Cost to build a 3 bed detached house?

Doglover88

I know this will vary greatly, but was just wondering an approximate cost to build a detached 3 bed house in the South East, assuming land is available? Any input will be greatful, costs of planning permission etc and the actual build
I know its like saying how long is a piece of string so please go gentle on me :rolleyes:

Doozergirl

Build cost is generally taken as a third of the properties final value.

Planning permission will cost in the low thousands as you will most probably need to use an architect. In the grand scheme PP won't take up much of your budget and will vastly improve the value of any land without PP.

Very much a piece of string question so apologies for the vagueness of the answer.

jennifernil

Expect to pay upwards of £750 per square metre to build, depending on the level of finish. Architects are expensive, around £80 per hour, or 10% of the cost of the project. Planning and building control will depend on the cost of what you are building, ask your local council.
Some builders have in-houe architects and will include plans and submission to planning/building in their prices.

Nenen

jennifernil wrote:

Expect to pay upwards of £750 per square metre to build, depending on the level of finish.

Apologies for my ignorance but is that around £750 per sqaure metre of ground floor only or do you double that for a two story house?

We have seen a plot of land with detailed planning permission already in place. What is the likelyhood of us saving money on buying this and paying for builders to build us the house (we are both complete clutzes at DIY etc) compared with buying a new house from a developer etc?

RHemmings

This site claims to give figures for building your own house. Among other things. I haven't read the page in detail and don't know if the information presented is correct, biased, or flawed in other ways.

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/building.html

chelle

I think it depends if you are including land costs in your cost per square foot/metre or not?

TBH it would be worth ringing around some self build companies (there are lots of timber frame type, potton, custom homes are quite major ones), or dan wood is popular, as there build quality is excelent.

If the house already has detailed planning permission, I assume you do not need to get plans drawn up etc, but if you go down the contractors route you will most prob have to pay a Project manager, and costing for that is £15-£20K upwards.

If you do not want a cost overun, you can sign a contract with a building company (I think called a JCT) that means they will get penalised by you if they over-run on time and costs.

It is a huge process, and there are some good magazines out there that might help in your quest.

Chelle

WaveyDave_2

You can get some self builds in the form of kit type houses, for example timber framed. You can pay just for the frame, or for the entire construction from start to finish. This will give you a fixed price for the entire project. If you buy a standard design, you will save on cost compared to having something bespoke designed for you.

I looked into this a while back, and generally, you should expect to pay somewhere in the region of £1000 per m2 of floor space. This is not the m2 of the house, just the floor space measured usually from inside the walls for each room. Have a look at the buildstore (https://www.buildstore.co.uk) website, lots of information. Best advice is to buy magazines and have a good look.

That said, you've done the hardest bit by finding a suitable plot!

jennifernil

Yes, per square metre prices are for the whole house, so the area of each level needs to be counted. As a rough guide you can use the outside wall measurements and the £750.

ukbondraider

I would imagine building the house is relatively cheap. What will cost the most is the land. I have been looking into it myself for the last few yrs and it surprises me how much the land costs. Land with planning permission is the same price as a house.

For example if I were to build a 5 bed detatched in kent (houses which typically cost £450K) then I would expect all my expenses i.e land, building costs etc would come to around £300K max. i.e. a sufficient cost saving for the hassle (in the past it would always be half the price so my estimation here is considered conservative in my book).

However what I found was that the land with planning permission would already cost £400K so once you have actually built on it you would be paying more or the same.

As a result it a project that has never got off the ground for me.

Doglover88

thanks people, we already own the land and have planning permission, but it must stay with the inkeeping of the others in the area and the detailed drawings have been passed back to us. One builder we was recommended has 'estimated' between £140 - 160k
I thought this a little pricey?

WaveyDave_2

glenbat wrote:

thanks people, we already own the land and have planning permission, but it must stay with the inkeeping of the others in the area and the detailed drawings have been passed back to us. One builder we was recommended has 'estimated' between £140 - 160k
I thought this a little pricey?

Depends on how big/complicated the build is. The cheapest house to build is a square one, once you start adding curves etc the cost escalates, the same is said when you add things like dorma windows etc.

There are all sorts of things that can make the costs escalate, some of the most expensive things can be the foundations and getting the services (gas/electric/water/drainage) on to site. These can run into several thousand.

Do you plan on managing the project yourself?