Looking for cost of building a house in 2015

inchbyinch

Hi All,

3000 sq foots and currently pricing it up. It's an architect designed house on a tricky site. Split level with bedrooms downstairs. In reality it is a 2200 single story with 800 sq ft overhead in one area.

Some prices that I have got recently;

Timberframe 1.2 u-value and guaranteed air tightness test less than .8 at 100k + VAT
windows - 3-glazed aluclad; c.100 sq meters; u-value of between .8-.9 range 37 - 55k + VAT
Heating systems: A2W HP (10 kW), UFH, DHW 18k-28k + VAT

Currently thinking of getting timberframe to do all their thing and do the rest as direct labour. I'd be interested in understanding Bryan F's comment re not straying too far from the regs if you want to sell later?

Surely the banks are the only ones who will enforce that.

BryanF

inchbyinch wrote: »

Hi All,

3000 sq foots and currently pricing it up. It's an architect designed house on a tricky site. Split level with bedrooms downstairs. In reality it is a 2200 single story with 800 sq ft overhead in one area.

Some prices that I have got recently;

Timberframe 1.2 u-value and guaranteed air tightness test less than .8 at 100k + VAT
windows - 3-glazed aluclad; c.100 sq meters; u-value of between .8-.9 range 37 - 55k + VAT
Heating systems: A2W HP (10 kW), UFH, DHW 18k-28k + VAT

Currently thinking of getting timberframe to do all their thing and do the rest as direct labour. I'd be interested in understanding Bryan F's comment re not straying too far from the regs if you want to sell later?

Surely the banks are the only ones who will enforce that.

Hi using the 'quote' tab as its better than incorrectly paraphrasing.

You need to comply with All building regulations

You can opt out of the building control regulations

inchbyinch

BryanF wrote: »

Hi using the 'quote' tab as its better than incorrectly paraphrasing.

You need to comply with All building regulations

You can opt out of the building control regulations

Apologies.

Makes perfect sense now. I had heard recently that one may need to re apply with building control after the house was built if you wanted to sell but this would be a nightmare to police.
You most certainly must comply with the regs but Part L seems to be conflicting in sections .

893bet

893bet wrote: »

I have made the below post a couple of times. Just updating!


2200 sq feet. Block built, strip foundation, 150mm pumped cavity. Simple design 2 story.
Below all approx +/- 300 (I havent kept that much eye on what is spent out but below are reasonably accurate).

Insulation 3.5K

Thanks for the detail. Is that insulation for the floors, walls, ceiling and roof ?? The floor insulation i looked at was more than that alone.

893bet

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks for the detail. Is that insulation for the floors, walls, ceiling and roof ?? The floor insulation i looked at was more than that alone.

That was for pumping the walls and loft roll for attic. Floor insulation is part of the foundations price.

Gumbo

inchbyinch wrote: »

I had heard recently that one may need to re apply with building control after the house was built if you wanted to sell but this would be a nightmare to police.

Most likely pub talk, you cannot apply to Building Control for anything retrospectively. Once you lodge a CN for these works, and you opt out, you can never lodge another CN for the same works again.

48nico

Hi all
im looking for a estimate of cost per square foot for a bungalow in co carlow

galwaytt

....got some feedback on another one yesterday (Galway) : 271m2 single-storey, A3, 0.49ACH, builders finish (3.5k kitchen, std white s/ware) some painting (not all). ASHP. Outside finished, lawns in, patio in. €1000/m2. Total time on site from start to finish: 16 weeks.

Using a contractor, not self-build.

galwaytt

48nico wrote: »

Hi all
im looking for a estimate of cost per square foot for a bungalow in co carlow

Spec ?

Without it, means nothing tbh.

48nico

galwaytt wrote: »

Spec ?

Without it, means nothing tbh.

H shaped 3 bed bungalow 202.5 m2

sydthebeat

48nico wrote: »

H shaped 3 bed bungalow 202.5 m2

at a standard spec, approx €250,000 turn key

893bet

galwaytt wrote: »

....got some feedback on another one yesterday (Galway) : 271m2 single-storey, A3, 0.49ACH, builders finish (3.5k kitchen, std white s/ware) some painting (not all). ASHP. Outside finished, lawns in, patio in. €1000/m2. Total time on site from start to finish: 16 weeks.

Using a contractor, not self-build.

That seems a very competitive price.

halfforward

galwaytt wrote: »

....got some feedback on another one yesterday (Galway) : 271m2 single-storey, A3, 0.49ACH, builders finish (3.5k kitchen, std white s/ware) some painting (not all). ASHP. Outside finished, lawns in, patio in. €1000/m2. Total time on site from start to finish: 16 weeks.

Using a contractor, not self-build.

Is that using block or Sip?

wetdufflecoats

Gimme Stitches wrote: »

I think have a well built house with a good BER rating is something I would want in my build.
Would you deal with builders in the Galway area? If so I would appreciate recommendations via PM.

+1....would appreciate it if you could forward on the names of some reputable builders in the Galway:)

rock1234

joeirish wrote: »

I didn't and saved whatever a PM would cost. it is not that difficult especially if you have a good TF company and competent follow on trades IMHO.

Hi,
I have planning permission for house about same size as yours. My site works will cost a fair bit as there is a good bit of excavation. Have you a good idea by now on final cost ?

Thanks

Doorcase

Well visited few banks. One bank ttold me that they were pricing at 85 per sq foot. Architect says contractor prices are 850 per sq meter. Not going with this bank as tey want a good deposit (mad deposit). Ulster bank dont price per sq foot but go on architect costings. So the pricing on here does not add up...first bank mortgage advisor actually said we would prob do it for less than 85 psf. im confused

rodge123

Doorcase wrote: »

Well visited few banks. One bank ttold me that they were pricing at 85 per sq foot. Architect says contractor prices are 850 per sq meter. Not going with this bank as tey want a good deposit (mad deposit). Ulster bank dont price per sq foot but go on architect costings. So the pricing on here does not add up...first bank mortgage advisor actually said we would prob do it for less than 85 psf. im confused

Your bank and architect both sound clueless based on my recent experience!

I got quotes ranging from 125 - 155 sq. ft. from 4 builders.
A friend of mine got similar quotes from different builders.
Both in the Meath/Kildare area.
A lot of posters on this forum quote roughly similar figures for contractor builds.

Please note those prices are for fairly complete and regulations compliant builds.

Doorcase

While i respect your view on these prices it would make it impossible for 95 per cent of people to build any house. In donegal myself so i know it would be a small bit cheaper than meath/kildare. The architect is one of the busiest in the county!

sydthebeat

Doorcase wrote: »

While i respect your view on these prices it would make it impossible for 95 per cent of people to build any house. In donegal myself so i know it would be a small bit cheaper than meath/kildare. The architect is one of the busiest in the county!

not really, you build the home you can afford.

here in the midlands the only builds i see coming in at anything thing like €85 /sqft is ones where rooms are part finished.

85 is approx builders finish
put decoration, finishes, landscaping etc on and you could be looking at 100 sq ft for a standard build.

then put development contributions, professional fees, connection fees, site insurances etc and you can very easily hit the 125 /sqft mark.

in my experience banks (especially AIB) are looking for a very detailed breakdown at mortgage application stage and are looking to see that applicants have included all the above + 10% contingency at mortgage application stage.
so a typical direct labour build can quite easily have to show project costs of €125/sqft or higher

rodge123

Doorcase wrote: »

While i respect your view on these prices it would make it impossible for 95 per cent of people to build any house. In donegal myself so i know it would be a small bit cheaper than meath/kildare. The architect is one of the busiest in the county!

As sydthebeat says, you build to what you can afford.
If I were you I'd ask your architect to outline exactly what he thinks you will get for 850 sq.m. and to provide examples of similar houses he supervised recently that came in at that price on completion.

Oh and yes banks are very picky.
We went with BOI and they wanted a very detailed breakdown of the builders tender.
I'm guessing they will examine to make sure you haven't missed items or way under price things.

galwaytt

Doorcase wrote: »

Well visited few banks. One bank ttold me that they were pricing at 85 per sq foot. Architect says contractor prices are 850 per sq meter. Not going with this bank as tey want a good deposit (mad deposit). Ulster bank dont price per sq foot but go on architect costings. So the pricing on here does not add up...first bank mortgage advisor actually said we would prob do it for less than 85 psf. im confused

I'm not an advocate of Ulster Bank but their approach is correct: get quotes, show them what it's costing and go from there.

The €850 lender's approach is out to lunch -pure guesswork.

kkelliher

Doorcase wrote: »

Well visited few banks. One bank ttold me that they were pricing at 85 per sq foot. Architect says contractor prices are 850 per sq meter. Not going with this bank as tey want a good deposit (mad deposit). Ulster bank dont price per sq foot but go on architect costings. So the pricing on here does not add up...first bank mortgage advisor actually said we would prob do it for less than 85 psf. im confused

its been a while since i had a chance to log in to boards and although I wished for better things clearly have not changed....

First of all, banks don't price construction jobs nor have they any information available to them to come up with this. Given that no bank approval or application letter requires any element of specification input it begs belief that they still operate like this. There is only 1 way to price and build and that is to price THE build. cost per ft/2 or m2 are pie in the sky and for nothing more than giving you a ballpark. I have been involved in over 30 new builds this year alone and not 2 have the same cost per m2 nor are they within each others ball parks as every house is different, every site is different and every specification is different.

Doorcase

That's a good long post but no information what so ever...not trying to be sarcastic but if you have build 30 new builds this year you must have a general idea of costs for different specs...this is my first and last build so info would be great thanks rather than u and Syd clapping each other on back

BryanF

Doorcase wrote: »

That's a good long post but no information what so ever...not trying to be sarcastic but if you have build 30 new builds this year you must have a general idea of costs for different specs...this is my first and last build so info would be great thanks rather than u and Syd clapping each other on back

Syd & kk spend time here giving their professional expertise for free, if you look back through their posts you will see they have been offering the best of advise for free for years in this forum!!

So if you don't like what they have to say then clap your paid advisors architect/Qs who work in Donegal on the back!!!!!

In cork your looking at minimum 1300/m2(standard dormer bungalow) more likely 1500/m2 for 2 storey standard decorated, well insulated specified 200m2 house, THAT meets building regs, and Excludes site/ professional/ council fees/ service connections etc.

kkelliher

Doorcase wrote: »

That's a good long post but no information what so ever...not trying to be sarcastic but if you have build 30 new builds this year you must have a general idea of costs for different specs...this is my first and last build so info would be great thanks rather than u and Syd clapping each other on back

do you ask your bank what car to buy and how much to spend on it? Given every car has a different specification and no two cars are for sale for the same price and specification why do you think a house will be any different. Given my experience I cant underestimate how wrong it is to go into a project using an average cost per ft2 when you are dealing with an actual real project that needs to be costed. Your budget was based on pie in the sky average figures and therefore the only way to find out is to price the build.

RexBanner

kkelliher wrote: »

its been a while since i had a chance to log in to boards and although I wished for better things clearly have not changed....

First of all, banks don't price construction jobs nor have they any information available to them to come up with this. Given that no bank approval or application letter requires any element of specification input it begs belief that they still operate like this. There is only 1 way to price and build and that is to price THE build. cost per ft/2 or m2 are pie in the sky and for nothing more than giving you a ballpark. I have been involved in over 30 new builds this year alone and not 2 have the same cost per m2 nor are they within each others ball parks as every house is different, every site is different and every specification is different.

"every house is different, every site is different and every specification is different"

As someone who is coming near the end of their build I just want to say that this is probably one of the most accurate posts on this thread. When I was planning my build I spent a lot of time on this thread looking at prices per ft/2 and trying to figure out how much my build would cost (and generally going with the best case price), I also spent a lot of time looking at other threads about A2W HP's, UFH, MHRV, insulation, thermal gain, etc, and deciding that I wanted all that in my build too. When I got my construction drawing priced by a QS I nearly fell-off my chair - the price was about 150k over the price I'd expected based on the ft/2 measure on here!

As it stands I've built a 3000ft/2 high-spec house in the mid-west through a main contractor at a cost of about €100 per ft/2 (incl vat) - this price excludes the following: all ground-works (except foundations), all finishes, kitchen, connection fee's, architects/engineer/BER/QS, etc. I expect to finish-up at around €125 per ft/2 with the above included (I will also have saved about an additional €10 per ft/2 by doing a lot of work myself).

A few pieces of advice I'd give to anyone reading this thread and thinking about starting:
- once you have your initial drawings (before PP) go to a QS for an initial pricing, will prob only cost €200 but will give you a good feel for where you stand.
- don't pay too much attention to prices that are a few years old, a house being built now is very different to one that was built 5-10 years ago due to Part L etc.
- when you see a price make sure to check if it incl-vat or ex-vat, an obvious one, but not one that I always considered...

galwaytt

RexBanner wrote: »

As it stands I've built a 3000ft/2 high-spec house in the mid-west through a main contractor at a cost of about €100 per ft/2 (incl vat) - this price excludes the following: all ground-works (except foundations), all finishes, kitchen, connection fee's, architects/engineer/BER/QS, etc. I expect to finish-up at around €125 per ft/2 with the above included (I will also have saved about an additional €10 per ft/2 by doing a lot of work myself).

Good info to have - can I just ask why you're not including the foundations ?? One reason I ask is that on one job we were involved with this year the contractor hit soft ground and they had to excavate 2.4 down. This added €13k to the foundations alone. It is very easy for one item to completely skew the budget.

893bet

galwaytt wrote: »

Good info to have - can I just ask why you're not including the foundations ?? One reason I ask is that on one job we were involved with this year the contractor hit soft ground and they had to excavate 2.4 down. This added €13k to the foundations alone. It is very easy for one item to completely skew the budget.

They are including them. The prices includes no groundworks apart from the foundations.

RexBanner

galwaytt wrote: »

Good info to have - can I just ask why you're not including the foundations ?? One reason I ask is that on one job we were involved with this year the contractor hit soft ground and they had to excavate 2.4 down. This added €13k to the foundations alone. It is very easy for one item to completely skew the budget.

Ah, wasn't very clear - what I meant was that I dug out the foundations, which is included in my ground-works price, the builder then took over at that point and installed the foundations, which is included in the overall contractor cost.

We were building under the AC process, and our AC said that he was ok with us digging out the foundations but the installation of the foundations had to be certified (obv) so the contractor took over at that point.

This was one of the areas where we made a big saving because most of the tender responses included a significant allowance for digging out the foundations due to concerns about rock and drainage. The builder was happy for us to take on this part because it removed a variable for him, and I was able to manage the cost because I was only paying for the digger (doing everything else myself)....

galwaytt

RexBanner wrote: »

Ah, wasn't very clear - what I meant was that I dug out the foundations, which is included in my ground-works price, the builder then took over at that point and installed the foundations, which is included in the overall contractor cost.

We were building under the AC process, and our AC said that he was ok with us digging out the foundations but the installation of the foundations had to be certified (obv) so the contractor took over at that point.

This was one of the areas where we made a big saving because most of the tender responses included a significant allowance for digging out the foundations due to concerns about rock and drainage. The builder was happy for us to take on this part because it removed a variable for him, and I was able to manage the cost because I was only paying for the digger (doing everything else myself)....

Aha, that makes more sense alright