Key Post: House Building Direct Labour

I have just started a build and was wondering if it would be worth starting a thread on costs etc.

Foe example I have used fill at the following prices
4 inch down Euro 5 + vat per ton
sub soil euro 3 + vat per down

Digger driver + digger was euro 30 an hour + vat
1.2 ton roller was euro 300 a week inc vat

I am interested in prices for blocks, cement, insulation, labour etc

House Building Direct Labour

Hi ClareMan,

I'd definately be interested in listening to what you have to say about costings. AAM is great for advice, but there is very little advice on selfbuilds via direct labour.

It's something that's happening more and more, and I feel a new topic / Main Category should be set up (Please AAM Admins )

I'm Planning to self-build in Limerick next year, and would really appreciate if you could share any costings on AAM.

What type/size of house you building ?

Could you split it into phases:
Site Work :-
Foundations :-
First Floor Level :- etc...

I'm sure there'd be alot more interest, The Homes and Gardens sections is a good place to view this kinda info.

Regards,
FDH

costs

about €1,200 for a radon barrier (probably worth it - especially if might ever sell).

Got brown woodgrain uPVC windows from Costellos about 7.5K (biggish house), including teak front door. Lot cheaper than anything else going.

Shop around is yer only man - golden rule !!

Velux windows were cheapest in Morans of Castleisland, about €250 a go including tile flashing (free delivery).

McElligotts (also Castleisland) seem the best for bathroom fittings.

Drilling a well is about €2,250.

Re: House Building Direct Labour

Lads,

now were talking, I will be going down this road next year or year after so it is great to be able to get a feel for prices.

Keep em coming

Concrete

I have also been quoted 61 + vat (cubic meter) for concrete for the foundation

Blocks at about 480 including vat

stop - this a good idea

we could have a building project page whe people doing building projects could pout up ongoing prices for comparison
It beats - get 3 quotes rule.
wat

..

Sites guys///did you buy through an auctioneer...does the concept of people approaching land owners such as farmers exist?

Re: House Building Direct Labour

When we were buying the site we initially saw the site advertised (sign on the ditch) but knew a fella from the area so was asking him about it, turns out he was very good friends with the farmer selling it so he kind introduced me to him and we dealt directly with each other after that.

Ended up buying more than the site but thats a story for another day!!!

When we were looking I remember stopping the car and getting out to ask a fella mowing his lawn if he knew of any sites for sale in the area that wouldn't be advertised etc. next thing another of his neigbour pulls up and before you know it I have a list of about 10 different people that might be interested in selling a site.

so I suppose to answer your question yes the concept of people asking farmers directly does exist. another thing to consider is; if you see a recently built house in the area is to go and ask the people living there if they bought the site and if so could they give you the farmers name number - never know he might want to sell another one!

buying sites direct

I bought my site direct from a farmer cos we knew of him and he lived up the road so we kind of introduced ourselves to him. The other advantage to buying direct is that you can hand a few grand under the table thus avoiding stamp duty and the farmer avoids some CGT but we didn't risk it with this fella cos he's a bit of a chancer.

The biggest advantage is that we were able to name our price. We had heard on the grapevine that the man was in a bit of trouble so we approached him and said "how about we give you €30,000 for that site down there and he thought all his christmases had come together.

At the moment I'm trying to get a garage built, base is down, concrete poured etc.
Anyone know the going rate for a blocklayer? I'm talking about a cash job here, maybe some fella doing a nixer? One person quoted me 90c per block

Re: buying sites direct

The other advantage to buying direct is that you can hand a few grand under the table thus avoiding stamp duty and the farmer avoids some CGT but we didn't risk it with this fella cos he's a bit of a chancer.

Click to expand...

Hi Sinead - This isn't 'avoiding' tax. This would be evading tax.

Give it a rest

Rainyday

This self-righteous "pay your tax, all the tax" crap is becoming a little bit fatiqued, wouldn't you agree.

I think most of the regular visitors here have got your message by now. Personally and professionally I have long since been weary of those who proclaim to be camping out permanently on the high moral ground.

Its very clear where you stand on this subject so just give the preaching a rest.

a nod and a wink

Its very clear where you stand on this subject so just give the preaching a rest.

Click to expand...

Yea rainyday, give it a rest. Next thing you will be giving out about people who rob banks and defraud insurance companies and saying that's wrong as well!
Sure if the government got it they would only waste it on education or hospitals or the like, better off in your pocket Aphrodite, why should you pay your way, sure everyone else can do that for you, right?

Personally and professionally I have long since been weary of those who proclaim to be camping out permanently on the high moral ground.

Click to expand...

While I concede that rainyday has a better view than the rest of us, I don't think that pointing out that someone is advising a criminal act constitutes "camping out permanently on the high moral ground."

you can hand a few grand under the table thus avoiding stamp duty and the farmer avoids some CGT but we didn't risk it with this fella cos he's a bit of a chancer.

Click to expand...

Is that what they call irony?

Re: a nod and a wink

Hi Aphrodite - You obviously didn't notice the subtle change of focus in my post. I didn't say 'pay all your taxes'. I simply pointed out that the course of action recommended by Sinead would constitute tax evasion.

So rather than try to 'change the world' and get everyone in Ireland paying their rightful taxes, I've refocused myself to simply 'change the attitude of the world', i.e. eliminate the nod/wink attitude to tax evasion in Ireland.

Re: a nod and a wink

Everyone shut up about the tax crap. We all know the arguments - and we all make our mind up how we act legally and morally! Leave this post alone so people can give advice about building costs etc.

Blocklayer 90Cent

Hi Sinead - I've not been doing any serious pricing yet, but 90c sounds really cheap.
I've recently spoke to someone who was quoted 1.80 a block. (A bit High I think)

The avereage seems to be around 1.20 (limerick).
It all depends on who's laying them, and what your building.

90 cent sounds really good - Is he a cowboy ? ask for references, go see his prev work, call to house and ask owners about him ?
Ask locally about him, sometimes references can be staged, and you could be taking to one of his mates. Also he'll only give you names of satisfied customers.

AAM - Alot of posts
Regards,
FDH.

Re: House Building Direct Labour

Everyone shut up about the tax crap. We all know the arguments - and we all make our mind up how we act legally and morally! Leave this post alone so people can give advice about building costs etc.

Click to expand...

Well said, lets keep the Tax Evasion / Avoidance stuff for LOS etc.

Anyway I had to buy some slate the other day, just 15 slates (for a small job) came to €26 so that makes it €1.70 + per slate.

I'd say you would get them at around €1.30 to €1.50 if you were buying enough for the whole roof, that was Chadwicks BTW.

House costs

A friend of mine just got a couple of quotes for a plasterer for his 3000 sq ft house of between €16k and €18k. Sounds expensive to me..
On the blockwork side 4 years ago it used to be a £1 per block and now it's around €1.30-1.50 a block , about right..
Keep these posts coming, it's great info for someone like me who's building in the near future, anyone got prices for plumbers and electricians..??

Question

Would you people reckon I'd build a decent size house for say 150 -160k, not including price of site

building a house

Dancork,
We'll be starting to clear our site in a couple of weeks and are planning to build 1800 sq. ft. for 160,000. We don't have anyone in the trade to do us 'favours' and we are going to have geothermal heating which is included in the price. This works out at 89 euro per sq. foot.

Blocks

I have worked out my blocks based on

10 blocks per m2
double this if a cavity wall,

I understand that window openings are included in the overall area.

The only quote I have for my estimated 9,000 is 15,000 euro + vat.

Any body know how to estimate a roof, i not really sure how to start?