building a house

Started by JPF, July 23, 2009, 01:29:28 PM

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Hereiam

In terms of cost the timber frame house is not much cheaper. I would be carefull with timber frame as i have seen frames going up with poor looking timber bring used, walls distorted in all directions. Air tightness and level of insulation is the pro's. One thing that is a must with timber frame is to install a good MVHR system as the house will be so air tight.

manfromdelmonte

Quote from: Hereiam on August 17, 2019, 01:06:54 PM
In terms of cost the timber frame house is not much cheaper. I would be carefull with timber frame as i have seen frames going up with poor looking timber bring used, walls distorted in all directions. Air tightness and level of insulation is the pro's. One thing that is a must with timber frame is to install a good MVHR system as the house will be so air tight.
SIPs
Structural Integrated Panels
Chipboard, solid insulation and internal membrane covered chipboard
House can be up in 10 days

liam_shack

Quote from: Erne Man on August 15, 2019, 03:41:05 PM
Clarshack - just going through this process at the minute. Bought a site last year, and plans passed back in March, and currently have plans with a number of builders for pricing.
Material prices have increased significantly (even in the last year) - insulation certainly impacted by raw material shortage. GBP rate not helping the material prices, as raw material souring from outside UK. Added to that is the demand for good tradespeople in Greater Dublin, leading to a relative shortage in NI.
Our design isnt the traditional square build (less than 2,500sq ft though), but the architect was estimating a "live-in" price of somewhere between £90 - £100 per sq ft for a good finish, albeit that rate is dependent on what you spend on kitchens, bathrooms, landscaping etc.
To be honest I'm expecting builders prices + a slight uplift on some of their PC sums, to come in around  £110 per sq ft.

Architect and associated Fees, Electricity connection etc could easily add another £5 - £8 per sq ft to that, depending on how rural & complex the site is. We got an NIE quote of £10k for connection, but have spoken to people in more rural locations paying £15k - £18k.

I recently got my connection completed and as you have stated being in a rural area, my quote from NIE was actually over £10k.    However I was able to go another company who carried out the majority of the work.  They put up the poles and new transformer and laid the cable to my meter box.  I don't think many people factor this cost in when budgeting for a new build, certainly I hadn't considered it would cost me as much. 

I think this is a fairly new thing but they are definitely worth a call for a quote if nothing else.  I saved about 20% on my NIE quote, and found them very helpful throughout.

Here is a link to their site.

https://www.electricityworx.com

clarshack

Quote from: Erne Man on August 16, 2019, 12:06:17 PM
If you are considering a build the only way to truly know, is to get the plans drawn up and get builders to price. You'll get anecdotal rate guidance like my estimates here, but every build and site are different.

I have plans drawn up. If anyone could pm me some reputable builders in the mid ulster area it would be very much appreciated.

lfdown2

I am just about to start a self build, long road ahead. Was wondering would anybody who has done similar recently have any supplier recommendations, I am particularly interested in the following;

- Structural steel
- Insulation (all Kingspan spec but wondering who is the alternative, at least to keep them honest)
- Doors & windows
- Roof slates
- Hollowcore flooring

Would be interested in price and service/quality recommendations.

I am in the south Down area but would give anyone a shout.

Stevie Nicks

Quote from: lfdown2 on August 21, 2019, 02:44:33 PM
I am just about to start a self build, long road ahead. Was wondering would anybody who has done similar recently have any supplier recommendations, I am particularly interested in the following;

- Structural steel
- Insulation (all Kingspan spec but wondering who is the alternative, at least to keep them honest)
- Doors & windows
- Roof slates
- Hollowcore flooring

Would be interested in price and service/quality recommendations.

I am in the south Down area but would give anyone a shout.

Quinntherm is a good alternative and should be a good bit cheaper, at least worth pricing against Kingspan!
For the slates contact Tegral/Capco and their reps will call out to site

andoireabu

Fitting a new kitchen in a house and the extractor hood is too far from the existing duct to put in new ducting to join into it. Can't punch a new hole in the wall so having to use a charcoal filter.  Anyone any experience of these?
Private Cowboy: Don't shit me, man!
Private Joker: I wouldn't shit you. You're my favorite turd!

laceer

Buying a house off plan and starting to speak to contractor about finishes. What way are upgrades normally paid for, up front or on completion? Can they be added to mortgage and is there normally scope for bargaining? Any tips on buying in a new build development would be much appreciated.

Mike Tyson

Quote from: laceer on September 10, 2019, 08:56:16 PM
Buying a house off plan and starting to speak to contractor about finishes. What way are upgrades normally paid for, up front or on completion? Can they be added to mortgage and is there normally scope for bargaining? Any tips on buying in a new build development would be much appreciated.

Going through the same myself. In our case, and from talking to others it seems to be standard across the board, the mortgage only covers the 'basic' package so to speak. Any upgrades - kitchen units, additional under-felt, larger tiles etc - at an additional cost are paid for on completion along with deposit via the solicitor. We've found with the developer there was zero scope for bargaining on any upgrades they were offering.

Our kitchen was through a third party who we had small scope for bargaining but only because we are spending a hefty enough amount with him. He was honest in our first meeting and said he didn't need to bargain as he had the contract for 80+ houses and knew we couldn't go elsewhere before completion. From talking to a kitchen fitter I know it would have worked out roughly the same price if we had got the basic kitchen and then post move in refitted our choices.

The majority of the time the developer has you over a barrel when it comes to upgrades, told us £45 for additional sockets anywhere in the house and £200 to get a socket on our kitchen island for example.

Any other questions, happy to help via reply or PM.

laceer

Thanks - appreciate the response. We're meeting with contractor next week so compiling a list of questions. House isn't due to be started for another 6 weeks so we've a bit of time to suss things out.May take you up on that PM at some point!

blewuporstuffed

Has anyone installed a MHRV system in their house?
How do you find it? worth the money?
What type of heating system did you install alongside it?
I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either

trueblue1234

#41
Quote from: blewuporstuffed on September 11, 2019, 04:08:25 PM
Has anyone installed a MHRV system in their house?
How do you find it? worth the money?
What type of heating system did you install alongside it?

Yeah we put one in. We were going close to a passive spec so windows didn't have trickle vents etc so MHRV was a must. It's one of those things that it's hard to notice what the difference is, but we have noticed less dust in the house than our previous one and my asthma hasn't been near as bad. Whether that's down to the MHRV or not I don't know. But as the house is airtight, we don't have any drafts and heating is minimal compared to previous house (Which was smaller).
We went for underfloor heating. EDIT* Sorry oil heating as well. We were going down the route of a Ground source heat pump before Arlene f**Ked it up on us.
Grammar: the difference between knowing your shit

giveherlong

Quote from: blewuporstuffed on September 11, 2019, 04:08:25 PM
Has anyone installed a MHRV system in their house?
How do you find it? worth the money?
What type of heating system did you install alongside it?

Yeah. Great job. No 4 inch holes for extractor fans needed to be cored to outside of wet rooms.. Boost function to clear steam after a shower. No stale smells in house. Worth every penny
Went for the Vent axia unit. Oil and stove with back boiler combo heating system

blewuporstuffed

Quote from: giveherlong on September 11, 2019, 04:35:37 PM
Quote from: blewuporstuffed on September 11, 2019, 04:08:25 PM
Has anyone installed a MHRV system in their house?
How do you find it? worth the money?
What type of heating system did you install alongside it?

Yeah. Great job. No 4 inch holes for extractor fans needed to be cored to outside of wet rooms.. Boost function to clear steam after a shower. No stale smells in house. Worth every penny
Went for the Vent axia unit. Oil and stove with back boiler combo heating system
rads or underfloor?
I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either

giveherlong