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engineer costs?

bb12

what is the current cost of getting an engineer to supervise and sign off on your build?

i've gotten a price of €1 per square ft + VAT for an engineer to supervise the foundations, floors, blockwork, roofwork and first and second fittings. plus sign stage certs and issue a cert of compliance at completion.

is this reasonable in the current climate?

also, who sets out the foundations before the build begins? builder or engineer? if engineer, should it be included in the above price or should it be extra?

thanks!

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Clarelassie

We are coming to the end of our build - started last June - cost of eng, 1.5k + vat for 5 visits including sign off ( build 3200 sft). Builder set out foundations and eng just showed up to view and sign off certs, but with our builder, only doing 3 certs in total - foundation, after first fix and then completion ( builder very generous and as always stuck to once off builds, wasn't too affected by change in economy).
Your price sounds a bit expensive to me - but depends on what size house you are building and where.

mr_edge_to_you

we paid €1500 + vat for our engineer sign off. it is important to note that this was just make sure the structure was sound and the house was built in accordance with the conditions in planning permission and met current safety/energy regulations and our stage certs for bank signed off. for example the builder had his conrete slab suppliers spec the steel beams and walls and the engineer signed that off.

this was not for a hands-on supervision of the build. he wasn't out every few days making sure that the house was being built precisely as detailed on the plans. thats a different ball game altogether.

baldybohs

We are about to start building an extension 38 sq. m. Our arch wasn't great when doing up plans. Now we need someone to sign off on build for mortgage purposes. We have been quoted 1,350 which I thought was expensive. This arch wants to visit site twice a week which I think is over the top:cool: but I need someone quick as Solicitor is pressurising us for a name. Am I being a cheapskate??

RKQ

baldybohs wrote: »

We have been quoted 1,350 which I thought was expensive. This arch wants to visit site twice a week which I think is over the top:cool: Am I being a cheapskate??

IMO Yes you are.
How qualified are you to say visiting twice a week is too much?
Your Engineer / Architect is there to protect you - inspect construction on site - they are on your side.

If you are not happy with €1350 - then ring at least 3 experienced Arch. Technicians, Architects, Structural Engineers for written quotes. Ensure they have full PI insurance.

By the way here's a few simple questions to consider:-
Whats your Solicitor charging?
What percentage of your loan will €1350 amount too?
Is any other sub-contractor charging close to €1350 for their services?
How much will you spent on a new kitchen or new bathroom?
How much is peace of mind?
Will build quality improve if the works are regularly inspected?

mr_edge_to_you

1350 is fairly reasonable if they are calling out regularly. If you think thats too expensive just get more quotes.

Leadership

Ours will come to €3.5k all in which was basic sign off (stage payment sign off), perculation tests, site plan drawings and 5 additional visits at various stages of the build to assess some build detailing.

JuniorB

Our fees were something like:
5k for drawings, planning etc.
5k for detailed drawings and tender process,
4k for build oversight, staged payment certs, any redesign required etc (visiting site at least twice a week for 5/6 months! and dealing with me when I'm going stone cracked with the builder's QS when he's trying to ride me... which is happening a bit too often!)
All in all very happy with the service and the advice/help that we're getting. As they say you get what you pay for..

bruschi

feck, looking at those prices I'd definitely say shop around. For our new house (3,000ft2)I got my drawings done up for €1,000 (granted, I had pretty much designed it myself and just needed all the planning forms done and proper drawings done) and stage payments and construction process was €1,200. He pretty much didnt have to do anything tho as I knew the story and only needed him to be signing off and just making sure he was happy the design stayed the same and his indemnity wouldnt be affected. I had a project manager helping out during the running of the job, and that was enough for me to make sure it was being built properly. Was keeping an eye on it myself anyway.

you get what you pay for alright, but there is value to be got also.

Robin1

We got one engineer to do up drawings, apply for planning. However we weren't happy with his service at all and are now getting a new guy to sign off on build as it progresses, he charges 250 euro per call out and reckons he won't need more than five visits.

SLIPPERY FROG

a lot of people not happy with arch and eng same old story, some of them are like left overs from the cold war, arrogant incompetant greedy, and lazy

sinnerboy

Take a week off before posting again . If you have a particular case in mind you may get assistance and guidance here . But if you wish to simply rant - you will not find a voice here

Robin1

SLIPPERY FROG wrote: »

a lot of people not happy with arch and eng same old story, some of them are like left overs from the cold war, arrogant incompetant greedy, and lazy

I have yet to meet somebody who has been happy with their engineer! Asked around for recommendations from friends but none of them were able to recommend the guy they had used. Having said that, the new guy seems to be ok - so far so good!

muffler

Please ignore the post by SLIPPERY FROG and can we get back on topic again.

AdamAntsy

Well I'm very happy with our Engineer - will be coming in about €1 per sq ft but so far he's been up to our site a couple of times a week, and is very involved. He's also been great at giving advice, rough pricing estimates and generally patient with me as I know nothing about construction (although that's changing fast).

We could have gone cheaper and had a pure sign-off engineer, but IMO I'm getting a bargain at twice the price and a decent working relationship has developed between him and the builder. Given the expense of building a house, while I'm cutting the overall budget on some non-essentials I think a sound engineer is worth paying for - we've certainly felt the value. Long may it continue.

sinnerboy

Robin1 wrote: »

I have yet to meet somebody who has been happy with their engineer! Asked around for recommendations from friends but none of them were able to recommend the guy they had used. Having said that, the new guy seems to be ok - so far so good!

Well you get what you pay for

No6

There is the old saying "You pay penuts you get monkey's" which is very true. What you pay depends directly on the level of service you require. Here in the west I find most people don't want any serious level of supervision or the costs associated with it so that what they get, four or five drawdown certs and compliance certs at the end if the pay up my megere fees!!