New house finishes

C

Celtic Cub

Registered User
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Hi everyone,

I see many house building cost calculators ask you to select a finish. I have a fair understanding of what to expect from a builders finish, but does anyone know what to expect from standard, good or excellent quality finishes? Any thoughts welcome.
 
Do you mean as in, cost, neatness, easy on the eye, colour, smoothness, materials, etc? Difficult to understand what it is you're asking. For example, a lot of people do their own painting in a house and a good painter or tradesman + plenty more will know instantly who did the job, but the person who did the job will think it's a fabulous finish. There's an awful lot more to painting than a can of paint and a brush. Same with woodwork, plastering, etc. Mutton dressed as lamb comes to mind and most of us see that every day. :cool:
 
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noproblem said:
Do you mean as in, cost, neatness, easy on the eye, colour, smoothness, materials, etc? Difficult to understand what it is you're asking. For example, a lot of people do their own painting in a house and a good painter or tradesman + plenty more will know instantly who did the job, but the person who did the job will think it's a fabulous finish. There's an awful lot more to painting than a can of paint and a brush. Same with woodwork, plastering, etc. Mutton dressed as lamb comes to mind and most of us see that every day. :cool:
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Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes, I think it is the quality of doors, windows, kitchen, plaster and painting etc. But not sure as I am not terribly familiar with how this works. If anyone has a square metre calculation with a description of what is covered that would be helpful.
 
Afraid it doesn't work like that and almost impossible to calculate because it all depends on the finish you require. Some people will tell you to calculate at €150 per sq ft, but it's a bit like "what length is a piece of string". The cheapest part of the build is from scratch to roof on, then the fun (€€€€€) begins.
 
I've never seen anything written down. If you're talking to builders before asking them for quotes, they'll be able to give you an idea of what they'll quote for based on your ask. It makes it really difficult to compare quotes, because they never include the same quality finishes.

Some ideas as a rough guide.

Standard finish:
Skirting / architraves: white or red deal.
Internal doors: hollow core laminated
Flooring: laminate
Kitchen: Budget c.7k, laminate doors, chipboard worktop
Windows: White PVC double glazing
Bathroom: minimal tiling, ceramic tiles, basic suite.

High quality:
Skirting / architraves: solid oak
Internal doors: solid oak
Flooring: semi solid / engineered
Kitchen: Budget c.25k, solid wood, inframe hand painted doors, granite worktop
Windows: something fancy, triple glazing
Bathroom: porcelain tiles, floor to ceiling, expensive suite & showers
 
As above, each builder will vary in their interpretation so it is really important to get into the detail and decide what types of finishes and fixtures and fittings you want.
 
Quite a few builders when quoting to build a house for a client are charging for this. They get their quote done by a QS and if you deal with them to do the build the price for the quotation comes off the price. Can't say I blame them. There's no problem or charge to get an estimate, but for a quotation? That costs.
 
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