scuttlebramblebee

Best of luck - please keep us updated on how it goes and whether you manage to stick to that kind of cost. Garage removal...sounds good! I find it difficult to get excited about garages or the cost they seem to add. But then again, I do not have a car.

Thanks! I love it when people say this!

Thank you! Good to hear it's not always as simple as m2 calculations make it seem (...or if not good, it is at least interesting). Will follow. I enjoy the wording of your question in that thread - it makes me want to ponder how geometry in building might be central to our understanding of the universe!

Ralph - thanks for your help. I'm learning that groundworks/service connections etc seem to be a huge cost factor. I've come across a few plots at the right price with groundworks already completed and/or services on-site, and one with no possibility of connecting to mains services.. They tend to be in the middle of nowhere though. I guess the costs of attempting to go fully off-grid would normally negate any savings from not having to connect?

Hello. Apologies for this far-from-novel question - I can’t find it directly answered anywhere. I’m aware costs have shot up lately due to covid/brexit, but I’m seeing (in self-build groups) people asking if £1200 per metre is possible for total build costs, and others shutting down the idea as ridiculous, saying it’s more likely £2k-3k. This is disheartening to me with aspirations of beginning a build in the next year or so - but also baffling - so these people are spending ~£300k on a 100m2 house, plus land costs?! Who are these people? I struggle to understand how this would even make financial sense, as in many places a house of that size would not be worth the ~£400k it would presumably have cost with land, and that’s leaving aside the fact people say self-building is supposed to save (30%?) on equivalent pre-built house cost. I’m looking to build a well-insulated rectangular 1.5 storey of max 120m2 (I had planned for basement, but heard this can be expensive in Scotland), no marble bathrooms, designer kitchens or massive glazed entrances, no dormer windows or other sticky out bits, but using natural plasters and reclaimed things where possible without compromising on u values. I am not a builder and will need to pay tradespeople, but do have a builder in the family who may be able to help a bit. Based in in rural central belt of Scotland. If anyone could shed any light on what I might need to do to get the costs down, it’d be much appreciated. Thanks very much!