My build costs.

[ProDave]

Now that the main part of our house is finished, I sat down and added up the build cost, excluding land cost, design, planning legal and professional fees.

 

Total cost  £141K   House floor area 147 square metres  So that's a cost of £959 per square metre.

 

Well chuffed to just get in under £1k /m²

 

That is just the main part of the house.  The sun room is yet to be completed (though that cost above does include the shell and the roof of the sun room) and there is still outside work to complete like decking, driveway to finish etc.

[Stones]

@ProDave   Well done!

 

Is that based on internal or external footprint?

 

Aware you have done a lot of the work yourself (and looking forward to seeing it) - have you kept a note of the number of hours spent doing that work?  Would be interesting to see what the final cost per sqm would be with that factored in at say £25 per hour (or whatever figure represented a reasonable average hourly rate for getting in tradesmen to do all that work).

[nod]

That really good Dave 

and on 147 m2 is exceptional 

Probably beating my total as I had another 120m2 

which makes keeping the numbers down easier 

 

Put your feet up 

You deserve it 

[ProDave]

No I have not measured my DIY hours.  But I suspect if I had to cost all the labour including my own, but build cost would comfortably exceed the market value of the house.

 

I took the floor area from one of the design documents I think it was the DER report, so I don't know if that used the internal or external floor area.  I should just look at the plans and calculate it myself. 

 

Here you go, from the plans, external floor area 173m²,  Internal floor area 150m²

 

That makes it £940 per m² internal or a better sounding £815 per m² external.

 

It is actually better than that, as those areas are just the main house, but included in the cost is also the garage and the plant room above it.  My brain is starting to hurt now.

 

No I can't relax yet, must press on with that sun room (windows now ordered)

[JamesP]

@ProDave  Well done so far.

I hope to do same but with 285 sqm + 72 sqm garage.It just takes time, nearly 4 years so far!

Does your cost include VAT? 

 

[ProDave]

Yes cost includes VAT, about to send off my VAT claim.  The refunded VAT should complete the sun room and other stuff so net build cost should not go up any more.

 

I will recalculate when finally finished to take into account larger area and final costs.

[Bozza]

Nice one.  Do you know it’s market value -v- build cost.  

[ProDave]

1 hour ago, Bozza said:

Nice one.  Do you know it’s market value -v- build cost.  

This is 3 bed detached with a single garage.  A very similar sized house locally that was 4 bed (but one of those downstairs) so very similar, sold last summer for £250K.

 

Our all in price with land, services and legals will be about £225K   so I am absolutely convinced if I had paid for all the labour, the total cost would have exceeded market value.  As it is arguably 5 years work for £25K "profit" is poor value.

 

But we have got a better house than if we had just bought one.  The weather man confirmed this evening what I have thought that we have just had the coldest January for 10 years yet we are nice and cosy, never feeling cold and with nice low heating bills.

 

As I say not finished yet.  Sun room,. decking, car port, driveway to finish, balcony, a bridge over the burn, garden fencing, another shed at least.  Yep i will be at it for another 2 years I bet.

[the_r_sole]

very interesting figures @ProDave really shows what's needed to get anywhere near the fabled 1k per m2 figure

[ProDave]

3 hours ago, the_r_sole said:

very interesting figures @ProDave really shows what's needed to get anywhere near the fabled 1k per m2 figure

What this shows to me is how much prices of materials have risen.

 

We built our previous house for a construction cost of £110K for a 180 square metre house in 2003, so that was £610 per square metre.  Not as expensive finish and not as well insulated but a lot cheaper.

[the_r_sole]

1 minute ago, ProDave said:

What this shows to me is how much prices of materials have risen.

 

We built our previous house for a construction cost of £110K for a 180 square metre house in 2003, so that was £610 per square metre.  Not as expensive finish and not as well insulated but a lot cheaper.

 

jeezo! 610 per square meter! I think my loft conversion is going to come in way more than that!!

[Amateur bob]

On 01/02/2021 at 19:47, ProDave said:

This is 3 bed detached with a single garage.  A very similar sized house locally that was 4 bed (but one of those downstairs) so very similar, sold last summer for £250K.

 

Our all in price with land, services and legals will be about £225K   so I am absolutely convinced if I had paid for all the labour, the total cost would have exceeded market value.  As it is arguably 5 years work for £25K "profit" is poor value.

 

But we have got a better house than if we had just bought one.  The weather man confirmed this evening what I have thought that we have just had the coldest January for 10 years yet we are nice and cosy, never feeling cold and with nice low heating bills.

 

As I say not finished yet.  Sun room,. decking, car port, driveway to finish, balcony, a bridge over the burn, garden fencing, another shed at least.  Yep i will be at it for another 2 years I bet.

im curious, have you gone for the cheapest possible design and finish? and if not how much do you think you could get the cost down to? im looking at building 2 storey square shape as cheap as possible

[ProDave]

2 minutes ago, Amateur bob said:

im curious, have you gone for the cheapest possible design and finish? and if not how much do you think you could get the cost down to? im looking at building 2 storey square shape as cheap as possible

No it is the house we want rather than a budget house.  Decent levels of insulation, Rationel triple glazed windows, Oak flooring doors, door frames and skirtings, and not cheap doors. Granite worktops, both bathrooms as wet rooms.

 

But everything was priced and sourced carefully, e.g. Internorm windows would have been twice the price or Ratioel.

 

 

 

[Amateur bob]

1 minute ago, ProDave said:

No it is the house we want rather than a budget house.  Decent levels of insulation, Rationel triple glazed windows, Oak flooring doors, door frames and skirtings, and not cheap doors. Granite worktops, both bathrooms as wet rooms.

 

But everything was priced and sourced carefully, e.g. Internorm windows would have been twice the price or Ratioel.

 

interesting, at a rough estimate how cheap do you reckon i could do a 180m2 square 2 storey if going for the basics and organising the tradesman?

 

 

[Iceverge]

Impossible to say without further details of site, access to services, ground conditions, planning constraints. 

 

 

 

For instance it's possible that if you were given a totally free hand and perfect conditions and were willing to accept a very basic standard build you'd come in well below £1000/m2. 

 

Things that spring to mind for ultimate cheapness. 

 

Square floorplan. Only windows where absolutely necessary for fire safety.  Bathrooms Utilitys etc don't require windows. Keep the windows narrow to avoid anymore expense on lintels. 

 

Strip foundations.

 

EPS under a concrete slab to building regs minimum. Some floor paint to keep the dust down. No carpet or tiles etc.

 

Get rid of internal doors unless required for fire regs. 

 

Block cavity walls with mineral wool to building regs minimum allowable standard. Pointed internally and externally for cheapness. No render. 

 

White pvc double glazing. Again only opening sashes where required for fire. 

 

Standard lumber floor joists with exposed chipboard above and plasterboard with tape and skim below. 

 

One socket and pendant ,light per room. No CAT 6 data cables etc. Run cables through surface trunking.  

 

Basic kitchen and bath ware, 

 

One electric shower and ground floor toilet. 

 

A single pitched sheet metal roof insulated with building regs minimum amount of glasswool 

 

No extra airtightness measures. Trickle vents and extractor fans. 

 

DHW using an undersink water heater split between the WC basin and kitchen sink. 

 

Space heating using a Air to Air split unit in a central area. 

 

I reckon you could build the above for about £400/m2. 

It'd be a horror show though! 

 

[AliMcLeod]

1 hour ago, Iceverge said:

 

<snip>

 

I reckon you could build the above for about £400/m2. 

It'd be a horror show though! 

 

 

Sounds like a spec-sheet for a standard developer-built new build

Edited February 10, 2021 by AliMcLeod

[Iceverge]

@Amateur bob

 

This is quick impression of what it could look like. 

 

Not pretty but it's a house. 

 

Footprint 10.4x10m

 

4 very large bedrooms, 1 toilet/shower. 

2 receptions and a study.

Large kitchen. 

Utility. 

 

Apart from reducing the size from your 180m2 I can't see anywhere else obvious to reduce costs. 

 

 

 

[AliMcLeod]

9 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

@Amateur bob

 

This is quick impression of what it could look like. 

 

Not pretty but it's a house. 

 

Footprint 10.4x10m

 

4 very large bedrooms, 1 toilet/shower. 

2 receptions and a study.

Large kitchen. 

Utility. 

 

Apart from reducing the size from your 180m2 I can't see anywhere else obvious to reduce costs. 

 

 

 

Not what you're asking, but no upstairs WC?

[Iceverge]

No I don't think it's required to have more than one WC for 4 Beds. 

 

This is more of a thought experiment rather than an actual house you'd want to live in!

[AliMcLeod]

24 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

No I don't think it's required to have more than one WC for 4 Beds. 

 

I was thinking function rather than legalities. I'd be bold enough to say that having such a set-up would reduce any future potential buyers market significant. But, if it works for you and is your forever-home... 

 

24 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

This is more of a thought experiment rather than an actual house you'd want to live in!

 

Its one hell of an ugly thought experiment

 

It'd be interesting to hear whether your mono-pitched roof would be more or less expensive to build over a traditional dual-pitch.

Edited February 10, 2021 by AliMcLeod

[Amateur bob]

51 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

@Amateur bob

 

This is quick impression of what it could look like. 

 

Not pretty but it's a house. 

 

Footprint 10.4x10m

 

4 very large bedrooms, 1 toilet/shower. 

2 receptions and a study.

Large kitchen. 

Utility. 

 

Apart from reducing the size from your 180m2 I can't see anywhere else obvious to reduce costs. 

 

 

 

interesting concept the ploorplan isnt really all that bad, some render, a normal roof and a few more pvc windowns and it could actually look quite nice? would prob only add about 20k to the total?

[Iceverge]

I'd work on reducing the size. What I've drawn is little more than a shed and wouldn't be pleasant. 

 

With some decent packaging you'd manage 4 beds, 1 ensuite, a showerroom, a walk in wardrobe, a utility, a kitchen diner, and a utility in 120m2. 

[Thedreamer]

Would you get planning for this? 

 

Why not build 1.75 storey rectangle, leave the upstairs unconverted until finances allows.

 

I would presume the need for extra space is kids, could they not share for a few years?

 

This was a common strategy when the old RHO grant scheme was available. 

 

@Amateur bob are you based in Highlands, I can't remember, is the croft house grant an option?

[Amateur bob]

25 minutes ago, Thedreamer said:

Would you get planning for this? 

 

Why not build 1.75 storey rectangle, leave the upstairs unconverted until finances allows.

 

I would presume the need for extra space is kids, could they not share for a few years?

 

This was a common strategy when the old RHO grant scheme was available. 

 

@Amateur bob are you based in Highlands, I can't remember, is the croft house grant an option?

would a 2 storey not be about as cheap as i wouldnt need dormer windows? im central scotland, yes i could potentially leave some of upstairs unfinished would this save much money though?

[Thedreamer]

Just now, Amateur bob said:

would a 2 storey not be about as cheap as i wouldnt need dormer windows? im central scotland, yes i could potentially leave some of upstairs unfinished would this save much money though?

 

Yes, just leave as a loft. Insulate to a good standard.

 

I like our design because the engineered trusses form the structure of the roof and the first floor. The material and labour (timber, nails, trusses, sarking, membrane and other stuff) which I ordered myself cost £13k for materials and £9k for labour this was all in for the kit. My build is 138m2 but I had a vaulted area, steel beam, extra engineered timbers and lean too. I suspected you could build a slightly bigger house for the region of £20k to £25k

 

 

 

Why not just velux windows? A dormer is like a constructing a mini house on your roof.

 

I'm 6'3 plenty of head height standing at velux and upstairs, you get the benefits of a mini balcony. Those four got slotted in one morning.

 

Check out my blog and the last section regarding financing and approach.