Refurbishment quote -is it reasonable

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streamer

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My other half and I have gone sale agreed on a house. Its about 100 years old and needs a bit of work. Its in Dublin and its around 1000 sq foot. We had a builder round to give us an idea of the costs involved and he said it would cost around 70k to refurbish. The big figures here are 35k to take up the floors and put down a damp proof course. Do likewise with the walls. Replaster all walls and ceilings. Replace an extension roof. Do plumbing and rewire. I've deliberately left out anything he quoted for finishing, ie kitchens, tiles, floors as I know this comes down to personal taste.

Any comments on whether the quote seems fair? Also, he said that it would take roughly 12 weeks to complete the job, is this realistic?

Neither of us have ever been involved in this type of project before and I'd love to get some tips on what you'd do differently if you had your time over from someone who has been through it.

Thanks in advance

streamer.
 
Before making any decisions you should get 3 or 4 different quotes as builders can vary hugely in prices they charge. Also you should try to get a builder that comes recommended by someone who has used them before as alot (not all of course) are cowboys!!
 
You need to get at least three quotes and don't necessarily go with the cheapest. Go to see work the builder has done and talk to more than one satisfied customers of theirs. Your first warning sign of a cowboy would be if they are anything less than enthusiastic about this. If they are proud of their work they'll be happy for you to see it.

The quote you have sounds neither reasonable nor unreasonable without a full assessment of what needs to be done- get an architect or architectural technician. The cost for the floors seems excessive - always worth doing this but when we did it (also on a 100 year old house) it was a relatively small component of the overall work. It's not complicated- especially if your floorboards are in good condition and are just being lifted and replaced.

We had four builders examine the work we were to do and time estimates varied from six weeks to 10 weeks with six to eight being the average. We were still waiting for the appointed builder to finish five months later.

Things will always move extremely fast in the first three weeks; knocking things down is easy and the progress lends a false sense of security. Make sure you do everything you might want to do while the patient is open- if you want a garden shed or an attic conversion get it all at once even if it breaks the bank. When all trades are on site is the time to do things cost-effectively; call them back in two years and everything will cost 40% more.

Finally, make sure you keep retention money. Many builders translate 'snag list' as 'time to move on to the next job'. Only money held back keeps their attention. Don't understimate the upheaval and don't overestimate the attention or care of people working on your house. State the obvious often, (use magic markers to say exactly where you want your sockets etc., don't leave anything to chance, memory, or drawing interpretation and don't assume common sense)- and good luck!
 
and just as a follow on to Gatherer......

remember that the mor eoften you 'change your mind' the more expensive the build will be,,.... so be absolutley sure when making decisions... be informed and confident....
 
We are in a similar position. I would get a quote from a damp specialist on the rising damp/insect attack. I used a damp specialist recommended on this site and found them to be efficient and very helpful.

The quote I got for 40m of a DPC (silicon injection system) was approx EUR 1500 (this excluded stripping of plaster/replastering). I also asked an independent QS to estimate our renovation costs. The total costs for stripping 40m of walls to 1m, injecting the walls, and replastering was 5k.

Our house is 1900 sqft. So based on my very limited knowledge, I would think 35k seems a bit high.

Let me know if you need any more info on rernovation and guideline costs. As mentioned, an independent QS estimated our renovation costs on a 100 year house. I can only speak on what I have been quoted - but it may help you know what to expect.
 
Whatever you do, ensure that the builder is used to dealing with old houses or the work they do could end up making matters worse.

You should check out the Irish Georgian Society website for some recommendations of specialist.
 
Thanks for all the comments to date, really really useful stuff. To be fair to the builder, I didn't explain the work involved with the DPC very well. The downstairs of the house actually has concrete floors, so the 35k cost reflects the following: excavating the floors and pipework, putting down the damp proof membrane, insulating the floor and replacing the floors and pipework.

We've actually decided that after the long hard slog of selling and moving house that we're going to put the renovations off until next summer. Having heard what sydthebeat and gatherer say about attention to detail, I know that starting the project now would mean that we simply didn't have the energy to deal with the process properly. If somebody asked me what type of kitchen I wanted right now, I'd be most likely to say, whichever one can be installed fastest!

We're going to get an industrial dehumidifier in for a couple of weeks to suck out the worst of the damp and then use a home version to keep the problem at bay. If any of you did this while you were waiting for the big project to start, I'd appreciate your thoughts.

thanks again

streamer
 
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