Has anyone built their own house?

SideWinder · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:17

Just curious about how much it costs building your own house as opposed to buying a house. I understand it would be far more complicated - design, buying/finding the land, any problems on site, the amount of time needed to commit 100% and so on.

So has anyone done it?

Raymond Lin · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:21

Land - depends, £20k ?
Design - 8% - 12% of construction costs depending on the architect
House - £1200 per square meter (this is for parts and labour)
Planning application costs and other disbursements
Legal cost in land conveyancing of land - £600 to £1000

Add to delays in planning, delays in building from weather, or legal holdups, then add to the project's material delivered on time, and the workman does a good job and doesn't need redoing parts - ie if the finish is particularly up to the standard.

SideWinder · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:22

£1200 per square metre? :eek:

/faints.

lolwtfbbq · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:25

SideWinder said:
£1200 per square metre?
/faints.

Stinky · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:25

Raymond Lin said:
Land - depends, £20k ?
Design - 8% - 12% of construction costs depending on the architect
House - £1200 per square meter (this is for parts and labour)
Planning application costs and other disbursements
Legal cost in land conveyancing of land - £600 to £1000

Add to delays in planning, delays in building from weather, or legal holdups, then add to the project's material delivered on time, and the workman does a good job and doesn't need redoing parts - ie if the finish is particularly up to the standard.

£20k for land?

would be easier to by land with detailed planning already approved! i've always worked on £75000 building cost for a 4bed house.

but prices depend on area / builder etc.

Participant · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:28

SideWinder said:
Just curious about how much it costs building your own house as opposed to buying a house. I understand it would be far more complicated - design, buying/finding the land, any problems on site, the amount of time needed to commit 100% and so on.

So has anyone done it?

As a very rough guide, it's generally about 2/3 the cost of buying an existing equivalent house. The problem being you need to find the land and obtain planning permission, which is becoming harder and harder.

Glaucus · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:34

No, but I've always wanted to and hopfully many many years in the future will be able to.

you can keep costs down by building in new materials, like beco was on grand designs last year. Polystyrene blocks filled with concrete, not only can you get it up and waterproof within 4 week, it has far more insulation for both sound and heat than conventional buildings and is cheaper than bricks, then you save on labour costs as well.

Stinky · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:35

AcidHell2 said:
No, but I've always wanted to and hopfully many many years in the future will be able to.

you can keep costs down by building in new materials, like beco was on grand designs last year. Polystyrene blocks filled with concrete, not only can you get it up and waterproof within 4 week, it has far more insulation for both sound and heat than conventional buildings and is cheaper than bricks, then you save on labour costs as well.

i want to do that to. i will build my own property eventually

iraiguana · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:37

http://www.huf-haus.com/gb/intro.html

Do it!

Stinky · 25 Jul 2008 at 14:41

iraiguana said:
http://www.huf-haus.com/gb/intro.html

Do it!

id love that!

int · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:05

My granddad has put up a few of his own houses around the area. Currently living in one my parents built

Got the land for free though

The figures Raymond Lin put up are pretty accurate. Obviously labour + land cost will vary heavily depending on where you live.

Stinky · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:08

int said:
My granddad has put up a few of his own houses around the area. Currently living in one my parents built Got the land for free though

The figures Raymond Lin put up are pretty accurate. Obviously labour + land cost will vary heavily depending on where you live.

still think it works out cheaper to get land with approved planning first, and then edit the plans

finding land without any planning and buying that before planning is asking for trouble!

[DOD]Asprilla · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:11

Is it still true that if you buy some land with a wreck or even just existing foundations then you already have planning permission to build on the existing footprint (within local planning regs and taking any objections into account)?

LOAM · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:15

You simply wont get land with planning permission on for 20K, not any more. Buildable land is still at a premium and its incredibly hard to get planning permission on land outside of a town boundary if theres not already a plot on on there (ie large garden plat etc etc).

£1200 per sq / metre doesn't sound to far off the mark though.

LOAM

Stinky · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:15

[DOD]Asprilla;12157889 said:
Is it still true that if you buy some land with a wreck or even just existing foundations then you already have planning permission to build on the existing footprint (within local planning regs and taking any objections into account)?

as long as you use the exact foot print.

any changes to it would require planning

Stinky · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:16

LOAM said:
You simply wont get land with planning permission on for 20K, not any more. Buildable land is still at a premium and its incredibly hard to get planning permission on land outside of a town boundary if theres not already a plot on on there (ie large garden plat etc etc).

£1200 per sq / metre doesn't sound to far off the mark though.

LOAM

land with planning for a 4 bed detached place ( large plot) in this area is at least £135,000 +

Vixen · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:22

My boyfriends uncle had a house built a couple of years ago, but I've no idea how much it cost him. I think the only sort of place you can do this now is farm land, anywhere near a town and you'll be fighting with developers.

Glaucus · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:23

Vixen said:
My boyfriends uncle had a house built a couple of years ago, but I've no idea how much it cost him. I think the only sort of place you can do this now is farm land, anywhere near a town and you'll be fighting with developers.

That just made me think, with most of the big developers laying people of. Does that mean land around towns will drop in price substantially more than the drop in housing market.

Stinky · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:32

AcidHell2 said:
That just made me think, with most of the big developers laying people of. Does that mean land around towns will drop in price substantially more than the drop in housing market.

i dont think it will. as developers can afford to buy the land and sit on it. even just putting in the foundations then gives the developers (i think) 10years to complete the properties

Abraham · 25 Jul 2008 at 15:36

Stinky said:
i dont think it will. as developers can afford to buy the land and sit on it. even just putting in the foundations then gives the developers (i think) 10years to complete the properties

Agreed, it is a developers most flexible commodity(sp?) but I can see them selling land off that they haven't built on, not neccesarily cheaper though