Search the Community

Hi all We're at the very beginning of our self build project and wondered if anyone has a budget spreadsheet template they'd be willing to share with me (remove figures if preferred)? Ideally I'm looking to track quotes, spend, materials, specialists, trades etc and also use it for the VAT side of things. I've found a few older posts on here asking the same but the people I reached out to haven't replied, probably because they're now finished and no longer use this forum! I've also looked online but everything is very US based so not ideal. Thanks so much!

Hi there, this is my first post. I'm seeking some advice on how I go about planning my home extension. I am buying a 3 bed semi which is need of a complete gut out. We would like to do a double side + rear extension. I have an initial budget of approx £110k +£20k contingency to spend now in order to get the house ready to move in. I had a builder suggest phasing the refurb+build as the £130k probably wouldn't get us the whole double side + rear extension we're looking to do. I'm speaking to an architect about it to give us some options, but I'd love to get some advice and second opinions from experts on the forum that have done projects like this before. My main questions are How would you phase the build, given the initial budget will only stretch so far and we want to move in ASAP? Structurally, what do we need to consider with each phase if we took this approach? Roughly, do our budgets sound about right? Current floor plan Proposed phase 1 ground and first floor Refurb inside (new electrics, plastering, plumbing, boiler, floor, heating, doors, windows) Knock down existing garage and leave empty (building foundations for future phase) Rear extension approx 45m/sq (kitchen/diner + utility space) Proposed phase 2 Double side extension Build over existing rear extension for part double rear Loft - not part of design

Evening, So we are hoping to start getting an architect on board soon to get some plans drawn up, size of build and budget is high on the agenda the moment as are the cost of the preliminaries. Ideally our house would be: 200m2 ICF construction two storey dwelling £200,000 build budget, ex fees etc Vaulted ceilings 4 Bedroom House Master Bedroom with en-suite, walk-through wardrobes etc 3 further bedrooms capable of growth. Family Bathroom Remote or attached storage area/plumbers workshop? Attached 2/3 berth garage Attached hair salon / utility Open plan kitchen dining and living space Separate lounge room Ground floor wc Pantry/utility space Dry store of the kitchen Additional storage on both ground and first floors In an ideal world the build work completed would be done by the following people: Who’s doing what??? (in theory) Ground work: Me + Labourer / Chargehands Underground Drainage: Me + Labourer Foundation: Me + Labourer ICF: Me + Labourer Roofing full: Sub-contractor Windows/Doors: Manufacture install UFH/Boiler : Me Plumbing : Me 1st Fix electrical : Me Above ground drainage: Me External brickwork: Sub contractor (friend) External cladding: Me Internal joinery : Sub-con (friend) 2nd fix plumbing : Me 2nd fix electrical : Sub-con (friend) Dry lineing : Sub-con (friend) Me Plastering: Friend Decoration: Me Snagging: Me Landscaping: Over time / me Speaking with several lenders, (Buildstore / ecology) once we line up all our ducks its looking like we will be able to borrow between £250-£350k, the maximum we want to borrow is £280k as after all this is a loan we have to pay off before we retire, 30 years on a repayment with a general bank remortgage once its built Im going to be looking about £800-900 a month which is at the top end of what I would want to spend on a mortgage. Out of the 280k we would need 40k to pay off our outstanding mortgage on the plot, 40k contingency budget & 200k for the actually build. I've been looking into the cost of getting this project off the ground and what sort of money we need to put in from the start. Attached is my schedule and its looking like most of it is going to be needed to be paid upfront out of our own hard earned cash before the build commences, I am sure that we have missed some unforeseen cost's such as lending / broker fee's so any advice would be greatly appreciated if their are any hidden fees that I may need to add it would be great to know? and I am yet to be given an estimate for building regs plans yet? Another concern I have is about the land itself, we are in a local high risk coal mining area and although there are no pits nearby and we are building replacement dwelling, the neighbouring self builds and private developments have all had to have invasive ground investigation reports done and some bore holes drilled to check the land quality. I have had this priced up and am of the thinking it maybe wise to have this done first to ensure that we would be able to continue our build knowing that we will be able to afford the foundation type (strip or raft) as I cannot see us being able or wanting to pay 40k + for pile footings? After all we are not millionaires and this is not grand designs so we want advert the expensive why! moments and hopefully have a fairly straightforward build. Financially our project plan is Move up to ou

I’ve had varying conversations and trawled hundreds threads of built cost /m2 to try and rationalise my budget and reduce my overall anxiety towards price and also to be realistic. I think it’s important to be prepared upfront and if its not going to work reduce the house size from the outset. I’m shooting for £1200/m2 because it suits my ‘ideal’ budget of 240k for a 200 m2 house, which I believe to be a decent size, to suit my family, I have also allowed the obligatory 10% in reserve which will be ring fenced and only come into play if required. So theoretically you could say I’ve allowed £1320/ m2 But my concern is that it is my 1200 is driving that budget and house size. I’m aware that I wont know until the end that actual costs which could be much less going by some peoples build…but also could be much more. (I doubt I would breach 1700/m2). As much as I’d love an answer to exactly how much it costs I know those answers are purely subjective. But what I do want to understand is how others have approached this from the outset? Did you wing it and pray for the best? Did you plan thoroughly and then knowing you wouldn’t meet your budget reduce the house size before starting or did you plan to use that contingency? For context. My plan is to use a kit supplier to supply and erect a closed panel system, whether it be SIPS or Valutherm, get it wind and watertight then proceed with managing my own subcontractors. I don’t want the build to last years…ideally no more than 12 months. I will also correctly plan the build, schedule, cashflow and take the time to do this before even thinking of breaking ground to ensure we can derisk and identify as many problems beforehand rather than on the fly. I work full time, so it will be very difficult and we are prepared for this, ideally I’d use a main contractor but I want to avoid this to save costs…or is this just a false economy? So really….I’m asking how long is a piece of string??! I suppose my worry/anxiety/ panic is based around…what happens when it costs more…how did you deal with it. If you’d been naïve and hoped it would cost less but it cost more how did you remedy that situation?? Any pearls of constructive wisdom…greatly appreciated.

We're at SE plans stage with our 242 sq m "box with basement" (c.180 sq m without basement). A recommended main contractor issued a preliminary (pretty ballpark) costings budget. We are combing through it but definitely need experienced pair(s) of eyes to see where it gets ridiculous. We'd love to have a basement but may be forced to drop it if it proves prohibitive. Any comments on the budget would be much appreciated. (NB: we'll have a PM to manage this, minimal own labour, and we're within M25 in Greater London (woe!). An existing old bungalow to be demolished. The plot is flat, service connected, no crested newts / sandy ground / major rivers etc).

I am performing a fabric upgrade on our house. Work to be done includes: - EWI - New windows, doors - Establishing AT layer - Digging out foundations for EWI - Designed ventilation - Resizing of window openings (enlarging and shrinking) I have done: - Overall aesthetic look (it's not really changed much, but thicker walls and more contemporary look to the joinery) - Energy model - Generic details for important installations, e.g. window installation, treatment of eaves (before deciding on manufacturers) What I need to do: - BC approval - Planning approval (don't think there'll be much of this, not listed nor in conservation area) - Choose suppliers and products - Update details to follow systems chosen - Arrange finance What should my ordering be next? I don't want to get BC approval only to find our budget won't work for what we have got approval for! Should we finalise the entire design first?