Builder's Charges per sq mtre ?

Leodogger

I have put this in a separate thread as it is slightly different from my original post about the cost of building a garage.

Can anyone tell me what builders charge per sq mtr so I can assess whether the quotes I receive are a fair labour charge for work carried out to build our garage?

longwalks1

Cant quote for a garage but i was told between £1000 and £1500 per SqM for an extension, I'm in the South East of England

Doozergirl

There is no price per square metre. I'm not in a great mood today, so I may not be very tactful.

All houses are different. All specifications are different.

If you build a house that is 100 square metres - 10x10 I would have to provide 40 metres of walls, four angles and 100 square metres of concrete slab. If you build a house that is 100 square metres but is 20x5 then I still provide 100 square metres of slab, but the walls go up to 50 metres of wall.

That is the most basic way to explain that square meters mean nothing.

You build something with an angle in it - the level of work increases again and the roof becomes more awkward and you start incorporating valleys etc.

Choose cheap concrete tiles, one price. Welsh slate, 20 times the price. Every brick is a different price.

Ground is different, foundations are built in several different ways.

There is no price per square metre. Estimating is completely based on the individual job. You can give a range of between £600 and £3000 per metre depending on how you build, but that isn't going to help anyone.

There is no price. Estimating is really hard work.

Doozergirl

britishboy wrote: »

Cant quote for a garage but i was told between £1000 and £1500 per SqM for an extension, I'm in the South East of England

This is just made up! No one even knows where it comes from. Builders who don't make any money, I suspect.

I do this for a living and cannot physically price anything on a price per metre basis. I don't know of anyone else that does either.

You can work it out backwards, but you have to calculate the price first. Averages don't mean much when you have extremes at either side. How can anyone guess with no information where one build sits on that scale.

Leodogger

Doozergirl wrote: »

This is just made up! No one even knows where it comes from. Builders who don't make any money, I suspect.

I do this for a living and cannot physically price anything on a price per metre basis. I don't know of anyone else that does either.

You can work it out backwards, but you have to calculate the price first. Averages don't mean much when you have extremes at either side. How can anyone guess with no information where one build sits on that scale.

It may be academic at this stage as I have now been told I will need planning permission which will add another £700 apparently to the cost of the build of the garage. I thought that garages came under permitted development as long as they were no higher than 2.5m (at least that is what I have read on the planning permission website). Our garage would have a flat roof and would be within 3 mtrs of the building line of our property (at the bottom of our driveway) and butt up against the next door neighbour's garage on the boundary line. In fact our garage would be like a mirror image of his (don't know if he got planning permission), I might ask him to be sure. This is just what the builder told us when he came to look over the project.

Doozergirl

Permitted development usually requires building a metre in from the side boundary.

Leodogger

Doozergirl wrote: »

Permitted development usually requires building a metre in from the side boundary.

Ah, perhaps I misunderstood the rules then.

It's looking more like we will end up with a prefabricated garage every minute ! I thought the government were relaxing the planning laws but after talking to the builder who came here it would seem they are planning new ones next year i.e. conservatories being included in planning permission and party walls now having to have permission and neighbours being able to charge you for erecting fences on the boundary between you and apparently can charge you anything from £500 to £1000 if you need to lay down materials on their side whilst erecting any fence or boundary structure !!!

Doozergirl

JWhite wrote: »

Ah, perhaps I misunderstood the rules then.

It's looking more like we will end up with a prefabricated garage every minute ! I thought the government were relaxing the planning laws but after talking to the builder who came here it would seem they are planning new ones next year i.e. conservatories being included in planning permission and party walls now having to have permission and neighbours being able to charge you for erecting fences on the boundary between you and apparently can charge you anything from £500 to £1000 if you need to lay down materials on their side whilst erecting any fence or boundary structure !!!

What? Your builder may have been talking sense about planning permission on boundaries, but the rest of that is ridiculous. I constantly have my ear out for changes.

Party Wall agreements have existed for a long time - it's not planning permission, it's an agreement between you and the neighbour you share it with - which is probably fair if you're building on property which is theirs too.

The stuff about fences is just BS and there are no changes in the status of conservatories.

A prefab garage should also be subject to the same rules as any other garage.

Leodogger

Doozergirl wrote: »

What? Your builder may have been talking sense about planning permission on boundaries, but the rest of that is ridiculous. I constantly have my ear out for changes.

Party Wall agreements have existed for a long time - it's not planning permission, it's an agreement between you and the neighbour you share it with - which is probably fair if you're building on property which is theirs too.

The stuff about fences is just BS and there are no changes in the status of conservatories.

A prefab garage should also be subject to the same rules as any other garage.

He has a friend in the Planning Dept. at South Staffs and he told him the changes are coming in next year apparently.

How can prefab buildings have to have planning permission when they are not permanent structures, have no footings, can be taken down and permitted development IS allowed for sheds ?

Furts

Doozergirl wrote: »

There is no price per square metre. I'm not in a great mood today, so I may not be very tactful.

All houses are different. All specifications are different.

If you build a house that is 100 square metres - 10x10 I would have to provide 40 metres of walls, four angles and 100 square metres of concrete slab. If you build a house that is 100 square metres but is 20x5 then I still provide 100 square metres of slab, but the walls go up to 50 metres of wall.

That is the most basic way to explain that square meters mean nothing.

You build something with an angle in it - the level of work increases again and the roof becomes more awkward and you start incorporating valleys etc.

Choose cheap concrete tiles, one price. Welsh slate, 20 times the price. Every brick is a different price.

Ground is different, foundations are built in several different ways.

There is no price per square metre. Estimating is completely based on the individual job. You can give a range of between £600 and £3000 per metre depending on how you build, but that isn't going to help anyone.

There is no price. Estimating is really hard work.

I am with Doozergirl on this one. I know OP has been pushing for a price, and re-submitted the post. However I have avoided giving a price because there is nothing that can be given.

Instead OP should be getting a drawn up proposal and getting this costed. My observation is a tiddly garage with a flat roof is not the ideal scenario to future proof and add value to a bungalow but that is for OP to decide.

Leodogger

Furts wrote: »

I am with Doozergirl on this one. I know OP has been pushing for a price, and re-submitted the post. However I have avoided giving a price because there is nothing that can be given.

Instead OP should be getting a drawn up proposal and getting this costed. My observation is a tiddly garage with a flat roof is not the ideal scenario to future proof and add value to a bungalow but that is for OP to decide.

I spoke to the builder about the value it adds to the property and he has been building extensions, garages etc. for 43 yrs and he knows the area well and said it WILL add value to the property most definitely because with a change of use later it can add further living accommodation to the property so could be used as an additional bedroom, living room, gym etc. He is going to give me a price over the weekend for the garage build. Also can I point out I would not class it "tiddly" at 8ft x 20ft. This size would rival many modern house 3rd or 4th bedrooms.