Do it yourself Quantity Surveying

hi,
I will be building my new house in the next few months and was advised to get a quantity surveyor to figure out all the stuff I will need. QC's are very expensive (1200 euro), does anybody know how i could do this myself. I understand that they price everything and are very efficent, but i cant afford this.

Does anybody have a list of everything (eg. alist of all stuff needed from rod iron to toilet seats) that i could use to get prices on. Maybe a quantity surveyers report. I can price the basics but want to be thorough.

thanks alot.

Re: building a new home

Please ensure that no copyright is breached in any efforts to help out satumashurt. In all fairness, I don't think you're going to replicate the expertise of a qualified & experiences QS by filling in the blanks on a list.

Re: building a new home

Any builder will tell you how many blocks you need if you give him the plans and they usually give you a price per block. Likewise the plumber and electrician will give you prices based on your spec.
I assume you are building by direct labour as opposed to actually building it yourself.
Give your drawings to the various tradesmen involved and ask them to quote you for the various tasks.
You cna then get a rough idea of how much things will cost.
Every house is different and I don't think there is a one list fits all in this case.
You often see prices per square foot qouted for direct labour etc but these are only a rough guide.
Internal fittings can vary hugely from person to person based on the type of finish you require.
Get in touch with the tradesmen you plan to use and cost the bigger items such as foundations, blockwork, plastering, windows and doors, plumbing and electrical work and after that visit a few diferent hardware merchnats to get a rough idea of what you wil spend on bathrooms and doors and floors and kitchens.
Alternatively if you want an exact cost before you commence then give your drawings to a builder and get a finished price.

Re: building a new home

I am always surprised (and maybe a little annoyed) when I hear people giving out about paying professional fees, especially fees to architects, QS etc. €1200 is really not very much money in the context of funding a new build and if the QS does his job well you should be able to recoup that fee (if not a multiple of it) in terms of the smooth running of the job and careful cost management. I'd rather pay for good professional advice and service first before I'd consider what kind of timber floor I'm getting or where I'm going to put the flat screen TV.

Re: building a new home

hey man to be honest, if you're stuck for 1200 in advance of building the house, do youhave any plans to deal with any costs overruns as it is???

Re: building a new home

I got a QS to cost my self build and he was way off. He over estimated everything. I'd say he was 100k out. QS may do this out of habit as builders like to exaggerate costs of builds for banks etc.?

Re: building a new home

if it's any kind of normal house, 1200 is probably only half of 1% of the total cost of the project. do you think that your budget will be so accurate that you won't even go half of 1% over budget? if not, getting the qs will save you money.

There are software packages for this aimed at self builders advertised in the self build magazines. Haven't used any of them, so I can't recommend one.

Doing a list yourself will wreck your head and will seriously underestimate things... only a professional can accurately cost every single detail that goes into a house. you might be able to get an reasonable accurate count of the blocks or roof tiles, but will you know how many wall ties, loads of sand, bags of cement, gallons of morticiser. how many nails and screws will you need, how many sheets of polythene, how much insulation or plasterboard or roof tiles will be lost to wastage? how many fittings or inserts will you need in your plumbing? How many rolls of scrim?

Re: building a new home

patrido said:

if it's any kind of normal house, 1200 is probably only half of 1% of the total cost of the project. do you think that your budget will be so accurate that you won't even go half of 1% over budget? if not, getting the qs will save you money.

There are software packages for this aimed at self builders advertised in the self build magazines. Haven't used any of them, so I can't recommend one.

Doing a list yourself will wreck your head and will seriously underestimate things... only a professional can accurately cost every single detail that goes into a house. you might be able to get an reasonable accurate count of the blocks or roof tiles, but will you know how many wall ties, loads of sand, bags of cement, gallons of morticiser. how many nails and screws will you need, how many sheets of polythene, how much insulation or plasterboard or roof tiles will be lost to wastage? how many fittings or inserts will you need in your plumbing? How many rolls of scrim?

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...and don't forget the preliminaries like site set up costs, insurance, plant, scaffolding and power. Stage payments, valuations and all the rest!

Re: building a new home

i wasnt trying to offend quantity surveyers,i just want to try and save a few quid.reason is that it has taken me 4 years and 10,000 euro just to get planning permission.
i intend to do most of the work myself,building blocks,plastering etc.
the house is 140 sqm dormer and i only have about 80 to100,000 to finish it including furniture.
by doing the blocks and plastering myself i will save 24,000 euro.
i will also be making the kitchen myself.
i have had three quotes for raft foundation (1)9000(2)11000(3)15000.
the difference is huge.
1 am trying to get it at 6 to 7000 ish.
i just want info to help me along

Re: building a new home

satumashirt said:

i wasnt trying to offend quantity surveyers,i just want to try and save a few quid.reason is that it has taken me 4 years and 10,000 euro just to get planning permission.

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Thats about the same time, but costs a little as it would take you to train to be a QS

The prices for your raft, are they labour only or do they include the materials. How deep is your raft?