Build within budget??

Hi, I'm just after getting back initial drawings from our architect for a bungalow and it is 3360 sq ft.

Our overall budget for the build is 400,000. This needs to get the house built and furnished and cover extras like council, garage etc. (about 50,000). We love the design and it has everything we want but I'm worried that i just wont be able to build it within budget. We are going for condenser oil boiler with underfloor heating in the living areas of the house and rads in beds. prob go for timber frame with block both inside and outside and better than regulation insulation. we will be fitting out the house in good quality stuff but not designer.... e.g. sanitory from BTW, 30€ per sq/yd tiles and wood floors rather than 60/80. Carpets/laminates in bedrooms. I've seen estimates for all sorts of values to build (from 80 to 130 sq/ft).

I'm resigned to making the house smaller to get within the budget(although would love to do it as is).Just wondering has anyone some experience of how much it actually costs to build including to furnish a house. This would help us greatly to know how much we need to cut out of the house. We will probably go the project manager route as we know a couple of guys who do this. Building in the south east

Hi,

Not sure if this post or this will be of benefit to you but possibly worth a read.

If you run the search option in this forum only there are many previous threads on costs etc which may be helpful.

Best of luck with the new bungalow.

You have a good budget for the work you want to get done and you should easily be able to build the full size house and furnish it for that money. Instead of employing a builder to do the whole thing why not project manage it yourself and employ direct labour, you will save about €80k on a build that size.

AMJ said:

You have a good budget for the work you want to get done and you should easily be able to build the full size house and furnish it for that money. Instead of employing a builder to do the whole thing why not project manage it yourself and employ direct labour, you will save about €80k on a build that size.

Click to expand...

Thats dangerous advice. The 'savings' can be directly linked to the ability of the project manager, and the standard of build can also be directly linked to the ability of the project manager.

If the OP has no, or little, knowledge of construction and building then i certainly wouldnt be advising him/her to go down the 'direct labour' route.

Do you honestly think that a building contractor makes €80,000 profit on a approx €330,000 contract????

My advice would actually be the opposite, i would advise the OP to employ professionals to ensure the build comes in on budget.
Get a detailed construction spec written up, get construction drawings done, get a bill of quantities compiled by a QS (this ensures all contractors are pricing the exact same, and not the ad hoc manner prices usually come in at), and hire a professional to supervise that the build is carried out correctly, using proper materials and to the best level of workmanship.

A project manager is the way to go unless you have experience, ability to coordinate workers, plenty of time on your hands and can cope with a bit of stress.

Although I agree with Syd that going direct labour with little construction knowledge is dangerous there are substantial savings to be made. We've just completed a building project by direct labour including floors, bathrooms, furniture etc. etc. for €170,000. This compares to quotes of between €230,000 & €250,000 for a builders finish.
But to Simeons point my husband has good construction knowledge & was willing to put in the considerable effort there was in organising everything.

Hi
We got a quote from a builder timber frame with underfloor heating for a 3000sq ft house for 290K excluding furnishing e.g kitchen, bathrooms, flooring as well as geothermal heating system, etc. It does include our right away drive which would cost approx 10k. We're based in the south east as well.
We expect that the total will be 400K furnished, HTH

I went the self build route. I have better than average building experience and the advantage of a lot of contacts in the respective trades. I think with the current slowdown in the construction industry, the time is ripe to drive a harder bargain.

I'm 75% finished and have spent 230k so far. Looks like it's going to be properly habitable in or around the 300k mark. House is 3600 sq ft 2 storey including 500 sq ft of attic rooms. Solar domestic water. high level insulation. 70m off road so lot of site clearance etc involved. huge level of satisfaction involved in managing the project myself despite the associated stress.

Like Nedtastic i am currently building self build the roof started yesterday, i have a budget of €320k of which €120k is the site leaving me with a build cost of €200k im hoping to have it done for €160 and furnish it after that so all in all €320 should be my final figure. The house is 4100sqft current builders prices ranging from €85 to €120 per square foot would give me a build cost of €410,000 taking €100/sqft as an average add to this the site value €120k

Builders Route €530,000
Self-build/Direct Labour (€320,000+10% contingency) €352,000

Saving €178,000

All going to plan of course high spec and quality finish throughout!

I must also mention that i have a lot of connections in the trade and my father is doing a lot of the build for me (For a fee)

www.ardmorewaterford.blogspot.com
wwww.selfbuildardmore.blogspot.com

Just project managed a big refurbishment for ourselves. House size was 1000 sq feet and now have 3000 sq feet. Total cost was 200k for building unfurnished, working out at about €100/sq ft. Not factored into costs is a two storey garage that we built at the same time.

sydthebeat said:

Thats dangerous advice. The 'savings' can be directly linked to the ability of the project manager, and the standard of build can also be directly linked to the ability of the project manager.

If the OP has no, or little, knowledge of construction and building then i certainly wouldnt be advising him/her to go down the 'direct labour' route.

Do you honestly think that a building contractor makes €80,000 profit on a approx €330,000 contract????

My advice would actually be the opposite, i would advise the OP to employ professionals to ensure the build comes in on budget.
Get a detailed construction spec written up, get construction drawings done, get a bill of quantities compiled by a QS (this ensures all contractors are pricing the exact same, and not the ad hoc manner prices usually come in at), and hire a professional to supervise that the build is carried out correctly, using proper materials and to the best level of workmanship.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replys. I do not have the knowledge or time to do the build myself (as anyone with two yound kids will testify).

Syd,
I have already commited to getting construction drawings done up to spec everything down to the very last detail. Is it still worth getting a quantity surveyor in? How much would this cost?

I am leaning towards hiring a project manager to do the build as opposed to a builder as i have been told this will be about halfway between the cost of a builder and doing it direct labour.

brk,

Can i get the contact details of the builder who gave you that quote. sounds very good. Can you PM me please.

Thanks again

Sman