Live self-Builds - mod warning in post no. 1

LoTwan

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

That's the focus you need young sensai....:p

Notice is in. Site clearance is starting straight away (there is a lot to clear )

Poor Uncle Tom

The time is good, the clays should be dry enough without any dust, it should be a good dig....:)

braftery

Brookie123 wrote: »

Thanks for that. We're hoping to get ours done for about 70 euro a square foot (I hope I'm realistic) as prices have fallen for labour and some materials in the last few years.

Hi there,

I am just reading this thread and I am trying to figure something out ... Brookie talks about a 3300sq ft house for €170k and hoping to do it for €70/ft

3300 x 70 = €231,000

maybe I read the original post wrong and it is 2300 sq ft in total.

2300 x 70 = €161,000

I am assuming these figures are ex VAT so the total is plus a minimum of 13.5% for VAT.

€161k + 21.5k = €182.5k

Is this for a fully finished, painted and decorated, turn key house ?

If not what is the additional cost for finishing the house ?

I know I am probably late to this thread and maybe all this is covered before .. so apologies if it appears a stupid question ...

randombar

Have a site dedicated to my build, might help people out a bit

Building in Ireland

JuniorB

We've finally joined the 'moved in' club!! Stayed there last Friday week but had a leak when the water was turned on so moved out again! Got back in this weekend - leak was found and repaired quickly enough.
Have a few small issues still to be resolved but we're 95% there.
Tired and wrecked from the whole process so hoping that we'll get settled soon enough and the enjoyment will start.

Will update blog with photos when I get a chance to take some!
Afraid to look at figures - bank accounts are empty and credit card is red hot!

mendel

Well done Junior B,

We still hope to be in in 3 weeks. stairs went in last week, got varnished over the weekend, looks great, just needs the glass panels to be added.

tiler starting main floors tomorrow, says he will be out in the week. all going well, kitchen starting to be fitted on thursday. skirtings/ architraves/doors all oingoing. have had lots of setbacks, some minor some fairly major. think we are getting close though now.

Weather not helping, is delaying some outside work such as digging of trenches for sewerage. wont panic about that yet.

Fingers and toes crossed, no one lets us down!!

SARAH ANNE

Would it be to frosty to slate a house
sounds a silly question i know

LoTwan

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

The time is good, the clays should be dry enough without any dust, it should be a good dig....:)

Except for the fracking snow! Here I was pushing to have the groundworks done this side of Christmas to avoid the sub zeros in January and they come to meet me in November

sydthebeat

GaryCocs wrote: »

Have a site dedicated to my build, might help people out a bit

Building in Ireland

had a quick look through gary, looks good..

i especially like the "things i would again if...." section

randombar

sydthebeat wrote: »

had a quick look through gary, looks good..

i especially like the "things i would again if...." section

Haha eh thanks I tidied that up a bit, much easier to get through on the site. I've used plenty of it already.

awnow

Hello all! Blockwork finising up next week and roof steel to go in then That snowy week put us back!

Wolfhound14

Despite the bad weather, progress has been good.
I think we got off lightly in Cork, but still lost a week with icy roads.

The 3 remaining openings were closed with the arrival of the rest of the windows/doors. The masterpiece is the large sliding door 3.8m x 2.4m, I couldn't be happier with it.
That has closed all the openings and the lads are making good progress on the roof.
They are about 50% complete. I went with the Capco Berona Structured and they are very nice. We are hoping that they can finish in about a week. So it would be great to seal it before christmas. (Snow, Please stay away)

Inside we have the HRV first fix in place, the electrician has started and the plumber is coming next week.

Stoves are ordered, and one needs to go in before air-tightness and slabbing, so hopefully it will be ready in mid Jan.

I am just about able to keep up with all the trades now. I was originally hoping to pay my last rent in April, so fingers crossed. Money will get really tight after the next drawdown.

LoTwan

I! HAVE! FOOTINGS! (and straw to keep it warm overnight )

mendel

well finally after all the ups and downs we are almost there. plan to move in on wednesday. final cleaning to be finished and bits of electrics and plumbing but nothing serious. Like junior b had a leak when the water was turned on but not too serious, has been fixed so wont stop us moving in. hole in the ceiling but sure could be worse.

spent a lot more than expected but probably not surprising considering my lack of knowledge. But happy that we have got a great house with a high end finish. the outside will just have to wait.

Having project managed the whole thing myself it feels weird like it not my house but more like a job i have gone to every day. Hard work while being a full time stay at home mother with small children but very satisfying.

will post later in the week..........hopefully from my new home!!!

JuniorB

Congrats Mendel, best of luck with the new house. Very surreal for first few weeks.
We've a full time job keeping water flowing with the current weather - never mind the painting!

Technophobe

haven't suffered in my 1st year in my new build yet, thank God..but for anyone currently building etc....Make sure that Plumber insulates all pipes in your garage with armaflex and then maybe do them again yourself with your own insulation wrapped around them and covered with polythene or similar...

Also..make sure any pipes running from wells to garages/houses etc are buried to the "red earth" (as my site manager called it..)


Do it right the first time and hopefully avoid problems..Looks like these sort of winters are going to be alot more common now....

soldsold

Anyone know the depth needed to avoid freezing pipes? I have found a concrete slab below where the pipes are going, have about two feet to work with and am planning to double and triple wrap the pipes, and put inside a 4 inch drainage pipe. I have considered running a spare hose in there two that I could run hot water or hot air (hairdryer) through if they still froze.

I've also considered straightening out an underfloor electric heating element and putting it in with the water pipes...

I really don't ever want to have any issues with frozen pipes.

Any comments on the above would be appreciated!

mr_edge_to_you

JuniorB wrote: »

We've finally joined the 'moved in' club!! Stayed there last Friday week but had a leak when the water was turned on so moved out again! Got back in this weekend - leak was found and repaired quickly enough.
Have a few small issues still to be resolved but we're 95% there.
Tired and wrecked from the whole process so hoping that we'll get settled soon enough and the enjoyment will start.

Will update blog with photos when I get a chance to take some!
Afraid to look at figures - bank accounts are empty and credit card is red hot!

Congrats Junior B! Delighted to hear you got there finally.

JuniorB

Cheers Mr Edge. Lots of finishing to be done but sure that's what the summer is for!

dos29

Finally got round to updating the aul blog. If its of any interest, it's at
http://selfbuildwestcork.blogspot.com/
From floor to roof in one fell post!!

Bodavlin

Hi Everyone, We are hoping to start our self build this March all going well. But we are thinking of trying to do it Direct Labour and we are both at least 1.5hrs away with work everyday so wont be available on site... are we mad ? Has anyone else gone direct labour and not been around on side ? Our main reason for this is to save costs and also we know alot of people in the trade that we are hoping to use. Just looking to see if anyone else has gone this way ??
Cheers

awnow

Bodavlin wrote: »

Hi Everyone, We are hoping to start our self build this March all going well. But we are thinking of trying to do it Direct Labour and we are both at least 1.5hrs away with work everyday so wont be available on site... are we mad ? Has anyone else gone direct labour and not been around on side ? Our main reason for this is to save costs and also we know alot of people in the trade that we are hoping to use. Just looking to see if anyone else has gone this way ??
Cheers

Hi Bodavlin,
I have gone the direct labour route and I'm in the middle of roofing at the minute. I was strongly advised by my architect to NOT go down the direct labour route but so far it has worked out excllent for me. Plus I have saved a small fortune and have had full control over what materials are being installed, so we have got the house we want. Much more responsibility though but well worth it.

I was at your stage this time last year and if I was to give you any advise based on my experience, it would be to double check your plans before you send them out for pricing and put as much time into researching your project as possible between now and tender stage, and into what materials you want to you (e.g. stone finishes (if any), insulation, services provisions, other small practical things like laundry shoots etc etc.).

In other words, do your research. I have been working in the construction industry for a number of years and this has helped me massively, although I have never built a house before and alot of stuff I have picked up as I have went along. If I'm being honest, without this experience, I think I would have struggled with the overall project. But I have found the thrill of the experience rewarding to date. We have had one or two bad days when things did ot work out but you have to be prepared for this. You must always think that a problem can always be resolved.

Another thing, when tendering, I sent my drawings and specs out to a few "main contractors" as well as getting prices from sub-contractors for direct labour. The difference in cost between main contractor route and direct labour was antonishing....I am talking 35-60% more on the labour alone!! (With direct labour being the cheaper way to go.) Furthemore, I noticed that the main contractors I went to tried to price materials of inferior quality than I had specified.

If I was 1.5hrs away from my site, this would not have put me off. Provided you can call in to the site every evening (or morning) or even every 2nd morning to check on progress, take some record photographs and chat to your sub-contractors. You must keep on top of it and you will likely need to make some exceptions and call to site when i may not suit you.

Invest in a good builder (be prepared to pay a wee bit more), someone who is conscienscious (correct spelling??), and who will not take advantage of you if you are inexperienced in construction.

I hope this is helpful. I could go on for day but then I have a house to finish .

Awnow.

Bodavlin

Thank you soooo much, it is so nice hearing someone being positive about going direct labour. Of course there are things that will go wrong this is to be expected but it really is soo refreshing to hear someone say 'go for it'. Normally it is 'oh I wouldnt' or 'its a nightmare'.
Thank you again. I completely agree we really do need to do our homework and decide on what we want and how we want it.
Cheers

danmanw8

I'm going with a contractor myself but from even that experience there are a couple of things you need to sort out before you decide.

1) How many people in trades do you know for advice recommendations etc.

2) Are you renting at the moment as direct labour will take a good deal longer from my friends experience

3) What time of year are you planning on building, I don't get to see the site from one weekend to the next at the moment as it is dark by about 4.30, you really need the daylight after work early on in the build to oversee the blockwork etc.

stephendevlin

Have plenty of ensuites - great when you have guests etc and as kids get older. If you have small kids and don't want to use them until a few years time so be it but plan for the future now.
[/QUOTE]


Great for pushing up your plumbing bills too lol :rolleyes:

Do it wisely if needs must.

awnow

Bodavlin wrote: »

Thank you soooo much, it is so nice hearing someone being positive about going direct labour. Of course there are things that will go wrong this is to be expected but it really is soo refreshing to hear someone say 'go for it'. Normally it is 'oh I wouldnt' or 'its a nightmare'.
Thank you again. I completely agree we really do need to do our homework and decide on what we want and how we want it.
Cheers

Danmanw8 has a good point, it would be a great help if you knew some reliable, knowledgable people in trades who could help you along the way. The only word of caution on this, from my experience; I mostly employed people that I DIDN'T know at all really, but who came highly recommended to me by other impartial sources; very conscienscious people who build/construct YOUR house like it's THEIR own house. In my opinion it can help if you are able to treat your dealings with sub-contractors in a business like manner; and if you know the sub-contractors you are employing, on a personal level, then I would be afraid I would be less likely to be objective on their work and approach to things generally. This is only my opinion and everybody is different.

JuniorB

Bodavlin wrote: »

Hi Everyone, We are hoping to start our self build this March all going well. But we are thinking of trying to do it Direct Labour and we are both at least 1.5hrs away with work everyday so wont be available on site... are we mad ? Has anyone else gone direct labour and not been around on side ? Our main reason for this is to save costs and also we know alot of people in the trade that we are hoping to use. Just looking to see if anyone else has gone this way ??
Cheers

We went the contractor route. We were based 1.5hrs away also. I value my 'hassle free' time.
Main reason was because we wanted it built ASAP.My ability to take personal phone calls at work is limited also and that was a huge factor to take into account. Even using a contractor the amount of time spent on the phone/online trying to get the best products/prices/check correct finishes etc is unbelievable.

As regards using people that I know.... never again.

Best of luck

JuniorB

Another couple of 'advantages' of the contractor route:
- Mortgage drawdowns are seemingly a lot less hassle with the bank and paperwork/value of work completed etc if you have a contractor on board.
- Contractor gives you some line of credit i.e. you only pay when the work is done and signed off. Probably much the same with self build but if having hassle getting drawdowns etc easier to deal with one guy than 10 looking for payment.

mendel

Well posting from our new home. can't believe we are here 3 weeks already. Is brilliant to be here. Fed up of looking at subbies on site finishing up but hopefully soon that will be over and i can close the front door to some peace and quiet.

For info, we went direct labour route (ours was a major renovation). i project managed it. knew very little starting out know a lot more now. made some mistakes but nothing major overall and we are delighted with the high spec of the finish we got for what we spent. It was a very enjoyable experience but totally exhausting.

I could write a book on do and donts and advice but i wont. Except to say its so worth it in the end, put as much time into research as you can.

Back now to look out at the garden and wonder how we will ever get around to sorting that out.

LoTwan

I am sitting here singing "rising walls tomorrow" in my head. I can't wait to see them and, by association, the footprint of the build