High estimate from a QS

kevpatts

Hey all, first time here.

I just got a quote from a QS for building a 125 sqm passive house in Dublin and it blew me away. It also seems much higher than anything I've seen on here!

So it is an unusual site, it's living room, kitchen, study bathroom and utility room on the ground floor and 2 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs (upper floor is a lot smaller footprint. It's shared like this cause of tree roots and shadow casting. The living room is on posts due to tree roots. Nothing special in terms of materials.

Anyway, to the meaty bit, I was quoted over €550k for the build including site costs, kitchen, soft furnishings, preliminaries & insurances, etc., not including architects fees or VAT. Coming in about €700k all in, over €5,600/sqm! This is for basic materials, the optional uplift in some areas brings it up to over €6,500/sqm.

This seems crazy to me but the architect says this QS is normally pretty accurate.

What would you recommend are my next steps?

Edit: all the very high costs seem to be in the building materials and costs. Things like kitchen fitout, etc. seem reasonably priced.

99nsr125

kevpatts wrote: »

Hey all, first time here.

I just got a quote from a QS for building a 125 sqm passive house in Dublin and it blew me away. It also seems much higher than anything I've seen on here!

So it is an unusual site, it's living room, kitchen, study bathroom and utility room on the ground floor and 2 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs (upper floor is a lot smaller footprint. It's shared like this cause of tree roots and shadow casting. The living room is on posts due to tree roots. Nothing special in terms of materials.

Anyway, to the meaty bit, I was quoted over €550k for the build including site costs, kitchen, soft furnishings, preliminaries & insurances, etc., not including architects fees or VAT. Coming in about €700k all in, over €5,600/sqm! This is for basic materials, the optional uplift in some areas brings it up to almost €6,500/sqm.

This seems crazy to me but the architect says this QS is normally pretty accurate.

What would you recommend are my next steps?

You can adopt me please


700k eeek !

Alkers

Ask the qs and architect how you can reduce the build costs

kevpatts

Yep I've done that. I'm going to ask also for the detailed break down of each line item, as this detail will give me options to buy directly from the market, even abroad if necessary.

It'll also assist the option of a self build, but that's the nuclear option!

lemonkey

Passive spec is pretty expensive and building materials have gone up about from 10-30% since January 2021 too. But that hardly explains the m2 price unless Dublin is gone mental in the past 6 months. It's hard to give you an accurate answer whether he's taking the piss without seeing his priced BOQ.

You say you were quoted including fees so I'm assuming he's your QS (Client QS). So his price is only a budget that you go to the bank with. Only once you tender the job to 5-8 contractors will you know the real price. Client QSs often stuff extra cost into a pricing document in order to cover Client extras/changes or short fallings in their own measures (mistakes on prices/quantities).

It is possible the prices you get are under budget, especially if the QS lost the run of himself when pricing. You also have the option to do value engineering to reduce spec and items to save on cost before the build.


Have a look at the below link and compare the element prices to what you received. It's not 100% accurate and I can't find a date on it but it should be within 20%.

https://selfbuild.ie/advice/build-cost-passive-house/

kevpatts

lemonkey wrote: »

Passive spec is pretty expensive and building materials have gone up about from 10-30% since January 2021 too. But that hardly explains the m2 price unless Dublin is gone mental in the past 6 months. It's hard to give you an accurate answer whether he's taking the piss without seeing his priced BOQ.

You say you were quoted including fees so I'm assuming he's your QS (Client QS). So his price is only a budget that you go to the bank with. Only once you tender the job to 5-8 contractors will you know the real price. Client QSs often stuff extra cost into a pricing document in order to cover Client extras/changes or short fallings in their own measures (mistakes on prices/quantities).

It is possible the prices you get are under budget, especially if the QS lost the run of himself when pricing. You also have the option to do value engineering to reduce spec and items to save on cost before the build.


Have a look at the below link and compare the element prices to what you received. It's not 100% accurate and I can't find a date on it but it should be within 20%.

https://selfbuild.ie/advice/build-cost-passive-house/

Thanks for the info. That site is a good reference. I've got a few numbers and going to get a second opinion. Also going to get the detailed spec from the QS that he was working off.

lemonkey

kevpatts wrote: »

Thanks for the info. That site is a good reference. I've got a few numbers and going to get a second opinion. Also going to get the detailed spec from the QS that he was working off.

The passive spec is massively expensive though. Especially with Windows, Mechanical & Electrical.

For example a double glazed PVC window could be €180 per m2 of glazing and a treble glazed Aluclad or Alu window could be €500 per m2 of glazing. In a standard 4 bed semi your windows and doors could cost 5-7k or 15-20k by going for the higher spec (subject to house size, window size and window quantity).

Or oil heating and standard rads for 8-10k or underfloor heating & air-to-water heat pump for 20k+ (again 4 bed semi example).

I've never priced a passive house personally but your quote still seems high. It might be worth ringing a few local contractors, ask for their QS and ask them for a ballpark Sqft or m2 price for a passive house. This would give you a very good indication of the price. Make sure you tell them just a ballpark figure you won't hold them to otherswise you could spook them :pac:.

While you're on the phone to them, you could ask if they'd be interested in tendering for your house when the time comes to get prices.

MicktheMan

lemonkey wrote: »

The passive spec is massively expensive though. Especially with Windows, Mechanical & Electrical.

For example a double glazed PVC window could be €180 per m2 of glazing and a treble glazed Aluclad or Alu window could be €500 per m2 of glazing. In a standard 4 bed semi your windows and doors could cost 5-7k or 15-20k by going for the higher spec (subject to house size, window size and window quantity).

Or oil heating and standard rads for 8-10k or underfloor heating & air-to-water heat pump for 20k+ (again 4 bed semi example).

I've never priced a passive house personally but your quote still seems high. It might be worth ringing a few local contractors, ask for their QS and ask them for a ballpark Sqft or m2 price for a passive house. This would give you a very good indication of the price. Make sure you tell them just a ballpark figure you won't hold them to otherswise you could spook them :pac:.

While you're on the phone to them, you could ask if they'd be interested in tendering for your house when the time comes to get prices.

Certified passive shouldn't need a "central" heating system so there would be savings there, no?!

lemonkey

MicktheMan wrote: »

Certified passive shouldn't need a "central" heating system so there would be savings there, no?!

No clue, never priced one. Just using the cheaper vs expensive examples to hammer home the point.

sydthebeat

lemonkey wrote: »

No clue, never priced one. Just using the cheaper vs expensive examples to hammer home the point.

you cant build a new house with oil and rads and expect it to come in cheaper than a HP and UFH

dh1985

sydthebeat wrote: »

you cant build a new house with oil and rads and expect it to come in cheaper than a HP and UFH

How do you figure that one?