Nobody wants to pay more than they need to in order to build, renovate, or extend their own home. Most people take on these projects on a tight budget. Here are some top tips to help you keep your budget under control, and make sure you can get the most value for your money.
Decide On Your Budget From The Start
Set your budget as soon as possible and communicate this clearly to your architect or designers. They should have plenty of experience building projects on a budget. Take advantage of their knowledge and make it part of the process from the start.
Choose A Simple Design
Build simple shapes. The more complicated a building is, the more it will cost to build and run.
Every time you add a corner to an external wall, you slow down the building. Every valley or hip, the costs of roof timbers rise and the work takes longer. If you want to save, avoid overcomplicated shapes.
Stick To The Plan
A good design can save you both time and money. What you specify in the design is an important part of costing and delivering. If you keep changing your mind about the design, you will only add more costs.
DIY Where You Can
If you can, carry out some of the small tasks yourself. One way of saving money is to find your local builders merchant and tackle some of the lower-skilled tasks yourself. If you have tradespeople working on the project, this means you can have things ready when they arrive on-site, and they can get straight to work. Tidying up the site following trades can be another way of saving on build costs.
Be Creative With Inexpensive Materials
Think creatively about cheaper materials. Could you make use of plywoods, oriented strand board (OSB), or rough-sawn softwood instead of more expensive hardwoods? What materials have you already got that you could reuse, or what can you source for free that can recycle?
You can do this with lighting too. A standard pendant rose with a colored cable and a globe LED bulb can look just as good as a more expensive light fitting, but is much more affordable.
Price Work Separately To Save On Build Costs
It can help to price out elements of your project separately. For example, price to supply your roof tiles yourself, and then ask three accredited roofing companies to price to fit it. This way you could save a lot.
The more you can do this way, the more you could save, but be aware of the work involved and make sure you know how to coordinate the separate trades that are coming in.
Don’t Be Afraid To Recruit A Quantity Surveyor
Don’t assume that your architect knows how much it will cost to build. You need to investigate the various costs, put them all together, and then work out what impact any changes could have on the final build cost.
If this worries you, which it likely will, then you can hire a quantity surveyor or a package company to work with you on your project.
Learn A New Skill
DIY can be a great way of reducing build costs. Some people really embrace the self-build process and go to extreme measures to get the home that they want.
For example, if you want something you can’t afford, like a seam metal roof, you could take an approved installer course, and then fit it yourself. Just make sure you learn properly and do things safely.
Opt For Tried And Tested Build Methods
Don’t use materials or techniques that your builders aren’t already familiar with. This will push up the amount of time that your builders need to stay on the project site, and it could also increase wastage, the number of stags that need to be corrected at the end of the process, and could leave you with a sub-standard finished product.
Eliminate Waste
Design your home to maximize the efficiencies of your chosen build system. This is the easiest way to save money on your build.
For example, if you use SIPs (structural insulated panels), the panels are 1.2m, so if you lay out your house on a 1.2m grid, you won’t have to cut the ends off any of the panels. Every process like this has a cost, to try to eliminate as much waste as you can.
Do Your Research
If you make significant changes once the build process has started will only add to your costs, so it is a smart idea to put in plenty of research prior to starting on site.
You can help to build your knowledge by attending self-build shows, workshops held by self-build specialists, dedicated open days, and online courses. Subscribe to a self-build and renovation magazine too, to get independent, trusted, expert advice.
Choose Off The Shelf Over Bespoke
Bespoke details can look beautiful, but if you opt for these kinds of details, they can rapidly drive up your build costs at any stage of the build. Try to stick to standard sizes wherever you can. This will cut back on lead-in times and build costs.
Designing your home to include standard door widths, for instance, will allow you to choose off-the-shelf joinery. This will cost you a lot less than having to commission bespoke items.
Shop Smart
It is a lot easier to go to just one builder’s merchant, but for the cost of a few phone calls, you might be surprised by how much money you can save by shopping around for the best price. Always make sure that you ask for trade prices and know what materials should cost before you part with your money. Merchants might reduce their prices if you pull them up on their prices being more than a competitor.
Don’t forget to take into account delivery costs as well. Smaller builder’s merchants can often deliver to you for free and can save you time having to travel around to collect materials.
