A universal desire

I’ve never met a client, and don’t ever expect to, who says ‘I’m happy to spend more than I need to’. Who doesn’t want to keep their costs down when building their dream home?

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What’s my priority?

With new clients, I ask them to put in order of importance Time, Cost and Quality. Being human, we want the best possible result, in the shortest time and at the lowest cost! But only one of those factors can be the main driver. For instance, an accessible bathroom and bedroom may need to be provided after a diagnosis of illness. Time is the most important factor, Quality is likely to come next, with Cost being last - and possibly higher than usual if a builder has to rearrange other works to do the project quickly.

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Ball park figures

Building new is easier to price than a renovation, as everything that goes into the building is known. Annual published construction cost figures will tell you the price range per square metre for a new build house. Currently, that’s upwards of €3,000/m2 inclusive of VAT. A three bedroom house with a home office at 160/m2 would cost €480,000. You need to factor in site purchase costs, and fees for a design team - architect, structural engineer, quantity surveyor and so on.

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Lamborghini or Lada?

The final cost will depend on the quality you choose. A high end finish or complex build could cost €5,000/m2. An uncomplicated build, with a simple design that minimises waste and complexity could be €1,500/m2. This would be a ‘Builder’s Finish’, where there are no tiles, flooring, kitchen, bathroom or light fittings installed. You complete these over time.

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The One Thing

What one thing alone would keep your costs down? Using a particular build method, or a certain style of house, or local materials and tradespeople? Nope, although they could certainly influence cost in a positive way. It’s sticking to the plan. In other words, not making changes. Now, many potential homeowners approach a build or renovation with the idea that if they see something they don’t like, they’ll make a change. It may seem a simple thing to move a door, push out a wall to enlarge a room, or move the position of a bath. However, there could then be collisions with services, or structures such as a steel beam. This is likely to cause a delay in the builder’s work, as they wait for a redesign to determine that the change is possible. Undoing work, or building extra outside the scope of the agreed design creates further delay.

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Takeaway

Agree your house design, and sign off on it at an early stage. Ideally, before it goes for planning permission, as making any changes thereafter is difficult. And then, let the builder construct according to all the drawings, specification and schedules - and stay away from the site.

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