Do you need one pack or two?
Before you order, why not get a little help with our handy Quantity Calculators to help measure how many tiles, bricks or blocks you need to order for your project?
Top techniques for budget management
When managing a self-build budget, it’s important to keep a tight focus on all factors at every stage to ensure success.
Here are our top techniques for budget management:
- Keep a site diary or use software to manage expenditure and control overspend.
- Break your budget into different sections for each stage of the build – for example, groundworks, wiring, plumbing and plastering, among others – this allows you to quickly identify if costs are spiralling out of control and helps keep builders to a budget.
- Open a trading account with a builders’ merchant and plant hire shops as it’s more convenient and can be cost-effective. It also helps with paperwork as tax invoices are sent to you, helping you keep your finances in check.
- To avoid costs, make sure you’re 100% happy with the finished design before breaking ground.
- Be prepared to compromise. Those marble kitchen surfaces might be beautiful, but could you do without them? This philosophy applies at the design stage as well. A simple design will usually be kinder to self-build finances than a complex layout.
- Consider the basic method of construction you use. No-frills timber-framed homes can be around 10% cheaper than brick and block homes.
- Be bold when it comes to haggling with suppliers and shop around – this can save you tens of thousands.
- Buy in bulk. Purchasing job lots of materials such as bricks, tiles and roofing could put you in a stronger buying position. You don’t have to have everything delivered at once if you buy in bulk from builders’ merchants, you can call things off as you need them. If you are also able to store the materials securely on site, you can avoid having to pay for multiple delivery charges.
- Talk to your suppliers to identify cost savings. Their experience might help you distinguish techniques or materials that are more cost-effective.
- The more you can do yourself, the cheaper it will be. You may have construction skills but consider enhancing your skills through a college course.