Susan Gordon, Staff Reporter
BUILDING ON your own land still costs less than purchasing a house even if it gives you an additional task of tallying that cost. Construction experts say building gives individuals the power to build a fairly decent, low-income house for as little as $3 million. However, they caution that individuals must be aware that constructing one's own home involves much more than purchasing a piece of land and 'buying some building material.'
"I believe it could cost you $5,076 per square foot to build a low-income house on a flat serviced land, using a contractor," quantity surveyor, Horace Wright, told Sunday Business. He said that if the individual is knowledgeable about building or has the support of knowledgeable persons and chooses to undertake it himself, it is possible to get this cost down by 10 to 20 per cent or between $4,568 to $4,061 per square foot.
LOCATION FACTOR
Those who just focus simply on getting land and raw material, often proceed to build, clueless of the total cost their project. They end up overspending or abandoning construction as the many unfinished houses around the island tell the tale.
"Location is a factor. The distance will affect the transport and handling of raw material," explained Mr. Wright. And naturally, farther distances means greater expenditure on transporting raw material.
SERVICED LOT
He said building costs will also depend on whether the lot one bought was a serviced lot, meaning it came with water and electricity. Equally, if the lot does not have public sewage system, there is a cost involved in building a pit.
"Quite often, people are misled. They get a cheap lot at a low price and then later realise how far the lot is from the main water supply," said Mr. Wright.
Then there is the soil type and water level of the land. "The better the land is the cheaper it is to construct," he stated frankly. He said a rocky surface means additional costs for blasting to prepare a level building surface. Even where the land surface is flat there is a cost involved in clearing the land. Softer soil will require a broader foundation.
"It is very important to procure the services of qualified professionals, both in the design and the building process," stressed the quantity surveyor.
"People think that it's cheaper to avoid these guys," he added. He said it was not wise to use untrained persons who produce drawings because they may overprovide and overload your structure with steel or underprovide. Mr. Wright warned that such practices may leave the individual with cracks in the wall that he or she may spend the rest of his or her life's income trying to seal.
NATURE'S ELEMENTS
Or perhaps the person may end up in a life-long battle with nature's elements, that of wind and rain. Unprofessional work will also affect the comfort of one's home and can be disastrous especially on sloping land, he further outlined. He said engineers are trained to give optimum advice on the structural requirements.
"The business of controlling the cost is highly technical," Mr. Wright prudently advised. He said often, people's building costs get out of control because of the absence of technical persons.
"The disaster stories are out there. You don't want to be guessing in your expenditure control," he continued, referring to the fact that there are many highly-skilled contractors out there. Furthermore, homebuilders can overspend by using more expensive fixtures.
To overcome this problem which is very often overlooked by enthusiastic land owners, Mr. Wright said the use of a quantity surveyor and a team of professionals becomes necessary. This group includes land surveyors, architects and engineers and draftsmen and usually requires 10 to 15 per cent fee of the construction cost of the house.
He said the quantity surveyor is there to optimise economies and prepare contract documents with the builders to ensure payments are monitored. They can best inform on the estimated cost of labour which is usually about one third or less of the cost of the house, or on the quantity of raw material to procure.
The choice of roofing, floor finishes, windows, fixtures and finishing techniques may bear significantly on the cost of building as the more expensive these are, the more it will cost you.
Before you build, those persons who plan to build on their own land must consider the following factors:
The location and quality of the land.Procuring qualified professionals for the building process.Controlling the costs involved in building.Research the background of the contractor.Restrictive covenants. Most neighbourhoods have covenants as to what can be built in a particular area.Approvals from the respective authorities: parish councils, town planning department, fire department, Ministry of Health, the environmental agencies, NWC and JPS.With these essentials factored in, persons will have a better idea of the real cost of building and will result in savings in the long run.
Counting the costEstimated cost of building a low-income 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom unit of 640 sq ft at $5,076 per square foot on a flat serviced lot.
ELEMENTS COSTS ($)
Substructure (floor slab & below) 260,000
Frame and walls 340,000
Roof (slab) 390,000
Windows and doors 320,000
Wall finish 640,000
Floor finish 76,000
Ceiling finish 40,000
Plumbing & Sanitary fixtures 160,000
Electrical installation 260,000
Fixtures (minimum) 40,000
Painting 150,000
External works (water supply, sewage, driveway) 150,000
Site overheads (watchman, supervision cost) 282,000
Contingencies, miscellaneous 141,000
Total cost 3,249,000
Note: Labour is factored in the indivdual elements. Costs are based on current market price and will vary. Please consult professionals for advice.
