~ Building a House in 2020 ~

Gumbo · 27-01-2021 9:26am

Damo810 wrote: »

Hi folks!

Just read the thread, I'm now confused more than I was when I started!

In very early stages of looking to build/buy. Farmer so location is key and this is pushing me towards building, have a site close to the yard already that would suit to trying to narrow in on costs. Not looking for anything too fancy in regards to design, would be able to some of the work myself but time is always a limiting factor. Dormer house, 4 bedroom, boxy shape. 180-200M^2. Would be able to dig foundations, lay all the flooring, all the landscaping etc.

Some of the figures here are frightening! Would go down the direct labour route, source all the materials myself. What sort of price bracket should I expect to get to a builders finish? Could fit out the bathroom myself, and a good shot of the kitchen, hang all the doors. Its a box for me to live in. Based in Mayo.

Of course the figures are scary. People looking for 200 Sq. M houses yet say they don’t want anything fancy. The next generation of builders have to sit down and work out if they want a huge house plonked on their site or a smaller design that’s within budget.

km79 · 27-01-2021 9:30am

Starting a new build 1980 sq foot bungalow in Mayo whenever restrictions allow
Hoping to get it fully finished for 300k bar maybe one or two of the 4 bedrooms

If it’s a choice between finishing those or landscaping/patio/tarmac I will prioritize the outside work as I know it will be put on the long finger otherwise!

Gumbo · 27-01-2021 10:27am

km79 wrote: »

If it’s a choice between finishing those or landscaping/patio/tarmac I will prioritize the outside work as I know it will be put on the long finger otherwise!

From a Compliance and Building Regulation point of view the access needs to be in place so you could simply have a 900mm hard standing surface from the driveway.

Bedroom finishing - Once windows are compliant then theres nothing in the regs about painting or skirting etc

Enjoy and best of luck.

Damo810 · 27-01-2021 5:44pm

Gumbo wrote: »

Of course the figures are scary. People looking for 200 Sq. M houses yet say they don’t want anything fancy. The next generation of builders have to sit down and work out if they want a huge house plonked on their site or a smaller design that’s within budget.

Thank you for your useful post, great insight.

Using 200m only to get an idea of cost and what it will take to get it done, final design may be far smaller, but I’d like to know what it will roughly cost and then decide on size and what I can afford.

Gumbo · 27-01-2021 10:09pm

Damo810 wrote: »

Thank you for your useful post, great insight.

Using 200m only to get an idea of cost and what it will take to get it done, final design may be far smaller, but I’d like to know what it will roughly cost and then decide on size and what I can afford.

Between €2.5k and €3.5 per square meter.

One source is the RIAI - https://jearchitecture.ie/building-costs-jearchitecture/

ECO_Mental · 27-01-2021 11:35pm

Damo810 wrote: »

Thank you for your useful post, great insight.

Using 200m only to get an idea of cost and what it will take to get it done, final design may be far smaller, but I’d like to know what it will roughly cost and then decide on size and what I can afford.

Building house just outside Cork city currently at about €2300/sqrm all in including pc sums for kitchen flooring etc turn key and professional fees also

L-M · 28-01-2021 9:19pm

ECO_Mental wrote: »

Building house just outside Cork city currently at about €2300/sqrm all in including pc sums for kitchen flooring etc turn key and professional fees also

Christ, that’s a lot.

I’ll have a 280 sqm house built and ready to move into for less than €1,450 a sq meter excluding the site. And that’s even the tops of it.

Gumbo · 28-01-2021 9:23pm

L-M wrote: »

Christ, that’s a lot.

I’ll have a 280 sqm house built and ready to move into for less than €1,450 a sq meter excluding the site. And that’s even the tops of it.

€405k. Sounds about right. Much more once you include the site purchase.

km79 · 28-01-2021 9:23pm

ECO_Mental wrote: »

Building house just outside Cork city currently at about €2300/sqrm all in including pc sums for kitchen flooring etc turn key and professional fees also

Are you tilng it in gold

That’s crazy money

km79 · 28-01-2021 9:26pm

Gumbo wrote: »

€405k. Sounds about right. Much more once you include the site purchase.

Would bring the cost of building our 2000 square foot bungalow in at 240k. Realistically I’m allowing for 300k and not even having all bedrooms finished ! Would hope to have most outside work done though

L-M · 28-01-2021 10:02pm

I’ve spoken to a few people recently who happen to be building in Cork and the prices and just off the scale

As an example one woman got floors done at 23 a sq meter and she got a price off a similar company but for the exact same floor in Limerick for 13.

enricoh · 28-01-2021 10:26pm

I'm in the north east and even getting quotes from builders for building one offs is difficult from talking to a friend who's hoping to build. They're just throwing out juicy prices, and getting them!

Gumbo · 28-01-2021 11:56pm

km79 wrote: »

Would bring the cost of building our 2000 square foot bungalow in at 240k. Realistically I’m allowing for 300k and not even having all bedrooms finished ! Would hope to have most outside work done though

Bear in mind that L-M done some work himself so this is reflected in the costs.

L-M · 29-01-2021 12:01am

Gumbo wrote: »

Bear in mind that L-M done some work himself so this is reflected in the costs.

Sorry the figures I quoted were to get the whole lot done by a contractor, I just posted that for a fair comparison.

I’m hoping to have it a fair chunk cheaper than that by the time I’m finished.

Gumbo · 29-01-2021 2:59pm

L-M wrote: »

Sorry the figures I quoted were to get the whole lot done by a contractor, I just posted that for a fair comparison.

I’m hoping to have it a fair chunk cheaper than that by the time I’m finished.

You done some trench digging, entrance creating, top soil removal etc yourself based on your previous posts.

It also looks like you were looking after the Commencement Notices etc yourself as i remember answering those questions for you.

All those reduce costs and helps big time.

L-M · 29-01-2021 10:12pm

Gumbo wrote: »

You done some trench digging, entrance creating, top soil removal etc yourself based on your previous posts.

It also looks like you were looking after the Commencement Notices etc yourself as i remember answering those questions for you.

All those reduce costs and helps big time.

Yeah I’ve all that done but my initial quote to get the house to a second fix stage from scratch was 105 a sq foot. I’ve agreed a different deal with the contractor after that but if I wanted turn key excluding the kitchen 105 would have gotten me there.

The house is 3000 sq foot so that was 315 for the house, another 6 for the arch and engineer, 10 in fees (council, ESB, water), kitchen Est 20k. That’s 351. Spend the rest fitting it out internally, 50k would get you a long way.

The work I’m doing myself is all coming off that figure but it’s more than do able without lifting a finger for 133 sq foot.

ECO_Mental · 30-01-2021 12:07am

km79 wrote: »

Are you tilng it in gold
That’s crazy money

Maybe it is....but I feel I am doing it right. Both of us are working full time and cannot spend the time clearing topsoil or digging trenches. Its a complicated high spec house that's split level.

As keep saying this is my all in cost from planning fees to WiFi access points and fridges and freezers. Built to A2 standard with triple glazed aluclad.

Must say the build process is very stress free almost boring :P and we will be in within the year, COVID might delay that a month or two now.

L-M · 30-01-2021 9:13am

ECO_Mental wrote: »

Maybe it is....but I feel I am doing it right. Both of us are working full time and cannot spend the time clearing topsoil or digging trenches. Its a complicated high spec house that's split level.

As keep saying this is my all in cost from planning fees to WiFi access points and fridges and freezers. Built to A2 standard with triple glazed aluclad.

Must say the build process is very stress free almost boring :P and we will be in within the year, COVID might delay that a month or two now.

We both work full time too, one of us 6 days, incase that’s aimed at me.

ZeroSum76 · 30-01-2021 2:19pm

ECO_Mental wrote: »

Maybe it is....but I feel I am doing it right. Both of us are working full time and cannot spend the time clearing topsoil or digging trenches. Its a complicated high spec house that's split level.

As keep saying this is my all in cost from planning fees to WiFi access points and fridges and freezers. Built to A2 standard with triple glazed aluclad.

Must say the build process is very stress free almost boring :P and we will be in within the year, COVID might delay that a month or two now.

I'm in the same boat. Doing a deep retrofit plus extension from a D to A1/A2 and it's costing €360k with a builder. It's going to be 200m2 when completed, currently 149m2. We've had to outsource everything to a builder. On the face of it people say 'you're mad' and say you should go self build or try to some parts yourself but that's very much circumstances dependent. I don't have any expertese at all and we have sold our house and don't have the time to fumble our way through it ourselves. We have 2 kids and they need stability.

So the point is, there are often good reasons why people need to consciously and willingly pay what might be considered over the odds.

Frozen Veg · 31-01-2021 4:23pm

Has anyone put in polished concrete in living areas or bathrooms?

Any feedback on it much appreciated. Considering it for our new build.

PowerToWait · 04-02-2021 9:08pm

enricoh wrote: »

I'm in the north east and even getting quotes from builders for building one offs is difficult from talking to a friend who's hoping to build. They're just throwing out juicy prices, and getting them!

Yeah, I got some mad quotes back. Like taking the píss. One lad was working out at 280k for a 170 square metre dormer, no kitchen, flooring, sanitary ware, MVHR, heat pump or outside works(patio, tarmac, landscape), so close to 400k all in. I have the site. That's banditry.

starbaby2003 · 15-02-2021 2:46pm

ZeroSum76 wrote: »

I am doing a renovation and deep retrofit (to A1) of a 145sqm house built in the 1960's and adding an extension of 55sqm and the total cost is coming in at €350,000. Granted it's a high spec, but it's crazy money. Location Wicklow. South.

Can I ask you a question on this, we are getting the same done, house the same size etc. Was this what the builder initially quoted or have costs crept up ? Our extension will be ICF and the new BER will be A2 including heat pump and mechanical recovery.

ZeroSum76 · 15-02-2021 2:55pm

starbaby2003 wrote: »

Can I ask you a question on this, we are getting the same done, house the same size etc. Was this what the builder initially quoted or have costs crept up ? Our extension will be ICF and the new BER will be A2 including heat pump and mechanical recovery.

The initial tender response was €415k which was way beyond our budget. So we had to chop things from the spec and plan to try to bring it back to sub €350k. Unfortunately from the get go we were overshooting and had to backtrack. Our architect said that a similar job to ours was done for €350k the previous year. Prices are mental.

starbaby2003 · 15-02-2021 3:38pm

ZeroSum76 wrote: »

The initial tender response was €415k which was way beyond our budget. So we had to chop things from the spec and plan to try to bring it back to sub €350k. Unfortunately from the get go we were overshooting and had to backtrack. Our architect said that a similar job to ours was done for €350k the previous year. Prices are mental.

Thank you so much for coming back. We are also at our limit so glad that’s an agreed price and not an increase!

tonydude · 03-03-2021 8:59pm

Looking through this I feel I might have to redesign my house. Im designing the house myself and am ready to hand it over to get the plans properly drawn up. It's a story and a half, nothing fancy 2200sq ft. Planning on doing a lot of the work as I'm a Carpenter, so the roof/1st&2nd fix, slabbing/insulating/tiling/painting will be on my to do list. Without a kitchen and bathroom fitout im hoping to get it built for 230k.... whatcha think ... possible?

beggars_bush · 04-03-2021 7:12pm

tonydude wrote: »

Looking through this I feel I might have to redesign my house. Im designing the house myself and am ready to hand it over to get the plans properly drawn up. It's a story and a half, nothing fancy 2200sq ft. Planning on doing a lot of the work as I'm a Carpenter, so the roof/1st&2nd fix, slabbing/insulating/tiling/painting will be on my to do list. Without a kitchen and bathroom fitout im hoping to get it built for 230k.... whatcha think ... possible?

What technologies are you putting into it?
You'll be saving a good deal of money. Who's going to help you with the roof, slabbing?

tonydude · 04-03-2021 8:02pm

beggars_bush wrote: »

What technologies are you putting into it?
You'll be saving a good deal of money. Who's going to help you with the roof, slabbing?

My dad's a chippy plus I've 4 brothers . I'll probably get triple glass and solar for water. I still don't know about heating, I'm not sold on air to water.

Gumbo · 04-03-2021 10:42pm

tonydude wrote: »

My dad's a chippy plus I've 4 brothers . I'll probably get triple glass and solar for water. I still don't know about heating, I'm not sold on air to water.

Solar won’t cover all your water.
You need a dedicated space heating and water heating device. Gas boilers are being phased out. A2W is best way forward.

tonydude · 05-03-2021 2:12pm

Gumbo wrote: »

Solar won’t cover all your water.
You need a dedicated space heating and water heating device. Gas boilers are being phased out. A2W is best way forward.

Yea , it'll be got to take the sting out of the heating the water from cold. I'll be going oil or A2W, haven't decided yet. Big layout of money for A2W and I've heard the units needs replacing after about 10 years so that's another layout of money, but please correct me if I'm wrong. ðŸ‘

keno-daytrader · 05-03-2021 3:27pm

tonydude wrote: »

Yea , it'll be got to take the sting out of the heating the water from cold. I'll be going oil or A2W, haven't decided yet. Big layout of money for A2W and I've heard the units needs replacing after about 10 years so that's another layout of money, but please correct me if I'm wrong. ðŸ‘

We just built ourselves and are very pleased at how efficient the A2W unit is and has performed. UFH everywhere, house set at 21.5, bedrooms 19.5, floor space 215sqm.

On average this winter from Nov to end of Feb we spent 13 euros/month on hot water and 31 euros/month for heat.

If you insulate properly, eliminate cold bridging and aim for Airtightness of 1 ach I think heat pumps are the only way to go in our climate.

Thinking of going back to oil, sends chills up my spine

~ Building a House in 2020 ~

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