The do's and don't for newbie building a 4000 sqr ft house in county Meath.

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Serenity1

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Hi all,

My mortgage just got approved today - it has been sent to my solicitor for signing.

I know i need life cover before draw down? What other insurance do I need or not need? Were there any problems with your solicitors etc?

Also how has direct labour worked out for you guys? Was it much cheaper or worth the effort?

I would really appreciate any do's and don'ts from people who have been through this. I have been reading the threads on heating and insulation etc. all good solid advice so i though i would ask for some.

In case it matters i am building a 4000 sqr ft house in county Meath.

I appreciate any advice.
 
Re: The do's and don't for newbie

4000 sq ft - have you thought about the impact of a property tax if it comes in??
 
We built our own house of 3500 sq ft with direct labour in Kildare. For us it worked out very well but only because my other half is good at that stuff. My tips would be:
- If you are not in a position to do any of the work yourself, dont go direct labour
- Make sure you are in a position to be on site every day otherwise dont go with direct labour
- Make sure you have good self build insurance - dont just go with the cheapest.
- Make sure to set up house insurance before you move in as that is when a lot of leaks seem to occur and your self build insurance wont cover it
- Plumbing always seems to be a problem so ensure you have clear guidelines set out with all tradesmen on scope of work but particularly with the plumber on what consequeuences are if leaks occur

I hope that helps. We had problems with the last transfer from the bank but that was because they needed some site paperwork which had not been sorted.

Good luck
HappyA
 
Re: The do's and don't for newbie

MacTheKnife1 said:
4000 sq ft - have you thought about the impact of a property tax if it comes in??
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My partner and I were discussing this last night - fingers crossed it nevers happens or were in trouble.

Sue Ellen we're planning on insulating it well, having it air tight, zoning the entire house and having underground heating. At this stage we will fuel it either by oil or wood pellet burner? Actually the 4000 sqr ft includes a garage that is under the same roof as the house.

HappyA thank you so much for your reply tips like that are invaluable. Was the trouble due to the engineer or did the bank request another valuation. I think we will be ok here as our LTV is 45%.
 
Re: The do's and don't for newbie

Serenity1 said:
My partner and I were discussing this last night - fingers crossed it nevers happens or were in trouble.
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Ask yourself - do you really need 4000 sq ft of space? I know people who have gone this way. The result:

- more time spent keeping it tidy.
- more money spent heating it.
- more time spent maintaining it - painting a house that size alone is a huge task.
- if the property tax comes in - and i think it will - it is most likely going to be based on floor space.

Why work hard only to waste it on an oversize house?

Unless you have 6 or 7 kids 4000 sq ft is huge.

Mac
 
my parnter and I have recently moved into our 4000sq ft hse also in Meath. As neither of us had any building skills and as we both worked and lived in Dublin we got a company to build our house. We found it great. We were delighted with their work and it was hassle free.

Yes it is a large house for two but you will be amazed at how you will use every inch! The advise I give you is not to rush into decorating every room all at once. We found the decorating and kitting out the house the most costly area. Do it room by room as you need it. You have a life time to do it!

When we were building we had plans for this and that, but you have to be realistic! If I was doing it again I would not go smaller in house size, I would make the rooms slightly smaller. Carpets were our biggest hassle as carpets only come it certain sizes and as our rooms were large carpets had to be joined.

Bascially my advise is be aware of the decorating and finishing costs of a large house and dont make my mistake of wanting every room done 'now'!...and I think having 6-7 kids to fill the house maybe a little bit more expensive!

best of luck
jas
 
for a house that size to me the no-brainers would be..

Top quality insulation
Wood Pellet/Geothermal
Solar
 
Thanks a million Jas - We absolutely love our house plans so i don't think we will be changing them or downsizing anytime soon. Our plan is to move into the down stairs part for now. My fiance is a carpenter so he wants to do the finishings himself including stairs.

Can i enquire as to what heating system you opted for? Do you have solar panels? Also what about windows / doors etc?

Bamboozle - we are thinking...

Top quality insulation
Top quality windows / doors
Wood Pellet / UFH

The jury is still out on Solar Panels - we will defo make provisions for them. But we are getting such mixed feedback. I have been reading the other threads here all morning.
 
Serenity
First of all best of luck to you. I am at the first fix electrical and plumbing stage.
Things I learnt along the way are as follows.
Firstly even though I am knowledgeable about building and the trades and also have flexibility with work I made the decision to not completely sublet the core of the build by this I mean that I got three quotes groundworks, blockwork and roofing, I then supplied the insulation for the walls as you can shop around for that I also shopped around and negotiated on the windows. there were a number of issues with the build as in the builder recommending future door positions and window sizes and even changing a window at the back. I had no hassles as I could ask any questions and get the answers with the builder dealing with the digger driver and the blocklayer, all in all this worked well for me and overall in the long run what I paid extra was well worth it.
Also if you are getting quotes from friends write everything down and agree on it. I didn't do this that well on one price and it hurt me on cost as everything seemed to be 'extra' not that I am stingy but it all adds up. Now when I am agreeing quotes I say lets get it all down on paper that we are being straight with each other and they appreciate that as well.
One last piece of advice, you are now managing a budget therefore you need a budget at the start not an estimate which is where I feel people fall down in the area of self build.
Its very easy at the start to say yes I want a motorised door versus a normal garage door, will you use the motor in the long run is that €350 worth it and so on.
 
Excelent advice Tom - my partner has some experience in the building trade so he will handle builders etc.

The one thing i was adament about is getting everything in writing - so far so good. I am a bit shocked at the discrepancey in quotes we are getting. In this game it definately pays to shop around.

Eg: labour for external walls upto roof level - no ground work, scaffolding or materials etc. €35000 from a 'friend'.

labour for external walls upto roof level, ground work included and scaffolding. No materials €16,500 from a building company.

I went to www.iaosb.com and copied there schedule of costs - we are using this as a guideline for our budget. I would love to hear if anyone else has ideas for calculating your budget. We are keeping all quotes and costs in an excel spreadsheet. If anyone did this in the past would you be willing to share it?
 
I think you have very good replys here I built 2500sq Ft in 2007 Got a local builder to look after everything (I was Lucky) Direct labour is good if either party has the time to look after it,If not it will it can be fustrating and very expensive,As I spoke earlier to another blog you would have to go Geothermal ,Top quality insulation and good Heating Advise
David
 
We went for solar panels and find them brilliant. We had hot water from april till early oct. We didnt have to turn heating or immersion on during that time. Wood Pellet gave us a few problems but seems to be working fine now. Senator windows installed and never any problems.


jas
 
Solar panel are excelent but if you are going Geothermal,The payback is approx 20 years as Geothermal take solar heat from the ground,But if heating with Oil or Pellet they are paid back for in half the time wich are an excellect choice.
 
Hi. Would welcome views re building a 500-750 sq ft (1-2 bed house) eco house for under 50k. Is it poss considering current economic climate.

Have a chance to buy 575 sq mt site in Wexford for under 40K, all services already on site, so maybe only conection fees to pay.

By the way I am new to this site, or any site in fact. Just browsing and found it. So apologise if I am making any mistakes here
 
earthship said:
Have a chance to buy 575 sq mt site in Wexford for under 40K,
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Is the site worth 40K??? I suspect that in todays environment you can get it for less. Seems like a big price for a very small site. That would leave you with more cash for the house. Getting site for 25K would leave you 65K for the house.

Just my tuppence worth....
 
Hi Mac

Many thanks for reply. Its a subsidised site offered by council. Its 37K, do you really think its too much to pay? Considering all services already there??
 
earthship said:
Many thanks for reply. Its a subsidised site offered by council. Its 37K, do you really think its too much to pay? Considering all services already there??
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Maybe it is a good deal - but in the current environment I would ask for a reduction. It seems like a small site and you will need every penny you have given the cost constraints you mention in your first post.

Mac
 
Yes. It’s worth asking. However, any site in this area is double, even treble that price. There are already paths and roads in place too. Which might be a bit of a bummer as it may stop me orientating the house to make best possible use of passive/solar energy. I'm aiming for near zero utils bills in the future, if at all possible. The house has to be paid for by retirement age (only 13 years to go) hence tiny budget.

Mosstown; site was huge help, just had a brief look at it there, lot's of ideas. Many thanks.

I've been researching all sorts of different types of plans ie Domes, Michael Reynolds Earthships, kit houses etc as I need a quick build to reduce costs. Any thoughts on these types of structures? Not sure the Planning Dept would go for it though.

Would just like to say this site is very good, getting some useful info here. Many thanks
 
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