How to Cut Costs Without Sacrificing Quality

With house prices falling and money getting tighter for most people, it makes sense to take a long, hard look at the costs for your home building or renovating project to eliminate unnecessary spending and to make sure you are getting maximum value for money.

A significant proportion of the spend on a building project can go to waste if the design process is not thoroughly worked through, resulting in avoidable changes. Often, expensive materials or finishes can be substituted for cheaper alternatives. Efficient site management is also key to controlling costs, with builders working either to a fixed price, or closely supervised to avoid wasted activity and materials. It’s inevitable that there will be some mistakes and overspend on any project, but if you stick as closely as possible to the principles outlined in the following links, you will be in control — saving £1,000s without any noticeable impact on the quality or value of the end result.

• Cutting Costs: Reducing Labour Costs
• Cutting Costs: Reducing Material Costs
• Cutting Costs: Reducing Project Overheads

What's happening (and will happen) with build costs?

The Build Cost Information Service, part of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), views that, unsurprisingly, the current recession is squeezing smaller builders — under pressure by still-rising materials and labour costs (the above-inflation rise in minimum wage, for instance) but crippled by a dramatic fall in demand. In the last recession, tender build costs stagnated for three years between July 1991 and August 1994 — and RICS expects the same to broadly happen again this time around, as the following table shows:

The Things You Shouldn't Compromise On

It’s all very well cutting costs but it’s important to realise where you can’t really compromise without resulting in a basic developer standard. The key to the success of any house is design. While it’s tempting to think that you could easily save the £3,000 – £10,000 you’re likely to be spending on design fees by doing it all yourself, this is almost always a false economy. You’ll end up with a house that in all likelihood won’t meet your requirements and, just as importantly, will look cheap from the outside. It’s also important to prioritise the structural materials you won’t be able to replace later. So you can enjoy savings by compromising on kitchens (which cost anything from £3,000 to £50,000) and bathrooms but not bricks, windows, roof tiles and the like.

ABOVE: A Contemporary Home For Just £59,000 - Gordon Aitken’s 2007 DIY self-build was very much a family affair. With Gordon taking on design and labouring duties, his father Bob as builder and brother Andrew as joiner, labour costs were virtually nil. The interiors are of high quality and Gordon achieved a great look by mixing lower-priced fittings with relatively expensive finishes... Read more about this self-build

Homes built on a budget:

• A Self-built Cottage on a Remote Island
• A Traditional Home Built on a Budget
• An Eco Home with a Grass Roof

Further reading:

• How to Stick to Your Budget
• Save £1000s on Your Self-build... by Negotiating
• Cost Breakdowns