Direct labour or contractor

caitb1

Hi guys we are pricing for building at the moment and wondering which in your experience is cheaper direct labour r going with a contractor, the house is an 1830 sq foot rectangular bungalow, we hav quotes ranging from 140000 to 155000 for builders finish not including Windows kitchen r tiles, do u think we would get it much cheaper by going direct labour, I know it will b alot more stress

caitb1

does anyone have any idea

ht9zni1gs28crp

Yes. Direct Labour and project manage yourself should in theory save towards €30k

BUT, knowing what your doing is the key. If you have no experience or knowledge of construction or current regs then its a potential to cost even more....

BryanF

caitb1 wrote: »

does anyone have any idea

Do you have a spare +40hrs per week ?

kkelliher

also you might need to check the finance side. A Lot of banks (on assumption you need mortgage) are not allowing opt outs on assigned certifier so you need to make sure.

caitb1

Wow 30k sounds like a masive saving, we wer supposed to start this time last year with a contractor but hubby said no wel go direct labour eventually, now that he realises that direct labour is nothing but a headache he wants to do it by contractor and of course all the prices have risen that we got last year

BryanF

BryanF wrote: »

Do you have a spare +40hrs per week ?

Is 30k more or less than your years salary? Would you take a year out to manage the build/ schedule different trades, order materials, constantly run around pricing products, be on site everyday/ study every night, watch every detail, make all the decisions in good time, be in charge of h&s Etc etc

kkelliher

BryanF wrote: »

Is 30k more or less than your years salary? Would you take a year out to manage the build/ schedule different trades, order materials, constantly run around pricing products, be on site everyday/ study every night, watch every detail, make all the decisions in good time, be in charge of h&s on ate etc etc

and have insurance cover to cover the risk of a mistake..................

ht9zni1gs28crp

BryanF wrote: »

Is 30k more or less than your years salary? Would you take a year out to manage the build/ schedule different trades, order materials, constantly run around pricing products, be on site everyday/ study every night, watch every detail, make all the decisions in good time, be in charge of h&s on ate etc etc

BryanF hits it spot on here, I went through this myself recently. Quite rewarding though at the same time. Although it takes a long time to sink in after the initial effort is finished.

FYI I work for myself in Construction/Technician, and so planked a purpose built office container on site for the duration of the build.

So an example of my working day.

Arrive on site at 7am. Ensure everything is ready for the trades as needed. I was the Block layers labourer for example so would have a mix in, blocks laid out etc etc

Squeeze a days work in the office down to maybe three hours.

Pop home for dinner around 6pm ish, then back down to site to donkey stuff around/labour/clean/plot/order

Its a big ask!

ArraMusha

No reason you can't have the best of both worlds i.e. have a building contractor do the foundation, walls, roof and plastering..then price the plumbing, electrical, windows, stairs, and kitchen yourself. Then get contractor back to do paths, final site works, civil works(sever) etc.
It will take a bit of negotiation work with you and the contractor and a good mobile phone package that allows free calls. But this may be worth considering.

the_pen_turner

I think this boils down to whether you have the know how and competence to run the build. if you do then you can save a nice chunk of money by separating up the trades. if you don't then it will cost you more through oversights and miss communications

remember that you are paying a contractor to run their part of the build (all of it or some of it)
if you go direct labour and you are supplying materials , if they are late or wrong you will still be charged . every time you forget something or get the order of work wrong you will be charged accordingly.


I hate working on sites that are run by the home owner. usually they are clueless and disorganised but want everything done cheap
the amount of times I have moved things because the home owner didn't realise what they were being told would shock you. hundreds maybe. I have moved more stud walls because the home owner miss read the plans or goes from the wrong place or forgets a bathroom or something . why cant these people just show you the plans instead of giving you measurements .
its much easier with a good builder. they have the plans , they give them to you or mark everything properly and everybody is happy.

ht9zni1gs28crp

@ the pen turner

My point entirely, these same people wont pay for good design or a decent set of details, then expect the builder or trades to work off what is effectively a planning sketch. Its ridiculous to think you would even start a build on these, no wonder the contractor has to charge what he does as its a complete unknown!