'Value engineering'

[eandg]

Hi all

 

We will be project managing our own build with a fairly tight budget c.£1,100/sq. metre, and being a canny Scot I'm also very keen to ensure that we get value for money. (We will or can do some of the work ourselves too, if required - like sheeting, decorating, flooring, perhaps even fitting kitchens and bathrooms). Looking for any tips people have on where savings can be made without compromising (much) on quality, substitute products and the like (e.g. is there an alternative to porcelain for inside-outside flooring?). I've read elsewhere from the likes of @Christine Walker that they achieved around £1,000/sq. metre (and presumably without doing too much of the labour yourself) - how did you manage it?

 

Thanks

[ProDave]

That is the budget that I am aiming for.

 

I have been doing a LOT of the work myself to achieve that.

 

When it comes to buying stuff, it always involves a LOT of searching to find materials at the best price, often on line, sometimes from abroad as UK prices can sometimes be silly.

 

It also forces a choice sometimes to do things differently, or defer some less important things until later on.

 

The cost of getting thin gs cheap, is it can sometimes take a lot longer to find where to source them from.

 

Plenty of knowledgeable folk on here so when you get stuck looking for something, just ask.

[ToughButterCup]

This post is not flippant or self-congratulatory.

 

The best Value Engineering any self-builder can do is what appears to be waste time on Build Hub. Doing that is the opposite of wasting time.  I haven't tracked the amount of time online against the money we have saved.

 

But when your wife says " We couldn't have done this without the money saved by BH " - not a lot else needs to be said. 

So, .............  just read.

[eandg]

I shall do my best!

[newhome]

As @ProDave says continually search for good prices for materials and then fit them yourselves or get someone to fit them. Ebay can offer decent prices but ensure that the seller provides VAT receipts or that the discount is bigger than the ex VAT price of buying elsewhere. The downside buying materials yourself is that you will need to pay the VAT upfront and reclaim it through the reclaim scheme whereas supply and fit arrangements are zero rated. Read this thread and then read it again to ensure that you understand all of the rules about reclaiming VAT and when things should be zero rated etc. Money is at stake if you don’t know how things work. 

 

 

If you are from the area where you are building you will have an advantage as you should be able to use your network of friends and acquaintances to employ decent builders who won’t rip you off. If you’re not try to establish who the decent builders are before you need them by looking at recommendations on the local Facebook groups or asking for recommendations yourself. 

 

For that sort of budget you are looking at doing a fair bit yourself however as others have on here. @Christine Walker and her husband still did a fair bit themselves.