Introducing the Build Cost Spreadsheet (incl cost per m2)

[puntloos]

One thing that might be fun to record and compare is final build cost, when all was said and done, split out in a clear way. Not just the bricks but also Architect Cost, QS, Planning submissions, furniture.. eeeeeverything. And next to that ideally your best prediction before you started! The data would be super valuable for people starting off.. also fun stuff comparing and contrasting.

Spreadsheet capturing all the data is here! [Google Sheets] (anonymous editing should work)

 

Of course only respond with what you are comfortable with, but can I suggest:

 

- House type (detached/semi/bungalow/…)

- Month/Year you started properly, and month/year you received the keys

- Floorspace

- Any unusual/costly additions (Wine cellar? Helipad?)

- Extension/Newbuild

- Location 

- Crew (did you have a specialised Architect, QS, Contract Admin..)

- Cost Prediction - when the quotes came in, what did they say

- Cost in Practice - what did it actually cost, compared to what you were quoted, what was ‘forgotten’.. 

 

Of course it’s most helpful if split out, just so we know what you counted and what is left out:

• Plot purchase (not super important IMO)
• Materials
• Builders
• Specialist costs (Architect? QS? Project Manager? Film Crew? Kitchen designers)
• Furniture? White goods? Fancy Home Cinema Equipment? Green/Eco stuff?
• Planning Fees, council charges, building taxes?
• Misc/Unforeseen? Any unexploded bombs in the ground? (real or metaphorical )

 

- And any notable things that made it a lot cheaper or a lot more expensive than planned (had to redo the X, or did most of Y myself..)

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by puntloos
changed title, minor mods.

[Ferdinand]

Suggest it would be good to break out Planning Fees and Planning Gain charges eg S106.

[puntloos]

2 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

Suggest it would be good to break out Planning Fees and Planning Gain charges eg S106.

 

Updated, tx!

Edited July 5, 2019 by puntloos

[Construction Channel]

We're looking at £600/m2 

2 bed room in roof. 

[nod]

I’ve finished at just under £800 per square metre 

5 bed three bathrooms 

three reception rooms 

Though the spec is pretty high with all German bathrooms and kitchen 

7k on appliances 4K on quarts worktops 

[nod]

1 minute ago, nod said:

I’ve finished at just under £800 per square metre 

5 bed three bathrooms 

three reception rooms 

Though the spec is pretty high with all German bathrooms and kitchen 

7k on appliances 4K on quarts worktops 

Not sure if you guys count the vat reclaim in your figures 

i haven’t as you never know 

Expecting £30k

Fingers crosses 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

14 hours ago, puntloos said:

One thing that might be fun to record and compare is final build cost, when all was said and done, split out in a clear way. Not just the bricks but also Architect Cost, QS, Planning submissions, furniture.. eeeeeverything. If we get some data we could maybe create a spreadsheet and do fun stuff comparing and contrasting.

 

 

Of course only respond with what you are comfortable with, but can I suggest:

 

 

- House type (detached/semi/bungalow/…)

- Month/Year you started properly, and month/year you received the keys

- Floorspace

- Any unusual/costly additions (Wine cellar? Helipad?)

- Extension/Newbuild

- Location 

- Crew (did you have a specialised Architect, QS, Contract Admin..)

- Cost Prediction - when the quotes came in, what did they say

- Cost in Practice - what did it actually cost, compared to what you were quoted, what was ‘forgotten’.. 

 

Of course it’s most helpful if split out, just so we know what you counted and what is left out:

• Plot purchase (not super important IMO)
• Materials
• Builders
• Specialist costs (Architect? QS? Project Manager? Film Crew? Kitchen designers)
• Furniture? White goods? Fancy Home Cinema Equipment? Green/Eco stuff?
• Planning Fees, council charges, building taxes?
• Misc/Unforeseen? Any unexploded bombs in the ground? 

 

- And any notable things that made it a lot cheaper or a lot more expensive than planned (had to redo the X, or did most of Y myself..)

 

 

Total build cost, less plot cost, excluding VAT (i.e. net cost after VAT reclaim) was about £1,380/m².

 

Detached, 1.5 storey two bedroom house

Started summer 2013

130m² floor area

Passive house (meets or exceeds PHI requirements but isn't certified as a PH).

New build on a difficult sloping site (site levelling costs included in plot cost, as we bought the plot for a lower price because of this).

Located just in the South of England, about 10 miles West of Salisbury.

No architect, QS, project manager etc, self-designed and self-managed

Cost prediction was £1,200/m².  Costs increased due to decision to upgrade MVHR, use oak internal joinery, improve the kitchen spec etc.

 

Plot purchased for £90k, plot valued at £150k (difference was because of the cost of ground works needed to level site and cost of services provision).

All materials and labour included.  Around 3 1/2 years of my labour used in the build (I fitted plumbing, ventilation system, heating and cooling system, most of the oak internal joinery, kitchen, utility room, WC, both bathrooms, flooring, some wiring etc).

Main contractor used to supply and install the passive slab foundation and insulated and airtight house frame.

The only fees were the planning permission fee, building control fees and the final SAP EPC, which together came to a bit over £1k I think.

Biggest unforeseen problem was getting the water supply sorted.  The saga of drilling our borehole and then sorting out the errors from that wasted about a year of my time.

 

 

[Russell griffiths]

I can’t see how this survey can work as the variable is the amount of work put in by the owner

the first two replies from @nod and @Construction Channel Are both blokes that have done massive massive amounts themselves. 

 

Sorry really cannot see see how you will get any real comparison. 

[nod]

Also a point that will be important to most is

The total cost of the build 

land

Fees 

Build 

The final valuation of the finished 

product 

 

Russel is quite correct 

 Both I and CC have done the majority of the work ourselves 

But I think the key to making real savings  is to as much possible yourself 

[Oz07]

Furniture is a massive variable too. Forget that unless it's built in

[Declan52]

The biggest factor is surely location. Although my site was free, I built in my parents front garden, a site was sold next door for £30k when I started mine. Where else in the UK or even Eire would you get a decent site for that kind of money. You can still buy plots here for sub £50k which when you add up the total bill will have the biggest effect of your bill. The other factor with location is the fact that most of the materials are cheaper here in Ni as we have an abundance of sand and stone so concrete products are much cheaper and things like the sewer pipes and roof tiles are all made locally.

My house is a 2500sqft chalet bungalow with actual building work started in 2012, planning was got in 2008, and it took 2 full years of blood sweat and tears to get it completed. 

The build cost came in at £108,000 with a vat refund of £7k. My fees including architect, building control , site insurance etc came to £4k. So total bill was £105,000. So my cost was £452 per sqm. 

But and as has been said above I done the vast majority of the build myself so I only paid out for labour for electrics, plumbing, plastering and some joinery work. I called in a lot of favours which included the lend of a mixer for over a year, got enough scaffolding for little money, got rid of 90t of spoil for free to a local farmer, had friends and family help out with all the labour intensive jobs like loading the roof with tiles. 

I ended up with a very nice warm house with all that I wanted to have in it,triple glazed windows,ufh, big chunky oak doors, quality bathrooms, Italian kitchen with neff appliances, all floored with oak flooring and porcelain tiles, hate these as they are a bar Stewart to keep clean. 

Our self build mortgage was up in April and when we remortgaged the house was valued at £300,000 so I am well pleased with how it has turned out. The only job left to do is tarmac the drive. I have had quotes for £5k but am still debating whether to tarmac, concrete it or do it in pavers to match the patio or just leave it and go on more holidays. At present there is loose granite chips which where around £200 for a full lorry load which was enough to cover the drive.

[Jeremy Harris]

7 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

Furniture is a massive variable too. Forget that unless it's built in

 

 

That's true.  We have a load of built-in stuff, apart from the kitchen units, and that added a bit to the cost.  Putting stand-alone toilets and washbasins in would probably have been half the cost.

[Tennentslager]

49 sq/m 3 bed timber cabin

£204 per sq/m

features dry toilet, solar lighting and luxury Habitat furniture via Gumtree ?

[Oz07]

2 hours ago, Declan52 said:

The biggest factor is surely location. Although my site was free, I built in my parents front garden, a site was sold next door for £30k when I started mine. Where else in the UK or even Eire would you get a decent site for that kind of money. You can still buy plots here for sub £50k which when you add up the total bill will have the biggest effect of your bill. The other factor with location is the fact that most of the materials are cheaper here in Ni as we have an abundance of sand and stone so concrete products are much cheaper and things like the sewer pipes and roof tiles are all made locally.

My house is a 2500sqft chalet bungalow with actual building work started in 2012, planning was got in 2008, and it took 2 full years of blood sweat and tears to get it completed. 

The build cost came in at £108,000 with a vat refund of £7k. My fees including architect, building control , site insurance etc came to £4k. So total bill was £105,000. So my cost was £452 per sqm. 

But and as has been said above I done the vast majority of the build myself so I only paid out for labour for electrics, plumbing, plastering and some joinery work. I called in a lot of favours which included the lend of a mixer for over a year, got enough scaffolding for little money, got rid of 90t of spoil for free to a local farmer, had friends and family help out with all the labour intensive jobs like loading the roof with tiles. 

I ended up with a very nice warm house with all that I wanted to have in it,triple glazed windows,ufh, big chunky oak doors, quality bathrooms, Italian kitchen with neff appliances, all floored with oak flooring and porcelain tiles, hate these as they are a bar Stewart to keep clean. 

Our self build mortgage was up in April and when we remortgaged the house was valued at £300,000 so I am well pleased with how it has turned out. The only job left to do is tarmac the drive. I have had quotes for £5k but am still debating whether to tarmac, concrete it or do it in pavers to match the patio or just leave it and go on more holidays. At present there is loose granite chips which where around £200 for a full lorry load which was enough to cover the drive.

Property is cheap there isn't it. That's like half the cost of Midlands 

[Mr Punter]

We are a developer and have just spent £2,145 per metre excluding land purchase on a development of 1184m2! South East county town.

 

Not really a Buildhub record as we are not self builders. This is at the very top of what we have spent in the past and was a very tricky town centre site with 3-4 storey terraced housing. GDV around here is about £5,000 per metre.

[Declan52]

1 hour ago, Oz07 said:

Property is cheap there isn't it. That's like half the cost of Midlands 

Land is cheap esp if you move further and further into the depths of the countryside but then you end up paying more for your services.

[Ferdinand]

6 hours ago, Russell griffiths said:

I can’t see how this survey can work as the variable is the amount of work put in by the owner

the first two replies from @nod and @Construction Channel Are both blokes that have done massive massive amounts themselves. 

 

Sorry really cannot see see how you will get any real comparison. 

 

Agree with that .. a survey is impossible sensibly. However,  I think that as long as it is treated as a diverse set of examples with some circumstances explained rather than a survey it is excellent context for any number of people.

 

Sort f drawing an outline of the donkey they are pinning a tail on. 

Edited July 6, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Oz07]

29 minutes ago, Declan52 said:

Land is cheap esp if you move further and further into the depths of the countryside but then you end up paying more for your services.

Could do with being similarly priced here might be a bit more sustainable then

[puntloos]

Hi all,

 

I’ve created a spreadsheet here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KW9gABXXf8oDxXHNAFEWPK_I_rHMZBOZtCFDCoMsA4Q/edit#gid=0

 

Perhaps add your stuff for posterity here! Also do let me know if I’m missing anything or you’d want to mix things up!

[puntloos]

OK, I’ve added most of people’s info in My Spreadsheet.

 

On 05/07/2019 at 18:34, Ferdinand said:

Suggest it would be good to break out Planning Fees and Planning Gain charges eg S106.

Done.

 

On 05/07/2019 at 21:19, Construction Channel said:

We're looking at £600/m2 

2 bed room in roof. 

Cool. Added your info to the sheet. Take a look if it works ?

 

On 05/07/2019 at 23:30, nod said:

I’ve finished at just under £800 per square metre 

5 bed three bathrooms 

three reception rooms 

Though the spec is pretty high with all German bathrooms and kitchen 

7k on appliances 4K on quarts worktops 

Added, thanks for the info, and wow, 800/sqm for a detached is awesome.

 

17 hours ago, JSHarris said:

 

Total build cost, less plot cost, excluding VAT (i.e. net cost after VAT reclaim) was about £1,380/m².

 

Detached, 1.5 storey two bedroom house

Started summer 2013

130m² floor area

Passive house (meets or exceeds PHI requirements but isn't certified as a PH).

New build on a difficult sloping site (site levelling costs included in plot cost, as we bought the plot for a lower price because of this).

Located just in the South of England, about 10 miles West of Salisbury.

No architect, QS, project manager etc, self-designed and self-managed

Cost prediction was £1,200/m².  Costs increased due to decision to upgrade MVHR, use oak internal joinery, improve the kitchen spec etc.

 

Plot purchased for £90k, plot valued at £150k (difference was because of the cost of ground works needed to level site and cost of services provision).

All materials and labour included.  Around 3 1/2 years of my labour used in the build (I fitted plumbing, ventilation system, heating and cooling system, most of the oak internal joinery, kitchen, utility room, WC, both bathrooms, flooring, some wiring etc).

Main contractor used to supply and install the passive slab foundation and insulated and airtight house frame.

The only fees were the planning permission fee, building control fees and the final SAP EPC, which together came to a bit over £1k I think.

Biggest unforeseen problem was getting the water supply sorted.  The saga of drilling our borehole and then sorting out the errors from that wasted about a year of my time.

 

 

Added. Cool to have a passivehaus spec in there.

 

16 hours ago, Russell griffiths said:

I can’t see how this survey can work as the variable is the amount of work put in by the owner

the first two replies from @nod and @Construction Channel Are both blokes that have done massive massive amounts themselves. 

 

Sorry really cannot see see how you will get any real comparison. 

Well, part of the trick is to actually mention it, and then add an ‘estimated DIY savings’ field. Which I did.

 

Of course, for the sheet to work for many cases it needs detailed data..

 

 

14 hours ago, Declan52 said:

The biggest factor is surely location. Although my site was free, I built in my parents front garden, a site was sold next door for £30k when I started mine. Where else in the UK or even Eire would you get a decent site for that kind of money. You can still buy plots here for sub £50k which when you add up the total bill will have the biggest effect of your bill. The other factor with location is the fact that most of the materials are cheaper here in Ni as we have an abundance of sand and stone so concrete products are much cheaper and things like the sewer pipes and roof tiles are all made locally.

My house is a 2500sqft chalet bungalow with actual building work started in 2012, planning was got in 2008, and it took 2 full years of blood sweat and tears to get it completed. 

The build cost came in at £108,000 with a vat refund of £7k. My fees including architect, building control , site insurance etc came to £4k. So total bill was £105,000. So my cost was £452 per sqm. 

But and as has been said above I done the vast majority of the build myself so I only paid out for labour for electrics, plumbing, plastering and some joinery work. I called in a lot of favours which included the lend of a mixer for over a year, got enough scaffolding for little money, got rid of 90t of spoil for free to a local farmer, had friends and family help out with all the labour intensive jobs like loading the roof with tiles. 

I ended up with a very nice warm house with all that I wanted to have in it,triple glazed windows,ufh, big chunky oak doors, quality bathrooms, Italian kitchen with neff appliances, all floored with oak flooring and porcelain tiles, hate these as they are a bar Stewart to keep clean. 

Our self build mortgage was up in April and when we remortgaged the house was valued at £300,000 so I am well pleased with how it has turned out. The only job left to do is tarmac the drive. I have had quotes for £5k but am still debating whether to tarmac, concrete it or do it in pavers to match the patio or just leave it and go on more holidays. At present there is loose granite chips which where around £200 for a full lorry load which was enough to cover the drive.

Great info, thanks! Added to sheet.

 

12 hours ago, Tennentslager said:

49 sq/m 3 bed timber cabin

£204 per sq/m

features dry toilet, solar lighting and luxury Habitat furniture via Gumtree ?

Wow, very good price ?

 

10 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

We are a developer and have just spent £2,145 per metre excluding land purchase on a development of 1184m2! South East county town.

 

Not really a Buildhub record as we are not self builders. This is at the very top of what we have spent in the past and was a very tricky town centre site with 3-4 storey terraced housing. GDV around here is about £5,000 per metre.

Wow, hope you manage to sell it for a cool 6M  - added to the sheet anyway

 

10 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

 

Agree with that .. a survey is impossible sensibly. However,  I think that as long as it is treated as a diverse set of examples with some circumstances explained rather than a survey it is excellent context for any number of people.

 

Sort f drawing an outline of the donkey they are pinning a tail on. 

 

Yup, let’s see if it helps anyone!

[oldkettle]

I do hope @Visti will eventually put final numbers into his original spreadsheet  

 

[Redoctober]

Spreadsheet updated with my bits and pieces - thanks. 

[puntloos]

2 hours ago, Redoctober said:

Spreadsheet updated with my bits and pieces - thanks. 

Awesome! I think the ‘clever math totals’ system is not quite correct yet. Let me see if I can fix soon