Cost of Building a House 2019

work · 01-11-2019 2:06am

Shocked.
I bought a shell of a house, never finished, so it has planning, foundations and walls. The roof could do with replacing. It is about 1800 sq ft. I thought 150-200k to complete but got QS at over 300k.
Given all present this seems whacky! Any ideas how to review this? Should I chat to another architect or engineer?
Really would appreciate advice as going over 200k is not really viable?

Plumbthedepths · 01-11-2019 2:19am

work wrote: »

Shocked.
I bought a shell of a house, never finished, so it has planning, foundations and walls. The roof could do with replacing. It is about 1800 sq ft. I thought 150-200k to complete but got QS at over 300k.
Given all present this seems whacky! Any ideas how to review this? Should I chat to another architect or engineer?
Really would appreciate advice as going over 200k is not really viable?

The QS gave you a figure most likely for a contractor to finish the house, you could go direct labour but you won't save much (maybe 15 per cent)and that's if you can get the individual trades in to finish it which requires you to project manage whole different headache. There is a labour shortage and costs are high due to this. Your QS is not far off the mark. Of course others may post what you want to hear but the supply of trades people drives the price.

alan partridge aha · 01-11-2019 10:52am

€300000 does seem mental, consider managing it yourself. Get prices from all trades and work from there. You will have headaches but will be worth it in the end.

eire1987 · 18-11-2019 9:23pm

ECO_Mental wrote: »

PM sent...I think!

Is it possible you could PM that to me as well please.

Just going to start a timber frame build (2100 sqft) in cork just wondering am I on the right track

eire1987 · 18-11-2019 9:27pm

kyler_87 wrote: »

Hi all,

80% through our self build in Cork, 30 mins from city. 1950sqft bungalow,rectangular. 1 main bathroom, 1 ensuite. 450 sqft kitchen and dining area with vaulted ceiling. South facing rear, with fair bit of glazing. Costs below , broken out by fees and build costs. A3 rating minimum.

Fees
Planning and Design 2500
Percolation and Site Suitablity 950
Cork CC Dues 3500
Construction Supevision | Engineer 7500
QS 800
PSDP 1300
BER Design & Assessment 1000
Solicitor | Land Transfter & Mortgage 1800
Stamp duty 6000
ESB Connection 2600
Total 28K

Basic House
Builder's payment 209000
Heating 15200
Windows 15750
Fencing 3045
Water (Incl Steeltech Shed) 10000
Plumbing (not ware) 4000
MHVR System 4700

Total 262K

Finishes
Bathroom Ware 4000
Flooring & Tiles 6000
Appliances 5820
Kitchen & Utility 21000
Painting ??
Furniture??
Light fittings??
Flue/Stoves 5130
Blinds/Curtains ??
Site Levelling 4250

Total Estimated 60K

Overall:
28K fees
262K - shell of house with running water, heat and electricity
~322K relatively turn-key build cost + 28K fees = 350K

Notes:
Main contractor did groundwork, foundations, blockwork, roof, internal plastering, sewage (biocycle unit and raised bed perc) and electrics, internal carpentry.

A2W heating system installed. Ashgrove in Kanturk.

Just said I'd share some real world costs.
Any questions, just shout.

Do you mind if I ask how good are ashgrove??? We are planning to go with them.... Starting a timber frame house (2100sq ft) in Cork. No Brick!! At €130 sq ft (Groundwork Houseframe kitchen flooring Inc)

BryanF · 19-11-2019 9:29am

eire1987 wrote: »

Do you mind if I ask how good are ashgrove??? We are planning to go with them.... Starting a timber frame house (2100sq ft) in Cork. No Brick!! At €130 sq ft (Groundwork Houseframe kitchen flooring Inc)

Lads take it to PM thanks

eire1987 · 20-11-2019 10:29pm

BryanF wrote: »

Lads take it to PM thanks

Will do sorry

Abbey127 · 02-03-2020 2:05pm

eire1987 wrote: »

Do you mind if I ask how good are ashgrove??? We are planning to go with them.... Starting a timber frame house (2100sq ft) in Cork. No Brick!! At €130 sq ft (Groundwork Houseframe kitchen flooring Inc)

Would doing the foundation yourself save a good bit as my father would be doing this and will be building on his land , he built a house on it a few years ago so planning wont be a problem,

vinnie_cork · 02-03-2020 3:49pm

Abbey127 wrote: »

Would doing the foundation yourself save a good bit as my father would be doing this and will be building on his land , he built a house on it a few years ago so planning wont be a problem,

Will your bank and engineer sign off on this? Building regs now verses then is a different animal.

CorkRed93 · 03-03-2020 6:47pm

Aware my question is very general but looking for ball park figure of price per sqm to build in Cork. Looking to either build or buy in the next 18 months. Parents+Family advising me to build but don't know if its worth it, seeing some of the figures thrown around here.

Wildly Boaring · 03-03-2020 7:22pm

CorkRed93 wrote: »

Aware my question is very general but looking for ball park figure of price per sqm to build in Cork. Looking to either build or buy in the next 18 months. Parents+Family advising me to build but don't know if its worth it, seeing some of the figures thrown around here.

Have a read of the thread.
But 170 or so a square foot seems the latest figures

Wildly Boaring · 03-03-2020 7:23pm

vinnie_cork wrote: »

Will your bank and engineer sign off on this? Building regs now verses then is a different animal.

Also in the scheme of a house it'll save you very little.
Say 2 men and a machine for 2 days.
€2500

P Wex · 07-10-2020 11:21am

Soon to start self build in North Wexford, we own the site, planning permission has been granted, and provisional BER completed, house is to be 2800 sq ft, block wall with PIR cavity insulation, underfloor heating, air to water pump. Our budget from here is around €400k, does this sound like will be enough to get us to turn key?

ECO_Mental · 07-10-2020 11:55am

P Wex wrote: »

Soon to start self build in North Wexford, we own the site, planning permission has been granted, and provisional BER completed, house is to be 2800 sq ft, block wall with PIR cavity insulation, underfloor heating, air to water pump. Our budget from here is around €400k, does this sound like will be enough to get us to turn key?

All depends on your house design is it straight forward shape etc very hard for people to say on here with that info but your budget does seem reasonable. Will you be going main builder or direct labor as this will have a big impact on the price?

I think it would be a good move to get a local QS in Wexford to do up a budget cost for you. They will be probably pricing jobs for local builders anyway so they will have a good idea of costs. From his report you can then cut your cloth, as they say. If you are planning to spend that amount of money do not skimp on getting professionals involved...it will save you money in the end

P Wex · 07-10-2020 12:01pm

Yeah we have kept the shape relatively straightforward, my father is a retired blocklayer so he is going to project manage the build for us and has already sounded out carpenters, plumbers, etc that he knows and has existing professional relationships with

ECO_Mental · 07-10-2020 12:37pm

well if that's the case then I think you should be ok, there are plenty of people on here who built a house direct labor for that price if not less.

P Wex · 07-10-2020 1:57pm

ECO_Mental wrote: »

well if that's the case then I think you should be ok, there are plenty of people on here who built a house direct labor for that price if not less.

Ok great, thanks for the input

MacDanger · 07-10-2020 3:52pm

We're just looking into the costs of a self-build and specifically, the fees associated with it. At the moment, we have roughly the following (incl. VAT):

Architect: 26k incl. construction
Structural Engineer: 6k
Topo survey: 500
Percolation: 1k
PSDP: 500
Energy consultant: 1k
Connection fees: 4k
Council levy (Mayo): 8k
Planning application fees: 500

Do those look reasonable? Construction budget is 400k

Obviously the architect fees are the top cost and I know it's a personal thing but would be interested in hearing what people who've built think about that cost compared to say an alternative we're looking at that would be ~18k. I think paying for a good architect is probably worth it but it's hard to know until you actually see what he provides.

Also, on the structural engineer (assuming it's a fairly straight forward site & design), does that seem like a reasonable cost? Do some structural engineers tend to over spec to cover themselves or is the service pretty standard?

Thanks in advance

Hasmunch · 07-10-2020 4:10pm

P Wex wrote: »

Soon to start self build in North Wexford, we own the site, planning permission has been granted, and provisional BER completed, house is to be 2800 sq ft, block wall with PIR cavity insulation, underfloor heating, air to water pump. Our budget from here is around €400k, does this sound like will be enough to get us to turn key?

I got a QS to price a Co Waterford build earlier this and it came in about €150 per SqFt for a builders finish Plus kitchen and sanitary ware.

€400K sounds tight for turnkey but hopefully your father can make savings and depends on the finish you go for inside.

Frozen Veg · 08-10-2020 9:32pm

MacDanger wrote: »

We're just looking into the costs of a self-build and specifically, the fees associated with it. At the moment, we have roughly the following (incl. VAT):

Architect: 26k incl. construction
Structural Engineer: 6k
Topo survey: 500
Percolation: 1k
PSDP: 500
Energy consultant: 1k
Connection fees: 4k
Council levy (Mayo): 8k
Planning application fees: 500

Do those look reasonable? Construction budget is 400k

Obviously the architect fees are the top cost and I know it's a personal thing but would be interested in hearing what people who've built think about that cost compared to say an alternative we're looking at that would be ~18k. I think paying for a good architect is probably worth it but it's hard to know until you actually see what he provides.

Also, on the structural engineer (assuming it's a fairly straight forward site & design), does that seem like a reasonable cost? Do some structural engineers tend to over spec to cover themselves or is the service pretty standard?

Thanks in advance

Architect fees seem off the charts. Would price around.

Council fees seem high also.

ECO_Mental · 08-10-2020 11:16pm

Here is where I am at now regarding professional fees and a few other bits and pieces. Planning fees are what they are and are easily calculated so if they are 8k in mayo then thats what they are. Regarding your Architect cost I presume that's full service start to finish and there is a lot to that. I am a big believer in paying the professionals who know what they are doing. Don't forget they are signing off and certifying this build so they will be tough for YOU as its their ass also on the line if they sign off stuff that's wrong.

Don't forget you are spending a lot of money here and you need to run his like a real project and get professionals involved. EVERYBODY involved in your build will appreciated that as well, the bank, the builder, your engineer and it will go smoothly and to be honest its expected now.

Item Cost
Architect Stage 1 and 2 €4,920.00
Architect Stage 3 €6,765.00
BER Assessor €280.00
Build insurance €620.00
Commencement Notice €30.00
Initial budget costs QS €984.00
Legal Work €1,845.00
ESB Network Connection €2,460.00
Planning Fees €5,118.41
PSDP €1,586.70
QS tender phase BOQ etc €2,337.00
Structural Engineer €5,904.00
Supervision Stage 4 €5,227.50
Tender Evaluation and Contract €676.50
Total €38,754.11

My build is a 2500sqrf architect designed high spec split level house on the outskirts of Cork city. Just to put perspective on the costs above as they will be different to rural Longford...

Stan27 · 12-10-2020 1:11pm

ECO_Mental wrote: »

Here is where I am at now regarding professional fees and a few other bits and pieces. Planning fees are what they are and are easily calculated so if they are 8k in mayo then thats what they are. Regarding your Architect cost I presume that's full service start to finish and there is a lot to that. I am a big believer in paying the professionals who know what they are doing. Don't forget they are signing off and certifying this build so they will be tough for YOU as its their ass also on the line if they sign off stuff that's wrong.

Don't forget you are spending a lot of money here and you need to run his like a real project and get professionals involved. EVERYBODY involved in your build will appreciated that as well, the bank, the builder, your engineer and it will go smoothly and to be honest its expected now.

Item Cost
Architect Stage 1 and 2 €4,920.00
Architect Stage 3 €6,765.00
BER Assessor €280.00
Build insurance €620.00
Commencement Notice €30.00
Initial budget costs QS €984.00
Legal Work €1,845.00
ESB Network Connection €2,460.00
Planning Fees €5,118.41
PSDP €1,586.70
QS tender phase BOQ etc €2,337.00
Structural Engineer €5,904.00
Supervision Stage 4 €5,227.50
Tender Evaluation and Contract €676.50
Total €38,754.11

My build is a 2500sqrf architect designed high spec split level house on the outskirts of Cork city. Just to put perspective on the costs above as they will be different to rural Longford...

Architect costs seem high.

kieran. · 14-10-2020 5:56pm

Frozen Veg wrote: »

Architect fees seem off the charts. Would price around.

Council fees seem high also.

Architects fee is 6.5% for what seems like a full service, don't see the drama here.

iob89 · 15-10-2020 8:27pm

Hi all,
Looking at a new build in the Limerick region just would like peoples pinions on pricing.

The quote that I have is for a 1700Sq foot storey & a half build. (4 bedroom house) The house is a straightforward rectangular design.

Pricing I have got is 251,000 build cost.(not incl. kitchen or flooring. bathroom ware is included) That is just under €150 a sq foot. 7

Included in that is UFH on both floors. Solid concrete floors upstairs. Paved Patio to the side. Lawns and Kerbed driveway with pea gravel.
Triple glaze windows and hardwood external doors,
Trees and hedges planted on perimeter with existing trees topped in height
Water, electricity and all council fees are included in this too.

I'm new to all of this so all advice on pricing is welcomed. Does this pricing sound ok?

ECO_Mental · 16-10-2020 8:58am

iob89 wrote: »

Hi all,
Looking at a new build in the Limerick region just would like peoples pinions on pricing.

The quote that I have is for a 1700Sq foot storey & a half build. (4 bedroom house) The house is a straightforward rectangular design.

Pricing I have got is 251,000 build cost.(not incl. kitchen or flooring. bathroom ware is included) That is just under €150 a sq foot. 7

Included in that is UFH on both floors. Solid concrete floors upstairs. Paved Patio to the side. Lawns and Kerbed driveway with pea gravel.
Triple glaze windows and hardwood external doors,
Trees and hedges planted on perimeter with existing trees topped in height
Water, electricity and all council fees are included in this too.

I'm new to all of this so all advice on pricing is welcomed. Does this pricing sound ok?

You will never really know unless you price off at least two builders (preferably more) that way you can compare. I would always recommend getting a QS do up a detailed BOQ and send out for tender. Best grand or two you will ever spend. You can chop and change afterwards from the BOQ. Less arguments with your builder afterwards about costs as its all laid out, sign a formal contract as well with them RIAI yellow or blue I think.

But if you are just scoping out that €150 sounds reasonable.

L-M · 16-10-2020 11:10pm

iob89 wrote: »

Hi all,
Looking at a new build in the Limerick region just would like peoples pinions on pricing.

The quote that I have is for a 1700Sq foot storey & a half build. (4 bedroom house) The house is a straightforward rectangular design.

Pricing I have got is 251,000 build cost.(not incl. kitchen or flooring. bathroom ware is included) That is just under €150 a sq foot. 7

Included in that is UFH on both floors. Solid concrete floors upstairs. Paved Patio to the side. Lawns and Kerbed driveway with pea gravel.
Triple glaze windows and hardwood external doors,
Trees and hedges planted on perimeter with existing trees topped in height
Water, electricity and all council fees are included in this too.

I'm new to all of this so all advice on pricing is welcomed. Does this pricing sound ok?

That’s hardly off a builder who sent you an unsolicited letter after getting planning by any chance

Francescoli · 24-10-2020 3:07pm

Averi Few Keypunch wrote: »

We are going direct labour, project managing ourselves and doing all pricing ourselves as we go (not going to be using a QS). We have a farm so have equipment that can be used, we can collect supplies ourselves when needed and my father would be around at all times for helping out on site potentially doing some labouring also for trades people who are friends. I would be available evenings and weekends and for site tidy up and helping etc.

I would have most of the trades lined up already (in my head) as friends or family friends and there would be scope for paying cash to most at least in part.

Why not use a QS,well worth the cost to have someone who knows who to price accordingly.

Paying cash and getting your dad to help around the place is going to save you next to nothing in my experience.

kieran. · 24-10-2020 3:32pm

Averi Few Keypunch wrote: »

I could be in for a shock, I would be expecting a around 3 - 5k for work up to planning and around the same for overseeing the build from my architect/engineer. 26k looks totally off the charts. I probably should have asked how much I’m being charged but I’ve never discussed it.

The fees being mentioned here in general are a little shocking. I would have not been thinking much more than 15k for non building related stuff (architect, planning fees, esb, engineer, ber etc).

Approx 40k is typical

ESB 2.5k
Irish water 6k Water + effluent (12k for septic tank and perc area + GWS water connection)
Solicitors 5k (Inc topo and site tests)
Arch 15k
Eng 5k
Ber 1.5k (Inc Air test)
Planning contributions 5k

km79 · 24-10-2020 3:43pm

kieran. wrote: »

Approx 40k is typical

ESB 2.5k
Irish water 6k Water + effluent (12k for septic tank and perc area + GWS water connection)
Solicitors 5k (Inc topo and site tests)
Arch 15k
Eng 5k
Ber 1.5k (Inc Air test)
Planning contributions 5k

If he decides to use an architect
If not add 2/3k onto engineer approx And subtract the 15k
I didn’t use an architect. Engineer did planning for approx 2.5 and will be doing construction drawing , signing off in stages etc for another 4.5 k
Water connection for me is approx 2k
Planning contribution approx 2k

kieran. · 24-10-2020 3:58pm

Averi Few Keypunch wrote: »

Thanks for the details, I suppose a few things to point out that I would hope would save some money.

ESB as expected.
Group scheme so no Irish water involvement so I’d expect this to be considerably less in my case

Solicitor aside from site transfer what else would they be doing? I’d expect no more that 2k if even in solicitor fees.

Architect and engineer will be the same person, local fella working on his own so I’d hope his Fees will be lower than being quoted here.

Where can I find the planning contribution costs? 65 to apply for planning was the only number I currently have.

Thank for the response and your idea on costs. I already have an architect as I did a fully custom design. Just about to submit planning but no bill yet.

It will be on the Co Co website. Go on to eplan and check recently granted persons you will get a feel for the approx amount.
What County are you building in?

Cost of Building a House 2019

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