Are you holding off on extension?

That's really good. If not exceptional.

What insulation was used? What part of the country are you in?

ok so that's older spec. Sounds like 12.5 is coming from plasterboard, meaning your getting 80mm insulation. That's more like a 2010 spec way better than before that. But, current spec you would be wanting at least 120mm (50% more) and really good spec would be at least 150mm (almost 100% more). Because the insulation has plasterboard, I am suspect you got cavity block rather cavity wall. That can mean less block work.

Similarly, triple glazed windows can be 50% more than double and if you have any exterior doors, it's around the same there.

It's not going to make much difference so well done on the price you got sounds way cheaper than Dublin. What probably helped you get a good price was your location.

We ask 7 builders for quote. 3 wouldn't even do a quote even though they saw the plans etc. Ended up almost 4K per square metre including vat for builders finish and interior painting.

Could have been the builders I asked for quotes at a time when their backlog of work was strong etc. and so they 'over quoted'. I will tender again in Q1 next year.

I came on here to check what prices people were getting. My Dad got a 40 square meter single story kitchen extension done in 2019 for €65k and I thought that was expensive. Now helping my sister look for quotes and came on here to compare. I think looking at the posts i better tell her to just give up the idea :)

It gives a good insight into how crazy the building market has gone in the last 3 years with prices doubling.

Saying that the devil is in the detail with quote so what are you getting for the €410k?

Got another quote there this morning.

280 Excluding VAT and PC Sums

List of PC Sums

PLumbing - 22k

Windows 20-35k depending on material. Alu vs PVC etc

Electrics - 18k+

Bathrooms Suite/Tiles (3 bathrooms) - 6-12k 

Kitchen - 15-25k

RSJs - 12-15k

Engineer - 3k

Skylight - 3k

Velux Windows - 4k

Flooring - 25-45 per sqm

RSJ approx 10-14k

Back to the drawing board - as this is out of our budget now and getting close to planning expiry too so not much hope saving enough before. Also don't think the works will add the value to the house equivalent (or even near to what we would end up spending).

So that is 280k 140k of pcsums the 60m2 double extension and retrofit of existing house.

Total of 420 ex vat so total of 476K

what is the breakdown of costs between the extension and the retrofit?

Its all relative. Large house! I think I know the estate. They wouldn't be anything special.

We are delivering new builds in the west the size of your retrofit and extension for half that 800k.

Extensions are surely slowing down for these lads now. They have to be at these prices. Throwing out 300k and 400k for 50sqm. Mental stuff really. There is fair profit in that.

250 is pretty much the minimum standard for rural one offs now

There has to be some benefit to living in the sthicks! :)

Sure when clients want kitchen dining living areas 6m x 15m, it tends to add up.... and add a separate sitting room as well, not to mention all ensuite bedrooms, master bedroom with large dressing room and a laundry room half the size of the ground floor of a typical semi d.

It can be tough to get down to 250 sqm.

I know a pair who have added a 72sqm open plan kitchen. WTF like.

It seems some crews have switched over to attics and internal renovations as their primary work. Attics especially are in high demand with remote/hybrid working now the norm. They can do 2 attics or more in the same time an extension can be done, and make the same profit with a lot less uncertainties around foundations, drainage, weather etc.

It may then leave less crews doing extensions and therefore demand is still high.

30-40k extensions haven't been seen here in over 14 years.

Shop around and put in a garden room instead maybe. Things are only going one way still even though some thinking we would see a slow down soon. Not going to happen.

25sqm probably cost 40K, all depending on spec of course

It only seems acceptable for the government to provide modular solutions for a certain cohort. They can't be seen to be interfering with the developers and or construction sector by allowing individuals to solve their own issues.

We'll get the usual response to this which is fair enough. It is true though.

A lad I know just put up a garden room. Lovely job. Fully insulated and plumbed with a kitchenette. Electrics are certified. It cost 30k. This was for his son. The alternative was to let the son out a rent a room in a shared house for 1k a month. In an absolute dump too.

I was quoted 140k for a 40sqm single storey extension, i got the quote only to see what it would have cost me had i used a contractor, they wanted 10k to knock the existing flat roof extension about 20sqm, it cost me 800 for a skip and a weekend to knock it.

I have footings and ground floor slab in and my cost is at 5k so far, direct labour and doing as much myself is the only way i could have a hope to build this.

I consider myself so lucky that I managed to do a kitchen extension in late 2020 early 2021, I must have just hit a sweet spot before prices rose, now it was a small extension basically to push out the existing back wall of kitchen/dining room by 2m along a length of 5m with new roof on that part and 2 velux windows plus 1 very large floor to ceiling window. Total cost including new kitchen/appliances and 5x5m of lvt flooring approx 31,500. I don't have particularly expensive tastes so it's an mdf kitchen and laminate tops but I love it.

The kitchen didn't include a new island as I was repurposing part of the old kitchen counter, the initial cost for doing that went mad in the few months while I was deciding how to configure it as I had decided to live with the kitchen for a while to see how best it would work. Anyway the countertop part alone had well over doubled in price from initial quote so I ended up making the island myself using the old framework and ordering the countertop directly.

Sympathies to anyone trying to get building work done now! 😔