Never again, unless... maybe...

[NSS]

Having completed our build in 2017, I've always said never again, unless we had a significant windfall and the perfect plot arrived.

 

Well we haven't, and it hasn't, but one of my offspring is currently eyeing a small bungalow on a large plot in rural southern England. Her initial instinct is to hugely extend, out and up, but retaining anything meaningful of the existing fabric will significantly compromise what might be achievable.

 

To me it's a tear down and replace, but the existing bungalow is habitable (albeit tired), so the vendor, understandably, is looking for more than it's value as a plot alone.

 

Assuming project management of individual trades, and a limited amount of 'self building' (primarily labouring and decorating), for a reasonably good quality, traditional block & brick build, circa 230m2 chalet bungalow, is £2.5k/m2 a reasonable expectation?

 

Much more than that and the value of the finished build will likely be below cost.

[BotusBuild]

Doable, but I think compromise would be required on materials, air tightness, insulation levels given the minimal involvement 

[torre]

I think 3k/m2 is more realistic to budget for if you want reasonable quality and aren't doing that much yourself.

 

How much can you derisk the project? Did you PM last time and did you go over budget last time and by much? Could/would you use the same builder/trades?

[NSS]

3 minutes ago, torre said:

I think 3k/m2 is more realistic to budget for if you want reasonable quality and aren't doing that much yourself.

 

How much can you derisk the project? Did you PM last time and did you go over budget last time and by much? Could/would you use the same builder/trades?

 

Yep, £3k is more what I thought. To clarify, this wouldn't be my build,  and whilst I might help pm it, my labouring days are behind me. My son-in-law is a grafter though, and can handle a digger, knock up muck, lay drainage, etc, etc. I'm just not sure how much of his week could be devoted to being hands-on without significantly compromising his income.