As we all should be aware by now, due to the relentless price increases on materials throughout the whole of 2021, not to mention the costs of Labour going up as well. Construction costs in January 2022 are at an all-time high!
We have been made aware of several misleading articles published online from some very well-known advisory websites giving some very unrealistic figures on today’s build costs. Can we please make you aware that these figures are very misleading in the real-world costs of today and haven’t taken a lot of the variables into consideration.
Some things to consider when trying to work out a budget for your project would be -
1) Specification of work - anything above a very basic spec will increase your build costs on the figures these sites are quoting. Nobody wants cheap and cheerful, especially when it comes to the family home. This could be something to discuss at the ideas stage with your Architect, discussing budgets before a ‘Dream Home’ is designed and put through the planning process. This is something we are seeing more often since the start of 2021. Just something to consider, is that your Architect may not be aware of your budget limitations if you haven’t informed them. Please make sure your project is realistic to your financial situation and budget. An affordable, simpler design is a far better option than an expensive, over designed project that you can’t afford to build. Having plans amended or redone after planning is granted can be a costly affair.
2) Level of finish - things to note in this area for example are floor finishes. A large carpet can be laid in a few hours but tiling that same space may take several days, not to mention the tile costs. Paint colour is another. Having all walls and ceilings painted white will be more cost effective than having different colours or wallpaper in different rooms around the project. Plain white plug and light sockets have a much lower purchase price than brushed Aluminium or Chrome is another consideration.
3) What are you building on? - Something that is often overlooked, especially when it comes to extensions is - What is already in situ in the area you’re looking to build on? For example, if you’re building straight onto a grass or soil area will have a lower cost to it than having to demolish something or remove an old patio for example. Another common request is to build above an existing garage. The depth of a garage foundations may not be up to the job, the walls will, more than likely, be of a single skin and again not up to the job of supporting a second storey.
Following this, a couple of questions that we are often asked is ‘Do you see prices coming down anytime soon?’ or ‘Shall I wait 6 or 12 months and see what prices are like then?’ we As a company we believe it’s difficult to predict, however looking at the trends previously set we could assume that its reached an all-time high and we wouldn’t expect significant rises from here on out however we also can’t ignore there maybe some further but minor increases to follow within 2022, here is a quote from an email received from one of our suppliers while writing this blog.
‘Witnessing the largest increase levels imposed on us since March 2021, we must advise you that Q1 2022 is seeing prices inflate from 9% up to 33%, with all suppliers notifying us of these non-negotiable increases.’
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