Delay Integral Garage - Possible??

[soapstar]

Hello Folks,

Its a simple but probably crazy idea, what is the general consensus on building an integral garage at a later stage? This is purely to save on build costs initially as we are finding it difficult to come within budget using a main contractor for the full build, and with a 40m2 garage this would reduce costs quite a bit - the garage is of block work construction. I know its quite common to build a detached garage at a later stage however what problems do you foresee in doing this with an integral garage? The foundation for the entire house/garage would obviously need to be done at the same time. The joining room to the garage is the utility room with one fire door into the garage.

 

Thoughts on this would be appreciated!

[Carrerahill]

It depends on how the walls are shared, how the roof is shared etc.

 

If it is integral in as much as there is a connecting door to the house, but it is essentially a building just attached to the house with a single or couple of shared walls and it's own roof then I think it could be done later, if however it shares a roof or is under a second story etc. then I cannot see how you would do it.

 

Are there any services or anything that go anywhere near the garage that will end up within the garage space? 

 

Do you have a drawing of the proposed?

 

Could you not put the garage up in block etc. but don't have the floor poured at this stage, no doors or electrics, maybe just the basic roof frame if connected to the house or even just leave it without roof for now then all you are doing is building the shell ready for it to be completed later, that may save you some money.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2019 by Carrerahill

[newhome]

One thing to consider would be that building it later would cost 20% more as you would have to pay VAT. You would also have to get the building control plans altered to remove the garage presumably? 

 

We did something similar here. We wanted to build a breakfast room on the back of the house (full PP was already granted before we bought the plot) but planning wouldn’t allow it unless we submitted a full application from scratch and we didn’t want a long delay. So we put the foundations in during the main build as a ‘patio’ and built it later on. 

 

[soapstar]

20 minutes ago, Carrerahill said:

It depends on how the walls are shared, how the roof is shared etc.

 

If it is integral in as much as there is a connecting door to the house, but it is essentially a building just attached to the house with a single or couple of shared walls and it's own roof then I think it could be done later, if however it shares a roof or is under a second story etc. then I cannot see how you would do it.

 

Are there any services or anything that go anywhere near the garage that will end up within the garage space? 

 

Do you have a drawing of the proposed?

 

Could you not put the garage up in block etc. but don't have the floor poured at this stage, no doors or electrics, maybe just the basic roof frame if connected to the house or even just leave it without roof for now then all you are doing is building the shell ready for it to be completed later, that may save you some money.

 

 

 

You have a very valid point with services. It was initially thought the garage would be for the electric input and ASHP tank etc...there would be space in the house for these but would be rather silly to take up valuable space in the house..

 

The construction for the garage is not very complicated with one shared wall to the utility room with separate roof. I appreciate your idea of building the 'bare bones' of the garage however I do not feel this would help much towards saving us in the region of approximately 40k! ?

 

23 minutes ago, newhome said:

One thing to consider would be that building it later would cost 20% more as you would have to pay VAT. You would also have to get the building control plans altered to remove the garage presumably? 

 

We did something similar here. We wanted to build a breakfast room on the back of the house (full PP was already granted before we bought the plot) but planning wouldn’t allow it unless we submitted a full application from scratch and we didn’t want a long delay. So we put the foundations in during the main build as a ‘patio’ and built it later on. 

 

 

I like your idea of putting the foundations in as a 'patio'  Yes I did consider the building warrant would have to be adjusted, this doesnt concern me too much however anything to do with obtaining PP again is a complete no go, we were extremely lucky to get the permission in the first place.

 

As i initially thought this may be a crazy idea ?

[Ferdinand]

A temporary cheap kitchen may be less complex, and save more money. For now.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Ferdinand

[soapstar]

23 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

A temporary cheap kitchen may be less complex, and save more money. For now.

 

Yes I feel reducing costs on things such as kitchen as you suggest and bathrooms (we have 3 planned) may help. Landscaping is something we are prepared to do ourselves so we have that cost to subtract. Painting alone has been quoted at 16k so this may be an area where we can save money...

[newhome]

19 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

A temporary cheap kitchen may be less complex, and save more money. For now.

 

Yep. Second hand kitchens can be had for buttons on EBay. One way or the other anything you leave out won’t be eligible for VAT reclaim / zero rating later so a 40k saving will cost you 48k when you come to do it. 

 

48 minutes ago, soapstar said:

I like your idea of putting the foundations in as a 'patio' 

 

Our ‘patio’ even had UFH pipes in it (empty of course!), and we had the TF company design the kit so there was a self contained ‘panel’ we could just remove to create one of the doorways later on. The other doorway used the French doors that eventually got moved to the new room opening onto the ‘real’ patio, and internal double doors were put where the French doors had been. In other words it was all designed with that room in mind, but as a later addition. 

 

[ultramods]

@soapstarI'm not sure if you have already done this but have you ever shared your plans and a breakdown of your current build costs as it might be possible to reduce your overall build costs through identifying where you are paying too much and allow you to include the garage now.

 

Did I read somewhere that your house is 290 sqm, if so it's similar size to mine, your painting costs are 16k what does that include? I ask as we are paying around 8k for all our internal walls and ceiling to be taped and painted. We are painting all interior and exterior woodwork. We decided to not paint the walls and ceiling and let the same company do the taping and the painting, way any imperfections have to be fixed by the one company, the tapers can't blame you (the painter) for a bad finish.

Edited May 28, 2019 by ultramods

[Carrerahill]

32 minutes ago, soapstar said:

 

Yes I feel reducing costs on things such as kitchen as you suggest and bathrooms (we have 3 planned) may help. Landscaping is something we are prepared to do ourselves so we have that cost to subtract. Painting alone has been quoted at 16k so this may be an area where we can save money...

Has a single main contractor given you a price for the total build? If so you should almost certainly be able to save a lot of money if you A, approach some others for prices, B hire a PM or PM yourself if you can and have time and then contract in trades as you need. C simply remove large areas from the main contractors scope like painting, full internal fit out (do living area, kitchen, WC and bedroom(s) then leave the rest and do as money permits.

 

You need to look at your costs and work out how it has been costed, most contractors will simply look at it and work out a cost based on size and construction type, so far I have saved 10k's and this was all done through QSing the whole job myself and getting all the trades to quote me individually and then work out and detail things meticulously. 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2019 by Carrerahill

[newhome]

We just decided to do all the painting ourselves as it was a good way to save money. One of the easiest jobs to do yourself and well within the capability of most people. It’s a bit of a slog if the house is large but worth the saving if you’re trying to cut costs surely? Plus it’s something you can do as and when time allows since it’s not imperative to have finished the decor before sign off. 

[soapstar]

17 hours ago, ultramods said:

@soapstarI'm not sure if you have already done this but have you ever shared your plans and a breakdown of your current build costs as it might be possible to reduce your overall build costs through identifying where you are paying too much and allow you to include the garage now.

 

Did I read somewhere that your house is 290 sqm, if so it's similar size to mine, your painting costs are 16k what does that include? I ask as we are paying around 8k for all our internal walls and ceiling to be taped and painted. We are painting all interior and exterior woodwork. We decided to not paint the walls and ceiling and let the same company do the taping and the painting, way any imperfections have to be fixed by the one company, the tapers can't blame you (the painter) for a bad finish.

 

Hi @ultramods. Yes we are around the 290 mark, this includes garage at 42 sqm. We are still awaiting a couple of main contractors who arent as 'big' as the other 2 we have been quoted from, I am  hoping this will saving us at least another 10-15k but I wont hold my breathe! When we have a better breakdown of all costs from each contractor I will definitely share to get thoughts.

 

In regards to the 16k for painting thats a great question, what does it include, I will be asking the same question to the contractor! We are being charged an additional 7k for Ames Taping. So painting plus taping is around 21k alone? Seems crazy high in my opinion but maybe I am missing something here. Thats a good point regarding using the one company for taping/painting. I would assume the taping/painting can be done later and wouldnt effect sign off etc?

 

There are other costs which i feel are highly priced, to name one would be plumbing at 35k, this includes ASHP (with tank, controls etc), UFH downstairs, radiators upstairs, plumbing for kitchen/bathrooms (3) does that sound high?

 

17 hours ago, Carrerahill said:

Has a single main contractor given you a price for the total build? If so you should almost certainly be able to save a lot of money if you A, approach some others for prices, B hire a PM or PM yourself if you can and have time and then contract in trades as you need. C simply remove large areas from the main contractors scope like painting, full internal fit out (do living area, kitchen, WC and bedroom(s) then leave the rest and do as money permits.

 

You need to look at your costs and work out how it has been costed, most contractors will simply look at it and work out a cost based on size and construction type, so far I have saved 10k's and this was all done through QSing the whole job myself and getting all the trades to quote me individually and then work out and detail things meticulously. 

 

 

 

Thanks @Carrerahill. Yes we have been given a couple quotes as explained above. In regards to managing the build as much as I would love to do this I really do not have the time, however if the cost associated with hiring a PM to sub contract together with an architect to sign off each stage is lower than a main contractor this would certainly be an option worth considering.

 

15 hours ago, newhome said:

We just decided to do all the painting ourselves as it was a good way to save money. One of the easiest jobs to do yourself and well within the capability of most people. It’s a bit of a slog if the house is large but worth the saving if you’re trying to cut costs surely? Plus it’s something you can do as and when time allows since it’s not imperative to have finished the decor before sign off. 

 

Speaking of signing off, what is the basic requirements of having a house signed off for habitation? Just for the purpose of working out what could potentially be left out and done at a later date...

 

Thanks for all this advice its really helping me out!