Self Build - The costs?

Hi there,
We a building a 2360sq ft bunglow at the min the blocks finishing on fri!!Looks great,just a rough guide but we are at about E55,000.
This includes a raft foundation,insulation,steel,everything that goes with that,floors poured,blocks finished,walls insulated,cills and steel frames for windows/conservatory finished etc, sewer+water pipes layed,contribution fees paid to council, connection fees paid, solicitor paid, engineer paid for first 2 stages. All this work apart from blocks was done ourselves,my boyfriend is a carpenter so knows a lot about building.

I think we are doing ok really, as boyfriend is a carpenter he will be roofing it next and we hope to get that done for about 10k at most,around 4k for timber & 5k for slates (we hope lol)

Then windows are approx 9k and plastering 10k for labour and allowing 5k for materials. We r really hoping to have plastering finished fully on about E100,000 which we would be delighted with.
But i suppose its after that the money starts to fly out on kitchens,doors,floors,furniture etc...

Suppose we are lucky we can do most of it ourselves 2.

Anyway if any1 is in a similar situation to me and u want to share ur thoughts and views please do.

Thanks Ash :)
 
Ashling,
I am in a very situation to you at the moment. I am building a 1800m2 dormer and am nearly finished the blockwork. The raft found and the site clearance and the temporary cost around 12k. The blockwork has cost around 5k (material only, the brother is a blocklayer so i will prob give hima few bob) The roof will cost me at least 10k for materials which i was surprised with, this is allowing for 5 veluxs. The other brother is a carpenter so i will get that done cheap as well. After that my insulation will be around 10k, i am going with 90mm composite board fixed to the inside of the wall. My window and doors are coming in arounf 7500 which i thought was excellant value ( i have 23 windows some very small) These are from O Gradys in charlestown in mayo. After that the fun will start but i havent thought too far ahead. I will post the odd update
 
Cool thx ludermor u seem to be getting great help from the family,thats very handy.So how much do u think u will have spent including fees etc.. when blocks r finished.
 
Hi Folks,

Just wondering what kind of prices ye are all getting on blockwork? I have just recieved a quote of 12k labour for a 3200ft two storey with a hollowcore ceiling and block walls upstairs! Does anyone have any idea if this is competitive or not? Oh yeah, Im based in westmeath!

Salmon
 
Just had a look at the plans and using a guide from iaosb.com I estimate that i'd be looking at around 8200 blocks so this price works out at €1.46 per block. Not sure how competitive this is? I have heard this guy does good work and he lives about 100m from my site! Just wondering, when trying to estimate the price should I allow much for chimneys e.t.c? Oh yeah, Is it true that the approx. cost of a block is €0.55?(€550 per 1000)
 
hi all,

i am currently sending out tenders to builders for 120 sqm house in dublin, and have been given a quote for a full build excluding external works. i have seen on this thread that the costs for clearing site,foundations, drainage etc..have been around 10000-15000, would this be a good amount to estimate for these works? Or is this too low? Our architect said it would probably be 40,000, which seems extremely high and i definetly couldnt afford on top of the cost of everything else!!!!

any advise would be great!
 
8200 is a lot of blocks, are you sure you worked it out right?
1.45 per block for the labout is very reasonable you should be allowing 2 euro these days. Of course if there is less blocks then the cost per block will go up.
Purchasing cost of block can be anywhere from 500 to 700 (excl VAT)
 
Depends on the location as to what they are charging, we got ours done last year for 1 euro per block down in Mayo.
We ended up dishing out about 85 per sq foot for a 2100 sq ft dormer. But that is to have it completly finished, admittadely myself and my dad did in or about 49k euro worth of work.

As I side note, we also have no kids and the size of the house is spot on, maybe could have done with a gym/messing room so maybe some of the houses mentioned above are seriously big, especially with interest rates steaming up.

Good luck with all yer builds, would not envy ye!! ;)
 
2 euro a block is off the charts. Even allowing for "Tiger" inflation. Offer him a euro a block and see what he says.
 
Thanks for the replys folks,

Yop,
Jeez I wouldnt mind getting a quote for €1 per block! Sounds very reasonable!

All,
Probably the best way to go would be to get a couple more prices and see how he has priced the job compared to other blocklayers. He did say when quoting that it was a keen price, but asked me not to start before giving him an idea of the best price I had gotten! I kind of want to get him to do the job but I suppose if he is way over the asking price of other lads I might have to re-consider!
 
extopia said:
2 euro a block is off the charts. Even allowing for "Tiger" inflation. Offer him a euro a block and see what he says.
Click to expand...

It used to be a pound a block. I work for a large builder and at the moment we are paying the brickies 1.20 per block on flat and we have to provide all the labourers on top of that.
 
Getting quotes together at the moment have been quoted 230K for two storey 2700sq foot excl tiling,painting,kitchen. how does price sound? Don`t have clue about building so getting contractor is my only option -
 
Sounds like a good price roadrunner! Did they give you a breakdown into stages? For example, did they tell you how much for foundations, blocks, roof etc?
 
Wasn`t broken bown except said concrete first floor cost was 5,500 expternal joinery(windows,shoots?) was 13K and cost excl any additional cost for building on boggy land & drawing away excavated soil (land is bit soft)
 
Are there any particular advantages of using a quantity surveyor for a self build...so that he can access the material costs..anyone done that?
 
Folks,
I have a number of questions.
1. Does anyone know the cost of knocking a removing a 1969 bunglow, approx 1200 sq ft.?? (Northwest area)
2. I am building a 3300 sq ft dormer, plans drawn, a lot of glass on the south side. The Architect has done drawings only, no specs. Do I bring this to an engineer to get specifications, as in steel, support walls etc etc.
3. When you quote €100 to €120 per sq ft, is this the complete finish, or just the builders finish.
4. Does anyone know if natural slates are much more expensive that fabrication ones.
5. Hollow core first floor much more expensive than ceiling joists.
6. Has anyone used or installed Dansk windows??? If so how much dearer than standard windows.

Thanks,
 
1. A day's work for 2 guys with a digger and dumper - figure about €600 - €800 in the NW.
2. You should talk to your architect first, but there might well be parts of the design subject to engineer drawings and specs.
3. Builder's finish, with maybe a coat of paint thrown in. Average costs mean an average finish. You might want very expensive tiles or internal doors etc. for example.
4. Yes, they are much more expensive, but well worth it IMO.
5 & 6. Don't know...
 
Hi Extopia,

€800 to knock and take away, Are you sure, I thought it was approx €1000 to dump a large 8 wheeler type skip. I am sure there will be at least 8 to 10 of these (I think) for roof slates, timbers, doors, walls etc etc. I mean a complete 1200 sq ft bunglow.
I would like to think you are right.?????!!!!!
Please confirm.
 
Sorry - didn't include the cost of dumping. Don't know those costs tbh. You might be able to use a lot of the rubble as fill on the site if your site is big enough.
 
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