To illustrate this we visited the McCraws; a young family of four who built their home for under £110,000. Using their example we can highlight the key elements of building a comfortable home with a conservative eye on cost.
By understanding some simple truths about building on a modest budget, David and Karen McCraw built their home for under £110,000.
There are a number of essentials concerned with keeping costs to a minimum. The top six of these are listed and explained below.
Build small:
It is simple and it is obvious. The greater the floor area, the greater the cost. Building size is probably the main denominator in determining the cost of a new home and building small is the first step towards keeping costs to a minimum. But don't be fooled by the term 'small'. Small in a self build project can be more spacious than you think. 140m² is the size of David and Karen McCraws four bedroom family home. 140m² is certainly more spacious than 'small' would suggest. With decent sized bedrooms, plenty of living area and adequate storage, this family have all the room they need. This is the key to building 'small' - determining size based on what you essentially need. By keeping your expectations at the modest end of the spectrum you will be very surprised how comfortable a 'small' home can be.
Build Practical:
If building small is the first step in keeping cost down then building practical is the next. The more complicated the design, the more cost you are likely to incur in both materials and in labour. This is the reason why commercial developers (who tend to know a thing or two about saving pennies) stick mainly to a symmetrical box shape design. Less valleys, edges, corners, etc. means less detail to consume significant chunks of one's budget. The McCraws built practically. Their symmetrical room in the roof home was specifically designed with ease of build in mind. They used attic trusses which have the advantage of forming the roof structure and first floor living spaces in one go and enabled them to leave the first floor 'un-developed' until a time that better suited them. This kept initial build costs down (to as low as £90,000) and ensured they had the potential to expand which significantly impacts the value of their asset.
Do It Yourself:
A major advantage of a prefabricated timber frame home is the ease of construction. This means there is large scope for a little (or a lot) of good old fashioned DIY. Basically, the more you can contribute to a new build project in terms of time and effort, the more money you'll ultimately save on build costs. Although David is not a joiner by trade he would certainly be considered as a bit of a handy man. Everything that was within his means was done so by him. He did the initial groundwork's, erected the panels and trusses, sarked the roof, fitted the doors and windows, plasterboarded the internal walls and fitted all the internal finishing's. The rest was done by local sub contractors who were sourced and employed directly by him. He took on the role of project manager and coordinated daily progress at no expense other than his time and effort.
Minimise Design Fees:
Architects add value to a property when design is the number one priority - not cost. Including an architect can also include a fee of around 10% of your total build cost, which is a significant proportion of any budget. By minimising design fees there is massive potential to cut costs without necessarily cutting design corners. David and wife Karen did their research. By attending local home shows, visiting local show homes and investing in a large back catalogue of 'Built It' magazines they had a pretty strong idea of the home they wanted to live in. They took their well researched design brief to a local timber frame manufacturer who offered them a free design consultation service. Their ideas were developed and before long they had confirmed their design without incurring any costs.
Build Method:
The decision is whether to build in traditional blockwork or to build in timber frame. The bottom line is that building in block or building in timber in terms of overall costs is relatively the same. Both have their advantages, both have their limitations and both can 'out cost' the other depending on various circumstances. In terms of raw materials it is hard to find a building element cheaper than the common block. But it is the advantages associated with timber building that can out perform block in terms of overall (an on-going) costs of a new build. As the saying goes, time is money and it is no secret that prefabricated timber frame homes can be erected in a quarter of the time it takes to erect a traditional brick and block home. Furthermore, the environmental considerations (which are steadily becoming just as important on a new home builders agenda as cost) satisfied by building in timber far outweigh its traditional counterpart.
Consider On-Going Costs:
Understandably, it is the capital costs of a new build project which determines whether or not it is over or under budget. It is often the case that provisions for future savings are overlooked in an all out attempt to control capital costs that can so quickly escalate. Now more than ever it is essential to 'future proof' your home to control ever-increasing energy costs (and environmental impact!). Due to an increase of competition in the ever expanding renewable energy market, products like solar panels are far more realistic future cost savers for the self builder on a modest budget.
