Chalet build costs?

[Daft Doctor]

Hi, we are currently looking into the feasibility of buying a plot of land (permis de construire in place etc) in Haute Savoie then having a chalet (lets say approx 150 sqm net) built on it by a reputable builder. Land costs are easy to establish, but we are completely at sea regarding build costs for this type of property and we wouldn't want to waste time going any further down this particular road if it isn't financially viable.

I realise that there will be wide variations in chalet build costs/sqm, depending on spec, region, location, etc, but does anyone have any recent experience of having something built like this or other information which might give us an idea of some rough basic costs/sqm. Does it tend to work out more expensive having somewhere built, all costs considered?

I realise any info will be very general, but would nonetheless be most gratefully received. Of course if there are any other obvious pitfalls in buying land and/or commissioning a new build, any advice or insight would also be of great value.

[Quillan]

We found it quite difficult to find a place where we could go and see some of these products in France. Being 'down south' it was easier to pop down to Spain where there are loads of companies building these things. They come in kit form, are created on a computer and come in (numbered parts) kit form. You can either build it yourself or have them build it for you. Seems the average price down there was about 150 Euros per square metre all in. We did see a 4 bedroom house with a massive entry hall and very big rooms (and I mean big) for around 160,000 Euros. The only bit of construction required by you was the base and in this case a stone wall with chimney and fire place attached as this was a 'designer' home.

They are constructed of wood and use very thick wood with multiple tongues and grooves. Vertical holes that line up where steel rods go through and big nuts to compress it all together. The same computer that draws the house also connects to the machine that cuts all the wood to length and numbers it as it goes. Quite a clever system, comes from Scandinavia as I understand it. Good insulation properties as well.

Hope that helps.

[Daft Doctor]

Thanks for that Q. To be honest we are thinking more of a traditionally built chalet rather than the type of semi pre-fabricated product you mention, though of course I wouldn't discount anything absolutely.

[Quillan]

If you won't discount them then try a look at some of these and they deliver in Europe. The ones which appear to have wood 'sticking out' are the ones using the technique I was talking about.My only criticism of the ones I saw was so much wood inside but you can get round this by battening and plaster boarding where you want and of course use the opportunity to add even more insulation. Also makes it easier to add power sockets etc.

http://1st4loghomes.com/catalog1.html

 

[Gluestick]

There was a most interesting subject some time back on the Channel4 series Grand Designs: two artists bought a German factory made project.

Might be worth consideration?

See here:

Edit: Quite a few manufacturers offers here:

[Théière]

I quite often see the Huff lorries around Chertsey/Byfleet so there must be quite a few customers around

[NickP]

[quote user="Théière"]I quite often see the Huff lorries around Chertsey/Byfleet so there must be quite a few customers around[/quote]

There only passing through mate, people who can afford Huff houses wouldn't be seen dead living in Chertsey or Byfleet. Those lorries are heading for Burwood Park or St Georges Hill, Weybridge [Www]

[Chancer]

I saw on French TV within the last couple of days a woman that had had a wooden chalet built at an unbeatable price, I think it was on Capital, M6.

It turned out to be made in a factory in Bulgaria, shed open to the elements would be a fairer description, they had one ex-UK 1960's machine that planed and profiled the sections, the rest was cut by hand or jigsaw including the cut outs for the corner sections to embouti, slot together.

From memory ex factory it cost €11000 for a 160m2 chalet with veranda, the French client paying more like €80000 with delivery and installation, the agent claimed to be only making 30% on the deal, only a Frenchman would moan at "only 30% " but in reality he was making a lot more, 100% on the delivery and installation but she still ended up with something for her money that was in their words "à defi tout concurrence".

The installers were Bulgarian and whilst the agent claimed that they were being paid the French minimum wage which would have equated to three quarters of what the customer was billed, in reality they got less than a tenth of that and the agent and the factory trousered the rest.

It was an eye opener to what is available though if you are willing to get out there and make contacts.

[Pierre ZFP]

Me too!

My main concern I think would be termites munching their way through the house.  Are anti-termite treatments really effective?

[Wilko]

Pierre I found this

http://www.essortment.com/all/termitetreatmen_riyx.htm

Not half as scary as I thought.

W

[tinabee]

For a traditional new build (not wood) average prices in our area are about €1200 per square metre (depending on design/finish etc.). I did do some research on wooden constructions but they seemed to work out more expensive in most cases. This is for a new build to plan by a local builder, house less than 170 m2.

This website can help you find builders in your area for wooden houses

http://maison.bioetbienetre.fr/maison-bois/c26.html

 

[mint]

[quote user="tinabee"]

For a traditional new build (not wood) average prices in our area are about €1200 per square metre (depending on design/finish etc.). I did do some research on wooden constructions but they seemed to work out more expensive in most cases. This is for a new build to plan by a local builder, house less than 170 m2.

This website can help you find builders in your area for wooden houses

http://maison.bioetbienetre.fr/maison-bois/c26.html

 

[/quote]

That wouldn't surprise me because they still have to have the usual foundations which are after all a large proportion of the cost of the whole build.

Once you are up to floor level, a bricklayer could then take it up to roof level for no more cost than wooden panels and partitions.

Also, I am not sure how popular wooden houses are when you do want to sell it on.