How much does it cost to build today and how can you reduce costs on your own project? The experts at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live have some answers.
In this article we cover:
- How much it costs to build on average nowadays
- Labour and material cost details
- What the lenders have to say about their cost estimates
- Do modern methods save you any money?
- How much does going direct labour save you?
Q: Building is very expensive at the moment; what are your tips to reduce costs?
A: Different experts that were at Selfbuild Extend & Renovate Live Munster are probably best equipped to answer that question.
We had mortgage providers saying that as a rule of thumb they won’t lend to self-build projects that are coming in at under €1,600 per sqm for a builder’s finish (€154 per sqft for direct labour or €179 per sqft for a contractor led build for one lender), meaning to a finish where the house is weathertight (no kitchen or finishes). We heard many figures bandied about for the cost of building a finished house and this brought the figure closer to €2,000 to €3,000 per sqm, which in large part seems driven by a lack of builders. DJ Rasdale of DJ Build Estimations says that you can expect to pay trades €30 to €40 per hour, and he’s seen blocklayers charging a whopping €3 per block.
Lenders tend to revise the cut-off below which they won’t lend every six months; 10 years ago, the cut-off figure lenders had in mind was €900 per sqm.
Even though material prices are still high, they seem to have stabilised, according to DJ. However, he says, labour costs continue to rise, simply because there’s a shortage of skilled labour. For this reason, there’s a shift to modular construction whereby you have sections of walls already made craned into place.
We heard from the likes of iDomus (mass timber building method) and EcoCocon (straw bale modular building method) who confirmed this, saying that on some projects they were coming in more cost effectively than blockwork.
Back to DJ and he was saying that going direct labour, that is managing the tradesmen and build yourself, is likely to save you on average 20 per cent of the build cost. That’s where most contractors seem to be nowadays, some will charge more, others less. Contractors will also charge more if there’s anything unusal or complicated about either the site or your design. He did say that this comes with a health warning; do factor in the time it will take you to manage the project (unlikely to be feasible if you have a full time job) and the cost of making mistakes – a good builder will know what they’re at. They’re also likely to deliver the project more quickly, which could be a saving for you too.
In general, savings can often be made by sticking to your budget; for example, it’s very common to start with a reasonable kitchen budget and end up paying double that amount because you decide you want a nicer finish.
In terms of house size, DJ made the point that you need to shave off quite a bit of sqm to see a reduction in the total build cost – a few sqm might not make a lot of difference to the bottom line yet could negatively affect the design.
