"How much will it cost me to build my house" is a question we often get asked, this like many other aspects of the early stages of investigation of self building is fluid.

We often recommend people to write down their total budget for the project. Then we have to ask if they have some idea of the size of home they intend to build. Often Self Builders realise at this point that they have no concept as to the size of the house they want or the current home they live in. Obviously this needs to be determined in order to calculate approximate costs.

Good practice is to go through the plan books as there are plenty available or you may have some house plans from a particular supplier. Often many books will give you the square area of the dwelling in feet or metres. It is important to know if this is the living area (inside) or the foot print area (outside) this factor can come in useful at a later point.

Many companies supply plan books with sizes and estimated build costs, we recommend that if you are using the estimated build cost that you check exactly what is included for example external work like gardens, fencing, drive, paths and the services that you will require such as gas, electric, water and

phone. If these items are not included then you will need to add several thousands of pounds to your budget.

Once you have some concept as to the size or cost you can estimate the price. It will change in the country depending where you are. For example, in the Midlands a figure of £85 per square foot (£920 sq metre) would give you an initial guide to costing for a project where the client would not do any work and move into a completely finished home inside and out.

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