boylers11
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Registered: 27th Jul 06
Location: Shropshire
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Right, bit of a long-winded one, but basically, I've got the chance of buying some land in a very remote area of the UK. It's roughly a 1.5 acre site of rough land, but on the plus side, it has planning permission for a single 'dwelling house'.
I'm still in the very early stages on considering it currently, but if I was lucky enough to buy the land, I would like to build a wooden lodge (similar to those at CentreParcs etc):
My main question really is how much (very roughly) would I be looking at for the following:
-laying foundations (possibly having the building raised off the ground).
-labour for the building of the lodge plus materials (mainly wood or similar).
-installation of the sewerage tank, connection to the electric and water mains.
Chances are it will be out of my price range, but if it sounds reasonable, I can pursue the land a bit further.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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Impossible to say with any great accuracy. Need way more information like the footprint size, (or at least number of rooms), finish quality etc.
Foundation costs aren't my thing specifically, but all in for building a small 2/3 bed to that kind of design I'd reckon £200k easily. For treatment plant/septic tank, £5/6k, connection to water and electric depends on how far away they are. Could be £5k, could be £25k.
Really do need masses more information though.
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boylers11
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Registered: 27th Jul 06
Location: Shropshire
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Thanks Andy. It really was a ball park figure I was after and you've answered that for me as best you can. Ideally, it would be as a holiday home, with a gorgeous view and plenty of rental potential and once my parents retire, it's somewhere they could go to for a few months in the year for free.
I'll find out more and repost again in a couple of days 
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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Are there any other houses nearby of a similar style that you can findthe value of?
If something nearby is built and worth silly expensive money it might help you decide what you could spend.
ie. if house next door is worth £300k and your plot is £80k, you know you're on the limit of it being worthwhile. If its actually worth £600k then your decision will be easier!
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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200k for a log cabin?
Surely less than that?
You could rebuild a big house for 200k.
http://www.finestamlogcabins.co.uk/nils
Price starting from 45k, no chance you could spend the rest on labour.
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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You've picked on of the cheapest off the shelf items you can find. The image posted above is massively more well specced. Decent roof for a start, loads of glass and a unique design.
Sure can be done massively cheaper, but if its a worthwhile location you'll never get it through planning, nevermind actually built.
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Mad Moe
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Registered: 14th Jun 01
Location: Northumberland
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For something like the you want to be allowing a build cost of around £750-£850/m2 for a decent specification
[Edited on 02-07-2011 by Mad Moe]
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Mad Moe
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Registered: 14th Jun 01
Location: Northumberland
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quote:
Originally posted by John
http://www.finestamlogcabins.co.uk/nils
Price starting from 45k, no chance you could spend the rest on labour.
That price is for the kit only, could easily be another £100k+ for service utilities, drainage, m&e installation, surface finishes, kitchen, bathroom, soft/hard landscaping
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Fair do's, I was just thinking in terms of rebuild costs for a house, hadn't considered all that would already be there in that case 
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boylers11
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Registered: 27th Jul 06
Location: Shropshire
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Thanks for the info and the link above. Obviously the cost can vary greatly, but it's interesting to hear people's views.
If I ended up with a chalet similar to the ones in the link posted by John, raising the building off the floor would be relatively straight forward I'd have thought? i.e. could steel girders be used as 'stilts' linked together by numerous other horizontal girders as braces or am I simplifying it a little too much? The only possible complication is that the land is coastal, so I'd need to find out if it's rock-based or sand/soil based.
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Ste
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Registered: 5th Mar 03
Location: Taif, Saudi Arabia
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I've looked into the log cabin type buildings and lots of them are sat on piles. There are ways around certain planning restrictions by using screw type piles that are basically giant screws screwed into the ground as deep as needed depending on the soil structure and as they are screws they are classed as temporary. The cabin is then just sat on top of them, usually with wooden beams as opposed to RSJs.
Something like this http://www.strongwoodloghomesuk.com/page21.htm is better than a tent style one as you lose so much space next to the sloping walls, can't hang pictures etc. That company also do personalised buildings so you can add your own designs into it.
I would rather lose by a mile because i built my own car, than win by an inch because someone else built it for me.
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Russ
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
Location: Armchair
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http://www.logspan.com/ulmenfeld-lodge-p40
http://www.logspan.com/ulmenfeld-xxl-lodge-p44
http://www.logspan.com/cottage-lodge-p42
or, if you wanna be really pimp
http://www.logspan.com/cottage-with-terrace-lodge-p43
[Edited on 03-07-2011 by Russ]
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boylers11
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Registered: 27th Jul 06
Location: Shropshire
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Thanks again for the links and info. I can't believe how reasonably priced some of these actually are. Makes me wonder how long they'd actually stay 'water tight' for. I ran similar chalets past my parents and they were concerned that they were more like summer houses than proper cabins. I've emailed for more info on the land, hopefully I'll have more to go on early this next week.
It'd be awesome to have something like this to rent out and have as a home from home too! I'm sure there are numerous costly things I've not even thought about yet though.
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Mad Moe
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Registered: 14th Jun 01
Location: Northumberland
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As mentioned the build costs will only vary based on quality of specification. However due to the site's remote location you may find the cost of electrical and telecom services prohibitive for a one off property, and LPG may be your only option for gas. I've done a few rural developments over the years so if you need any info just give me a shout.
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boylers11
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Registered: 27th Jul 06
Location: Shropshire
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Thanks Moe and Steve!
I do need to investigate much further (I'm waiting for a reply from the estate agent).
Perhaps this is all a pipe dream, but the land is in my favourite place of all time, so I feel it'd be a shame to miss out. Perhaps I have ideas above my station and I've watched too many episodes of 'Grand Designs', but I really think it would be a good plan in the long run with the potential to make me a few bob in the future come retirement (a long way off yet!).
In the land advert, it says it's very close to local village water/power supplies and from what I know about the area, I'd imagine the land is quite peat-like, so those screws mentioned by Steve W sound very interesting.
As well as building info, I'd need to look into loads of other things!
Any more advice/info would still be appreciated
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