spark, neighbour is a plumber, etc. without their help we wouldn't be doing this.

3: you'll definitely need to be au fait with the building regulations and these are all downloadable from the doe website. also, as mentioned by Branners, the homebond book is excellent and despite it's high price tag, it's great value. there are so many little regulations and details to take account of, and this book details most/all of what you'll need.

mark brinkley's house building bible is excellent - it details lots of different options for everything, gives the pros and cons, discusses all the latest trends in detail, and has guides for costs, usually split into labour and materials.

for wiring, the IEE on-site guide is very good, but it is aimed at the UK, and there are subtle differences between their regs and ours. the ETCI national wiring rules has all the irish wiring regulations - it's not the easiest to read even with a degree in engineering, and it's pricey too, but it's essential if you're doing any of the wiring yourself.

there are lots of diy wiring books (mike lawrence has a few good ones like the which guide to wiring and lighting) but again they are UK based, and I've yet to see one that's completely up to date with the all the regulations. despite lots of detail, they're really geared towards people who want to add a socket or a shower - none that I could find show you how to design a wiring plan for a new build. none of them will show you in detail how to approach chasing a whole house.

as with most aspects of self building, if you have someone in the trade to do some handholding, and that you can ask loads of questions of, then your life will be much easier. i'm doing my own wiring, and using my sisters bf to bounce questions off.

4: very ball park you could probably pay between 80 and 120 per sq ft for a new build by a contractor. if you go totally diy, you could build it for as little as 50 and as much as 100 per sq ft. one thing i would have done differently is to get a quantity surveyor on board, to do a detailed budget.

going diy gives a great sense of satisfaction, and when it's all done, it should be a great achievement. it's so difficult to get really good professional these days - the type that takes pride in the job and isn't driven by greed - that by doing it yourself, you can do a better job than is otherwise likely. it may take much longer, and the learning curve may be much steeper, and so much attention to detail is required to do a professional looking job that complies with all the regulations.

there are lots of self builders here in this forum, so ask lots of questions. and good luck