Self Building

Hi came across this website by chance and needed some questions answered.

Currently seeking to build a house the direct labour route in Co.Kildare, site is got from my partners father. Architect says that to build it would be 100 euro per sq foot. We are thinking of doing 2500 sq ft dormer. Would anyone have a ballpark figure for this? We are also going to use solar, geothermal and wood pellet energy for the house (dont know if this would affect the overall price of house). The outside of house is very simple but inside downstairs we have open plan space, while upstairs are all the rooms.

Much appreciated if anyone could help me. Thanks

Hi MoneyWorry,
Costs to build per sqft can vary considerably, depending on where in the country you are located, the build route you choose and of course the specification quality you want.

Going with a main contractor, will most likely cost you at least 100sqft in most parts of the country. Possibly in Kildare, with so much demand in and around Dublin, builders will price higher because thay can.

Direct labour can get you down around the 70/80 sqft area, but as I said there are a lot of variables involved so caveat aware here.

Certainly the sustainable energy methodology you are considering will certainly send your costs north as they are often considerably more expensive then more traditional methods.
Geothermal typically can cost around 12-15k.
Woodpellet, cheapest boiler is arounf 5k, then going up to 10k+. You need cosiderable storage for wood pellets to avail of economical delivery quantities. Storage costs will be 3k+ at least.
However you should only require one or the other of Geothermal and Woodpellet, unless you want a woodpellet stove in the hose as well, 4k+ again.
Solar installations probably 4k+ minimum.

As you can see these will impact on your cost per sqft.

All the best,
AndyH
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