Keeping costs down

[WWilts]

What are your top tips for keeping build costs down? (apart from doing project management, or not building at all)

[TonyT]

Sticking to a drawing and not changing design mid build

[FM2015]

5 minutes ago, TonyT said:

Sticking to a drawing and not changing design mid build

Hahahaha, if only this was as easy to do as say!

[PeterW]

Firstly, being your own project manager can increase the costs if you’re not experienced. 
 

As @TonyT said, get it all on paper, work through it again and again, every socket and every switch, the location of taps and doors and then move nothing. It isn’t hard to do, volume housebuilders do it all the time. It just takes the ability to say “No” when your other half wants to change something mid build. 
 

And shop around. Buy in the sales, get showroom kitchens, and pick up a bargain or two but make sure it’s all there when you do..!

 

And finally, keep it standard. Your 650mm wide worktops may look nice with that “designer overhang” but was it really worth the £500 extra..?? Do you need shadow gaps, or bespoke architraves ..?? Was that £1000 lighting controller really needed..?? Spend the extra money on the things you touch such as door handles and taps,  that is where an extra £20 a door makes a difference. 

[WWilts]

15 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Firstly, being your own project manager can increase the costs if you’re not experienced. 

This is a real fear. There is no limit to overspend for a newbie.

 

Safeguards seem to include:

More or less guaranteed maximum price from a builder/main contractor who seems trustworthy, (even if price is inflated a bit)?

OR
Pay a project manager/QS who is likely to understand and implement the cost control angle?
Or
other approaches?

[PeterW]

All depends on your skill set. Do you know how to schedule jobs and what happens in what order on a build ..?? Have you managed anything of this size (cost or time wise) before ..?

[WWilts]

11 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Do you know how to schedule jobs and what happens in what order on a build ..?? Have you managed anything of this size (cost or time wise) before ..?

No. Can fake it, but honestly no.

And still trying to get my head round the tradeoffs between build methods/ duration & associated overheads at site.

Edited February 5, 2021 by WWilts

[nod]

We came in at 820m2 and expect to be under 1000m2 on the next one While we kept professional fees to a minimum 

Doing as much of the labour yourself is the key 

Even something like loading plasterboards in will cost you £300 plus on a average house 

[Russell griffiths]

Go with a timberframe manufacturer who will deliver a guaranteed airtight structure, you will have this at a fixed cost. 

Then the only variation will be the fit out, no surprises that your build method suddenly isn’t as good as you wanted with expensive additional stuff needed. 

[FM2015]

@nod that's good going but difficult to reproduce everywhere and without a very good network.

 

If you're borrowing money, time is a serious factor.  Interest payments and time between draw downs can make a huge difference to your bottom line.

 

The guys who we come across that are on site a stupid amount of time and involved throughout, every screw, do get the "best" return providing the admin is done.

 

Others, seem to like a particular phase but then lose interest, change the plan, tinker without being immediately useful, see their budget creep.

 

A personal shocker is spotlights.  We fitted 185 downlights in a place, the specified lights were £50 ish each.  He'll of a lot to spend on downlights versus a pendant or lower "quality" downlight.

 

[FM2015]

6 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

Go with a timberframe manufacturer who will deliver a guaranteed airtight structure, you will have this at a fixed cost. 

Then the only variation will be the fit out, no surprises that your build method suddenly isn’t as good as you wanted with expensive additional stuff needed. 

Or any other build system that can give you a fixed cost for the same thing which meets the budget ?

[nod]

37 minutes ago, FM2015 said:

@nod that's good going but difficult to reproduce everywhere and without a very good network.

 

If you're borrowing money, time is a serious factor.  Interest payments and time between draw downs can make a huge difference to your bottom line.

 

The guys who we come across that are on site a stupid amount of time and involved throughout, every screw, do get the "best" return providing the admin is done.

 

Others, seem to like a particular phase but then lose interest, change the plan, tinker without being immediately useful, see their budget creep.

 

A personal shocker is spotlights.  We fitted 185 downlights in a place, the specified lights were £50 ish each.  He'll of a lot to spend on downlights versus a pendant or lower "quality" downlight.

 

We both worked full time jobs while we were building 

But also worked lots of hours on the build 

I haven’t included any borrowing or extra accommodation Because there wasn’t any 

You have to enjoy the process to put the hours in 

I brought a plumber friend in to fit The boiler and an electrician to test and wire the mains Both agreed that the time I’d spent plumbing and wiring I could have got a job in Aldi and paid them 

Slowwwww but enjoyable 

We’ve around a 100 down lights 

Saxby £7 each Really easy to fit for those with fat fingers ?

[Iceverge]

Start on the drawing board.

 

Keep the design square and as small as practicable. Most semi detached houses are less than 100m2 and people survive just fine. We ended up at about 180m2 but 150m2 wouldn't have made much difference. 

 

I spent a lot of time designing to make it super simple to install services etc. The trouble was that the benefit of this all seemed to be soaked up by trades finishing the job by Thursday and taking Friday off. There was no reduction in price as people seem to quote by looking at the footprint area and multiplying it by a figure. Mind you it's our builder who probably missed out here as we were a fixed price contract. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ToughButterCup]

Have a friend, or partner who is just as engaged on the build as you are.

Self-build requires relentless attention to detail : and - for us - over four years  becomes very wearing. Given the points made by @nod and @PeterW above (skill set and DIY labour as much as possible) there will always be something to distract from focus on cost : its what Toolstation, Amazon and  Screwfix depend on.

I just need [... ]  click > click >buy. Shoo shoo, could have got it cheaper  at [...]

 

If you just have a mate whose job it is to look at prices and availability, it'll repay the effort over time.

Edited February 6, 2021 by ToughButterCup

[nod]

Ours was 280m2 over two floors 

Your right in pointing out that a little extra m2 doesn’t make much difference Your fees and services charges  are pretty much the same regardless 

 

The problem with quotes for a one off build using individual trades 

They don’t base the quote on anything other than how busy they are at that moment 

Most haven’t heard of Spons Let alone refer to it as a guide 

 

My wife wants me to get a company in to supply and fit the windows and frames this time 

But the prices quoted for fitting can be ridiculous 

We had a glass lantern from Eurocell The price quoted for fitting was £1300 Ridiculous

Everybody has to eat 

It took myself and my wife 3 hours 

to fit and so on and so on

Every trade that visits a self build thinks we have money to burn 

The prices that are quoted have no baring on site prices 

 

[SimonD]

There's so much sensible input here already on this so I'll likely duplicate much of what has already been said, but here are some of the things I've learned.

 

Know your area - by this I mean build somewhere you know already people or know people who know people. We moved regions, away from a network of trades and contacts to somewhere we didn't. None of the trades/contractors knew me and this really made things difficult and time consuming because I had to find people, or as what has happened, do it all myself. If trades know you, that you won't waste their time, you make decisions and stick to them, treat them with respect and you pay on time, they'll come back. If they're busy, don't know you, and don't know if you have the experience to manage them, you're less likely to get them.

 

Design your build to use squares and triangles. A square shape is more space efficient than even a rectangle. Triangles, as in on the roof are well understood, simple and cheap to build. Avoid things like dormer windows etc. Not only do they add complexity, they're more difficult to detail for energy efficiency, for example.

 

Avoid large spans as this requires extra structural design and materials.

 

Keep materials and build method standard. For example, use standard sized windows & door so you can get them off the shelf. Design according to material sizes - 8' x 4' (2440 x 1220 or 2400 x 1200) sheet materials and as close to standard lengths for carcassing timber etc.

 

The easiest place to spend a lot of money is the bling that lots of self-build magazines will try to sell you - high tech stuff, home automation, network cabling, even the type of light fittings. Really consider how much you really need all this stuff as much of it will be obsolete in a rather short period of time. My electrician has, for example, suggested using standard GU fittings for downlighters and using replacable LED bulbs - far cheaper than your LED units (I think there's already lot of discussion about this on this forum).

 

When buying materials, go to the supplier with a large order quantity, this will get you a better discount and potentially reduce your delivery costs. Get multiple quotes and play suppliers off against each other if you can. A minor thing, but over the course of the project which can really help is to phone online trade suppliers. For example, I saved £200 on my framing nailer and received and automatic 20% discount on all fixings from one supplier compared to if I'd bought online from them, all with next day delivery. An alternative option for some purchases is to use your architect or someone else in the trade - this way the supplier thinks they may be in for repeat business and may be more helpful.

 

There's also a couple of items here that I think is the most important, but often overlooked - also contrary to what many people might say!

 

Give yourself time to think things through when you need to. The building schedule can often be very intense and trades, if they come up against an issue, will want an immediate decision on a solution or diffierent way to do something. Don't fall into this trap and instead seek to understand all the implications and take time to think through all the alternatives - but when you make your decision stick with it.

 

Do not be afraid to change your mind and stick to your guns! This is your house and your money. I don't think there is any way you can really know what your house design is going to look and feel like on paper so I personally think you need to give yourself leeway should you feel you need it - if you include this in your plan and design it will save you money. The building trade is notorius for given advice that suits them, not you. They'll almost always tell you that anything you ask, that's different from what they have in mind is going to cost you loads of extra money. This is not born out of truth, more a trade culture in the UK. If something doesn't feel right, stop what's going on, think it through and take a different direction. I've found that having thought something through and then explaing it well to the trades can often overome this problem. Sometimes this may end in a builder or tradesman walking off site, but if that happens you may just be better off anyway.

 

Finally, do as much as you feel you can and want to do.

[nod]

Speed =££££££

[FM2015]

58 minutes ago, nod said:

Speed =££££££

In a good way or a bad way?

 

The company I work for undertakes ICF shells on a fixed fee basis and because of the market, delivering on schedule is the only way to be profitable.  Day rate might seem a good option but all delays will be paid for, rain days, material wastage, broken plant etc etc.

A well specified job for us is a dream to work on, it's our responsibility to minimise wastage, supply the kit, wear a wetsuit and the build quality.  We take those risks on.  

 

I think that if you are in a hurry, picking some major phases to be undertaken by contractors could save you money in the long run.  If time isn't a factor, take it on yourself.  And only day rate trusted, referenced individuals.

A block layer on £2 per block can earn £300+ per day or be on day rate, £150, and take twice as long.  Same amount of money but how much is the time worth to you?  Blockies around me do day rate in winter and price in summer....they're not daft!

[WWilts]

Great tips, all.

Biggest fear is that a potentially £1500/sqm (or less) build might turn into a 2500+/sqm build. If costs creep. Especially since time not available for DIY. (nor skills)

Tempted to try target price contract with pain/gain shared with main contractor if they bring it in above or under the cost target. If they accept such a deal.

[nod]

1 hour ago, FM2015 said:

In a good way or a bad way?

 

The company I work for undertakes ICF shells on a fixed fee basis and because of the market, delivering on schedule is the only way to be profitable.  Day rate might seem a good option but all delays will be paid for, rain days, material wastage, broken plant etc etc.

A well specified job for us is a dream to work on, it's our responsibility to minimise wastage, supply the kit, wear a wetsuit and the build quality.  We take those risks on.  

 

I think that if you are in a hurry, picking some major phases to be undertaken by contractors could save you money in the long run.  If time isn't a factor, take it on yourself.  And only day rate trusted, referenced individuals.

A block layer on £2 per block can earn £300+ per day or be on day rate, £150, and take twice as long.  Same amount of money but how much is the time worth to you?  Blockies around me do day rate in winter and price in summer....they're not daft!

In a good way 

If you have to be in by a certain unrealistic date  It will cost 

If you can be relaxed a about things being done You will get a better finish and more cost effective 

Builders are in the same position as all of us 

They use who ever is available 

[wozza]

3 hours ago, nod said:

 

Every trade that visits a self build thinks we have money to burn 

 

 

This is so true.

[Iceverge]

Have a good nosey at mass housing developments near you. 

 

The build method they are using is likely to be the cheapest and well known to local trades. Copy everything from the foundation to the windows to the roof covering and you won't go far wrong.

 

Avoid buying strange and exotic materials that can't be picked up from your builders merchants. The ability to pick up a few more joists from if you break one or drop back a few unused roof tiles for a refund will save money and heaps of time.

Edited February 6, 2021 by Iceverge