Flat Pack Houses
Discussion
Need some advice guys,
Bit of background, 24 years old, partners 22 so will be first time buyers. After watching a program last night I have developed a bit of an obsession with flat pack homes however I know next to nothing about them.
I read 1 bed flats cost around £70k while three bed houses cost about £150k, this appeals to be massively living in one of the most expensive areas in the UK (Berkshire) where a 1 bed flat would set you back a minimum of £170k.
Can anyone shed any light on flat pack homes?
Bit of background, 24 years old, partners 22 so will be first time buyers. After watching a program last night I have developed a bit of an obsession with flat pack homes however I know next to nothing about them.
I read 1 bed flats cost around £70k while three bed houses cost about £150k, this appeals to be massively living in one of the most expensive areas in the UK (Berkshire) where a 1 bed flat would set you back a minimum of £170k.
Can anyone shed any light on flat pack homes?
You'll be able to buy the kit for £170k, yes.
Add to that:
Groundworks £20k+
Planning, legal, professional fees £10k+
Heating, plumbing, electrics £15k+
Services £1k to £10k
Landscaping £1k+
So £230k plus to build
Land? Where I am (near Malvern) you could find a plot to put that on from £150k to £300k. So under £400k to build a house that could be worth a bit more than this when complete (depending on spec, location, architecture, etc)
Berkshire? I'd expect £300k to £700k for the land - and this is just for a fairly small plot (say 20m by 30m). Price of land would depend on the location, how hard services will be to connect, planning restrictions, section 106 costs, difficultly of groundworks, how level the land is, etc.
So you may get a plot in Slough on a slope with unstable land for £150k. But if you want a level plot in Cookham with views over Winter Hill with services nearby, it's rather a lot more.........
Add to that:
Groundworks £20k+
Planning, legal, professional fees £10k+
Heating, plumbing, electrics £15k+
Services £1k to £10k
Landscaping £1k+
So £230k plus to build
Land? Where I am (near Malvern) you could find a plot to put that on from £150k to £300k. So under £400k to build a house that could be worth a bit more than this when complete (depending on spec, location, architecture, etc)
Berkshire? I'd expect £300k to £700k for the land - and this is just for a fairly small plot (say 20m by 30m). Price of land would depend on the location, how hard services will be to connect, planning restrictions, section 106 costs, difficultly of groundworks, how level the land is, etc.
So you may get a plot in Slough on a slope with unstable land for £150k. But if you want a level plot in Cookham with views over Winter Hill with services nearby, it's rather a lot more.........
clarkey said:
You'll be able to buy the kit for £170k, yes.
Add to that:
Groundworks £20k+
Planning, legal, professional fees £10k+
Heating, plumbing, electrics £15k+
Services £1k to £10k
Landscaping £1k+
So £230k plus to build
Land? Where I am (near Malvern) you could find a plot to put that on from £150k to £300k. So under £400k to build a house that could be worth a bit more than this when complete (depending on spec, location, architecture, etc)
Berkshire? I'd expect £300k to £700k for the land - and this is just for a fairly small plot (say 20m by 30m). Price of land would depend on the location, how hard services will be to connect, planning restrictions, section 106 costs, difficultly of groundworks, how level the land is, etc.
So you may get a plot in Slough on a slope with unstable land for £150k. But if you want a level plot in Cookham with views over Winter Hill with services nearby, it's rather a lot more.........
Thanks for the insight, land is something I didn't consider at all. Add to that:
Groundworks £20k+
Planning, legal, professional fees £10k+
Heating, plumbing, electrics £15k+
Services £1k to £10k
Landscaping £1k+
So £230k plus to build
Land? Where I am (near Malvern) you could find a plot to put that on from £150k to £300k. So under £400k to build a house that could be worth a bit more than this when complete (depending on spec, location, architecture, etc)
Berkshire? I'd expect £300k to £700k for the land - and this is just for a fairly small plot (say 20m by 30m). Price of land would depend on the location, how hard services will be to connect, planning restrictions, section 106 costs, difficultly of groundworks, how level the land is, etc.
So you may get a plot in Slough on a slope with unstable land for £150k. But if you want a level plot in Cookham with views over Winter Hill with services nearby, it's rather a lot more.........
Original Poster said:
clarkey said:
You'll be able to buy the kit for £170k, yes.
Add to that:
Groundworks £20k+
Planning, legal, professional fees £10k+
Heating, plumbing, electrics £15k+
Services £1k to £10k
Landscaping £1k+
So £230k plus to build
Land? Where I am (near Malvern) you could find a plot to put that on from £150k to £300k. So under £400k to build a house that could be worth a bit more than this when complete (depending on spec, location, architecture, etc)
Berkshire? I'd expect £300k to £700k for the land - and this is just for a fairly small plot (say 20m by 30m). Price of land would depend on the location, how hard services will be to connect, planning restrictions, section 106 costs, difficultly of groundworks, how level the land is, etc.
So you may get a plot in Slough on a slope with unstable land for £150k. But if you want a level plot in Cookham with views over Winter Hill with services nearby, it's rather a lot more.........
Thanks for the insight, land is something I didn't consider at all. Add to that:
Groundworks £20k+
Planning, legal, professional fees £10k+
Heating, plumbing, electrics £15k+
Services £1k to £10k
Landscaping £1k+
So £230k plus to build
Land? Where I am (near Malvern) you could find a plot to put that on from £150k to £300k. So under £400k to build a house that could be worth a bit more than this when complete (depending on spec, location, architecture, etc)
Berkshire? I'd expect £300k to £700k for the land - and this is just for a fairly small plot (say 20m by 30m). Price of land would depend on the location, how hard services will be to connect, planning restrictions, section 106 costs, difficultly of groundworks, how level the land is, etc.
So you may get a plot in Slough on a slope with unstable land for £150k. But if you want a level plot in Cookham with views over Winter Hill with services nearby, it's rather a lot more.........
My take on Flat Pack is you're paying for an advantage - ease and speed of installation.
If your whole aim is cheap, then you are unlikely to do better than the traditional ways - the whole building industry is geared towards pushing down the price of 'standard' components. Shop around and you can get bargains on bricks, trusses, woodwork and so on. That opportunity isn't there for flat pack. Of course with traditional build you're paying with time and effort, but those you can negotiate on, share with friends/relatives and provide yourself.
Buy the HouseBuilder's Bible and you can compare the costs of different techniques and see where the savings are.
You have to be fanatical about it though - when you're building for yourself it's very easy to choose the 'next model up' of everything (even something as simple as door hinges). On each item it might seem a tiny increase (a £2.50 widget instead of the £2.00 one), but that's a 25% increase in your costs. Multiply that across your entire house and you've added £30K to the price of a cheap home.
If your whole aim is cheap, then you are unlikely to do better than the traditional ways - the whole building industry is geared towards pushing down the price of 'standard' components. Shop around and you can get bargains on bricks, trusses, woodwork and so on. That opportunity isn't there for flat pack. Of course with traditional build you're paying with time and effort, but those you can negotiate on, share with friends/relatives and provide yourself.
Buy the HouseBuilder's Bible and you can compare the costs of different techniques and see where the savings are.
You have to be fanatical about it though - when you're building for yourself it's very easy to choose the 'next model up' of everything (even something as simple as door hinges). On each item it might seem a tiny increase (a £2.50 widget instead of the £2.00 one), but that's a 25% increase in your costs. Multiply that across your entire house and you've added £30K to the price of a cheap home.
Some good advice above on the cost side of things.
"Flat pack" homes have a poor rep in the UK but some of these things can be exceptional by any measurement. Your build costs are likely to be in the range of £800psqm (bog standard rubbish) to £1500pqm (huf house and equivilent) plus land. A good guide is that you can make approx 30% profit on a good selfbuild but you will earn that profit in blood, sweat and tears.
Building is your best bet only if you want something out of/better than the ordinary. Remember that traditional methods in the UK are absolute lowest common denominator rubbish in the main and the likes of persimon have been throwing up hovels for as little as £400psqm including main contractor preliminaries and you get what they havent paid for. These buildings will have a much shorter lifecycle than is typical for older uk housing and that presumed by lenders and borrowers.
On the up side, plots are becoming more available of late...
"Flat pack" homes have a poor rep in the UK but some of these things can be exceptional by any measurement. Your build costs are likely to be in the range of £800psqm (bog standard rubbish) to £1500pqm (huf house and equivilent) plus land. A good guide is that you can make approx 30% profit on a good selfbuild but you will earn that profit in blood, sweat and tears.
Building is your best bet only if you want something out of/better than the ordinary. Remember that traditional methods in the UK are absolute lowest common denominator rubbish in the main and the likes of persimon have been throwing up hovels for as little as £400psqm including main contractor preliminaries and you get what they havent paid for. These buildings will have a much shorter lifecycle than is typical for older uk housing and that presumed by lenders and borrowers.
On the up side, plots are becoming more available of late...
When I first started on this whole house building lark I spent months looking for a plot to build a Huf Haus on. I had been to see the show home at St Georges Hill in Weybridge and had had in-depth conversations with Peter Huf. I absolutely fell for the concept and still believe they are great houses.
I even got so far as to make an offer on a house on a really nice road in Oxted with the view of knocking it down only to find that I could not make the numbers work. All this was about eight years ago.
So you can imagine how surprised I was when visiting my brother who also lives in Oxted to find that this was going up only two doors away from the house I had offered on
Excuse the crap pic. It was getting dark. I have to say it looked great and was as deep as it was wide. I estimate it to be about 5000sq ft as it looks very similar to the one we were looking to build.
And that’s why I have now rejected them for my new house as they are popping up all over the place at the moment and have therefore gone for a custom design.
As has been said above this whole thing is a hell of a lot of work, but I love a project so am looking forward to breaking ground soon. Good luck on your project
I even got so far as to make an offer on a house on a really nice road in Oxted with the view of knocking it down only to find that I could not make the numbers work. All this was about eight years ago.
So you can imagine how surprised I was when visiting my brother who also lives in Oxted to find that this was going up only two doors away from the house I had offered on
Excuse the crap pic. It was getting dark. I have to say it looked great and was as deep as it was wide. I estimate it to be about 5000sq ft as it looks very similar to the one we were looking to build.
And that’s why I have now rejected them for my new house as they are popping up all over the place at the moment and have therefore gone for a custom design.
As has been said above this whole thing is a hell of a lot of work, but I love a project so am looking forward to breaking ground soon. Good luck on your project
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