House Extension Costs saving...

spikeuk30

Hi We bought a 2 bed property with planning permission to turn into four bed.

We have had quotes in from builders and they are extortionate, the most expensive was 4-5 times our budget. - More than a new build 4 bed house locally!!!


Whats the best way to save money on an extension.

I was looking at digging foundations and demolition of old single story extension myself...

Then getting the trades in one by one...

Is it possible to get in trainees from local construction colleges to perform work ? I suspect colleges only work with large construction companies and not individual projects? has anyone done this before?


Any advice on saving money on this project and if we could hire trainees etc would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!!

neneromanova

if you can do the foundations and demolition yourself you'll save a lot. then get a brickie in to do the walls etc.


Have you looked at a prebuilt thing that a crane just slots into place at all?

Doozergirl

How many square feet/metres to your extension?

What were your quotes?

What is your house worth? If the price of an extension is the same as a house, then a serious consideration is whether it is even financially worth doing it yourself?

Hiring subbies separately is one thing, but you can't seriously be considering trainees to build an extension. It'll be the blind leading the blind, for a start and in terms of skill, it takes a long time to be able to master a trade - students will be working under someone that they learn from and that can watch and rectify.

spikeuk30

2 story extension - approx 5m x 9m = 45m per floor ~ 90m total.

varied prices, 3 quotes! 280k , 180k, 90k .. its worth extending but not for 280k lol.

We want to spend 60k ish - even if its only to the stage where no internals are done (without internals... plumbing, elec, plastering, ceilings etc, painting, doors, ) which we can save up and do these as and when...

As long as any trainees?, students? are supervised I don't see an issue - work still needs to be inspected and signed off by inspector - e.g. brickwork will be rendered and so does not need to be perfect apart from level.

I don't think we can use prefab as the permissions detail the extension needs to blend in (old house and fussy council) and states the materials to be used, (brick/block/peg tiles etc) used, its not a square extension but more like a block with a bay window shape on each end.

babyblade41

In my neck of the woods I think my architect said from 2.5k to 2.95 a square meters ... maths isn't my strong point

I'd say 60k is a bit of a hopeful figure.

I did a double extension on a chalet bungalow about 8 years ago and that came in about 95k

need_an_answer

You say you want to spend £60k,was that based on any firm figures or just the amount you have in your head?

The quotes you've had include what?

Fully fitted and finished or just the bare shell?

I think you probably could save some money by doing some of it yourself,but remember that you'll still presumably need to live in the property whilst you do it and actually sometimes having a schedule that someone else organises and is in charge of is worth its weight in gold!

I'm another who wouldn't necessarily think that going with the local college is the best route opting more for get the shell up and you then take over.

foxy-stoat

I doubt you were anywhere close with your original £666 per m2 - Your quote for £90,000 (£1000 per m2) is a bit light but doable.

You may get a watertight shell for £60,000 with electrics - if you know how to do plumbing, dry-lining and plastering etc, may take you all your weekends for months to finish.

Doozergirl

spikeuk30 wrote: »

2 story extension - approx 5m x 9m = 45m per floor ~ 90m total.

varied prices, 3 quotes! 280k , 180k, 90k .. its worth extending but not for 280k lol.

We want to spend 60k ish - even if its only to the stage where no internals are done (without internals... plumbing, elec, plastering, ceilings etc, painting, doors, ) which we can save up and do these as and when...

As long as any trainees?, students? are supervised I don't see an issue - work still needs to be inspected and signed off by inspector - e.g. brickwork will be rendered and so does not need to be perfect apart from level.

I don't think we can use prefab as the permissions detail the extension needs to blend in (old house and fussy council) and states the materials to be used, (brick/block/peg tiles etc) used, its not a square extension but more like a block with a bay window shape on each end.

Did you do any homework on costs before you bought this house? You are building an extension that is the size of many houses, it isn't going to be cheap and you can't arbitrarily put a price on a building project and expect the quotes to match your expectations. As it stands, your budget is about half of what it should be if you're employing a builder for a standard build. £1,500 a metre is a sensible finger in the air for an extension project, but a proper quote is an art, not a science and we have no information.

Are these ballpark figures or actual quotes? £90k is too low, for a start and it's obvious that person has just waved a finger in the air based on a ballpark guesstimate that is decades old now, applied to basic new builds which don't attract VAT.

You're overestimating the role of a building inspector. They will check that the relevant items are in place, not how well they are installed, particularly. They're on site for minutes. If something isn't right, then you're ripping the lot out anyway - it's too late. There are only a few items that they check, in the grand scheme and you'll see them perhaps four times in a months long build.

I think you'd be mad to hire students. Utterly mad. As a project manager and the director of a building company, I'm going to be frank. You need someone with a bit of nouse about them. In the main, trades care about themselves and their own jobs and that's all you employ them for - do their job, go home. If you are lucky, a kind and experienced tradesperson will help you organise things, but a novice doesn't even know their own job, let alone have the experience to understand how they fit into a project. I've already said they'll be working under someone as an apprentice anyway, but if you did find unqualified people, you will hit problem after problem and some of those won't even show themselves until after you have finished. This is not the same as getting someone inexperienced to give you a massage, or even fix your car under supervision. This is a mammoth structural undertaking with H&S regulations that need to be adhered to and you will be responsible for people's safety.

You're saying they need to be supervised, but that's a normal set-up - a qualified person working with an assistant, so you pay accordingly. Students don't come in gangs.

Have you given them a full specification to work to?

Have a go on this:
https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/calculator/

Prefabricated buildings cost more than a traditional build, so forget that.

Freecall

Doozergirl’s £1,500 / Sqm is probably about right although there will be many site-specific factors which could change that figure significantly so the ‘finger in the air’ caveat is important.

Have you considered having a Quantity Surveyor look at the construction drawings (you do have detailed construction drawings don’t you?). For a few hundred quid a QS will give you a full report which will not only give you a potential project cost but will break down every trade and component into anticipated figures.

This will also seperate materials and labour as well as risk variances which will enable you to get competitive quotes against which to judge. It will also compensate for local pay rates for the trades.

You will then be able to decide on the other, softer, features of any potential builder such as quality of previous work, reliability etc. rather than focussing entirely on price.

Take it from me, the client of any job over about £100k definitely benefits from the use of a QS prior to awarding a contract.

spikeuk30

Yes, we did homework, like I said I don't expect it finished for 60k as long as its the shell and roof.

Actual quotes, I suspect the 90k is more realistic - (280k includes a lot of extras.)

I'm just looking for any further cost cutting tips, most of the internals can be done by myself - time is not an issue.

Thanks - We have detailed drawings so a QS sounds like a good idea.

need_an_answer

You'll do well to take note of Doozergirl...Whilst you may not agree with her,she is one of the experts on the housing boards when it comes to building costs/building projects.