PASSIVE HOUSE BUILDING COST?

tracy2000

hi

Im at the stage where I am going to be sending out construction plans for our passive house for pricing soon. I was just wondering does anyone know what the average price per sq/ft is at the moment.

We have an estimated price from our architect/eng but Im just looking to see what the prices are ranging from with actual builders.

thanks

sas

tracy2000 wrote: »

hi

Im at the stage where I am going to be sending out construction plans for our passive house for pricing soon. I was just wondering does anyone know what the average price per sq/ft is at the moment.

We have an estimated price from our architect/eng but Im just looking to see what the prices are ranging from with actual builders.

thanks

Too many variables.

For big ticket items like the windows, the price difference between pvc and aluclad can run to €10000+ depending on the size of your home.

Also the construction method makes a big difference. A TF using breathable materials is going to come in right at the top price wise, again €10000+ saving (assuming large 3000sq ft building) to be made if you go for masonry. be it wide cavity or ewi.

Given the relatively few PHs being built and also the differences between them will make any average price not much use.

tracy2000

thanks for that.. its a vague question i know.

ill put it out there again when I have the detailed construction plans in front of me.

thanks

sas

tracy2000 wrote: »

thanks for that.. its a vague question i know.

ill put it out there again when I have the detailed construction plans in front of me.

thanks

This is where you can tell me to mind my own business!

How much are you realistically hoping to pay?

Who is deciding on\recommending the construction method? Are they familiar with any budgetry guidelines that may exist?

about2build

got a quote of 285000 for a 2550 square feet house built to passive standards.....i didnt go with it!

muffler

Moved to Prices/costs

beyondpassive

Worth noting that Part L 2011 compliance is now the baseline, this requires U-Values that are fairly close to passive or MHRV. There still seems to be a majority of builders building to pre 2005 standard or drylining a cavity build. So make sure to price a compliant building first, with the standard of finishes you require, only then look at the extra for passiv.

I've seen a lot of passivhaus builders spend huge amounts of time doing very detailed, comprehensive and accurate pricing only for Jimmy builder down the road to scribble a number on the back of an envelope for a bog standard finish, 2005 standard construction and country pine finishes. Guess who gets the job.

Make sure youre comparing apples with apples.

Spillane

about2build wrote: »

got a quote of 285000 for a 2550 square feet house built to passive standards.....i didnt go with it!

You didn't choose it because you considered it too much? What level/amount of work were you getting for this price?

fclauson

ok - from some one who is currently building

the most important steps
1-make sure your are detailed down to how and at what angle each and every screw will go into your timbers, the sqwerts of glue which will hold down you carpet and if you want door hooks on the back of the bedroom doors for your dressing gown then add them in

2-then use a QS to price your build

3-get quotes from builders and discard any which move away from the QS number by more than a couple of % points - they are either overcharging or they have missed out something from your QS document

4-then add 10% to the price (because despite (1) you will have missed a ton of stuff)

thats how much it will cost

DO NOT KID YOUR SELF - if you want to build to a quality which stands up to Part L 2011/Passive House it costs good money

about2build

That quote was for builder's finish....i didnt go with it because i couldnt afford to...

Spillane

about2build wrote: »

That quote was for builder's finish....i didnt go with it because i couldnt afford to...

Didn't mean to question affordability, apologies! I thought that you might have been offered a better price for the same. I would consider the quote you received quite reasonable for a certified standard, but not always realistically within reach for most people's budget, down to the banks.

about2build

Like fcC has posted above, a passiv standard costs good money and a lot on know how.....I have gone for low energy as it is attainable within my budget......cut your cloth to measure and all that:)

Do-more

The basic design can also influence your costs.

What type of house do you propose building? Bungalow, dormer, 2 storey?

Regardless of the spec you build to, a square 2 storey design will get you the most square footage for the least price. A dormer bungalow should come a close second and a bungalow the most costly option per sq. ft.

Keeping the design simple helps to keep the costs down, any complexity in shape can have a dramatic effect on costs particularly if the roof design is complex.

You can see some photos of my house in the last few pages of the live self builds thread, it's a straight forward dormer about 10.9m x 13.6m we have two simple to construct dormers, one to the front for the bathroom and one to the rear which gives us a large family room upstairs, the windows for the bedrooms are in the gables.

I'm sure it's not to everyone's taste but it suits our location and site perfectly. I haven't gone to fclauson lengths in pricing the coat hooks but I have a fairly comprehensive spread sheet of costs which comes out at €1,140/m2.

We won't hit certified passive house levels but should come in just above at between 20-22kWh/m2/a. We have had a number of changes to the spec since the last PHPP was done so I don't know for sure where we will end up. (We are building in the south of Sweden, so the spec we are building to could well hit certified levels with Irish climate data but I don't know for sure)

My own opinion is that the difference in running costs of a house of 15kWhr/m2/a and 25kWhr/m2/a is marginal maybe €250 per year but the increase in cost to achieve the lower figure over the higher one may be considerably more significant maybe €10,000 - €40,000 depending on your individual case, so you really have to decide for yourself where to draw the line.