Money saving tips for building an extension??

Rowbo

Hello all,
this is my first post here but I can't think of a better site to ask for tips like this!
We are about to start building our first ever extension! We are not completely clueless, my H works in the construction industry and my family have build lots of extensions and a couple of houses in the past. But this is the first time we will be trying it ourselves.
We have a small budget for this part two and part one story extension. It will be 3m * 8.5m across the back of our house. We would like to get the shell up for £20k. does that sound realistic??
We have had some quotes from builders and they are all coming in above 30K. So I guess we are going to do as much as we can ourselves. so my question here is what money saving tips can you share with me?? Please tell me anything however big or small or obvious (I actually am the clueless one when it comes to all this!).
I guess we will start with digging our own foundations (we have planning and have just put the building regs in). Is it realistic to consider doing this with a few spades? Or will we not cope without a digger?? What about skips? Is there a way of getting these in a MSE way?? Or my husband talked about getting a grabber to come and collect from our front garden every now and then. Is that going to be cheaper?? What else should we think about?
Thank you for reading and please share your tips!

lagi

You will eat skips so grabber lorry is by far the cheapest. Digging the footings by hand i would go for a digger and driver, there is normally someone who does this in the area or put a request on mybuilder. Won't be as much as you thought and you won't all fall out from the start. Also if you need a soakaway, get him to do that at the same time. Probably be easier to get concrete delivered for footings, again for that amount you don't want to do it by hand. You will be needing insulation of various kinds so start looking for that. If you are going for blocks and not bricks that will save a lot.
Realistic wise on the price, hard to say without all the details but i reckon you could do it. There are a lot of little hidden costs that you don't think of, like cavity closers that all cost.
If you can source a lot of the parts under cost that can help, but you would need to spend a lot of time being aware whats available and where to get the best prices. Anything secondhand will save you a lot but may not always be available when you want it. Most stuff will be plus 20% now so easy to forget that when costing. All deliveries of parts you will want for free, so make sure you order their minimum order for free delivery or look elsewhere. A few things to think about, plus any windows/doors you may need. Easier to build if you have them already.

richardw

The builders quotes are 50% more than your £20k, perhaps do a bit of analysis where you think the £10k difference is and why.

Perhaps get a few quotes for doing the substructure up to DPC.

kabayiri

I'm in the middle of an extension with the same dimensions. I think you might be struggling at £20K.

Does this figure include electrics and plumbing/heating as a matter of interest?

tony6403

Set up a trade account with a local building supplies merchant .

System

i'd be very surprised if you can do it for that budget, but good luck!

Aidy

richardw wrote: »

The builders quotes are 50% more than your £20k, perhaps do a bit of analysis where you think the £10k difference is and why.

Profit? The builders aren't doing it for love, they need to take their cut - 50% extra on cost price for wages profit etc. doesn't sound too steep?

richardw

Aidy wrote: »

Profit? The builders aren't doing it for love, they need to take their cut - 50% extra on cost price for wages profit etc. doesn't sound too steep?

Exactly, a bit of analysis can sometimes clarify matters.

Rowbo

kabayiri wrote: »

I'm in the middle of an extension with the same dimensions. I think you might be struggling at £20K.

Does this figure include electrics and plumbing/heating as a matter of interest?

Thank you for your reply. That is interesting to know you are doing a similar project. But worrying that you dont think our budget will stretch. The 20k for us does not include any electrics or plumbing or plastering or flooring, etc. It is simply a water tight shell Does that still sound out of reach??
Are you doing any bits yourself? Or do you have trades in for each job?

Rowbo

richardw wrote: »

Exactly, a bit of analysis can sometimes clarify matters.

so cutting down on the trades that we use may bring us in under budget do you think?

richardw

No, I'm referring to reconciling your figure of £20k and the builders £30k and where you think the £10k is amongst the elements of the building works.