Key Post: House Building Direct Labour

ClareMan : Info on Concrete First Floor.

Hi Clareman - Can you give some info on the Precast concrete first floor.

Who did you get quote off ?
Do they install ?
Do you have to put a concrete screed on top ?
How are you managing services / Pipes / Wires ?

Do you have to put you support blocks on the side to take the weight ?

Cheers,
FDH.
 
FDH, also architects fees

First of all, thanks to FDH for the info ref employing direct labour.
This is a very useful topic. If it helps anyone who hasn't started yet, I was quoted a shade under €3K for Architects fees, to include drawings, all planning application work, site surveys, soil testing etc. Seems a little steep, but I'm assured my man is very thorough & will see the job right through, as he is also qualified to sign off stages as complete for the mortgage lender.
Are these costs fairly typical?
 
precast

Who did you get quote off ? Whelans

Do they install ? They come and measure then install with a mobile crane

Do you have to put a concrete screed on top ? yes

How are you managing services / Pipes / Wires ?
Not sur yet :)

Do you have to put you support blocks on the side to take the weight ?
I have sent them the plans and I will need some RSJ's over some of the windows but thats all
 
precast floors

to add to clare mans post, you submit your plans to the supplier and they their engineers advise you of any changes you need to make to your plans / specific screeding requirements etc. you normally plan upfront where you will need service holes etc and these are then cut out for you. this usually costs per hole as the process eats up expensive blades .
1 thing that might be an issue is the fitting of recessed light fittings . im not sure how / if that can be gotten around
 
Recess Lights

Thanks Eamonn / ClareMan,

Has anyone gotton around recess lights on the underneath of a concrete first floor ?


Thanks,
FDH.
 
Concrete Spec

Clare man

Yes the concrete spec was for 30N20, which I believe is what you put into the foundation, well its in mine now.

Also got quote from Whelans for the hollow core floor, they are competitive but they quoted me a lead time of 12 weeks and from a reliable source I believe this is more like 14-15 weeks which is quite a wait.
 
Recess Lights

I plan to do this underneah concrete hollowcore.

My understanding is you need to double batten on the underside of the precast floor. Double batten is to allow a sufficient gap between plasterboard sheets and concrete to fit the back of the spot and allow room for electrical connections, transformers etc, a single batten only wont achieve this.

After fixing battens I think the elec cable is routed around the ceiling leaving connection tails at the appropriate spotlight points. The second (lower) batten gets a notch cut out of it in the appropriate places to fit the cable around the ceiling neatly and allow the plasterboard to be fixed up to the ceiling flush with the battens with no issue of squashing cables. The last part obviously is marking the plasterboard in the right place to fit the light and match up with the elec cable positions.

I haven't done this yet so am open to correction but it does seem to make sense to me.
 
Breakdown of process up to where Brickie comes in.

Great Post lads - Keep it going..

Question for Clareman - Did you get back onto roadstone ? did they drop the price of €415 / 1000 ?

Can anyone have a guess of cost to clear a flat 1/2 acre site, dig out foundations, and lay foundations up to the point where the blocklayers come in ?

Estimate :-
Clear Site =
Dig Foundations =
Lay foundations =

It's for a standard 2100 sq foot house.

Can anyone give a brief outline as the what has to be done to get to this point ? Kinda like a simple step by step up to where the Blocklayer comes in ....

I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.
SteveO
 
Cost of stairs

Does anybody have prices for a stairs, either a basic straight one or one with a 3/4 landing, different materials etc.?
 
Jister & SteveO

I'm estimating About €1500 - €2000 for a standard red deel stairs.

SteveO - Good question.
I'm in a similare situation to you.

I'm not much use to you, someone else out there might be able to help you ?
I'd be interested in seeing an answer to it too.

Can anyone give a quick breakdown of getting a site to DPC level ? & a rough estimate.
 
Cremin Tanks

Anyone out there got any experience or feedback regarding Cremin Tanks. I have come across them on a few sites and on their own site oxyvent.ie they claim they are the best thing since........

Just to explain the claim is that all heating systems inherently generate air and this causes inefficiency, the cremin tank supposedly removes all the air making heating systems '30% more efficient', sppeds up flow rates and therefore response times in underfloor heating systems, prolongs boiler / pump life etc etc

I can buy the theory, anyone know anymore about this. It seems to cost around € 490.
 
Cremin Tanks

Re underfloor heating, is this a good job. Thought about getting this done in Co. Donegal, asked a reputable plumber who does both rads and underground (with pipes underneath soil), he wouldn't recommend underfloor, too costly, not enough heat from soil to keep house warm, needed to have oil tank as well for heating.
Any comments greatly appreciated.
 
..

I was mad for the Cremin tank. Even got the builder within my estate on the case and they agreed to meet your man Cremin. The plumber on the estate said to me after that he didn't think it was worth fitting in your standard 3/4 bed estate house. He said it was worth only really if you had a very large house, or if for example you had a house where some of the rads would be very far away from the boiler. For example a bungalow 50 feet wide, with the boiler at the back corner end and rads at the other end.
 
foundations

SteveO,
I have just got a quote for the foundations for our 1800 sq.ft house on a half-acre. There is a lot of rock to be blasted first as well as road to be built. The price is 10,000 and this will only bring it up to the raft stage. Anyone know how much building a raft will cost?
M.
 
its recent, thats the biggest problem.

the underground system (aka heat exchanger aka thermal sink ) and underfloor combination works fine but you should dryline as well as cavity insulate the outside walls , you should do that with oil too. consider triple and not double glazing too.

remember that a wooden floor over underfloor is a bit daft because wood is an insulator so use thinnish wood 12- 15mm not 20-25mm thick floorboards.

lots of plumbers hate underfloor because they get blamed if it goes wrong (like bursts) , it does sometimes but the insurance does not penalise you for having it so what the feck :)
 
floor slabs

why hollow ?

solid slabs are cheaper and work just fine
 
Cost of raft

SteveO,
I have been quoted 10,000 for a raft not including concrete or vat
 
Precast Floors & Structural Screed

Just to go back to this topic, would appreciate anyones advice and or explanations as to what is required and involved in putting a structural screed at first floor level on top of precast concrete hollow core slabs.

Is it just mesh laid out across the entire area with a 3 inch depth of concrete poured.

Do internal walls get built after and on top of the structural screed?...............
 
Plastering

How do plasterers charge ??
Per metre/yard.
Amount Cement
Time..

What are the typical costs
 
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