Need advice on house design that will allow me to stay within a tight budget

deepsea123

As I'm so fed up of bidding on houses and not getting anywhere I have decided to build on a site that is owed by my family. It's still going to be massively tight budget wise as I'm being quoted €210 per sq ft. I'm being told that the high price is being driven by the high input price of cement.

This may be a naive question but if I put more glass in the house and less cement would the cost come down?

I can only build one story as that is all that is allowed by the planning permission

dennyk

Adding more and/or larger windows to a build is going to increase the cost rather than decrease it; decent quality double-glazed windows and their accompanying fittings are expensive and installing a window requires more complex labour than building a blank wall. There's a reason cheap builds tend to have fewer and smaller windows.

Also, if planning permission has already been issued based on submitted plans, then increasing the size or number of windows on the front or sides of the house would most likely require you to submit a new amendment to your planning application and get permission again, which will increase your costs (not to mention whatever your architect will charge you for making changes to the design as well).

mountai

Until groundworks are complete , your budget is not " Guaranteed" . Site conditions may dictate that price will increase to counteract any costs relating to deepening dig levels , extra blockwork to DPC level , rock removal etc. Usually , increased costs relate to clients changing their minds about details during the construction phase . Increases in material prices also dictate that budgets can fluctuate , but my experience has been that client demands are usually the main reasons for increases in budgets . Good luck with your project .

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058347008/need-advice-on-house-design-that-will-allow-me-to-stay-within-a-tight-budget

You could look at timber frames but I doubt they'd be any cheaper than your bog standard block house.

Windows are a huge cost, more glass = higher price. If you really want to keep cost down, keep it simple inside and out.

Your price of 210/sqft, what spec is that based on?

deepsea123

Only outline planning permission at this stage . Need to get detailed submission finalised so trying to work out what best to go with to keep costs down. Thanks for your reply

deepsea123

Sorry what do you mean by spec? Thanks for your response

deepsea123

Thanks, yes I realise there is a lot of work involved

ongarite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122023963#Comment_122023963

Spec as in are your going with UFH ( underfloor heating), passive house or heat pump with radiators? MHRV system? Open plan living area?

What size sq home are you looking to build?