Cost of self Build

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laserjet

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Hi
Can anybody give a rough idea of a self build cost in the west of ireland for a 2700 sq ft house with underfloor geothermal heating system. We find it very hard to get a ball park figure and worry that the house might be too large to afford. another point is that we have been given the sight but have to build a road which is looking like costing €10000-€15000. Our architect assures us that we should be well on our way at €160000 is he being realistic. we are not over worried about decorating costs as we have family members working in that area the biggest worry is the build.

any advice would we greatly appreciated
Regards
Laserjet
 
see this thread about building costs and you'll find that "how long is a piece of string" comes to mind.

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=33267

I know somebody who built 2500 sq ft in the south east for 170,000 but did about 30,000 euro worth of work themselves. From reading around and not personal experience €100 per sq ft for self build seems to be about right. That's all in like architect, waste water, well, planning fee, engineer etc etc. For that you need to be able to organise the tradesmen yourself. Now the bigger you go you get into economics of scale so with 2700 sq ft I can't see a decent finish for less than €180,000/€200,000 with a good deal of your time gone into it. PS the west might be a bit cheaper than the south east.
 
SE is same as the west price wise .

€160k may finish the house if you get the architect to hand over a plastered shell with all the first fixes done and act as a contractor yourself afterwards.

TIP

Use first fix carpenters to build a levelled frame of 2 x 2 wood (like a stud wall lying in the ground ) onto which you clip the underfloor heating, spaced no more than 15in apart centre to centre. Then they build another frame across that at 90 degrees to protect the pipes . You pour loose 7 in 1 mix cement into that up to flush with the top frame.

Finished floor level is 5 inches or so above the top of the frame on which the pipe is clipped. Run the pipes yourself and bring them all through to the central manifold for the hot water underfloor.

have 4 or 5 circuits in the house (2 x beds and 2 x downstairs) and a thermostat for each.

have a thermostat outside to the north to detect frost (house may be warm but outside is freezing in winter so heating ckicks off before sunset )

the boiler installers install boiler outside and manifold inside and hook up this giant snake of already laid pipes to it and the thermostats and presto . pressurise up and turn on heat and use to dry out the floor before you lay floorboards when it is VERY VERY dry, which takes months.
 
thanks for the advice davidoco and 2pack

prob didnt explain myself clearly architects thinks €160K will bring us up to base in, blocks, roof, electricks, plumbing, plastering etc pretty much a shell ready for decorating.

However your figure Davidoco of €180k/€200k doesnt seem so scary as previous quotes i have received from €250k/€300k.

Considering my father fits kitchens and bedroom furniture for a living brother is a cappenter (second fixing) and another brother does facia and soffit.

So am i being realistic in thinking i would be pretty much ready to move in at €200k
 
ianother €40k will do tiling and flooring and kitchen and painting and some sanitary ware and electrics yes but flooring can go from €10 to €50 a square yard and that kitchen will be €10k or less . Consider finishing half of each floor (2 beds kitchen and living room only) if you have to cut corners. You only have first fix plumbing and electrics , the materials for second fix are about

€1500 to €2000 per bathroom or ensutie
€500 per toilet

tiling €10 to €50 per sq yard
floors €10 to €50 per sq yard

no paths or driveways will be done , a front step maybe .

no expensive tiles or floors or a jacuzzi or an entertainment system ...bar the wires being installed under the floor .

€40k on top of a carcass is very very tight with that size of house and that carcass is not cheap at all in my opinion :( . I got a 3400 sq ft carcass built for €120k a few short years back including drylining and plastering and windows and external doors but no architect I am sorry to say :p
 
hi 2Pack

I received contractors quote for house at €250k thats with conventional heating and obviously basic fittings quote also included footpaths and road built.

so would i be more realistic to think i would self build for €200k decorate afterwards for €40K bearing in mind that the kitchen comes free via my father. rough calculations
 
decorate for €40k ???? WTF :eek:

is the kitchen 'decoration' ???

what do you yourself wanna do with €40k ???
 
After you get the plastered shell back from the builder the skys the limit as far as what you spend to fit out a house but here’s my figures. Once you get the main shell done and have 20 to 40k left you will be fine. If you find that you run short you just have to have rooms unfinished etc None of this stuff would be top of the range but no tile style or flat pack rubbish either

Note how quick you can spend 30,000


Main bathroom
Tiling and tiler 1200
Suite should be included in the 160,000

Ensuite 600
As above suite should be included in the 160,000

Timber ground floors solid in public areas (hall, dining and living) allow €50 min per sq yard. 3000
Laminate floors bedrooms DIY allow 30 sq metre 1500

Wardrobes allow 800 each room

Fireplace 1500
Kitchen 10,000
Kitchen tiling 1500
Furniture 4,000
Landscaping and fencing 5,000 ?
 
thanks davidoco

you have set my mind at ease the project doesnt seem quite as daunting as i had initially envisaged
 
Even if you only had the kitchen done you would find that you would manage. Loads of people move into 3 bed semis with just that as the bank wouldn’t lend any more than the 92%.

Just to wreck your head now you should put loads of effort into making sure that you get the best heating system, insulation standards and windows you can afford now. Don’t just settle for the standard “meets building regs” stuff.
 
Thanks Davidoco

We have the same theory, put most of the money into the structure and important stuff and decorate cheaply as this can be easily redone at a later stage.

We have our money set aside to decorate and hopefully have a little left over although the money doesnt be long disappering with all the hidden costs. We hope only to have to borrow enough to build. Thats the plan anyway.
 
Hi,

Does anyone know if your doing a self build with 100% mortgage, will the fixtures and fittings be included in your mortgage or do you have to save seperately? Like will the bank only give you money for the build up to plastering and then do you pay for kitchen installation yourself or does the mortgage include this generally? also does it include fees etc too?

Thanks i dont really know too much about this yet as we are not meeting the bank til next week to finalise.
 
100% includes

paint
kitchen
flooring
sanitary ware

not furniture
 
thanks 2pack, god thats put my mind at ease. So ill include the kitchen and floor estimate costs in the mortgage offer. Sorry, also do you think a budget of E2000 per sqm would be enough to inlcude these costs or would these costs be totally seperate to the build costs and i should do a seperate budget for these? Sorry i know i sound really dumb!
 
9 sq ft = 1 sq yard
1.2 sq yard = 1 sq metre

SOOOOOOOOOOO

2000psm = 1667 psy

1667 psy = 185 psf

185 psf is a lot , nice marble floors all around I takes it :D
 
Thanks 2pack!! just estimating at a high level so i dont get some big shock when i start building and realise i havnt got enough mortgage to finish the house!! marble floors would be nice though........!!
 
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