Building a new house - stock plans online??

[Debra]

We're reading up on building a house in France and have read that some of the larger building firms prefer to build houses of their own design and I believe I've read elsewhere that it works out cheaper this way. 

Does anyone know if any of these builders (preferably who would build in the North Dordogne area!) have examples of their stock houses online, showing floor plans and with an indication of build cost?  Or is this too much to expect??

[Teamedup]

That is exactly what this sort of builder does. They will have plans of the houses, internal external and the prices. And can be flexible about the internal layout.

Always check exactly what is included in the price though. It can really vary between them and things that perhaps one wouldn't expect to be extras are. Even the foundations may have to be organised by yourselves.

Some of the things we came across as extras were, the guttering. Stairs to the sous sol. Unless paying for decoration the plasterboard would be left unfinished by some builders. Some places would have ceramic tiles on the floors, sometimes they were extras and cheaper covering would be put down instead.

Even if there are gutters, then they can stop at the ground and the drainage would be extra to sort out, as could access to the property too, ie no drive ways paths etc.

O fcourse if one has an unlimited budget then it is all very easy to get the lot done, but if one hasn't then knowing exactly what is included can help make the choice as to which company to use.

 

And there are some builders that do the lot for one price, but in my region houses like this are usually only on estates.

Also decent builders will usually show you around homes that they are building in your area to show off their work.

 

[Poppy]

Many years ago we had a new house built in France. We were able to change the stock plans at no additional charge. except for enlargement. The only additional charge was the decoration inside and out and this was quite quite hefty so we did it ourselves. No problem as not much sanding down,or touching up necessary on a new house.

Last year we looked at having another house built by a national building firm. Luckily quite by chance we found that the price did not include fosse septic, shutters, gutters, bathroom etc, etc. Additionally there was mdo charge of 25 %.

There are some nice houses and good deals to be had but make sure you understand what is included in the price.

Jan

[Viv]

Have a look at pages jaune and put 'maisons' in the nom bit and then the dept no in the relevant place and you should find details of these type of builders.

Assurance D.O is another thing to beware of, can come as a bit of a shock if it's not included

[Debra]

ooer - sounds like lots of pitfalls!  Bit mind boggling really, especially with the state of our language skills at the moment.  Tempting to get a bil-lingual architect to manage things, if we can afford it!

I've been looking at a builder's site with plans on that someone from TF gave me, but they only seem to show the floor plans, even detailed extra floor plans including furniture, but not what the actual house looks like - does this mean they don't expect you to care what the outside looks like?!

Anyone know of any sites other than http://www.construiresamaison.com/ with floor plans and an indication of price?  (Not sure if the prices they are quoting are inclusive of land, since they give an actual area, or just that building is more expensive than I thought!)  However, as per my original question, if I can find any examples of builder's stock plans online then its a start, even if I do have to research carefully regarding what is included in the price!

[Mpprh]

Hi

In this area there are many builders offering "turnkey" houses. Pricing is based on a menu system. After finalising the basic house , you can add upgrades : better tiles, pool, kitchen equipment, door materials, central heating type, etc.  Many also have a land bank in various local areas.

The ones I visited had some standard designs that can be modified. They used a pc programme and a large screen to talk us through our requirements, updating the image for each change. At any time you could take a virtual walk round to see the effects of latest changes.

One of them has standard designs here : http://www.maisonsguitard.fr/

We didn't go that route because build time was quoted as 8 months after receipt of planning permission. Maybe cynical, but we needed somewhere to live and were worried that the quoted time could stretch to a couple of years.

BTW, it is cheaper to buy land, and have a turnkey solution than buy a nearly new house.

Some will finish just the shell, leaving you to fit out the house.

Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Debra]

That's brilliant, thanks - just what I was looking for: except I can't figure out how you find out the price structure!  Can you give me a clue, or do you have to contact the company?  If they had prices online for this area, assuming the land was already bought, would there be much variation on the price for different areas, do you think?

[Mpprh]

Hi

here is another one : http://www.maisons-avenir-tradition.com check plans, etc here : http://www.maisons-avenir-tradition.com/en/v1/cat/se.php3

Neither give prices. In fact it is quite complex and depends on location, level of finish, inclination and undersoil geology of plot, etc.

They do advertise prices for specific plots in our local newspapers, but these are very much starting prices.

Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Teamedup]

Also I would always go and see what a builder is actually building in your area and ask questions.

 

It is difficult to explain how all this works, but to say that you want a clear an precise list of all the things included and some verbal idea of what isn't. The fosse septique if necessary, may be one of these things for you to sort out separately. Electricity to the property too and water come to think along with drains and your boundary fence.

 

I think that all any of us can say is that you need to be vigilant with the deal you make.

 

[Debra]

So how do we find out what it costs to build a builder's stock plan on our plot?  Would they come out and be able to give us an idea?  We just want to know if we can afford to do it before we get too excited about the idea!

[Swissbarry]

Hi Debra,

We're a bit further along the new-build route than you, so perhaps can offer some advice.  We looked at lots of construction firms, most of whom could show us a range of plans and who would be prepared to modify them to an extent to meet our needs.  But even those who could modify them enough, still weren't prepared to modify their building techniques to fit in with our requirements for, for example, internal walls of a decent thickness.  At the same time we trawled the internet for house designs, and had a couple of architects draw up designs (free of charge: some do this as an avant-projet without obligation), and we bought some magazines full  of house plans. 

The outcome, for us, is that we found a plan we liked on the website www.coolhouseplans.com and then modified it to better suit our needs.  We found a couple of construction companies who were prepared to build exactly that house for us, exactly to our requirements.  These were JB Constructions at Limoges and Maisons Sic at Perigueux.  They're both busy at the moment drawing up costings, and we'll presumably choose the one that seems best value for money.  Maisons Sic, incidentally, have an Englishman working for them - useful if you haven't much French.

E-mail me if you want further information.  Where in North Yorks are you?  We lived at Hurworth, just over the North Yorks / Durham border.

Good luck,

swissbarry

[Jc]

Some of the bigger builder's merchants sell house kits.Not a prefabricated house but a set of plans and all the bits;you just find a builder.

[Debra]

[quote]Hi Debra, We're a bit further along the new-build route than you, so perhaps can offer some advice. We looked at lots of construction firms, most of whom could show us a range of plans and who would...[/quote]

Hi Swissbarry - it sounds like you've done exactly what we need to (we've been busy creating our own plans and then amending others as ours always end up far too big!) - emailed you for further info.

[Mpprh]

Hi

just worth saying that if drawing up your own plans, they need to reflect your local planning rules.

In particular, positioning on plot, choice of materials, colours, roof pitch, can vary.

And houses over a certain size need plans to be prepared by an architect. 

Peter

 

 

[Debra]

Yes, we realised that, and before yesterday we'd never managed to get our floorplans to below the limit (170 square metres?)!  However, even though we now have, not being builders or architects, we'd obviously have no idea of how to do a proper plan which conforms to the local limits.  Our idea is that if we do a floorplan and outside/roof design that we like, we can then take it to either a builder or an architect who will convert that into the required plans, amending our design if parts of it are not feasible.   We see our design as the starting point for discussion with an expert.  We'd be happy to use a stock plan if it fit our criteria but we haven't seen one so far.

[Debra]

[quote]Some of the bigger builder's merchants sell house kits.Not a prefabricated house but a set of plans and all the bits;you just find a builder.[/quote]

Are these builder's merchants online, jc?

[derf]

I can recommend IGC they will build from their plans our from your ideas they only take a very small deposit, they have a show home Nr. Bergerac and an office in Ste Foy La Grande (ask for Charrisa), both with English speaking staff, I could not recommend Maisons *** who operate in the same areas.

http://www.igc-construction.fr/house_in_france/entreprise/groupe.php

[speedy]

We too can recommend IGC particularly at St. Foy La Grande (Charrisa) and certainly do not recommend Maisons ***.  (We obviously can't put why here but can give information privately if required.)  Good luck.

Jeff.

[Debra]

Got some details from IGC through the post, but they seem very expensive!  The quotes also don't include connection to services, inside or outside painting...........