Many people often wonder, “how much does it cost to build a house” Building a house should not be too much of a task in the UK if you have concluded the process of acquiring a plot of land and funds to see the project off. The hard part comes in when you factor in the prices for the project’s construction method, the structural approaches, and your specific fixtures, exterior finishes, and fittings. Getting the best results calls for a qualified team, including a certified quantity surveyor.

For a first-time homeowner, assessing your projects’ drawings and bills of quantity (BOQ) would be the best way for you to truly know the building costs, without which you would face several pitfalls when estimating the cost of your project in the UK. Moreover, the building costs greatly vary by location, with central London being the most expensive in the UK and falls second in global rankings.

Factors that affect the true cost of building a house in the UK

1. Your Building Design

Sometimes, especially for first-time owners, you get a good quotation for your whole project only to experience additional expenses as the construction goes on. This mostly happens when you have been underquoted or overcharged for the supplies. Yes. I know the frustration all too well.

Before you choose your design, you should know that it will naturally have a colossal impact on the building cost. To get your dream house design that fits your budget, find an architectural team with a reputation for pulling out structures similar to yours. This way, you will get credible advice on the best design suitable for your taste and requirements, and above all, that fits within your budget range.

Moreover, it is paramount that you choose a building contractor who understands the details of a project and is aware of the market prices and the specific materials you’ll need before starting. Any inexperienced contractors under-quote during the early stages of the project only to ask for more funds to complete the project.

To avoid such incidences, you should select a specific and qualified independent architect to act as the principal contract and designer administrator for your project instead of leaving everything to the building company, who often take advantage of the mandate and might not be as experienced as you would want them to be.

How does knowing this benefit you?
Knowing that your project’s design will often affect the overall project would help reduce the risks of falling into disputes over the quality of work done and the material standards as specific as needed by you as the client.

2. Client specificity

Constructing your dream home entails several specific designs, every one of them contributing to the increase in the overall construction price. It is quite obvious that the more expensive your selections are, the more expensive your entire project will cost.

The decisions you make regarding the nitty-gritty of your projects, such as finishes, fixtures, and specifications, will also affect the time taken to complete the project. As such, you should know lias with the architects and quantity surveyors to make an informed decision about the construction.

It is recommended that you use basic specifications, especially if you are working on budgeted money. Basic approaches include listing out materials and products by model and brands that fit within your budget to ensure accuracy in making the budget.

Depending on the accuracy of your tender document, your final construction costs should be within an acceptable range of plus or minus 10%. You might have greater divinations in your amount if there is some ambiguity in your planning. Hence the prices might shoot up if your specifications lost are not appropriately completed.

To get the best prices for your specified designs, use qualified and experienced contractors and building companies that present a wide range of options for your finishing, sockets, door knobs, and flooring, among many other varieties that will tickle your fancy. Getting the right people to handle your delicate project makes all the difference in pricing.

3. Project Management of Choice

During a construction project, the project manager is usually responsible for the project’s overall success, including planning, monitoring, execution, control, and closure. They are tasked to ensure that the deadline for the construction is met and the project fits in the budget of the owner or client.

Having a qualified project manager in your team will ensure that leadership of the project is in good hands and provides that the team coordinates well to complete the construction task project managers ensure that everyone on the team maximumly plays their part at the right time, and ensures the team works as one unit.

Choosing the most preferred management ultimately depends on the amount of money you have set out for the construction. Some people may choose to take on all the management responsibilities and only employ subcontractors, saving the costs of employing a professional manager. In many cases, this frustrates the homeowner and even makes the construction a botched project.

The better option is to find a professional manager who fits within your budget to save you the hustle and time. Plus, you would have someone you can trust handling your house, who is not only experienced but tied with a contract, where, if they deliver a bad job, they will stand the consequences of going against the contract.

4. The Type and Quality of Construction

A house made of wood is cheaper to construct compared to a brick house. This means that the material you decide to use on your project will significantly impact the construction speed and the final cost. However, this might be a small difference when you factor in important construction regulations, such as longevity (the house has to last you long), thermal performance, and emissions.

Constructing a house demands fitting in features for the building to be habitable by human beings, which will be more expensive if you do not consider them at the beginning of the construction. These features vary in price, and if you choose the most expensive ones in the market, you better be ready to deal with the elevated costs. How much will my windows and doors cost, the cost for Electrics, and estimated costs for walls and ceilings should be one of your prior concerns.

A new homeowner should prioritise the windows, external finishes, doors, roof, floor slabs, and the foundations cost before breaking ground. These are the elements of construction that provide your building with air-tightness, structure, and proper insulation.

These features will last as long as the building stands. Getting good services at good prices will ensure that you get a well-defined means of installing these systems, balancing construction speed, better performance over years of use, and the most critical factor: the project’s cost.

5. How many stories the construction has?

In many parts of the UK with high population density, many homeowners opt for houses that is not only grounded. Creating more living space in a small plot of land only calls for constructing a house with more than one floor. This will ensure that you house many people in small floor space but more air space.

The more stories you desire during construction description, the more you will have to pay everyone in your team, especially the architects and project managers. This often occurs not only because of the building material but also because you have to get a more realistic plan for stability and longevity alongside considering how much will my staircase cost. The design of such houses needs to be strong enough to be safe even in bad weather or earthquakes. Otherwise, your house might be a construction hazard and might be a cause of safety concern in the long run.

6. Insurance

Despite that your construction is not yet home, you still need to insure it as it goes through the building process until the end. The insurance covers your land and materials during the process. This hardly applies to when you have no personnel working with you and constructing the house entirely on your own, which is practically impossible.

In the event of an accident during construction, the insurance should step in to cater for your workers, sparing you the stress and extra expense. The policy should also cover the public liability insurance for accidents caused to the general public due to your construction, such as an accidental injury or damage to neighboring property.

Other costs to consider

1. Stamp duty

Stamp duty is the tax levied upon purchasing a property in Scotland, England, to buy a property in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Under normal thresholds, a 3% rate is charged on anything costing up to £125,000, 5% on these between £125,001 and £250,000, and a rate of 8% on those between £250,001 and £925,000.

As long as you are purchasing land alone in the UK, you will pay much less stamp duty if you build your house on your own- because you will only be paying for the land rates. Regardless, you should include it in your budget just in case you were misled on some details. This will save you the agonizing time you will spend in court defending your actions.

2. Planning consent

Occasionally, your architect might not quote the planning application fees in their quotation, and you might end up having to pause your project until you pay the fees. Avoid such setbacks by planning and budgeting for the planning consent fees because you will have to pay them. It is just a matter of when.

3. Structural engineer

The work of a structural engineer in your building project is vital in ensuring the house is safe to construct and if it can withstand the weight and pressure likely to be placed on it over time. They give vital information about How Much Will Your Roof Cost, walls, foundation depth, floors, quality of materials to be used, and the type of steel beams. Generally, they make a thorough analysis of your project and design structure before execution.

As mentioned earlier, there is no need to build a house that will collapse on you in an earthquake or extreme weather. It is, therefore, vital to hire a structural engineer to survey and ensure your building is safe for inhabitance. The average charge for a structural engineer is between £350 to £2,000, inclusive of + VAT.

4. Groundwork Costs

Suppose your project is situated on dangerous ground such a sloppy place or loose soil. In that case, you may require additional costs of flattening the ground or digging a deeper foundation for your project before the work can begin. Some owners wish to own houses at beach fronts, not realizing that it would require much deeper foundations that will sit on solid ground to support the weight of the house. Worse still is if you want a storey building in a sandy place or rocks below the surface. As a result, always do your research of the construction site well before the construction begins so that you can have a proper plan put in place to mitigate the setbacks you may face with the ground.

5. Demolition costs

This cost will only apply if the land you want to construct already has a dwelling on it. These costs will vary depending on the materials used to build the structure, size, and easy access. If it is in an open field, demolition would be fast and without much destruction to neighboring buildings. Therefore, it will become cist you much less than demolishing a property in a densely populated area with multiple possible casualties.

Additionally, if the place you want to construct has hazardous material such as asbestos, you should expect to pay more for the careful disposal of these materials. You should expect a fee of around £5,000 for the demolition of a small bungalow in a safe land with no hazardous material, but you should expect up to three times that cost if the structure to be demolished has hazardous materials

6. Bank charges

Unless you are one of the few rich people in the UK, you will require the help of a bank loan to finish the construction of your house, which means that you have to deal with the loan arrangement fees and interest charges. You should be well prepared to start paying your loan as soon as you pay for the construction because if you fail to adhere to the signed installments, you will risk losing your home to the bank.

Final Thoughts

In the UK, building a house should not be a problem if you plan yourself well. Proper planning is the key to achieving your dream goal and spending the least money on it. For proper budgeting, here is a breakdown of the costs of building a house. The current cost of building a house in the UK starts from at least £1,750 to £3000 per square meter in 2021. The price is usually gauged as per the cost per square metre.

Alongside these costs, you need to add in an extra 15% to cater to building expenses, including the cost of hiring an architect, project manager, and the engineering team. Additionally, you require 8% of the building costs for emergency, statutory consents, and service connections costs. To find the cost of constructing your house in pounds per square meter, you need to find out the total floor area of your construction, so the bigger the house, the higher you will have to pay.

Before beginning your journey, make sure you have the right team in place, the right quotation for the project, and the required funds to see your project off. After this, all you have to do is wait for your dream house to be built within the specified time.

Whether your construction is a new build or an extension, you need to set aside some funds for contingency and unexpected costs that might crop up as the project goes on. This amount should be at least 15% of the total cost approximation. Lucky are you who sets aside these funds and not have to use them, rather than not planning for it, and tragedy strikes. Therefore, it is essential to have some sort of insurance ready to tackle any issue that might occur mid-project. So how much does it cost to build a house in the UK? This answer entirely lies with you and your designs, your team, and the materials you have to purchase. Having all this in mind, you should feel safe enough to begin your project.