Cost Calculator - estimate costs of a new Fleming Homes timber-frame home

 

Any of your knowledgeable people who have done this before be able to throw light on the approximate budget breakdown for the key elements of a build?  Had a look at the one Fleming Homes have on their site as a guide.  We are currently getting quotes in from subcontractors and they are varying widely compared to the indicative Fleming Homes breakdown.  Would really welcome some advice on this.  Need to make sure our budget is realistic and that we are not kidding ourselves1

 

Many thanks. 

We had built five years previous to this one Doing most this ourselves hadn’t intended doing as much this time but price went crazy just as we started 

The  reason why quotes are varying is that most are very busy and pricing for one offs and are plucking a figure out of the air 

Rather than individual trades It May be worth trying established contractors rather than individuals 

 

 

Hi @JennyF Your situation is a very common one amongst self builders. Having been through it myself and with a very difinitive amount of money,  I do sympathise. 

 

We used Fleming - bought the full TF and erection service with one of their insulation packages. We used their prices as the starting point and then set about getting quotes from builders to follow on once the TF was up so to speak. We found a local builder who then pulled in the various other trades to assist. 

 

Fleming will provide you with a very detailed breakdown of what is and what isn't included. This will need to be read very carefully and fully understood. We got caught out with some additional costs, simply because I didn't understand the terminology used within. It may help if you have a look at my blog. The prices and costs are about 5 years out of date but the essence of it remains the same. It may help?

 

 

Many thanks @Redoctober our story is very similar to yours to date.  Can totally relate to the surprises due to not being familiar with the terminology.  Thank you for sharing the link to your blog - much appreciated.  We too are in the Scottish Borders!

Hi @JennyF welcome to the wonderful , confusing,stressful,frightening, frustrating, conflicting but rewarding world of self building.

The issue you face is one we all faced when first starting out , a simple answer to a complicated question .

I will give you a simple answer to your question above 

To take our building plot from a muddy field all the way up to damp course including both sets of drainage took 20% of our budget. 

The main structure including roof and glass took 40% of our budget. 

Everything else plumbing, electrics ,plaster , flooring, kitchen ,bathrooms ,landscaping etc will take the remaining 40%. 

Hope that helps .

 

On 12/10/2023 at 20:13, JennyF said:

Any of your knowledgeable people who have done this before be able to throw light on the approximate budget breakdown for the key elements of a build?  Had a look at the one Fleming Homes have on their site as a guide.  We are currently getting quotes in from subcontractors and they are varying widely compared to the indicative Fleming Homes breakdown.  Would really welcome some advice on this.  Need to make sure our budget is realistic and that we are not kidding ourselves1

This is hard work.. sometimes you wish for a straight answer.. we all seek this no matter if it is your day job or just doing a bit of home improvement.

 

Before I was an SE I ran a local jobbing building business... extensions, attic conversions and new build. I used to do most of my own estimating, sometimes with the help of a QS. But one check I always made to make sure I didn't loose my shirt was that on a standard new build the labour cost should be about a third of the material cost and for an attic conversion or a good sized extension the labour is about half the material cost. It sounds rough but better to take a small hit as a builder from which you can recover than a large one. If you can find a way to tease out info from what you have it may help based on the one third rule.

 

The market is changing in that up till now, since Covid builders have been making hay.. those days are I think coming to an end and we will be heading towards a more competetive market.

 

Do you have some drawings / ideas of what you want to build you can post?