Building a House

LFCFan · 10-02-2004 4:43pm #1

What are your thinkings on the following methods of house building:

Good Aul Fashioned Brick?
Wooden Framed?
Steel Framed?

Does anyone know of a website to get good info about building a house in Ireland. Estimated costs etc? For example, how much should it cost to build a 2000 sq ft dormer in Meath if you already own the land etc etc?????

Victor · 11-02-2004 12:31pm

If you are building a standalone house, you should leave it to the builder to decide what system he uses, price is determined by what someone (you) is willing to pay, not what it costs someone to do it.

You could expect to spend anything from €150,000 - €250,000 on construction, depending on what you want. But if you spend €30,000 on kitchen fitting that throws everything out of kilter.

Remember it's expensive to furnish a big house.

LFCFan · 11-02-2004 1:26pm

Originally posted by Victor
If you are building a standalone house, you should leave it to the builder to decide what system he uses, price is determined by what someone (you) is willing to pay, not what it costs someone to do it.

I've seen companies that will build the frame for you in Steel but the rest has to be done by the builder. The steel frame goes up in 2 weeks and is ready for external brickwork, roof and internal plumbing, plastering, electrical pretty much straight away. This results in a much lower cost so I'd rather do this than just accept what the builder wants to do 'cause he's always gonna do the more expensive.

When you say 150,000 - 250,000 are you including furnishing the house too? I need to know how much it would cost for the building only as this is what the mortgage will come to, not to total cost of furnishing aswell if you know what I mean. Ta!

Victor · 11-02-2004 2:14pm

How long is a string? Until you have some idea of layout and required standards, it's anybodies guess.

yop · 11-02-2004 4:06pm

Well first off welcome to the world of building your house.. I am at planning stage now of a self build (direct labour).

First of I disagree with letting your builder decide, I for one am a fan of timber frame due to its energy saving qualities and speed of construction.
Timber frame may or may not be cheaper than a block build. It all depends on how complicated the plans are.
I would not unless you have no clue of what you want and are unwilling to investigate leave the decision to the builder. IT is your house after all.

You need to get your hands on a book of plans and these will give you ideas of house and also these contain construction cost of the different stages.

Direct labour will work out on average 12% cheaper than getting a builder to do it all and may be even more depending on who u get. It is more hassle as you have to get all the quotes for block layer, roofer, plaster etc yourself but with this you will save a vast quantity of money.

Put it this way, I am building a 2500sq ft house, the quote I got to build it from a contractor, ex furniture, tiling, painting would be 189,000 with the quotes I have got so far from labourers, also doing some work myself is 128000. A big difference.

There is a great book brought out by homebond and you can get it at www.easons.ie and it is House Builder, I think that is the name, do a search

Best of luck

LFCFan · 11-02-2004 5:25pm

thanks for the info Yop. Where in the country are you by the way? I guess there will be a big difference between building in Dublin and building in Leitrim! I'd doubt I'd go down the path of direct labour. I can feel the ulcer forming already at the thoughts of it. Of course I still have the biggest hurdle of all to jump, getting planning permission in Meath

yop · 12-02-2004 10:43am

Building in Mayo.
The planning will be the biggest pain for me too, do not know anyone in the area so they might not like to see a stranger move in!! The Gov levies kick in March 10th here so making sure that I beat this.

Gluck

LFCFan · 12-02-2004 1:14pm

My family have lived in the area for over 100 years but I'm still gonna have trouble getting permission. The regulations are rediculous. It's our land, our family has lived in the are for a long time, it's on a back road, none of the neighbours have a problem with it, the community is getting older and smaller etc but the planning laws in Meath mean I have to either be a farmer in the area or not own a house already.

Does the government levy get added for self build houses in areas where the council don't provide any services. ie. water comes from a well, waste is managed using private septic tanks etc etc????

yop · 12-02-2004 3:25pm

That is ridiculous, not sure, emailed them today about is so will be interesting to see what happens.

ToxicPaddy · 12-02-2004 3:45pm

Down my part of the country, the South east, to get a builder to build a house for
you is gonna cost anything between €95 - €105 per square foot for a shell of a
house. However it also depends on the area your from etc..

This will usually cover brickwork, roofing, plumbing, electrical etc...

Does not cover kitchens, doors, bathroom fitting, fireplace etc..

It may vary depending if you want something different in style that involves a lot
of extra labour..

Buts its a guideline to go on..

Tox

yop · 13-02-2004 11:33am

I have been given figures of 65, 75, 95 Euro, very different

Victor · 13-02-2004 8:41pm

The levies apply to pretty much everything, unless specificly exempted. The levies vary from county to county.

Originally posted by LFCFan
waste is managed using private septic tanks etc etc????

There is actually a charge for having a septic tank because it's a pollution hazard among other things.

Originally posted by yop
I have been given figures of 65

Walk away from anyone who says something like this. You wouldn't get a warehouse for that price.

Building a House

Comments