Thread: Cost vs Size

I'm about to decide what size of house to build on a 100 tw plot and need some advice on cost.

What I want is 1 story, 2 bead, 2 bath.
What difference in cost would it make if lay it out on 80 and 120 m2 ?

It is common in Thailand to estimate construction costs by m2.
Builders always talk m2 and everyone says that cost strictly depend on the building size. This doesn't make sens to me. If I do 80 m2 for 800k, does this mean the cost would go up to 1.2 mil for a 120 m2?

Why doesn't it make sense?
A building is material and labor, bot of which can be costed by the meter.
Sometimes design can reduce cost per meter while increasing overall dimensions, but not often.

No it doesn't automatically mean you go up by 10 000 a sq metre .

That figure is simply a rough guide before you plan anything .

But yes it will cost more bricks , more pillars , roofing , cement , rebar , tiles , cables , render and of course labour time.

So the difference between 1.2 mill and what it will actually cost is so minimal it's not worth taking into account .

Allow 1.2 mill and maybe you'll pay 1.05 / 1.1 ..... which would be a nice bonus .



Wasp

I agree with you. However, it can be used as a guide. If one uses inferior labour & materials, how can it equate to superior labour & superior materials model?

Originally Posted by Necron99

Why doesn't it make sense?

Because there is many things I do only once. For instance kitchen and bathrooms, entrance, house plan, water pump, cesspit, fence. It is logical that I will have to invest more in things that Wasp pointed out but I don't see how this could be equally increased in cost by m2.
By jumping from 80 to 120 m2 I will basically just increase the size of living room and bedrooms. How much would this upsize of 40 m2 generate extra cost?

Originally Posted by cnx37

However, it can be used as a guide.

Very rough guide and not much applicable for my question i suppose.

What I'm looking for is really what would be the increase of the cost with slight increase on room size. What's more this is going to be on same footing quantity (12).

Things are what they are.

Normally pricing is done by M2 so much for inside so much for covered outside with standard quality material. Understand it or not if you increase size you increase price proportionately.

^Are you a monk, waiting the bless the new build?
OP check out the treads on building in Thailand here at TD. Probably the finest on the interweb.

Originally Posted by Jacob

I'm about to decide what size of house to build on a 100 tw plot and need some advice on cost.

What I want is 1 story, 2 bead, 2 bath.
What difference in cost would it make if lay it out on 80 and 120 m2 ?

About to do exactly the same thing myself, just as soon as we sell our place in Bangkok.

Looking to build this :







On this bit of land ...5 x 20 DTW.




I'm figuring about 800,000 baht give or take 100,000 .

As for costs , I can see the OP's point. I'm supposing that when you get quoted a construction cost per meter it excludes material. Why....because the materials you buy can vary quite a bit depending on budget etc. I.E ...q block vs breeze block, roof tiles, floor tiles etc.

In any event, buy the stuff yourself and just get a quote for labour and make sure to get a builder that sticks with it and be prepared to visit the site every day etc.

For a dedicated building forum try here :

coolthaihouse.com | Building in Thailand

I've built here before twice but a long time ago and everything has changed so I'm having to more or less learn from scratch. Dreading it but no way around it.

Will you be adding solar power for water heating or electricity at all? Nice sized place.

Cost per m2 is a fair method for budgetary purposes only. I wouldn't hire a builder who uses this for contract price of a specific house. Contract must have specifics of all materials included in the price. Type/amount of roofing, flooring, doors, windows etc. Contract like this will reduce conflicts with builder. Any decent builder will do this as a matter of course. His price based on cost of specific materials, labor and profit.

Originally Posted by Norton

Cost per m2 is a fair method for budgetary purposes only. I wouldn't hire a builder who uses this for contract price of a specific house. Contract must have specifics of all materials included in the price. Type/amount of roofing, flooring, doors, windows etc. Contract like this will reduce conflicts with builder. Any decent builder will do this as a matter of course. His price based on cost of specific materials, labor and profit.

I totally agree. The way to go is to complete your architectural plan into a stage where you can bring up estimates based on materials and labor actually used.However, it would be nice to have some better guidelines before you submit your idea to an architect. I'm planing to calculate the cost in this way for 2 versions of 65 and 100 m2. I will share the results here as soon as all is finished.

Originally Posted by Bangyai

I'm figuring about 800,000 baht give or take 100,000 .

How did you come up with this figure? Have you done any calculations from your actual plan? Where is your land located.

Many thanks for the suggestions to all.

Originally Posted by Jacob

Originally Posted by Bangyai

I'm figuring about 800,000 baht give or take 100,000 .

How did you come up with this figure? Have you done any calculations from your actual plan? Where is your land located.

Many thanks for the suggestions to all.

A generally accepted guide is:

Standard of build

Thai local 5000 b/m
Thai upper 10,000 b/m
Farang Quality 20,000 b/m and upwards as far as your wallet goes...

If you ask a builder for a meter price given a certain building style/material it generally works out fairly accurate. They should also specify allowances for kitchen/bath/pumps etc.

i.e, I can do thsi for 8500 b/m with an extra x for each bath at this standard of fittings and x for the kitchen depending on what you want in there.

Originally Posted by Jacob

Originally Posted by Bangyai

I'm figuring about 800,000 baht give or take 100,000 .

How did you come up with this figure? Have you done any calculations from your actual plan? Where is your land located.

Many thanks for the suggestions to all.

I grabbed a number out of thin air

Actually , the wifes sister has just built her bungalow on the adjacent plot for 400,000 . It is very basic Thai style with tiled floors but no ceilings and very basic fittings.

I just doubled that to get a ball park figure, a highly scientific method.

As soon as we sell in Bangkok and I have the cash I will start doing some more serious calculations.

On the subject of architects .......are they absolutely necessary for a basic bungalow? I have built here twice before and not used one and the results were ok. Just had to track down a good builder that had lots of experience and show him my own to scale plans and where I wanted the plumbing and wiring run. He gave a few suggestions and added further input, came with me to buy some of the fittings and things went pretty well although I was living on site so that helped.

Originally Posted by Necron99

Originally Posted by Jacob

Originally Posted by Bangyai

I'm figuring about 800,000 baht give or take 100,000 .

How did you come up with this figure? Have you done any calculations from your actual plan? Where is your land located.

Many thanks for the suggestions to all.

A generally accepted guide is:

Standard of build

Thai local 5000 b/m
Thai upper 10,000 b/m
Farang Quality 20,000 b/m and upwards as far as your wallet goes...

If you ask a builder for a meter price given a certain building style/material it generally works out fairly accurate. They should also specify allowances for kitchen/bath/pumps etc.

i.e, I can do thsi for 8500 b/m with an extra x for each bath at this standard of fittings and x for the kitchen depending on what you want in there.

I would be very happy with 10k and hoping not to go over 15.

Originally Posted by Bangyai

On the subject of architects .......are they absolutely necessary for a basic bungalow? I have built here twice before and not used one and the results were ok. Just had to track down a good builder that had lots of experience and show him my own to scale plans and where I wanted the plumbing and wiring run. He gave a few suggestions and added further input, came with me to buy some of the fittings and things went pretty well although I was living on site so that helped.

I guess things have changed a bit from your last build. Architectural plan signed by licensed architect is a requirement for a building permition. Beside this I cannot imagine contracting any builder without precise plan.

It's impossible to say how much more 120m2 would cost over 80m2 without knowing the shape and style of the building. Imagine adding the extra 40m2 on the 2nd floor, this might be more expensive than adding it to the ground floor. Also some shapes require more windows etc.

engage an architect to do 2 pre lim floor plan's at 80 & 120 sqm. Give him your material wish list and ask him to give you a costing . it won't be 100 % but it will be a lot closer / fairer than what you will get from a builder who has nothing to go by . If your serious start off the right way as it will save time and cost in the end.

My 2 pence:

Bangyai is correct when he states having the builder only quote the labor in m2 and buy everything yourself (through a thai friend). What I mean by that is select your building material depending on the quality you want and then send in a Thai to do the purchasing. If you walk in any place that does not have set pricing like Global House, you will pay more than the locals. Just the price you par for being a farang.

Be sure to shop around at different suppliers for materials, but price like for like. There are different grades of steel, block, cement, pillars, etc., etc. Be sure to read as many building threads on this site as you can. Lots of good info that will save you time and money.

My building budget was 1.5million baht, but soon found out that fluctuated depending on what furnishings I purchased. I built a fairly large house and am now at 2million +. I was the project manager and my BIL was the supervisor and he hired a great crew to do the structural build. I then subbed several skilled laborers to do the ceilings, paint and woodwork. This is pretty much what the Thai builders do. They don't do the work, they sub it out and charge you an up fee.

Good luck with your build and the only advice I have is to know, as much as you can, the quality of materials you will use along with all furnishings. The cost can vary quite a bit from lower quality to top of the line.

One last thing. You should have at least double your initial budget available. I did not do this and had to go back to work to finish things off.